Jump to content

Mercator

Members
  • Posts

    54
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by Mercator

  1. Welcome from neighboring Idaho. I started with the Vanguard fishing boats (I build two) great instructions and good warm up for bigger model. Just finished the Duchess of Kingston.
  2. Welcome to the site, originally from Uccle, Bruxelles. I have a good friend who reside in Braine l'Alleud who is also a modeler. Great site with people with a lots of experience, depending of the type of ships the rigging can vary . There are books tracing on the subject, some are out of print but easily available on line from use book dealers.
  3. . I found the high grade sanded 1/4" plywood from Home Depot to be very useful . Not too thick to be cut into shapes with a hobby scroll saw. Also easily available and not too costly.
  4. I have the Imai kit, excellent in my modest opinion. Difficult to say which one is the best because there are no accurate description of the Santa Maria. Except for the rigging upon which we have a good description of the 3 ships of Columbus. Everything else is a conjuncture based onpaintings of ships of that era.
  5. Welcome from landlocked Idaho. Like you I have been modeling for many years but only recently started on wood models. Indeed some people do plank over solid hulls. I, personally , never did so. Instead started with an "easier" and smaller kit which had a hull form that I could tackle. Also double planking is a must for beginner. Good luck it is a challenging but rewarding hobby.
  6. Indeed plastic offer more details than metal casting, 3D printing can be costly and time consuming. There is a plethora of paints to reproduce metal, from Vallejo to Alclad (one of my favorite being lacquer based). Those paint applied with an airbrush produce much better result than any cast metal canons . I have build a couple of Vanguard fishing boats, a nice way to get into wood ship building. Now I have almost finished the Duchess of Kingston, someone nervous about starting on the ratlines (there are so many of them). So taking a break and working on a 1/8 scale of Joan Of Arc figurine, I am use Alclad magnesium for the armor, very happy with the result. They recommend to prime first but I sprayed over the resin parts without problems (it is a 3D figurine available in 1/16, 1/12, 1/10, 1/8 and 1/4 scales). Keep up the amazing work Chris, there will always be someone complaining about something that is the downside of running a business, you learn to have a thick skin.
  7. Welcome from an expatriated Brusseleer! Love your models, very impressive.
  8. I would highly recommend Vanguard kits, they are more expensive but for a beginner they are perfect. Great instructions and quality material. I build a couple of fishing boats to learn some of the techniques before taking the proverbial plunge and got one of the larger model. Get a quality kit that will not frustrate you. As a plus he is located in England, so easily available in continental Europe. I did purchase one kit in England and the other two in California. The shipping from England to the US was cheaper than from California to Idaho. Current build: The Duchess of Kingston (Vanguard models)
  9. To seal the wood I use Decoart sealer which is inexpensive, easily available and water based. Like everyone I miss the Floquil paints, then Model Master went by the wayside also. I do still have a few Floquil including their gold paint. Humbrol (acrylic and enamel) are great paint, also been using Tamiya. For wood models and figurines I use Liquitex in tubes, Liquitex has their own airbrush thinner, I did purchase a small book that teach you how to mix the different colors that achieve what you want. Being made for hand brushing you can retouch very easily. When I mix with the airbrush thinner I try to achieve a consistency of milk (not the 2%). The Liquitex airbrush thinner does contain a thinning agent and a retarder, you could make it yourself but the Liquitex is inexpensive and goes a long way. For cleaning water does the job.
  10. I build a couple of Vanguard fishing boats and the Bluenose from AL, then took the plunge and bough the Duchess of Kingston, a big step but finished the hull with all the decorations, my biggest problem was with the rudder PE fiddly little things, end making my own. Will make a practice mast so I can play with those ratlines before tackling the ones on the Duchess. Those fishing boats are great for first time builders, a little more $ but well worth it. Usually I do not purchase anything on eBay which is still available from the original manufacturer, only get kits or parts out of production
