Beginner tips?

I've posted a few threads on my first ship model after years of aircraft building.  You can look through them below and maybe pick up some encouragement if nothing else.  At least you will see that even an aircraft modeler can build one of these ships if we put our minds to it.

FYI, The whole rest of my family lives in Hudson and Nashua.

New Hampshire wrote:

Hey folks, I have a friend who is interested in American Naval (mostly Pacific) and German ships of World War II.  He has expressed an interest in trying scale modeling these kinds of ships, and I am doing my best to help guide him in basic modeling (though I too am still new, so what I offer truely IS basic ).  But all of my work so far has been strictly aircraft.  I too am now thinking of giving scale ship modeling a try so we can jump into it together.  So here I am looking for tips and ideas to pass along that will get him making decent looking results.  What would be a good beginning size to work with?  What kind of finishing techniques do you recommend that a beginner would be able to do?  How best to do realistic washes and weathering (would you basically use techniques for that like you would aircraft)?  You know, stuff like that.  Any comments and ideas much welcomed and my friend and I would be very appreciatve! Brian

Brian,

How big to go?  That would depend on the amount of room you have available and what you are comfortable with.  I live in a small apartment, so when I build ships I pretty much do 1/700 (also that is the scale our club builds are in and that is usually when I do a ship).  You may think that is pretty small, but in that scale a battleship or carrier is a foot or longer.  Also, the 1/700 plastic kits are way cheaper than their 1/350 counterparts if that is a consideration.  As to finishing techniques, I wouldn't worry about washes and weathering just yet.  Instead, concentrate on the basics-fit, filling seams, applying a smooth paint job etc.  In a sense you are starting from square one again.  Until you've got a couple under your belt, I'd wait on the more advanced stuff.  If you're wondering what kits to buy, I'd find something relatively inexpensive and try it first.  If you think 1/700 is too small, try some of the older Revell kits such as the Missouri or the Arizona.  They're relatively cheap and can be made into decent builds.  Whatever you choose, have fun and post some pics.

EDIT:  Brian, I've started my Revell Missouri.  Look under Revell Missouri WIP, I'm a beginner ship modeler as well.  Hope this helps.

I'm currently working on a 1/350 SMS Emden WWI German light cruiser for my first ship build. It can be found fairly cheep and is only about 14 inches long. Nice kit to start with and has decent detail though I'm also using the GMM PE set for it. Another nice kit right out of the box would be a S-100 Schnellboot in 1/72 scale. Nice size, well detailed and really cool looking. I wouldn't worry about weathering and such. Just go for a good basic build and finish to start off with.

As an alternate opinion to Brian,  I would recommend 1:350 as a learner kit scale.  And I would recommend a destroyer-sized kit as opposed to a battleship, cruiser, or carrier.

My thoughts ...

A)  The kit's part size will be twice that of 1:700 scale.  I have found it easier to teach my 15 dancing thumbs the manual dexterity necessary to assemble the parts - then transfer the muscle memory to a smaller scale.  Small parts, such as 20mm guns or searchlights may be about 1/10 inch,  where in 1:350 they approach 1/4 inch and are more manageable. 

B) A 1:350 scale destroyer will be as large or larger than a 1:700 scale battleship. 

C)  A 1:350 scale destroyer will have a limited number of parts as opposed to a 1:350 battleship or 1:700 subject.   This lessens the "Oh My God" factor, as in OMG, what have I gotten my self into.   With the limited number of parts you can see an end to the project.   The big/complex kit doesn't get put in the closet for fear of screwing up the big (expensive) kit.  The kit gets built and you learn from it.  

D)  Using photoetch details is not a requirement,  but they have become quite common.   As a NOOB, you will screw up.   I have,  I still do.  PE parts are larger and easier to manipulate.   Messing up a 30 dollar destroyer kit seems to be less painful than screwing up a hundred dollar battleship.  

E)  There are some good destroyer kits in 1:350 scale which I recommend for a beginner.   They include the Tamiya Fletcher,  the Trumpeter England,  and the revell Emden.   The Trumpeter Sullivans has some "issues".   It can be built as a learner kit if you understand the limitations and don't let Advaced Modelers Syndrome take over and try to correct them (as a NOOB).    The Dragon Buchanan & Laffey are also excellent kits, but they are a bit more expensive and have a lot of smaller parts  (If you are familiar with Dragon armor -- they seem to operate on the principle of why do something in 5 parts when 20 will do.)

F)  Destroyers and destroyer-escorts were in varied camouflage measures.   Choose one of the solid measures (Ms 21) or a simple graded measure (Ms 22) for ease of application over a complex splotch (Ms12R) or dazzle pattern (Ms 3x).

