Estoy_Listo

We've got a bit of red ochre down under as well. It is commonly known as Central Australia
 
I took a pic of a sample on a recent trip. The rock in the background is  quite well known. 

To reduce chroma (color brightness) often a small amount of the complimentary color is added. A complimentary color is one found on the opposite side of the color wheel. For instance, to reduce an orange-red a greenish blue is used. It sounds counter-intuitive, but it works!

Another point I will mention here is scale. Not a surprise to see the word "scale" in a ship model forum right? Believe it or not there is also the concept of "scale color" that gets little attention in my opinion. It's the concept that color loses intensity with distance. The farther away you're eye is from a colored object, the more dull it will appear. This is due to the refraction of the light rays themselves as they pass through the atmosphere. The effect is stronger the greater the distance the light travels through the atmosphere as more and more of the light rays are scattered. If you're building a 1/48 scale model and you are looking at your model three feet away you are 144 SCALE feet away from your model. In order to view your models paint job "in scale" you would have to view it through "scale air", air that was made artificialy denser, full of fog or mist? OR you can duplicate the effect of "atmospheric perspective" (as the concept is known in the Art world) by toning down the colors you apply to the model. In other words you can adulterated your bright red color by adding tiny amounts of complimentary color and/or white paint, just enough to peel back some of the intensity of the Straight-From-the-Bottle Red paint. It's still red, it's just no longer AS red. We are talking about tiny tiny admixtures of color, just enough to get that red slightly less intense. You'r not going for pink. In the case of most colors the diluting color could be a bit of brown.
This also goes for the color black on models. I never use black right out of the container unless I'm painting inside a hatch cover trying to fool the eye that there are deep unseen spaces below. Otherwise I use very very dark grey.

Brass wire made into a ring the correct size and slightly flattened then blackened by your preferred method then glued over the hole
Not as good as a ready made one but if done right it will pass muster

The Tamils tape is great stuff, it should as such at that width be able to meander to the line if it isn't a perfect straight line. Another trick I used in the past was to lay the tape then with a very fine wet and dry paper, run the paper along the tape edge it flattens it perfectly. I use to paint military aircraft for a living and masking a 360 degree circle by hand for roundels was a great way to use masking tape as a tool.
 
Even though the hull is black I'd be tempted to white prime the hull, mark the waterline on the white primer, then mask inside those lines so you create the waterline part under the tape, slightly rub along the tape then spray the hull black, this is the tricky part, don't wait for the black to dry totally, leave a little tab at the end of the tape and take the tape off, do it in one delecate pull and this will prevent any bleeding drying on or under the tape pulling any black away. Let it dry then mask the black up and spray the White. Black over white will be perfect for seeing the coverage. Do gentle coats as well, 3 good thin coats just wet enough to cover would be ideal rather than 1 thick coat which will bleed. Acrylic is perfect and it drys pretty fast as well but I'd be tempted to give the black 48 hours before placing masking tape on it.
 
Just one other, give the white primer a little scuff with one of those gentle kitchen scouring pads, they do a nice job without marking the primer. Best of luck and it the tape needs cutting in half just lay it on a clean table and cut down the center so you have two good edges with one bit of tape, the Tanya stuff is very forgiving and re sticks perfectly.

Presently the hull painting of Atlantic is on pause awaiting delivery of a waterline marker. I've been going over the hull filling in, sanding and re-priming scratched surfaces that the primer has made obvious. What I did next was use 0000 steel wool to smooth it down resulting in the hull prime coat becoming as slick and shiny as a cue ball. My question, is this a good thing or a bad thing? And what remedial action needed if any. I searched the website for priming hulls and couldn't find any posts utilizing steel wool for the prime coat. 
 

Yes, a very light stain rubbed across the plank seams will end up in the seams and show darker. If you want light colored decks, seal the decks with a clear sealer, then apply the stain and rub it all off the sealed deck, leaving the stain in the deck seams. When it comes to deck seams, the thinner they are, the better. At scale viewing distance, there isn't much to them.

I have used both thread and pencil, but prefer pencil because it is easier to do and I like that you do not end up with clean lines. Although you may get (light) smudging when sanding, I like the look after staining with light oak. Maybe without staining it is less attractive so that could be a deciding factor.  Picture below is the stained deck using pencil.

It is also easy to do after the plank is glued in place.  Doesn't have to be soft lead either, which is more prone to smudging.

