Painting job on an Elizabethan merchant galleon model.

For example the Revenge, Golden Hind, Mayflower a.o., this applies to both wood & plastic; these ships have lovely strakes filled with colored patterns. I remember the Revell Golden Hind and Airfix Revenge are a gruesome daunting painting job, which (to me) was and still is impossible to do crisply, this is what I did back in 1971: make cigarette-paper patterns of the strakes that have colored patterns > lay them on the appropriate strake and rub with a fingernail over it so the engraved pattern becomes slightly visible in the paper > draw the pattern with a fine pencil and then draw the colors in the patterns with lead pencils (you can even use a ruler & other tools) > sand away the engraved patterns on the strakes > then glue the patterns on the hull, the result is just perfect!!!! Why lead pencils?? Because, provided you don't press too hard, their color is less 'harsh' than paint & filt-pens or ink. Anyway, always use MATT colors.

Max.