Bob Cleek

Fiberglass can be a "strong, hard wearing surface," but it's a real bugger to work with, particularly on small scale pieces and it sure isn't "easy to sand smooth for painting. It will add thickness to your hull and weight, neither are advantageous. It can be tricky to work with and if something goes wrong, it could ruin the model completely. It's about as strong as an eggshell, so until it gets around 3/16ths of an inch thick, it's going to crack like an eggshell if it gets whacked. At least, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
 
If your hull is properly put together, it should not need any strengthening and if you operate the model prudently, it should not require a "strong hard wearing surface." 
 
If it were me, and I realize is ain't, I would sand the hull fair and apply a liberal coat of Smith and Co,.'s Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer. ("CPES")(See:http://www.smithandcompany.org/ for technical information) This will penetrate the wood surface and cure, turning the surface of the wood into rock hard wood impregnated with cured epoxy resin. (CPES is not just "thinned epoxy," it contains special solvents which cause the resin to permeate the wood fibers. Before the CPES cures completely (less than 2 or 3 days... read Smith's instructions... this will create a molecular, rather than just a mechanical bond between the CPES and WEST epoxies,), I would apply a thin coating of WEST System G/flex 650 epoxy resin mixed with WEST System 407 Low-Density or 410 Microlight fairing additive. The additive will make the cured epoxy very easily sand-able to a very finely smooth surface. It will also fill any cracks or divots on the surface. Then sand the surface fair (without sanding the epoxy off down to bare wood. If that happens, apply more CPES to the bare spot(s.)) Then paint with a good quality marine enamel primer and topcoat paint.
 
WEST G/flex epoxy resin cures to a hard, but slightly flexible epoxy that should not crack with slight wood movement. The CPES will provide a decent water barrier and the West G/flex will add to that. A good marine enamel will complete what should be a matrix that isn't going to leak in your lifetime, nor, probably, the lifetimes of your grandchildren. It won't add noticeable thickness to your hull and won't weigh down your model with unnecessary weight.
 
You could also add WEST System 422 Barrier Coat Additive, which will increase the moisture resistance of the G/flex epoxy resin, but it's overkill for this application. You've also got the option of using WEST's kevlar additive if you want your bottom to be bulletproof, but that's a story for another night. Amazingly versatile stuff, epoxy.
 
Fiberglassing small, irregular surfaces is tricky business and the glass cloth or mat is nasty to work with, too. (Tiny bits of glass fibers become airborne and land on your skin, quickly working their way into the skin like fine cactus needles, resulting in painful itching. I don't ever want to begin to think what they do when you inhale them, but I've done my share of fiberglass work on boats in the days before hazmat suits and filtered air-supply masks and I'm still here, so...
 
Anyway, that's how I'd do it. 
 

Why do you want to sheath the hull in a cloth and resin laminate? Just curious.

Why do you want to sheath the hull in a cloth and resin laminate? Just curious.

Why do you want to sheath the hull in a cloth and resin laminate? Just curious.

I recently added a set of highway railroad curves on EBay.  They were mis identified as curves for boat and were not expensive.  No box.

Well, for openers, since Calypso is diesel powered, there shouldn't be much smoke coming out of her stack. Certainly it wouldn't be the white smoke that the model railroad smoke generators produce. Lights are simply a matter of wiring them in where you want them. Formerly "grain of rice" incandescent or neon bulbs were used, but now it appears the technology has gone to LEDs.  Check out the model railroading catalogs and online retailers, such as Micro-Mark. They offer packaged modular lighting sets for the purpose. 
 
YouTube has a number of instructional videos: 
 
 

Follow the manufacturers' recommendations. Each manufacturer seems to have their own selection chart. Here's one that is from a major manufacturer.It looks like their Precision Ground Tooth is the best all around blade and particularly good for hard woods. I keep a chart like this with my scroll saw blades so it's always handy. https://www.olsonsaw.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/2020-scroll-chart-WEB.pdf

True enough in a sense, if you are talking about electrically powered tools, but let's not get too romantically nostalgic about it. The master modelers who turned out the wonderful Admiralty Board models and the like certainly did have sophisticated tools. Eighteenth Century instrument makers and miniaturists in most instances had machines equivalent to, and in some instances better, than our selection of modeling tools today.
 