I made several jigs for gluing parts together out of a cheap teflon cutting boards I purchased from a dollar store.
You can cut blocks or long panels that allow for clamping parts to and CA will not stick to it.
I purchased a few, one for a base and then the others to cut out the blocks or shapes needed. You can even thread holes in it for using threaded fasteners to make jigs that need to be set to the base.
 

I use "Amnesia" black monofilament (fishing) line.  It comes in at least 4 thicknesses (15, 20, 25 and 30 pound test).  I gently touch one end to a heat source (Heat gun or soldering iron) flattening it a bit, insert, clip off leaving about 1/16" + and touch it with the heat source.  It's like rivets or bolts on both ends.  Takes some practice.
Maury

If four is what it takes, four is what it gets. Better than quitting after the third! 👍

In about 1977 I bought what by modern standards would be a primitve hand-held drill. At that time I hadn't heard of Dremel and, I think, PROXXON was not on the market yet. This drill consist of a motor in an aluminium tube, brass tube screwed to the motor shaft with a set-screw that acts as a seat for the collets. A set of good steel collets for bit up to 1/8" (or 3.2 mm) belongs to it. I am still using it almost daily.
 
In around 1983 I bought the PROXXON bench drill, when it first came onto the market and with it all the extras then available, namely a kit to convert it into a light wood-lathe or disk-sander. I have abused it for all these purposes and light routing too. It was worth every 'Pfenning' I spent on it. I gather the ball-bearings could do with replacing by now, but originally, it was capable to do more than what was advertised, namely drilling 0.5 mm holes, I frequently drilled holes down to 0.3 mm diameter with it. Or course, it could not compete with the small Swiss precision benchdrills I knew from my university's workshops. I added to the abuse by buying a larger 3/8" drill-chuck for non-modelling work, but otherwise preferred the collets, which would take up to 1/8" shafts.
 
The PROXXON drill is belt driven (I still use the first belt), but I rarely used anything else but the highest reduction (the motor is a standard 90 W sewing machine-type motor with presumably 3500 rpm. In order to reduce speed further, I am using a plug-dimmer. This in turn is plugged into a socket that is wire to a foot switch, allowing hands-free operation.

Hi Lynn: That's a sweet looking pram, and it looks like a fun build. Looking forward to looking over your shoulder. 
 
Mark

Hi Lynn: That's a sweet looking pram, and it looks like a fun build. Looking forward to looking over your shoulder. 
 
Mark

Hi Lynn: That's a sweet looking pram, and it looks like a fun build. Looking forward to looking over your shoulder. 
 
Mark

I hate buying new paints! Of course, that's probably because I remember Floquil paints and finishes.  
 
I learned how to paint growing up with cousins who ran a large painting and decorating company. That was a long while ago and I've been painting and varnishing full size boats and furniture for much of my life, together with ship models. I have to say I'm an unabashed Luddite. I believe much of the traditional techniques and materials remain the best option. While I strongly support environmental values, I'm dismayed that regulatory agencies so often "pick the low-hanging fruit" and restrict things like VOC's in paints and solvents, which contribute relatively little to envioronmental air pollution, while ignoring other widespread corporate industrial carbon omissions, often for no reason other than that they have a more powerful lobby. Thus we end up with paints and varnishes, or "coatings" as the industry now calls them, which last a third as long and probably have three times the carbon footprint to manufacture than do the old oil-based materials.
 
Living in California, I can't go to the paint store and buy real turpentine or paint thinner because their sale has been banned (except in very small bottles sold in art supply stores.) Luckly, I can still buy acetone, they tell me because it's sold as a "cleaner" and not a "coating," and I can buy Rustoleum oil paint because it's a "rust inhibitor, and not a "paint." (Surprisingly, the hardware stores sell five gallon drums of acetone! Who needs five gallons of acetone from a hardware store? Ask your local meth cook!) Oil paint can also be purchased in marine chandleries because "marine paint" is exempt from the prohibitions. Rattle cans can still be purchased, but like booze, you have to be over 18 to buy them. It's getting pretty crazy and I've had to devise work-arounds, but it's doable. (It's not against the law to possess paint thinner. It's just a crime to sell it.)
 
I use Zinsser white shellac for sealing bare wood (and also for sealing rigging knots.) It's thinned with denatured alcohol.
I use Interlux marine sanding base coat or an equivalent for fairing surfaces, such as topsides.
I use Interlux surfacing putty or an equivalent for heavier fairing of surfaces and such.
I use quality artists' oils in basic colors to paint models, together with the appropriate additives to condtion them to taste for brushing or spraying at the  degree of drying time and the level of gloss or matt I desire.
 