  11. Hikawa Maru from Hasegawa in 1/350. I believe it is also available in 1/700.
  12. Maybe the reason why it was bad luck to have bananas on a ship come from the banana clusters sometimes harbor snakes or some unwelcome bugs. The refrigerated hold on modern banana boats are on scary place.
  13. I have used ca glue for ratlines for years, never had any problems.. I have the Heller Soleil Royal with ca ratline build 37 years ago, no problems.
  14. Welcome to the board and to the hobby. Myself started a couple of years back. Experienced with figurines and styrene models. Wood models was new to me, start small. Vanguard has interesting fishing boats.
  15. Sorry HSAE missed your question on Friday (repainting the inside of the house, different paint!). The wood sealer that I use is DECO ART multipurpose wood sealer, very inexpensive and works very well mixed with acrylic paint. I use Vallejo Game Color which seems to hand paint better.
  16. I use Vallejo game color (acrylic) mixed with wood sealer (acrylic). Both are fairly inexpensive for the type of boats that I build (Vanguard 1/64 fishing boats). Hand paint exclusively on wood models. For plastic and resin models I use Tamiya paints.
  17. When I was living in Belgium (Bruxelles) my daily task was to carry a bucket full of coal for the stove two levels up, 3 really because the coal was stored in the basement. When I attended technical school I got zapped more than once, and yes it is 220 V in Europe. I recall when the oil wells were set a fire by Irak, the Czek used old T62 tanks with jet engines mounted on the hull to blow of the flames. More recently, I was practicing how to do ratlines before doing on my model. Used CA glue and decided to burn off the end with a lighter (like Ohla does) when the entire thing went up in flame.
  18. Floquil was one of the best paint, their metallic paint were exceptional. Myself after trying acrylic (hand painting and airbrush) I went to Humbrol (enamel)and Tamiya. If I want to use acrylic for special effect such as wood for WWI aircraft I use Liquitex in tube. They do not dry being in a tube so you end up saving money. Also the Liquitex airbrush solution allow you to mix your own color and use an airbrush, I do so for large scale figures skin color. I have owned some of the fancier airbrush but I always fall back on my old Paashe H, simple to clean, comes with different tips. Did splurge on a compressor Iwata Medea, it is now almost 20 years old and still working great. Another bonus with enamel paint if it is dry you can reconstitute with thinner, Tamiya paint will not dry. The purchase of an ultrasonic mixer will make it easier and less messy, do not buy one for Hobbies they are $$$ and not very user friendly, buy one from hospital supply web site, cheaper and much better quality.
  19. First welcome to the site. From across the "pond" I will recommend a Vanguard kit, specially one of their fishing boats (Lady Eleanor is a great one to start), double planking, quality material, over the top instructions, and many build and advises on this site on those models. And of course been made in England no exorbitant shipping costs.
  20. Welcome to the site, indeed you are taking the correct approach. Start simple and keep the frustration down, after all it is a hobby (for most of us). Hope to see you getting more involve. Myself I am a long time sailor, learned to sail in the North Sea, migrated to the Oregon Coast and finally to the more sedated reservoirs and lakes in Idaho.
  21. As I mentioned in another post I purchased a Vanguard kit from California, the next one (same size box) I purchased directly from Vanguard (England), the shipping was roughly equivalent. I live in Idaho, go figure. When possible I use Amazon, free shipping when you are a prime member (so far).
  22. Landlocked maybe, but some beautiful lakes surrounded by gorgeous scenery. Four years ago I was at the IPMS Belgium, there was a German gentleman who was selling card models, they were amazing and I had a hard time believing they were not styrene or other "hard" material. Welcome to the site you will find a lot of inspiration. inspirations. Since joining I went from styrene to resin and now wood models (Vanguard are amazing ). I never build a card model but have been tempted by the Walter Winan cigar boat!
  23. Welcome from an expatriate from Belgique, Bruxelles.
×
×
  • Create New...