how to paint the mayflower

[Aim High 8892]

This is my first build, i'm building the mayflower 1620 1:64 scale. What is the best way to paint the yellow and green triangles on this boat?

 

Thanks.

[Hubac's Historian]

That depends a lot upon what materials you are building with.  Is this a kit, or a scratch-build?  Wood, plastic or card?

[Aim High 8892]

sorry... it is a kit and wood.

 

Thanks

[JerseyCity Frankie]

It’s tough to paint accurate sharp tiny little triangles on small scale ship models. And yellow is always a difficult and temperamental color when you try to cover a darker color, it’s never opaque enough. If you try to use paint my advice is to paint the yellow and green (or other brighter colors) White first, then apply the other colors over the white after its dry. 

Looking at an existing model photo I found online I can see your problem! That’s going to be a chore. If it was me I would skip using paint altogether and use cut paper instead. But if you’re dead set on using paint I suggest you paint the decorative area entirely in yellow, then mask off with a lot of triangular pieces of tape, then paint the green. 

[Roger Pellett]

Or don’t paint it at all.  The 1957 replica Mayflower at Plymouth Plantation has been criticized foe its elaborate paint scheme.  Pigments that could not be manufactured from common earth elements were very expensive in the 1500’s and would be used sparingly if at all on a humble merchant ship.  Bright pigments were used on warships of the period to increase the prestige of the King or Queen that owned the vessel.  Eric Ronnberg has written an excellent article about historic paint pigments that was published in the Nautical Research Journal.  It used to be on NRJ’s website.

 

Roger

[Aim High 8892]

roger

 

thanks for the advice. I may just leave it like it is with no paint.