In my opinion, most of today's modeling-specific paints and other finishes are extremely expensive and not particularly easy to use. Their chemistry is complex and there are often incompatibilities between the different brands. The manufacturers take advantage of the fact that their customers don't know how to condition paint or mix colors, hence, we see varieties sold "for brushing" and others "for spraying!" I will concede that where exact color matching is essential, as with modern naval and armor models, pre-mixed paints may offer an advantage in mixing colors (if you trust the paint company's version of "olive drab" and "field gray" as of a certain date during WWII !) That notwithstanding, while I've obtained good results with acrylics, they aren't near the quality of traditional oil-based paints, which also will not raise the grain on bare wood. I've found the pigment size on quality artist's oils is entirely suitable for modeling detail. They are easy to condition for whatever application method one desires. They thin with common solvents and flow control is a function of how much linseed oil one wishes to add. Drying time can be accelerated using Japan drier and the finish controlled to the user's taste with flattening additives or clear matt overcoating. Many pigments can be quite expensive and the quality one is looking for will be reflected in tubed artists' oils, but with oils you aren't paying for packaging in minute amounts, nor is there any need to buy dozens of seven or eight dollar one ounce bottles of different colors. Six or eight tubes of basic primary and secondary colors should enable the ship modeler to pretty much mix any color they'd wish and tubed artists' oils have far less tendency to "dry up" in the tube. How many times have barely used bottled model paints been thrown out because they went bad or dried up in the bottle, no matter how much care was exercised in replacing the screw caps?
 
Interestingly, the "gaming figure" modelers who employ a wide range of colors seem to be the first of the modeling fraternity who have discovered this fact and are going over to artists' oils in increasing numbers if their YouTube posts are any indication. I encourage anybody to try artist's oils (using them correctly) and see if they don't find them a better alternative. It's a matter of taste and opinion, but, as the saying goes, "Try it. You may like it."
 
 

This particular adage is an expression of philosophical relativism which is another way of saying that it has no objective validity. From a relativist perspective, it is only true if you believe it to be true; the truth of the adage is itself in the eye of the beholder. From a realist perspective, it is simply untrue; its so-called “truth” being the usual relativist error of confusing and conflating goodness, truth and beauty with preference, prejudice and opinion. Oddly enough, unlike beauty, it seems there's a general consensus about what's ugly.  
 
Seriously, though, beauty doesn't have much to do with it at all. Acrylics have gotten better since they first came on the market and are now quite good, but their present limitations make them inferior to oil based paints for use as serious fine arts and modeling applications. They have not been around long enough to say with unqualified certainty that they can be considered archival. We just don't know yet.  Having experience with both oil and acrylics in modeling applications, these are my concerns with acrylics:
 
They pose challenges when applied with an airbrush. Water dries much more slowly than volatile solvents and makes it difficult to spray water-based acrylics continuously. Slow drying paint makes it much more likely that curtains and runs will occur and waiting for the longer drying time is inconvenient.
 
Some acrylic paints tend to form a grey veil on their surface or develop yellow discoloration with aging.
 
Acrylic paintings attract and gather dirt easily.  Acrylic emulsion paints used in the fine arts have glass-transition temperature (Tg) near or below room temperature.   This means that acrylic emulsion films will always be soft at room temperature and that the paint surface will hold onto dust and dirt and even unite them into the film. The problem is further exacerbated by the fact that acrylic resins are non-conductors and tend to have electrostatic charges on their surface which attracts dirt.
 
The soft film formed by acrylic paint will easily abrade or dent with just fingernail pressure.  This type of damage can ruin the perfectly smooth surface of
a model which must display a perfect surface to be true to scale. This is particularly so with topsides, which are subjected to considerable handling stress during the building process.
 
Mold growth has been noted on acrylic paintings and has become an increasing concern among artists and collectors.  Unfortunately, there is no ideal treatment that does not cause some degree of damage to the original paint.  Mold growth tends to become apparent when humidity and temperature rise. Mold growth on a model which is viewed closely is seriously damaging to the overall impression of the model.
 
There are many trade acrylic paints that have been used by artists and the range in their quality is broad.  "Small bottle" premixed acrylic "hobby paints," as opposed to the expensive high quality fine arts tubed paste acrylics, tend to be at the lower end of the quality range, primarily for price considerations. The lesser quality paints tend to have cheaper colorants which fade easily under ultraviolet light.  Thus, fading colors which change the tonal balance of the work may be due to the intrinsic nature of the materials and cannot be reversed by conservation.
 