This lathe is a very rare treadle powered 1854 ornamental turning lathe.
 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/392694015715?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&itemid=392694015715&targetid=1262749490302&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=9032112&poi=&campaignid=11612431626&mkgroupid=121090480206&rlsatarget=pla-1262749490302&abcId=9300456&merchantid=113615460&gclid=CjwKCAjwlYCHBhAQEiwA4K21m5tmu2GPv40iTAylAgSca21eIDvBUuiiXSNJWab0_Q6zys0_i2rhVRoCgkUQAvD_BwE
 
 
They had powered scroll saws, too!
 

https://www.etsy.com/listing/745428861/antique-1800s-treadle-jig-saw-36x14x29?gpla=1&gao=1&&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=shopping_us_ps-a-craft_supplies_and_tools-tools_and_equipment-tools-other&utm_custom1=_k_CjwKCAjwlYCHBhAQEiwA4K21myP675yEwWCgTQAQfy_o6Wot148Le0jyKTtecLdxM1UuuTYkidE9IxoCeHMQAvD_BwE_k_&utm_content=go_12565278184_123210950767_507187537626_pla-295604191622_c__745428861_111184285&utm_custom2=12565278184&gclid=CjwKCAjwlYCHBhAQEiwA4K21myP675yEwWCgTQAQfy_o6Wot148Le0jyKTtecLdxM1UuuTYkidE9IxoCeHMQAvD_BwE
 
A ship modeler could certainly find a use for this 1800's hand cranked watchmaker's lathe.
 

https://www.carters.com.au/index.cfm/index/3930-watchmakers-equipmment/
 
"He who dies with the most tools, wins!" but, when buying tools, choose wisely, Grasshopper.
 
 
 
 
 

I realize this is probably more than most would ever want to know about painting stripes on models, but it's a subject that doesn't seem to have been addressed here lately and I type faster than a lot of people talk, so here it is.
 
Aside from the waterline on the X-Y axis, there aren't many straight lines on a seagoing vessel. That said, waterlines can be marked simply by mounting the hull on a flat surface in the "floating" attitude (sometimes there is considerable rake in the keel, particularly in small sailing vessels.) Then take a block of wood of suitable height with a pencil laid on top of it and just run the block around the hull using the pencil laying on the block to mark the waterline. Note that waterlines are not always of constant width. The eye sees the stripe as of a uniform thickness, but, as the stripe is generally on an inclined surface, its width on the hull has to account for that. When you line off a boot stripe with your block and pencil, you'll note that where the hull curves, the top and bottom edges of the stripe will not be parallel. For example, a boot stripe at the tuck of the stern can widen significantly. Another perspective issue is the shape of the hull overall. If a viewer is standing amidships and looking at the boot stripe, the boot stripe at the bow, and perhaps at the stern, will be farther from the viewer's eye than the stripe amidships because the bow, and perhaps the stern, narrow as the hull approaches its ends. For this reason, boot stripes often look better if they are laid out to gradually widen slightly as they approach the bow. This avoids the optical illusion that the boot stripe is narrowing as it runs towards the bow. These adjustments must be done "by eye" when masking the stripes.
 
As for painting, use a "fine line" masking tape to lay out the lines and paint between the masked areas. Don't use regular house painter's masking tape. The paint will likely run under the paint and make a mess. 3M's Fine Line Tape is a good brand. I believe Tamaya model paints also makes a fine line masking tape. Others have used automotive striping tape, but I've found it's often too thick and out of scale and color selections are limited. A bit of practice is advised before committing to tape and paint the model's hull. The learning curve is short and not steep, but you don't want to mess up the paint job on the model by making that your first try!
 
Fine line tape can be purchased at art supply stores: https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/d/b40067079/  Buy the 1/4" wide tape and then use regular masking tape on top of that to mask a wider area, if need be.  The stuff is not cheap! Thinner is cheaper. About $30.00 a roll! A roll will probably last a lifetime of modeling, though. (Tamaya tape is less expensive, but I don't have any personal experience with it. I've read good reviews of it. Perhaps others can comment. 3M Fine Line is the industry standard for automotive and aircraft painters.) 
 
Be sure to store all masking tape, and especially fine line tape, in zip-lock plastic bags, which retard their drying out and significantly extend their shelf-life to practically forever.  Also, never ever lay a roll of any type of masking tape down on its side on your bench top. Always replace it in its zip-lock bag. Laying a roll of tape on its side will cause it to pick up dust and dirt on the side of the tape, which ruins it because the dust and dirt adhering to the edge of the tape will make it impossible to yield a razor sharp line and will permit  paint to seep beneath the edge of the tape.
 
