Large Scale Warship Models: From Kits to Scratch Building

By Kerry Jang

This illustrated guide presents step-by-step instructions and techniques for warship modelers ready for the challenge of building at larger scales.
 
Many warship modelers who work in smaller scales are daunted by the challenge of tackling something larger. But in Large Scale Warship Models, expert modeler Kerry Jang demonstrates that it’s not as difficult as it may seem. In fact, any experienced modeler will already possess the basic skills required. This volume covers the essential new techniques for working in scales that capture the grandeur of actual ships.
 
In the first part of the book, Jang discusses how to choose between a kit, a semi-kit or building from scratch. He also covers what conventional kit building skills are transferable to work on large-scale projects. Novel requirements like research, obtaining plans and sourcing material or fittings are also covered.
 
The second part describes building methods, including the latest techniques like casting fittings in resin. These methods apply to both static and radio-controlled models. Original color photos illustrate each chapter, and the book concludes with a gallery of superb models intended to inspire the would-be large-scale warship modeler to take the plunge.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Feb 28, 2019
• ISBN: 9781526730978

Book preview

1: The Why’s of Large-scale Model Warships

Introduction

There is something about warships that gets the modeller’s blood going. The inspiration to build a particular ship can come from a wide variety of sources as there are human beings. Personal connection, a love of history, a visit to a museum, a documentary, movie, or painting inspires the build. Speaking for myself, early inspiration came from Airfix kit box tops that convinced me to part with my weekly allowance. However, fully realising the dream meant more than a model set in a plaster seascape but a big model that actually sailed and cut through water like a real ship.

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Classic Airfix box art is a wonderful source of inspiration. White Ensign’s 1:700 HMS Warspite kit was set in a seascape in an attempt to capture that excitement.

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Large-scale model ships have the physical presence of a real ship compared to the jewel-like quality of miniature models. Painting techniques used on Seals Model 1:700 HIJMS Mikasa and White Ensign’s 1:350 HMS Nurton was applied to Deans Marine 1:96 HMS Daring to impart greater realism and presence.

Physically large models mimic the appearance of an actual warship because their towering superstructures and hulls catch the light the same way as actual warships. The smallest detail, such as the humble bollard, becomes a fully detailed model in its own right that needs a base, reinforcing webs, heads and even casting marks to be modelled. Complex items like radars and aerials take on a realistic three-dimensional appearance because they are large enough to be constructed from rod and mesh as opposed to two-dimensional flat sheets of etched brass. The ship’s rigging now demands proper installation. Simply gluing heat-stretched sprue between yardarms is no longer sufficient. Blocks, eyebolts, and turnbuckles must be fitted and all lines must be properly roved and seized. Moreover, signal flags can’t be wrapped around a halyard but require a lanyard fitted to look realistic. The smallest details on guns, directors, and rangefinders can be detailed with every latch and screw if so desired. Large-scale models provide a canvas to include these details, often with little more than a bit of twisted wire, a length of profiled plastic strip, paper and card, and some lateral thinking.

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Mountfleet Models 1:24 Admiralty trawler Osprey provides ample scope for small details such as nuts, bolts and rigging lines.

GETTING STARTED

There was a time when taking up large-scale model warships was more of a leap than a jump because it required a lot of scratch building. Modellers who made these were considered masters of the art and were capable of superhuman feats like carving their own master patterns out of wood, and were deft hands at fibreglass layup and mould making. They were often well-practised machinists who could turn or mill any part required in brass or steel stock. Radio control gear was also a do-it-yourself proposition and these model-making polymaths knew Ohms Law by heart and were able to calculate electrical current resistance values in their heads.

The situation has now evolved to where building a large-scale warship is within the reach of any model maker who has the will. New technologies like 3D printing and the ease of obtaining information and assistance from modellers around the globe have made the warship model of your dreams more accessible than ever. However, unlike the relatively inexpensive conventional plastic kit that allows a subject to be chosen on a whim, large-scale model warships require a large up-front investment of time and money. Build times are long and you will need to sustain your enthusiasm to see the model through to completion. Although there are many commercial products available for purchase, large-scale warships are not assembled but are built from basic materials and castings that require considerable attention on your part. Even if your large-scale model is part of a kit, the supplied hull is little more than a basic fibreglass shell that requires a great deal of care to clean up and effort to detail. Fittings are often generic blanks and there is always a lot more room for additional detailing. Very little is useable straight out of the box because the parts are hand-cast resin or white metal and need clean up or they suffer from soft detail; or lengths of brass rod and styrene microstrip are provided for you to fabricate the required parts from plans. The model will only get finished if you are truly enthused by the ship you choose.

In deciding to start a large-scale model warship here are

some pros and cons to be considered. The pros are:

•Realism . Large models sail realistically by cutting through the water and producing lifelike wake patterns. Small-scale working models tend to sit on top of the water and bob up and down like a bathtub toy.

•Big models are impressive . The builder is seen as a genius and master modeller.

•Details . Large-scale means more detail. Big models also mean larger parts that are easier to see – a serious consideration as one ages.

•Develop new skills . Learning how to work in fibreglass, wood, room temperature vulcanising rubber (RTV), casting resin, soldering, and machining. For those with computer skills, it could mean developing 3D printing design skills and laser cutting.