As they say, "Your mileage may vary." Surely, there are many ship models being built today which are of a quality that doesn't warrant worrying about the concerns I've noted. 
 
 
 
 
 

Bob....a voice in the wilderness.
Here's my FINAL comment on the acrylic subject. A little experiment which anyone can do......take a square of your favourite material and give it a coat of any acrylic paint you wish (for extreme results use a red). Cut your square in half. Put one inside a cupboard/drawer and the other somewhere in your house that gets a little direct sunlight. In 6 months or better, a year, put the two pieces side by side and see the difference. It's that simple.
Have a long and happy life.

The fingers are more reliable "blemish detectors" than the eyes in any event. If it feels smooth, it is smooth. Sealing wood with shellac prior to a final fine-grit sanding, and then the use of a tack rag before painting, will go a long way to avoiding specks and blemishes that the eye cannot detect.

What Canute said. Stain penetrates the wood, so if shellac seals the wood, stain can't penetrate it. One of the problems to note about staining is that the stain has to be compatible with whatever coating you apply over it, as well. 
 
I don't want to start a big controversy here, but I can't resist offering my two cents' worth. I'm not a fan of staining on models. There are some times when it might be indicated, on spars, perhaps, or possibly laid decks, but the simple fact is that the real purpose of stain is to make one wood look like another and, like most faux finishes, it may come close, but never hits the mark completely. Stain enhances the figuring of some woods, which is good for furniture, but since there aren't any woods that have grain features that are to the scale of most any model, enhancing the grain of wood on a model is the last thing a modeler should want to do. Some like to portray their models "au natural," without any paint. This style best exhibits the exact construction features of the prototype and the skill of the modeler, with each faying surface highlighted in black and every fastening in its proper place. In that case, the best approach is to use a fine finish wood species that serves the purpose and looks well clearly sealed or lightly oiled or waxed. If it's the beauty of bare wood you want, there's so little wood in a model that there's no reason not to buy the good stuff and show it off. Staining basswood is like trying to polish a turd.
 
And I'll mention in passing that "wipe on poly" is a rip off. It's just polyurethane varnish that's been thinned, canned, and marketed to consumers who don't know the difference. Thinner is relatively cheap. Buying thinned varnish and paint for the same price as the thick stuff is a waste of money. Thin your coatings yourself and save a bundle.

Just what Thunder said. Today's bottled modeling paints, particularly the acrylic "water based" types, are the result of complex chemistry and there is a lot that can go wrong with them, especially when they are combined with other types and brands. Acrylic water based paint often does not adhere well, if at all, over oil based paints, while oil based paints will adhere to acrylics. Under coats are sometimes incompatible with finish coats. While dried pigment generally appears darker than wet pigment, colors may, upon drying, appear different in unanticipated ways. If paint ages in the bottle, it sometimes won't perform as expected. Using the wrong thinner or conditioner, which works for one brand and not another can cause problems, too.  A common malfunction occurs when paint doesn't dry, or in the case of acrylics, "cure" fully and remains tacky to the touch. The only cure for this problem is to remove the paint completely and start over. That's a terrible, nasty, messy job. You don't want to have to go there ever. 
 
So, the moral of the story, at least until you are completely certain and comfortable with a particular coating, is to test it first on a piece of scrap material or, as the professional painters call them, a "chip." That "paint chip" gives you a preview of how that paint will perform. If it doesn't perform as you require on the chip, you've lost nothing. On the model, it's another matter entirely. These chips are also worth saving, with any helpful information written on the back with a Sharpie pen, such as the brand and color and they type of thinner and/or conditioner used. Other colors can be applied over a section of a chip as well, and this will provide information on how well that color "covers" and what it will look like when dried on top of the earlier coat. This practice comes in very handy if and when you graduate to painting with an airbrush, which is more demanding of properly conditioned paint than brushes are.
 
