Ships for R/C from Polish & Russian Paper Kits, but enlarged?

[brooker]

Hi,

Does anyone build from enlarged paper kits or from plans?

I used to, until I got on the internet and try as I might, I just can't get my motivation back to build and complete a ship model I might start.

I collect plans and kits in a digital format now, but I have a good sized collection of plans, in various scales, on paper.

Richard

[russ]

Hi Richard

I' recently started building the Polish card models mainly ships in fact I've got my first build of one as a WIP here, HMS Lance, but I've never tried enlarging one yet or going down the RC route. There is a papermodelers forum which you can find through Google. Or try starting a WIP thread see if it gets you the motivation to complete a build.

Russ

[Francis Macnaughton]

I am currently building a 1/200th HMS ABDIEL from the card kit in the same scale using balsa and thin ply for the hull and plastic card for the rest. I managed to get the photo etch set that GPM used to offer which provides most of the fine detail and will be using the guns and boats from the Hachette partworks HOOD (the appropriate parts appear on ebay occasionally). It is large enough for RC using lightweight receiver, servo and ESCs and I got a good turn of speed when I did an initial trial. Have a look at the GPM website for which models have accessory options like these to cut down on the scratch building.

[swordfish fairey]

Hi Richard, I built a 128th scale Graf Spee about 20 years ago using a 1/200 paper kit and once I got my head around the sizing it worked a treat...................The superstructure was very easy with only a couple of niggles, like whether to fold or cut particularly the control tower & turrets................I used a Fleetscale hull with a GPM card kit, you sure use a lot of Plasti-card though...................It may sound obvious as well but you have to ensure your re-sizing is correct at all times as it can and does cause headaches,(been there, done that)..............Smudge

[bootneck]

I have wanted to build a Kirov class battlecruiser kit for a long time but they were too expensive, so I bought a set of plans in 1:200 scale. Problem is having the courage to get started on it as it looks more complex than I originally thought!

Mike

[swordfish fairey]

I have wanted to build a Kirov class battlecruiser kit for a long time but they were too expensive, so I bought a set of plans in 1:200 scale. Problem is having the courage to get started on it as it looks more complex than I originally thought!

Mike

It seems daunting when you look at the thing as a whole model, but when you break it down into a series of small models that come together to form the ship it ain't so bad.................Smudge

[Niall]

There are a number of "semi-kits" available. A couple of UK companies that produce these are Deans Marine and Sirmar(Links below). A semi-kit has a vacformed or fibreglass hull with resin and/or white metal detail parts like guns and anchor winches, the superstructure is scratchbuilt from plasticard or plywood.

http://www.deansmarine.co.uk/

http://www.sirmarfittings.com/

These forums cover builds of these semi-kits and total scratchbuilds -

http://www.modelboatmayhem.co.uk/forum/index.php

http://www.shipmodels.info/mws_forum/index.php

[brooker]

Hi Richard

I' recently started building the Polish card models mainly ships in fact I've got my first build of one as a WIP here, HMS Lance, but I've never tried enlarging one yet or going down the RC route. There is a papermodelers forum which you can find through Google. Or try starting a WIP thread see if it gets you the motivation to complete a build.

Russ

I posted pix of all of my card warship models on another thread, under ships up to WW1 - my card warship models, all for R/C range in length from 2.5 feet SMS Sachsen and D'Antrecasteaux up to 6 feet long for SMS Bismarck (The German spelling) also I like my ships to have railings, which are probably a bit off scale and crew, which are not.

I would like to say I'm still building card warships, but I'd be fibbing - the last warship model I completed was over 12 years ago and everything I've tried since, ended up in the bin, which is why I'm trying plastic kits which as you know are pre-formed and I don't have to do that and only need parts to be stuck together, how hard can that be?

I collect digital card kits and goodness knows what else - because I simply don't have room for layers of card kits stacked around the walls gathering dust, with the thought that I can print out whatever I want to build, on my coloured printer and enlarge it, if need be and then build "it" at the scale of my choosing......sigh..no time, I'm retired and not busy and yet every day seems full of things I find myself doing, including time on the internet instead.

Mike

I might have a digital kit of the Kirov Class Battleship in 1/200 scale, I might have plans in 1/200 scale as well - have a look at my card kits to get an idea of what is possible, come back to me, if you want me to look further?

Hi Francis - good luck with your 1/200th HMS ABDIEL - me, I much prefer building in compressed card and paper, as it is much easier than the route you are taking, but if the end justifies the means, then that is all that matters.

Richard

Edited March 2, 2016 by brooker

[brooker]

Hi Russ,

Sorry I did not reply to you - it is easy enough to enlarge a paper kit on a photocopier, just divide the scale of the kit into whatever scale you want to build at and enter that calculation into a photocopier and enlarge.

If the enlargement is much bigger than you intended, the next best thing is to take each A4 page and enlarge it from A4 to A3 in black and white, then take that A3 enlargement home and cut and mount the parts on A4 pages until all of the parts have been transferred, then take that load of A4 pages back to the photocopier and enlarge it again, from A4 to A3 and so on, until you can't enlarge it any more, without having straight join lines on the decks, where you have to join sheets together - then knock out 5 copies at that scale.

4 copies are building sheets and the 5th is your Master kit plan. Mark this master and put it aside and use it to knock out more building sheets, but never use it in the construction of your model.

Either lay glue over thin card with a paintbrush and carefully lower the building sheet onto it, moving bubbles out with a soft towel, or paint PVA glue over the building sheet and use a soft towel to move bubbles out as you lay it in place. As the glue dries, the paper building sheet will shrink, so bubbles that appear afterwards don't need to be bothered about.

If you look at my pix of my car warship models, you can see how I constructed the hulls, without any filler, using the card kit - I separate the hulls at the waterline, so that I have an upper and lower hull. I draw a straight line on my building board (a thin sheet of chipboard cut to size), then draw a straight line down the center.

The outside of your hull is the scale size and the skin and since I paint all of my parts with Acrylic paint, I make sure, first that all of the detail printed on the hull, is replaced with thin card strips, or squares, or strips or thin plastic tube, as required, or rivets applied with a hypo syringe loaded with PVA glue, before I paint - varnishing as a last resort when everything is finished and good to go.

I build the keel in two layers, overlapping the join, so that when glued together and held down with household bricks until dry, the keel does not break in two at the overlapping join, having first removed the waste material from the spine of the keel, for later R/c and the cross formers and allowed dovetails or joints within each cross section and keel, so that the respective parts lock together with PVA glue and then I glue the lower keel upside down on the straight line I have drawn on my building board and glue the assembled keel and cross sections to that center line - when dry I sheet the outside hull with thin card - I just lay it on over as much area as I can, until the external hull is sheeted, then I use a breadknife to carefully remove the hull from the chipboard building board and then I sheet internally with 1/8 card, cut to fit between the cross sections fromt the front to the back, checking for warpage as I go along.

More later, if required -

Richard