There are other techniques for painting stripes, including using special pin-striping brushes freehand with One Shot sign paint, etc., etc., but the use of fine line tape is the only fool-proof method I know. Even among the pros, it's a rare "fist" who can do it well freehand with a brush.
 
 
 
 
 

Follow the manufacturers' recommendations. Each manufacturer seems to have their own selection chart. Here's one that is from a major manufacturer.It looks like their Precision Ground Tooth is the best all around blade and particularly good for hard woods. I keep a chart like this with my scroll saw blades so it's always handy. https://www.olsonsaw.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/2020-scroll-chart-WEB.pdf

I realize this is probably more than most would ever want to know about painting stripes on models, but it's a subject that doesn't seem to have been addressed here lately and I type faster than a lot of people talk, so here it is.
 
Aside from the waterline on the X-Y axis, there aren't many straight lines on a seagoing vessel. That said, waterlines can be marked simply by mounting the hull on a flat surface in the "floating" attitude (sometimes there is considerable rake in the keel, particularly in small sailing vessels.) Then take a block of wood of suitable height with a pencil laid on top of it and just run the block around the hull using the pencil laying on the block to mark the waterline. Note that waterlines are not always of constant width. The eye sees the stripe as of a uniform thickness, but, as the stripe is generally on an inclined surface, its width on the hull has to account for that. When you line off a boot stripe with your block and pencil, you'll note that where the hull curves, the top and bottom edges of the stripe will not be parallel. For example, a boot stripe at the tuck of the stern can widen significantly. Another perspective issue is the shape of the hull overall. If a viewer is standing amidships and looking at the boot stripe, the boot stripe at the bow, and perhaps at the stern, will be farther from the viewer's eye than the stripe amidships because the bow, and perhaps the stern, narrow as the hull approaches its ends. For this reason, boot stripes often look better if they are laid out to gradually widen slightly as they approach the bow. This avoids the optical illusion that the boot stripe is narrowing as it runs towards the bow. These adjustments must be done "by eye" when masking the stripes.
 
As for painting, use a "fine line" masking tape to lay out the lines and paint between the masked areas. Don't use regular house painter's masking tape. The paint will likely run under the paint and make a mess. 3M's Fine Line Tape is a good brand. I believe Tamaya model paints also makes a fine line masking tape. Others have used automotive striping tape, but I've found it's often too thick and out of scale and color selections are limited. A bit of practice is advised before committing to tape and paint the model's hull. The learning curve is short and not steep, but you don't want to mess up the paint job on the model by making that your first try!
 
Fine line tape can be purchased at art supply stores: https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/d/b40067079/  Buy the 1/4" wide tape and then use regular masking tape on top of that to mask a wider area, if need be.  The stuff is not cheap! Thinner is cheaper. About $30.00 a roll! A roll will probably last a lifetime of modeling, though. (Tamaya tape is less expensive, but I don't have any personal experience with it. I've read good reviews of it. Perhaps others can comment. 3M Fine Line is the industry standard for automotive and aircraft painters.) 
 
Be sure to store all masking tape, and especially fine line tape, in zip-lock plastic bags, which retard their drying out and significantly extend their shelf-life to practically forever.  Also, never ever lay a roll of any type of masking tape down on its side on your bench top. Always replace it in its zip-lock bag. Laying a roll of tape on its side will cause it to pick up dust and dirt on the side of the tape, which ruins it because the dust and dirt adhering to the edge of the tape will make it impossible to yield a razor sharp line and will permit  paint to seep beneath the edge of the tape.
 
There are other techniques for painting stripes, including using special pin-striping brushes freehand with One Shot sign paint, etc., etc., but the use of fine line tape is the only fool-proof method I know. Even among the pros, it's a rare "fist" who can do it well freehand with a brush.
 
 
 
 
 

Follow the manufacturers' recommendations. Each manufacturer seems to have their own selection chart. Here's one that is from a major manufacturer.It looks like their Precision Ground Tooth is the best all around blade and particularly good for hard woods. I keep a chart like this with my scroll saw blades so it's always handy. https://www.olsonsaw.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/2020-scroll-chart-WEB.pdf

Well, for openers, since Calypso is diesel powered, there shouldn't be much smoke coming out of her stack. Certainly it wouldn't be the white smoke that the model railroad smoke generators produce. Lights are simply a matter of wiring them in where you want them. Formerly "grain of rice" incandescent or neon bulbs were used, but now it appears the technology has gone to LEDs.  Check out the model railroading catalogs and online retailers, such as Micro-Mark. They offer packaged modular lighting sets for the purpose. 
 