I'll pass on writing an entire dissertation here on conditioning paint, but suffice it to say that it is a rare bottle of paint that contains paint ready for use "right out of the bottle" or can. Environmental factors such as temperature and humidity affect the behavior of paint to greater or lesser degrees depending upon the paint, oil or water based. (You will probably end up preferring one or the other. I prefer oil based paints and often use fine arts artists' oil paints sold in "toothpaste" tubes from art supply stores, which I condition to my own taste. Your mileage may vary. "Dance with the gal ya brought.") These conditioners create the characteristics of the paint. Thinners simply are solvents (or water or alcohol with water based acrylics) that make the paint thinner. Thinners can also contribute to the "flattening" of glossy paint, a desired effect for models, which should not be finished glossy because gloss is out of scale. "Flatteners" will also flatten glossy paint. The more you add, the flatter the paint gets. Other conditioners will improve the "flow" of the paint, basically slowing its drying time, so a brush won't "drag" and a "wet edge" can be maintained more easily. Paint that "flows" well will also "lay down" easily and brush strokes will disappear as the paint "levels." Too much, on the other hand, can cause paint to sag and create drips and "curtains." Driers, often sold as "Japan Drier" in the case of oil paints, contain heavy metals which speed the drying of the paint, the opposite of conditioners that improve flow. On hot days with low humidity, you will add conditioners to slow the rate of drying, while on cold days with high humidity, you'll add conditioners to speed up drying. These skills become even more important when airbrushing and spray painting because the atomized sprayed paint has to hit the piece before the solvents kick off, and then lay down before drying to achieve a perfectly smooth finish, yet not be so thin or retarded (slowed down) that they run or "curtain" after being sprayed. (And if you are of a mind to spray paint, forget the rattle cans and go for an airbrush. It will pay for itself over the rattle cans, which always seem to crap out while they're half full and never really give the same control or results.)
 
You need to also remember that wood has to be sealed before painting so the paint won't soak into the wood and produce an uneven coating. I use shellac for this because it is easy to work with, dries fast, is economical, soaks into the bare wood well, is compatible with all other coatings when dry, and sands very nicely to a very fine smooth finish. 
 
This may all sound a bit overwhelming at first, but it's not rocket science. If you're lucky, you'll find somebody who can show you how it's done and you'll be on your way. It's a lot easier to learn by watching somebody do it than it is to learn it out of a book. Experiment a little and get the hang of it, but, most importantly, practice and learn on scrap pieces before starting to slap paint on a model you've spent a lot of time on. That will save you a lot of grief. 
 
This fellow seems to have a pretty good video on the subject.painting miniatures. 
 
 

Well, I'm finally getting back to catching this back up to date. Nothing like being over 18 months behind.
 
We got back from our trip and I started back on the Skiff. First up was to layout the sail. Using the drawing, I laid out the sail with pencil per the instructions. I used pencil to mark the seams and then coated the whole thing with 3:1 thinned PVA and let dry to stiffen the cloth. Then I cut it out and tied-on the downhaul after punching all of the holes required. You can see the downhaul tied off to the cleat in the following picture.
 

 
   
 
Next was to continue painting the waterline (I think I redid this 3 times to get a sharp line). While the paint was drying I laced the sail to the mast. Included in this was to rig the sprit to the sail and the mast. The following pictures show these details and then the finished sail.
 
            
 
And the finished sail ready to be stepped into the boat.
 

 
Next agenda item was to finish the rudder. I laid out the planks on the rudder using the plans and then used a steel rule and scribe to score the joints between the planks. I also detailed the gudgeons and pintles with a black sharpie to simulate the mounting bolts. Lastly, after hanging the rudder, I added the tiller.
 
  
 

 
And now all that was left to do was to attach the painter to the bow, insert the centerboard retaining pin, and stow all of the ropes. A few carefully places drops of CA and the boat was finished.
 

 

 

 
I finished off the display with a brass tag showing the model name, scale, and finish date.
 
I finished the Midwest Chesapeake Bay Crabbing Skiff on February 16, 2020.
 
I plan to take this model to our condo in Mexico for display. To do it safely, I will remove the mask and install it when we get there. To this end, I will be making a mount for the foot of the mast. I will need to bore a hole in a thick piece of scrap and mount it above the mast step. I haven't figured all of how to do that yet, but have some ideas. I'm also thinking of building some scale crab pots to place in the boat along with some floats. I think that would set the model off really well.

Hello Dee Dee ,
Absolutely 1st classs build log which will no doubt help me with my build of the GT when I get round to it . Have you not finished the build ? as I would really like to follow it .
Thanks
Mike

Little trick for sealing the edge of your masking.  After you have all your masking tape on, and have pushed it down as hard as possible at the sealing edge, use a small brush and apply a single thin coat of the color that you just masked off.  This (in your case white?) paint will do any seeping under the masking edge that will happen, and at the same time 'seal' the edge making it very unlikely for any of the next color you are spraying to get past the masking.
 
Might want to practice this on a scrap piece so you figure out how it works without leaving a 'brushed' paint line visible.
 
Edit:  I've read where others did the same thing using a matte clear instead of the color.