To paint or not to paint, that is the question?

[ratskiss]

I am patiently waiting for my Artesania Latina HMS Surprise to arrive in the mail and have been researching this site for days now and am totally impressed by the knowledge and information here.

 

I had to sell my first born to afford it so I have to decide if I am going with natural wood, or painting. Since it is a fictional ship but based on a historical time period I am torn between my love of wood and the Nelson Checker (sp?). I have seen some excellent models here that have gone in both directions.

 

Is the quality of the wood of this kit worthy of the natural wood finish? Would I be better off painting? If I paint I may as well copper the hull. I live in a fir log and cedar house that I built so I am quite fond of wood.  If the wood in the kit is not up to the natural finish what would be a good wood to replace it with?

 

One ship two choices, I have to choose the lessor of the two weevils.

 

 

[markjay]

I've faced both choices and found it best to wait and see what the wood looks like in the kit and how it planks. If you opt for wood and want to upgrade the supplied wood you can check out the Timber Yard (they advertise and support this site) for what is available. Not as expensive as copper.
Good luck with whatever your choice.

Edited February 4, 2016 by markjay

[EJ_L]

This is always a tough question and I agree that it is largely the individuals choice. Painting can make a more dramatic appearance and can show off the country and era of the ship better but there is a beauty in natural wood colors as well. Another option is dyed wood. This can get pricier to buy and very time consuming to do your self but it adds an interesting element in that you can get the color desired while keeping the wood grain texture. I personally like this approach but as a warning, getting the colors the desired shade can be tricky.

[robnbill]

One more thing to add here to that said above. Painting a ship is a lot more forgiving. If you are going to paint a hull you can use fillers etc on your hull prior to painting it. Paint covers a lot of sins.

[jbshan]

One theory to this crazy thing is that the model is only the support structure for a coat of paint.

[ratskiss]

Does anybody have an opinion on the wood quality of the AL Surprise?

[Mayohoo]

I found it to be ok for the hull and decking. The smaller fiddley bits tended to be dried and cracked easily eg. bowsprit, dinghy, gun carriages and required patching that could be seen if not painted.

It may have been I got an older kit that had been on the shelf awhile.

 

I'm about a thousand hours into it and am plugging along if you want to take a look.

 

Mayohoo

[CharlieZardoz]

I would say replace all kit planking wood as its usually not that great. Paint is a matter of preference if you use a nice boxwood or pear then maybe oil/stain the wood and paint the detailing red black blue etc. But thats one way to do it feel free to follow your heart

[mtdoramike]

I have built more than a couple of Artesania Latina kits and will add here that their choice of woods are great. I have never had to replace any wood from any of the kit manufactures that I have built. So you will not have a problem going with the natural wood look. If you choose natural wood look, please do not make the mistake of doing a high gloss finish on the model. I usually use semi gloss or satin for ship models and save the high gloss finish for the display board. But like mentioned above, unless you have built a few models similar to the hull design of this ship, or you are a born natural hull planker, painting or coppering maybe your only option if you have to use a lot of wood fillers. No matter how well you match the wood filler, it will still stick out like a sore thumb. Good luck with your choice.

 

 

mike    

[dgbot]

Painting a ship to me is a matter of taste and what you are building.  Several years ago at Manitowoc I saw two models of the same vessel.  Both were well done.  The only difference was that one was painted and the other modeler used different woods and stains.  After talking with both of them I got the sense that one was an artist and the other was a woodworker and both used the model to show off their skills.  As for the painted one the layers were not that thick so you could see the planking and the joinery.

David B

[Thistle17]

I will add my opinion to your query regarding paint vs stain or natural for ship models. I have done both. I have a wonderful solid hull model of the Bluenose which I air brushed the hull and brush painted cap rails, mast caps etc.It is some 30 years old now and it still looks terrific, if not authentic. Yes the hull was sanded, sealed and touched up with automotive body putty, primed and then painted. For authenticity i do not think the hull of the real vessel ever had this appearance even when first launched. Some models are enhanced greatly when you can see the wood plank lines, crisp edges and joinery. Which brings me to another point, wood materials. In my opinion again I would never paint a model "dressed out" in pearwood, boxwood, holly and even some other exotics. It wood be a crime. Rather I would "paint with wood" (using different colors of wood to accentuate it). If you are using basswood I would caution you that you may be disappointed with painting this w/o some surface prep, i.e., sealing. It is such a fibrous wood that  is hard to get crisp edges and eliminate the fuzz. Again my opinion.

 

Also do use fine pigment paints whether you spray or brush as many paints are just inappropriate for fine detail parts.  

[ratskiss]

Thanks this gives me some food for thought. My kit arrived and I'm not in a hurry to decide. I was not impressed with the shrink wrap being so tight that I will have to deal with some warps. I'm doing two practise kits before beginning the surprise. One I will paint and the other natural. I will test some of the wood with different finish see how it looks. In the end I will just flip a coin. 

 

Thanks for the help.