YouTube has a number of instructional videos: 
 
 

First off, if one shapes their planks properly, each plank should lay down as it should with very little need to hold it in place. Thereafter, any sort of springy clamp, e.g. small binder clips (below,) can be used to hold the plank against the frame face. Some also have success using a drop of CA glue to hold the plank in place and then flood the joint with diluted PVA glue. Another approach is to use a heated plank bending iron or travel iron for a few seconds against the face of each plank at each frame. The heat from the iron will speed the evaporation of the PVA and quickly set the joint. 
 
Another method, while more labor intensive, also works well. Drill a hole that is slightly smaller in diameter than a dressmaker's pin through the plank and about half way through the frame. Then pin the plank to the frame with the dressmaker's pin. (The pin must be a tight fit in the hole to hold the plank. If you don't drill a hole, you will risk splitting the plank when shoving a pin through it.) When the PVA is dry, remove the pins and replace them with pegs ("trunnels") glued into the holes. Then cut and sand the pegs flush with the plank face. If you are going to finish the hull with paint, you can forget the pegs and just fill the holes with putty and sand fair before painting. Of course, if you are going to finish the hull "bright' (showing the bare wood,) you should take care that your pegs are the proper scale diameter and are placed as they should be in the prototype vessel. (The pegs should not be of a contrasting color of wood, but should be the same color as the planking. The pegs can be got out of scrap planking stock using a drawplate.) The planks will significantly strengthen the plank fastening to the frames.
 
I don't think anybody has had much success with the many (expensive) "planking clamps" sold by the hobby tool vendors. 
 
You should find the forum's planking techniques section helpful. (It's in the drop-down menu at the top banner under "More." https://modelshipworld.com/forum/98-planking-downloads-and-tutorials-and-videos/
 

 

You can say that again! Not only are they expensive, but complete cased sets such as this one are scarce as hen's teeth these days. Those who've got 'em, are keeping 'em! I'm no CAD expert, but if the work of some of the CAD artists on this forum is any indication, is appears that even a CAD expert is going to spend more time than a manual draftsman getting out the same lines. Not so much for straight lines, but generating the curves we see in naval architecture with a CAD program seems to require a very expensive program and a lot of user knowledge and experience way above this tee square and triangle guy's abilities.
 
It took me several years twenty years ago when they were still somewhat available to collect complete sets of ships' curves, engineering curves, French curves and highway/railroad curves. I find them handy fairly often. The highway/railroad curves are very handy for lining off deck camber. Find the curve with the proper rise at the centerline at the midship point and then use it for every station at the deck sheer and you'll get a fair deck without going nuts. The highway/railroad curves still show up on FleaBay now and again, but the model railroaders are all over them, too, for obvious reasons.
 
(Trivia contest prize winner: "Modern highway/railroad curves have the identifying information for both railroad use and highway use on the same curve so one set can be used for both highway and railroad purposes. Railroad curves are specified based upon chords of 100' between full stations. Highway curves are specified as the length of the arc with the degree of curvature based on a 100' arc.)

PM Sent
 

I realize this is probably more than most would ever want to know about painting stripes on models, but it's a subject that doesn't seem to have been addressed here lately and I type faster than a lot of people talk, so here it is.
 
Aside from the waterline on the X-Y axis, there aren't many straight lines on a seagoing vessel. That said, waterlines can be marked simply by mounting the hull on a flat surface in the "floating" attitude (sometimes there is considerable rake in the keel, particularly in small sailing vessels.) Then take a block of wood of suitable height with a pencil laid on top of it and just run the block around the hull using the pencil laying on the block to mark the waterline. Note that waterlines are not always of constant width. The eye sees the stripe as of a uniform thickness, but, as the stripe is generally on an inclined surface, its width on the hull has to account for that. When you line off a boot stripe with your block and pencil, you'll note that where the hull curves, the top and bottom edges of the stripe will not be parallel. For example, a boot stripe at the tuck of the stern can widen significantly. Another perspective issue is the shape of the hull overall. If a viewer is standing amidships and looking at the boot stripe, the boot stripe at the bow, and perhaps at the stern, will be farther from the viewer's eye than the stripe amidships because the bow, and perhaps the stern, narrow as the hull approaches its ends. For this reason, boot stripes often look better if they are laid out to gradually widen slightly as they approach the bow. This avoids the optical illusion that the boot stripe is narrowing as it runs towards the bow. These adjustments must be done "by eye" when masking the stripes.
 
