Wooden Decks-WHY?

  Nail on the proverbial head TB. Well put good sir. And thanks for keeping it "in perspective".

While I agree with all your comments as to making a scale facsimile...the fact is, what many modelers (consciously or unconsciously) are going for is more of an 'artistic representation' -- something that catches the eye, rather than merely trying to replicate a sometimes rather drab reality.

That's largely the impetus for stuff like panel lines that look like tic-tac-toe grids, and 'weathering' that looks more like sand-blasting.

I've got no problem either way. It's your hobby and your free time, so do whatever gives you a sense of satisfaction at the end of the day.

To which I will add -- and this one's a point I think TB might appreciate -- my beef with wood decks on models isn't so much planking or grain, but color. Far more of the wooden decks that I've seen on real ships...warships or commercial vessels...are some shade of grey, rather than the tan and brown tones one usually sees on models.

Just my 

I used one once on my 1/350 Graf Spee,I liked the way it looked no further explanation needed.Just my [2cnts

And definitely no offense taken or felt toward other persons 

I use them quite regularly and enjoy using them. You could say it would be like Aircraft modellers using Canopy Masks. You can mask and Paint them and you wanted to . The choice is up to the Modeller how they wish to build their Model their way.....Cheers mark

Thanks,Gregbale!

   That's one aspect i didn't cover. I plumb forgot about that.. For instance My retired Coast Guard cutter had wood decks in the bridge area. It was an almost white/grey.

   I do digress, I did forget in the writing, about the Artistic part. There was a time I NEVER weathered anything.Now after spending so much of my life at Sea( nearly twenty eight years,) That some do like the newer look that an Artwox or other company's deck product can give a ship!

Surfsup:

        I wasn't criticising anyone for building the way they want. That will never change. I just wish the Companies that supply us with that stuff would get it right! Think about it for a minute, They DO look good, But they look to good. I remember a friend telling me he would NEVER build a modern ship (1940s and up) with wood decks. When I asked why he simply stated,"They always look like they were "Just Built" and that's a No-No".

        He said and I quote again."When will they ever make stuff that looks Used"? "It all looks like it just came out of the Yard!"

Hi Tojo;

     Oh, I will admit to using them or a fascimile of them(Contact Paper) on sailing ships! I just couldn't find a good paint match. Then I discovered "Humbrol" " Deck Bleached teak" Whatta difference! But, that particular brand and color is no longer available. I have tried Acrylics but I haven't hit the right amount of white in the mix I guess, and all the tans are too yellow!

     I may try one though even after saying what I have, On the U.S.S.Kearsarge in W.W. 2. With the "Deck Blue " Wash I've come up, with It might change my mind.

Tanker-Builder

Surfsup:

        I wasn't criticising anyone for building the way they want. That will never change. I just wish the Companies that supply us with that stuff would get it right! Think about it for a minute, They DO look good, But they look to good. I remember a friend telling me he would NEVER build a modern ship (1940s and up) with wood decks. When I asked why he simply stated,"They always look like they were "Just Built" and that's a No-No".

        He said and I quote again."When will they ever make stuff that looks Used"? "It all looks like it just came out of the Yard!"

 

Mate I never took you comments as a Criticsm. I just wanted to put some context into that all Modellers build their Kits in their own way using what they wish to . We all use different Materials and Techniques to make cleaner and quicker work in some area of our Modelling.

Hey Surfsup; 

   I know there was not any criticism. The thing is I just wanted to make a point that you got. We build to suit ourselves. I just wish the people we have to buy from would get with the program.

Tojo72

I used one once on my 1/350 Graf Spee,I liked the way it looked no further explanation needed.Just my [2cnts

And definitely no offense taken or felt toward other persons 

Same, I used one on a Yamato build and really liked the look (not even soot stained :D ).

I would note that there are differences from one deck manufacturer to another. Almost anything I see from China is bright; the panel lines are indeed out of scale, and the real 1:1 wood grain will sort of ruin the effect unless you tint, stain, or color the deck. 

A company in the USA named "Scale Decks" offers a far more superior deck with a much thinner vineer, the lines are hard to see with the naked eye, and they use a special process to provide real variations for each deck board. They are almost paper thin but still strong. They are not self adheasive and will need a glue to fix them in place. While they are 3 to 6 times the price of the overseas product, they are definately much better, or at least authentic. 