•Learn basic ‘seamanship’ skills . How to tie off rigging lines with the correct knots or how to rig a ship’s cutter to its davits, in addition to acquiring skills to read and use plans and drawings.

Being big and impressive also comes with some cons:

•Time commitment . These models require a huge time commitment from start to finish. However, this is a hobby, so time is free.

•Cost . These models are not inexpensive. Nonetheless, the price per hour of enjoyment over the length of the build is quite reasonable compared to a nice dinner out.

•Storage and display issues . These models take up a lot of space and to keep them protected requires a large and expensive display or storage case. However, your model is a fine piece of art that everyone can enjoy and appreciate your model-making prowess.

•Risk of failure . This risk is much diminished if your subject truly excites you. If the model is set aside, the parts are made of permanent materials that can be stored until you are ready to get back to work.

It appears that there really are no cons to building large model ships, so let’s get to it.

THE ZEN OF LARGE-SCALE MODEL WARSHIPS

Urban dictionaries define ‘Zen’ as a total state of focus that incorporates a togetherness of body and mind. It is a state of mind that involves dropping illusion and seeing things without distortion created by your own thoughts. Developing self-awareness is important because two individuals can have very different impressions of the same kit or item and that impression will really impact their enjoyment of the build and affect whether the model will ever get completed. Browsing Internet modelling forums is instructive. Emotional reactions on the same item can range from angry, accompanied with warnings not to ‘waste your money’, to builders quite happy with what was found in the box saying ‘maybe not perfect, but a whole lot easier than scratch building’, or ‘the shapes were right and all it needed was a bit of detailing’. Do you want to be the frustrated modeller or the contented one? If you want to reach modelling Nirvana, read on.

All good moral philosophies start with a parable. Since I was old enough to twist parts off a sprue and hold them together with blobs of tube glue, doting relations indulged me with more and more plastic kits for birthdays and holiday celebrations. Model airplane kits were far more fun than any other gift because they fired up the imagination with Flying Tigers and Zero-Sens battling for the airspace above my bed. The call ‘The Navy’s here!’ was heard when Airfix 1:600 ship kits were spotted in the local department store. Bismarck! Ark Royal! Didn’t my elementary school teacher say he was on board Ark Royal?! This was when modelling fun was twisting parts of the sprue, gluing them together as fast as you could and playing out imaginary naval actions on the carpet. Kit box tops imparted life to the pale blue plastic creations and were cut out and hung on the wall.

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1:72 Type 45 destroyer HMS Daring as part of my home décor. The model resides in a custom-made case set into a veneered walnut base illuminated by three spotlights installed into the ceiling. I admit that getting a model ship accepted as part of the home décor did take some sweet talking, gifts and treats along with the occasional pout to my significant other.

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What kind of modeller are you? Examine each of the fittings shown and what do you see? A diamond in the rough? Something that should be replaced? Something that is ready to use? How do you feel? Angry because you feel it’s a waste of money? Your attitude towards the model will influence how you build, how much you spend, and if it will ever get finished. Awareness of your expectations will affect how you approach each task.

As our tastes in wine and whisky matured, so did what we wanted from our models. We demanded greater accuracy, finer details, and scale fidelity. We slavishly worked to accurise the raw materials found in a plastic kit and strove to reproduce every feature of the subject, no matter how small or subtle on the model. The modeller’s demand for detail and accuracy begat new kits of our favourite subjects. However, even the latest retooled kits were deemed lacking and aftermarket parts in photo-etched metal, turned brass and aluminium, pressure-cast resin, and now 3D printing became mandatory. These products held the promise to turn the basic kit into an exacting scale replica! Nirvana beckoned – or so it seemed until even the aftermarket accessories were criticised as lacking or overly simplified. Fulfilling our expectations seemed to be all about buying the next and greatest product and not building. The madness never seemed to end.

My thinking all began to change after spotting Shipbuilding in Miniature by Donald McNarry at a used bookstore. The book’s pages contained exquisitely detailed sailing ship models that captured all of the atmosphere and romance of the sea. The epiphany came when I learned that each of these models was made with just the simplest materials. Hulls were carved from wood salvaged from a building site; toothpicks, paper, thread, wire, card and even hair plucked from a child’s head were used to make what was clearly the perfect model. With book in hand, I built my first miniature sailing ship using nothing but scrap found around the house. It was so much fun! I felt free of the expectations of others and myself. It was plain that you didn’t need to have the latest kit and accessories to build that perfect model.

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The French cutter Le Cerf scratchbuilt from scrap in 1/16in = 1ft scale using the techniques outlined in Donald McNarry’s Shipbuilding in Miniature (1983) and Ship Modelling Hints and Tips (1948) by Lieut. Commander J. H. Craine. Large-scale and miniature models alike can be built with straightforward techniques and inexpensive and unpretentious materials.

Armed with this new attitude, even the most poorly cast fittings were seen in a different light. They can be detailed or used as basic pattern to make a new one. Simple materials like brass rod, wire, plastic strip in all different sizes and sections became the most important items on my workbench. If my skills were not up to the challenge to make a part, or I simply wasn’t in the mood to spend the time on it, today’s commercial offerings provide the option of buying something premade that