As for painting, use a "fine line" masking tape to lay out the lines and paint between the masked areas. Don't use regular house painter's masking tape. The paint will likely run under the paint and make a mess. 3M's Fine Line Tape is a good brand. I believe Tamaya model paints also makes a fine line masking tape. Others have used automotive striping tape, but I've found it's often too thick and out of scale and color selections are limited. A bit of practice is advised before committing to tape and paint the model's hull. The learning curve is short and not steep, but you don't want to mess up the paint job on the model by making that your first try!
 
Fine line tape can be purchased at art supply stores: https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/p/d/b40067079/  Buy the 1/4" wide tape and then use regular masking tape on top of that to mask a wider area, if need be.  The stuff is not cheap! Thinner is cheaper. About $30.00 a roll! A roll will probably last a lifetime of modeling, though. (Tamaya tape is less expensive, but I don't have any personal experience with it. I've read good reviews of it. Perhaps others can comment. 3M Fine Line is the industry standard for automotive and aircraft painters.) 
 
Be sure to store all masking tape, and especially fine line tape, in zip-lock plastic bags, which retard their drying out and significantly extend their shelf-life to practically forever.  Also, never ever lay a roll of any type of masking tape down on its side on your bench top. Always replace it in its zip-lock bag. Laying a roll of tape on its side will cause it to pick up dust and dirt on the side of the tape, which ruins it because the dust and dirt adhering to the edge of the tape will make it impossible to yield a razor sharp line and will permit  paint to seep beneath the edge of the tape.
 
There are other techniques for painting stripes, including using special pin-striping brushes freehand with One Shot sign paint, etc., etc., but the use of fine line tape is the only fool-proof method I know. Even among the pros, it's a rare "fist" who can do it well freehand with a brush.
 
 
 
 
 

I want you on my trivia team, Bob C.

You can say that again! Not only are they expensive, but complete cased sets such as this one are scarce as hen's teeth these days. Those who've got 'em, are keeping 'em! I'm no CAD expert, but if the work of some of the CAD artists on this forum is any indication, is appears that even a CAD expert is going to spend more time than a manual draftsman getting out the same lines. Not so much for straight lines, but generating the curves we see in naval architecture with a CAD program seems to require a very expensive program and a lot of user knowledge and experience way above this tee square and triangle guy's abilities.
 
It took me several years twenty years ago when they were still somewhat available to collect complete sets of ships' curves, engineering curves, French curves and highway/railroad curves. I find them handy fairly often. The highway/railroad curves are very handy for lining off deck camber. Find the curve with the proper rise at the centerline at the midship point and then use it for every station at the deck sheer and you'll get a fair deck without going nuts. The highway/railroad curves still show up on FleaBay now and again, but the model railroaders are all over them, too, for obvious reasons.
 
(Trivia contest prize winner: "Modern highway/railroad curves have the identifying information for both railroad use and highway use on the same curve so one set can be used for both highway and railroad purposes. Railroad curves are specified based upon chords of 100' between full stations. Highway curves are specified as the length of the arc with the degree of curvature based on a 100' arc.)

Worse comes to worst, you can use a hitch chock.  With PVA, the strength of a bond is directly proportional to the clamping force.
 

Bob's admonition about making sure that dry fit conformation of the plank is correct is important.
 
Factors involved.
The diameter of the brass pin should be ~ 1-1.5" in scale.
The pre-drilled hole thru the three layers should be snug,  Not too snug if you intend to pull the pin.
The pin can be nipped and filed if brass trunnels are what you are after.
The hole placement is important.  There are prescribed rules for this.
If the pin is pulled, the hole can be filled with a push fit bamboo trunnel,  or wood flour/PVA if a belt and suspenders is not your practice.
 
If both surfaces are pre- coated with PVA and the coats allowed to cure, the plank can then be ironed and the heat will allow the PVA to act like a sort of contact cement.