In the end, the model is a hobby to enjoy. It is up to the builder to make something he is satisfied with. I have seen both painted plastic kit decks and vineer ones that are fantastic and also ones which are questionable (IMHO). I say get what you want and build it to your own satisfaction. After all, thats what makes the hobby world go round.

Ben / DRUMS01

As TB points ut, decks are a funny thing.

As you walk them, they are mere feet away, and quite distinct.

At 1/350 an average person is going to be about 4mm off the deck as modeled.  That's a tad closer than most of us can get to our models.

At distance, things blur, too.  Here's an example:

That 20B Deck blue not helping any, either.

Here's the Whiskey, in the 80s:

There's a classic Life Magazine article from around 1940 with color photos showing one of the battleships firing off her main guns--the deck is wet down, and is a uniform amber sort of color, about where light golden maple syurp might render.

The joints between the planks are virtually indiscernable.

There are YT videos with folk using 1mm tape to mask out "planks" on models.  Which gives me an itch of sorts.  At 1/350 scale, that 1mm is 350mm wide, a hair over a foot in scale.  Artistically, I understand the notion, even as it nags at me. 

Much as my time as DivO/Dept Head/XO "tells" me that shipboard things are repaired in batches and patches.  That decks were not repaired one plank at a time, but fiddly bits that fit upon the metal sleepers under them.

This is one advantage to building mostly auxiliaries - if they have any wooden deck area, it's usually pretty small. I usually use an appropriate shade of Tamiya acrylic and call it done.

And as others have said, it's a hobby, and it's YOUR hobby. My current build is a 1/600 USS Missouri in her Korean War scheme. The main deck and 01 decks are unpainted wood. I looked at that longggggggg area of main deck, knew I could never get a decent finish brush painting it a deck tan ... so it's deck grey. A portion of the 01 deck ended up Tamiya buff, and it looks fine to me. It breaks up the grey, and that small area yielded an acceptable finish.

Now, Drums01: 

      Those ships look good to me. What I was referring to is this. I saw an ArtWox deck for a W.W.11 Carrier. Fuggedaboudit! Number one the planking was to my eye, Out of Scale and for a not Blue stained deck to burned looking a color. I know the real carrier Deck was made of Oak, But C'Mon now!

       Okay, The H.M.S. Roberts is a great looking model. Does it have a wooden deck? See, on that one I couldn't tell.  

I am agreeing with you TB about those out of scale decks. I just wanted to also point out that there are some good manufacturers out there too. As for the HMS Roberts, the main deck is painted but it has a small wood deck aft the superstructure.

Ben / DRUMS01

I just discovered something about wooden decks.  Decals will not stick very well to them.  Maybe if I masked off the stripes and just glossed those areas, will the decals stick?

But if I take the trouble to mask the stripes, I can just drybrush those markings.  Trying to decide.

Hey Ben!

 Kool, Couldn't tell!

Missileman 2000;

      I will admit, in the back of the old grey cells I had thought in the beginning, when I first saw them and heard about folks using them. I haven't heard of anyone having trouble with the Swastikas on the Bismark, Tirpitz or any other W.W.2 German ship with wood decks. Clearcoating Might serve here. But then the question is, would it be smooth enough?

      I do know that the decals didn't stick with the deck markings on My U.S.S. Hornet model with the wood .The Deck is even stained Blue and then Semi-Gloss Clearcoated, It didn't make a difference even after another coat and rubbing with a cloth .They have stuck about a year and now they are coming loose.I wasn't sure about putting a clearcoat over the decals. I have been burnt by this method on more than one occassion.

Personally, I like wood decks. Let's face it, most paint jobs I have seen are thicker than wood, distributed unevenly, and the paint tends to run up onto bulkheads. A well done wood deck looks better to me than many mediocre paint jobs.

That said, well done paint jobs look great as well.  I sincerely don't believe either  to be truly in scale. But, I am a career submariner; we don't have wood decks . . .

Bill

WW2 USN carrier decks were Douglas Fir I'm remembering.

Bill

Hi Bill;

 Oh, you are so right again. Douglas Fir because of flexibility. They absorbed both the hard weight of a plane landing and the ship flexing in weather!