Lindberg "Jolly Roger"

Thanks for the response Prof Tilley. I found a model ship collection at the JFK library site but as soon as I go there I lose my web connection. I was going to try to enlarge the photo of the La Flore model. Just curious.

I was wondering what color(s) to use on the hull. Should it be "light" below the waterline like an "ochre"? Should it be a dark color above, like U.S. frigates of that period, or more of a natural wood color?

Out of the box, the hull is a dark brown, I call it chocolate brown. My first thought was to paint with a medium brown above the waterline, let it cure, then use very fine paper to produce a subtle wood grain look. Would that be correct, or should I use black with a couple of drops of white in it so it looks like the old US frigates?

Any help would be appreciated. I've read a lot about the ornate work on the hulls of French ships, but haven't heard much about paint colors.

It's an old, mid-sixties kit that originally appeared under the name La Flore. Given its age, and the inevitable limitations of the plastic molding process on such a small scale, it's not a bad kit - quite competitive in most respects with what other manufacturers were producing at the time. It's a reasonably accurate representation of the real La Flore, a French frigate of the late eighteenth century. Lindberg's choice of that rather odd subject may have been influenced by the fact that President Kennedy owned a model of that ship.

It's a nice old kit, and a good basis for a serious scale model. Good luck.