FSM German Battleship Article

I was the project editor on the story. The author did a good job of describing his assembly techniques – I think you'll get something out of it.

Ships are still a mystery to some modelers because there's no clear-cut way to assemble them without compromising some aspect of your normal building methods, sort of like the guy who always attaches the landing gear in step 3 instead of waiting until the model is done, then has to paint and mask and decal around them.

I hope that answers your question. Even as an experienced ship modeler, I picked up a few things that made me raise an eyebrow and say, "Hmmm, I should try that next time."

J

Thanks for the info.  Since this will be my first attempt at PE on a ship, I was already anticipatinggoing slow and trying to really plan out the build to avoid some of those pit falls.  Interestingly the FSM review of that kit has already came in rather handy with the reviewer's comments on how the lower hull was a tad small on the fit.  I suppose normally I would glue the lower hull pieces together and then glue that assembly to the upper hull.  Based on the reviewer's fit problem, I glued the lower hull halves together at only at the extreme bow prior to gluing to the upper hull.  With the center seam unglued, it was fairly easy to adjust the waterline fit, and after that was set it was asimple matter to glue and fill the center seam.

Andy

 

There's some basic things to remember when building a ship model...

Build your major subassemblies first, superstructure, funnel, turrets, etc... if your deck colors (steel) are the same as the bulkhead colors (like IJN ships for example), then go ahead and add your photoetched rails and detail parts. If they're different, add anything that will be on the bulkheads, but leave off the rails so you can mask and spray the deck color.

Build all your small components, AA guns, fire control directors, etc., and paint them accordingly. It doesn't hurt to weather as you go either, at least a sludge wash to start with.

Paint the hull, paint the deck, then assemble. Touching up the deck seam is a lot easier than masking the entire thing. In most cases, your railings will cover the seam and in some instances, act as a groove guide for the railing.

When you work on a ship, work from the centerline of the ship outward...this ensures you're not knocking things off the model as you're reaching in to add a part.

And yes, since I was repeating myself from a previous thread, I cut and paste...why reinvent the wheel?

Jeff

Thanks for the tips.  I also have Mike Ashey's book, "Basic's of Ship Building".  Hopefully, withing the next few months depending on how much time I can throw at it, I'll be able to post some photos.

Andy

Sounds good, love to see them. As always, if you have any questions, don't hesitiate to drop me an email.

Jeff