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Possible daft question...


Nocoolname

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So long as you take your time, take care, and "measure twice, cut once", I don't see why not.

 

And remember, the only daft questions are those that don't ever get asked. 🙂

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I have cut many full hull ship,two things to do ,put thick  plastic card inside the hull to give it strength  and cover the whole bottom hull with plastic card again,just like tamiya  do.I also once l have  cut the hull, glue the first deck down to get the correct shape .Try to find photos of ships l have done.Found only one,so far an Airfix Leander.

81d7f6f0-4fa1-45fc-8964-629d2eb9446a-ori

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If you are going to sit the model in a sea diorama then I would suggest adding a few millimetres of extra plastic.  The model would need to sit a shaped hole in the sea, plus it would allow for peaks and troughs that are naturally seen when a ship is underway; unless you are doing it as a static at anchor/alongside setting.  To me, nothing detracts more from a waterline ship model than a dead-flat table top model.

 

Mike

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  • 2 weeks later...

Agree with everything said above.  1mm below the waterline in 1/600  (approz 2ft in real size) is usually enough for up to about SS 3-4.  If you're doing something a little more dramatic you might want to allow more below the waterline.  However, I would always cut lower than that and then when it is all together with the weatherdecks added before you fix the plasticard base, get a large sheet of quite coarse glasspaper and gently rub the bottom of the hull to get a nice flat base and bring it up to the line you want,  then add the plasticard.  40 thou is about 1mm, 80 thou about 2mm.

 

In the extreme you might even want to leave the whole hull and build up the base around it. 

 

26251362022_0dc748f4ec_b.jpg

This is an early photo of HMS ALACRITY (from the AMAZON kit) representing as she was in February 1983 whilst in a Force 12 on passage from Port Stanley to South Georgia.  When it's finished the whole hull forward of the 184 sonar dome will be clear of the water.  There is a very dramatic photo of ALACRITY on her way down south just like that but I can't find it currently or I would post a link.

 

There are two ways of cutting the hull that I use.  One is to cut the hull halves before you assemble them.  The other is to build the hull up to the main weatherdecks and when it is all set, then cut the waterline.  The advantage of the latter is that you'll probably get a more accurate cut but with a greater risk of damage to the hull whilst the former offers less risk of damage but greater chance that the two halves don't quite line up (maybe that's just my ineptitude). Of course, if the waterline is marked on the inside, I'd do the latter every time but few of the old Airfix kits have that luxury.

Edited by Chewbacca
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