Copper-bottom weathering.

Very nice John. I wish I had that level of skill.

Lon

Thanks everyone for the replies. That 1/72 Victory is incredible John! I have a long way to go before I can model like that.

Cheers,

DJ

I took a look at Mr. Reid's photos. Most impressive. Light can play tricks in photos, but to my eye the appearance of those copper sheets is certainly consistent with the photos of actual ships that I've encountered.

The color of a ship's bottom is an area where there's plenty of room for interpretation and personal taste. I suspect an absolutely accurate scale rendition of the bottom of a ship that had been at sea for some time would not be something I'd want to display in my living room.

please see www.modelwarships.com click on model gallery,then click on miscellaneous,then #55. I have an article there on how I did it on my HMS Victory. Cheers! John.

This is an interesting topic. I don't think there's a definitive answer to the question of what weathered copper should look like.

The earlier comment about the copper only turning green when it's out of the water was probably correct. In theory, the surface of the copper gets eroded gradually, constantly exposing a fresh, shiny surface. A couple of other points are relevant, though. First - the copper wasn't necessarily bright and shiny in the first place. Photos seem to suggest that the individual sheets applied to a given ship varied quite a bit in color. Second - copper sheathing prevents some destructive effects of the saltwater environment, but not all. It's great for stopping the boring of the toredo worm, but various forms of marine growth do stick to it. Contemporary accounts tell about streamers of seaweed and lord knows what else clinging to ships' hulls. Interesting modeling challenge - but to my mind not an appealing one.

I've generally handled copper sheathing on plastic models in about the manner that's been discussed - with a mixture of greens, browns, and greys in fine, dry-brushed vertical streaks. The technique of making the nail heads black is interesting, but I'd suggest thinking about it and experimenting with it. Remember that the nails used to fasten copper plates to a wooden hull are copper. (If iron nails are used for that purpose, the result is galvanic corrosion - and the copper falls off.)

One other point - though not relevant to a model of the Victory. Recent research has established that in the latter days of sailing ships copper ("red metal") got replaced by brass ("yellow metal"), or something called "Muntz metal" that apparently was similar in color. Irrelevant for the Constitution or the Victory, but worth thinking about if you're building a Cutty Sark or Flying Cloud.

Hope this helps. Fascinating stuff.

Thanks dai,

Will probably give mine a black undercoat so when I sand I get black. But for other applications this sounds like a good idea.

DJ

I have one slight addition to make. Metalic paints can be made to look more dense if a complimentry colour is used as an undercoat. Silver / white gold/yellow copper/red.
This gives more depth to the colour.
Dai

Thanks for the replies.
millard, the method you describe is the one I read about. I forgot about the application of turpentine though. I'll have to hang it in the garage with lots of newspaper underneath

DJ

The best way I've found is to paint the hull black and than copper like you said. Than
after that dries use medium green paint and white paint and in random strokes from the water line to the keel.While these paints are still wet take turpentine and applied to the two paints. again with strokes towards the keel.Hang it to dry for at least 24 hrs.Than you can lightly sand to bring out the black.This is kind of a messy job so if you have a place like a garage or utility room where you can let it drip to the floor your better off.

I thought the copper plates only turned green and weathered after the ship was removed from water. The copper does not oxidize submerged, I may be wrong though.

I also await to hear from the experts on this topic.

Lon