For anyone still manually drafting, this is a bargain! I paid far more for my own almost complete set many years ago.

A rule of thumb is three teeth on the thickness of cut. To few and there will be tear out,too fine and the blade won't be able to remove the sawdust quickly enough and binding may result. For your thicknesses Olson makes a crown tooth blade that cuts cleanly on both surfaces of the wood.

Follow the manufacturers' recommendations. Each manufacturer seems to have their own selection chart. Here's one that is from a major manufacturer.It looks like their Precision Ground Tooth is the best all around blade and particularly good for hard woods. I keep a chart like this with my scroll saw blades so it's always handy. https://www.olsonsaw.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/2020-scroll-chart-WEB.pdf

True enough in a sense, if you are talking about electrically powered tools, but let's not get too romantically nostalgic about it. The master modelers who turned out the wonderful Admiralty Board models and the like certainly did have sophisticated tools. Eighteenth Century instrument makers and miniaturists in most instances had machines equivalent to, and in some instances better, than our selection of modeling tools today.
 
This lathe is a very rare treadle powered 1854 ornamental turning lathe.
 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/392694015715?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&itemid=392694015715&targetid=1262749490302&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=9032112&poi=&campaignid=11612431626&mkgroupid=121090480206&rlsatarget=pla-1262749490302&abcId=9300456&merchantid=113615460&gclid=CjwKCAjwlYCHBhAQEiwA4K21m5tmu2GPv40iTAylAgSca21eIDvBUuiiXSNJWab0_Q6zys0_i2rhVRoCgkUQAvD_BwE
 
 
They had powered scroll saws, too!
 

https://www.etsy.com/listing/745428861/antique-1800s-treadle-jig-saw-36x14x29?gpla=1&gao=1&&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=shopping_us_ps-a-craft_supplies_and_tools-tools_and_equipment-tools-other&utm_custom1=_k_CjwKCAjwlYCHBhAQEiwA4K21myP675yEwWCgTQAQfy_o6Wot148Le0jyKTtecLdxM1UuuTYkidE9IxoCeHMQAvD_BwE_k_&utm_content=go_12565278184_123210950767_507187537626_pla-295604191622_c__745428861_111184285&utm_custom2=12565278184&gclid=CjwKCAjwlYCHBhAQEiwA4K21myP675yEwWCgTQAQfy_o6Wot148Le0jyKTtecLdxM1UuuTYkidE9IxoCeHMQAvD_BwE
 
A ship modeler could certainly find a use for this 1800's hand cranked watchmaker's lathe.
 

https://www.carters.com.au/index.cfm/index/3930-watchmakers-equipmment/
 
"He who dies with the most tools, wins!" but, when buying tools, choose wisely, Grasshopper.
 
 
 
 
 

Ed:
 
In the category of power tools - none are needed - look at what the modelers of antiquity accomplished without them!  Power tools are time-savers, no doubt about that.  And, if your set-up is wrong, power tools will also allow you to ruin amazing amounts of wood in no time at all. 
 
Uniform widths and thicknesses can be achieved by making a sanding or scraping jig to stop the process when over-sized, hand-sawn parts reach the proper dimension.  A jig will also allow uniform spacing of holes or making multiple parts that must appear identical.  A high quality dial or electronic caliper will let you know when you have reached the dimension you are looking for.  Even with power tools, there will be times when a jig will be necessary to get what you want from them.
 
Sanding or filing surfaces flat can be made much easier by counting a number of strokes, turning the work 180 degs., and then using the same number of strokes.  Then repeat the process as often as necessary. 
 
While shaping a part, always secure it in a vise or clamp it down or temporarily glue it to a substrate.
 
Making jigs is a problem-solving endeavor.  It also takes time way from actually assembling your model.  But, with or without power tools, your modeling prowess will increase with your ability to make jigs and I believe it is a necessary skill to possess.   After a while, you will be confident in your ability to make anything. 
 
Hand-tools: a down-sized version of the coping saw, the jeweler's saw, with appropriate blades, will allow cutting the finest of scrolls and curves.  I prefer coarse-cut jeweler's files over sanding sticks for most small-scale finishing.  
 
Don't try small scale detail with a type of wood that isn't up to the task.  Pear (or other fruit wood), box or holly are well suited for this purpose.  Pear (as well as box and holly), has uniform color.  The grain/color contrast of other fruit woods may be a detraction.