Given your stated interest in Germany's Kriegsmarine of WWII, I would suggest the Heller/Airfix line of 1/400 scale kits.  The complete range of German capital ships and the heavy cruisers Prinz Eugen and Admiral Hipper is available, as well as one destroyer and many variants of Type VII and IX U-Boats by Mirage.

First, these kits are large enough to offer ease of construction and supplemental detailing.  They are inexpensive, most ranging from the $28.00 to $45.00 range.  The exceptions, (Eugen and Hipper) are no longer produced but can be found on Ebay and other auction sites.  And, these kits are well-supported by the availability of after-market products.  White Ensign Models even offers a Kriegsmarine-specific range of paints.  Finally, this is the only range of large-scale models offering the complete range of Kriegsmarine capital ships.  The only Kriegsmarine ships found in 1/350 scale are the ubiquitous Bismarck and Tirpitz.

On the down side, this range has been justly criticised for being under detailed for the scale.  The molds are out-of-date, being manufactured in the 1970's.  However, given the range of after-market products, reasonable models can be made.

Simply stated, if you are interested in having Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, Graf Spee, Admiral Scheer, Lutzow, Prinz Eugen, and Admiral Hipper with your Bismarck and Tirpitz, and you do not want 1/700 scale, this is currently the only way to go.

One additional comment; Airfix offers an interesting variant of Scharnorst in 1/600 scale. It features the ship as built with the straight stem. Again, I do not know if it is currently being manufactured, but it is readily available on Ebay.

I hope you enjoy ship modeling!

Bill Morrison

I think I agree with Ed, that a 1/350 destroyer kit might be the best place to start.  You can pick up a Tamiya Fletcher for about $15, and the Trumpeter 'England' DE is quite a good kit too at about the same price.  By starting with one of these, you get to deal with all the 'bits' that you will be working with on the larger ship models (Battleships, etc), and can refine your technique without losing your shirt!  If you find that you enjoy building ship kits, then of course you can either have a stab at one of the larger battleship or cruiser models in this scale (the Trumpeter USS San Francisco can be had cheaply for about $35), or, if you want to keep the prices down, switch over to 1/700 scale.  I do agree that in 1/350 scale there are few German Kriegsmarine ships available, and you can pretty much get anything in 1/700, but new 1/350 kits are rolling off the ways quite rapidly, and I note that Trumpeter is releasing a 1/350 'Prinz Eugen' this winter (a model ship I have been waiting for for years!!), a German carrier 'Graf Zeppelin' is also supposed be coming out in a couple months, and more are likely to follow in fairly short order.  But make no mistake, these big 1/350 kits are not only large, but tend to get very expensive too!!  The Heller 1/400 scale are quite old and fairly crude by modern standards, and some of them can be quite expensive too. The discontinued 'Prinz Eugen' now sells for over $100 if you can find one on Ebay, a figure I can't understand when a new 1/350 kit is about to come out for about $60 (antique collectors, I guess!), but trying to find reasons for the prices some of these things get saddled with is above my pay scale....

Please note that the Heller Prinz Eugen and Admiral Hipper are the exceptions I noted in that otherwise cheap price range.  In fact, there is a Prinz Eugen available now on Ebay for over $100.00.  But, the other ships are available for that $28.00 to $45.00 range; I only mentioned them as a way of getting one's "feet wet" with ship modeling at a reasonable price while satisfying an interest.

I agree that these kits are outdated, again as I mentioned in my first post.  But, if one wants to model a large-scale Gneisenau or Scharnhorst, he would wait forever for a new 1/350 kit.  I, too, have been waiting (and waiting) for that 1/350 Prinz Eugen; it seems that I will still be waiting if the Repulse is anything to go by.

I also agree that those destroyer and destroyer escorts are excellent kits.  But, will they satisfy the builder's needs?  That is up to the individual builder.  If he has no interest in small ships, why build them? If he does, then they are ideal kits.

Bill Morrison

Thank you for the great advice so far!

Ironically I personally had it in mind to start with a waterline hull Destroyer (and as irony would have it yet again was thinking of the Fletcher class vessels I see in the Squadron catalog) first.  My friend mentioned he was interested in a Bismarck or Yamato to start with and possibly moving on to carriers.  I think I can convince him to start with a 1/350 Destoyer before moving on to bigger ship in smaller scale.  In my case I think starting with the destoyer (or even 2 or 3) in 1/350 then moving on to MY personal interest (Iowa class BB's and carriers) would be a good move.

Thank you for the advice, and by all means if you have more keep it rolling in!

Brian

Mike Ashey's excellent 2 intro books to ship modelling are available for free at his web site.

http://mikeashey.com/

Some of the information is dated of course, but basics remain the basics, and cant argue about the price.