"Cheating" with alternative materials?

[Brewerpaul]

Sometimes the materials supplied in a kit are not easy to use for one purpose or another. On my current build of the Pride of Baltimore II (modified into a more generic War of 1812 era Baltimore clipper) I was having a heck of a time cutting the 1/32" stock neatly for the trim around the transom and the "fancy pieces" on the sides of the stern. My blades are surgically sharp. In fact, they're actually real surgical blades, brand new. The wood kept splitting while I cut the pieces and trying to bend the fancy pieces on the sides of the stern also split them. Eventually I came up with the idea of using file folder material for these pieces. I don't know if the thickness is to scale, but the card stock cut neatly and easily, and didn't crack when I bent it. The cut edges had a bit of paper "fuzz" which was easily handled by using sanding sealer and then sanding it off.

 

Now I'm at the stage of building the bowsprit. There are some metal bands at the base of the jib boom but I  can foresee that bending them neatly wouldn't be easy, and getting the required holes drilled in the brass without having the drill bit wander off, even with a pilot dimple, would be tough.

I'm going to resort to my card stock again. It should bend and glue easily and I think the drill bit will stay in place better than in brass. Once painted I think they'll look just fine.

 

Anyone else here use alternative materials to make life easier? 

[ccoyle]

7 minutes ago, Brewerpaul said:

Anyone else here use alternative materials to make life easier? 

 

All the time.

[BikerMart]

Absolutely. 1/16 sq styrene bends far more easily than 1/16 wood and rarely breaks.

[alross2]

If it works, use it!  In the kits I develop for BlueJacket, I've gone to laser board for many applications where I used to use 1/64 and 1/32 ply.  It bends easily, has no grain, and produces very delicate parts with sharp edges.

 

[BobG]

On 10/10/2021 at 8:02 AM, alross2 said:

If it works, use it!  In the kits I develop for BlueJacket, I've gone to laser board for many applications where I used to use 1/64 and 1/32 ply.  It bends easily, has no grain, and produces very delicate parts with sharp edges.

 

 

I'm not familiar with laser board, Al. Where do you get it?

[alross2]

I don't remember the source BJ uses offhand, but can find out for you.  Essentially, it is resin-infused paper.  When used with a properly set laser, it can produce extremely fine detail without burnout.  The thinnest I've seen so far is .011".  I normally use .015", .025", and .035", but think you can get it up to .060".  

 

This is the pilot house for OREGON.  It is two layers of .015" laserboard bent around a former that will be included in the kit.  When I tried it in 1/64" ply, many of the vertical pieces of the lower panels simply burned out.  With the laserboard, there's hardly even any scorching on the back side. 

[Jaager]

I limit myself to pre-1860 wood and sail   and I try to use the following as the bounding limits for how I build:

 

SHIP MODEL CLASSIFICATION GUIDELINES  1980                       
DEPT. OF SALES AND SERVICE                                       
MYSTIC SEAPORT MUSEUM                        
MYSTIC, CONN             
1980

 

MUSEUM STANDARDS AND SHIP MODELS: THE INFLUENCE OF PROFESSIONAL
WEGNER,DANA M
NAUTICAL RESEARCH JOURNAL
1994
39
44-49

 

MUSEUM STANDARDS IN SHIPMODELING
WEGNER,DANA M
SHIPS IN SCALE  
1989
34
16-17

 

I have no interest in contests but staying within the rules has this be a more challenging self contest.

[BobG]

3 hours ago, alross2 said:

When used with a properly set laser, it can produce extremely fine detail without burnout

 

Thanks, Al. It looks like it's a very useful material for certain circumstances.

 

 

[Keith Black]

On 10/10/2021 at 9:37 AM, Brewerpaul said:

Now I'm at the stage of building the bowsprit. There are some metal bands at the base of the jib boom but I  can foresee that bending them neatly wouldn't be easy

 Paul, I use 3M masking tape to make bands. I cut to width and length, place on a porous scrap piece of wood and paint with the required color. When the paint is dry I wrap the tape around the spar, mast, or bowsprit and cut ( I cut on the underside when possible) where the pieces meet. I then seal with poly or one could use varnish. The sealer keeps the tape edges from lifting. If one is worried about lifting, a little CA applied at the edges with any excess removed with a Q-Tip will ensure that lifting doesn't't occur.  If I need to make the banding appear thicker I add another layer of tape. 

[Roger Pellett]

Nobody building a ship model duplicates the exact same materials used to build the actual ship.   We substitute brass for wrought iron and we substitute different species of wood.  In that sense, we all cheat.  On the other hand, many kit manufacturers do not use high quality or even appropriate materials in their kits.  So, if your substitution produces a better model, go for it.

 

Serious, model builders scratch building unique models are usually concerned about longevity.  The standards that Jaager references above limit materials to those that will provide long lifetimes for models meeting their requirements.  This is of particular concern if your model will be sold to others.

 

Roger

Edited October 20, 2021 by Roger Pellett

[harlequin]

6 hours ago, Roger Pellett said:

Nobody building a ship model duplicates the exact same materials used to build the actual ship.   We substitute brass for wrought iron and we substitute different species of wood.  In that sense, we all cheat.  On the other hand, many kit manufacturers do not use high quality or even appropriate materials in their kits.  So, if your substitution produces a better model, go for it.

 

Serious, model builders scratch building unique models are usually concerned about longevity.  The standards that Jaager references above limit materials to those that will provide long lifetimes for models meeting their requirements.  This is of particular concern if your model will be sold to others.

 

Roger

i was in the british army for quite a while....the Parachute Regiment to be exact, so why boats instead of aircraft?...not sure, but I like to call it improvisation not cheating......as they drummed it into us in the army, you always improvise, 😀

Edited October 20, 2021 by harlequin

[allanyed]

8 hours ago, Roger Pellett said:

On the other hand, many kit manufacturers do not use high quality or even appropriate materials in their kits.

Use/substitute whatever material works best.  Card stock, paper, copper, brass, different wood species and the list goes on.  I cannot speak from personal experience about kits as I have never built one but some 25 years ago I was thrilled to be given the Mantua  SoS kit  and promptly gave it away after opening it and seeing the materials.  Had I any inkling about kit bashing/material substitution at that time I would have given it a serious try.   Lesson learned.  

 

It is not always just the materials in some kits. There are too often out of scale parts such as grainy wood like walnut, gratings, and belaying pins as examples.   

 

I really admire the kit bashers who can replace these kinds of materials with better suited materials and wind up with spectacular models.  

 

Allan

[mtaylor]

For bands, I go for the black construction paper and then lay on a coat of black paint so the color doesn't fade as easily.  Lots of "cheats" to this model business.   

 

If you can, read "Legacy of a Ship Model.. Examining HMS Princess Royal 1775" by Rob Napier.  The old masters used a lot of tricks also.

[Stevinne]

Over the years, lots of people have given me old-school ship modeling books. Most of the techniques are outdated, but the one thing that has stood out for me is the wide variety of "alternative material" they include in their tips. I suspect that back in the day before packaged kits, modelers would use whatever material was at hand that worked well. I'm not sure about museum standards, but I think this is likely the approach folks took for hundreds of years.

[allanyed]

Stevinne,

Any chance you can tell us some of the materials??  I would love to see what kinds of alternative materials were used.  

Hope things are good down the shore.   We are loving the SW Florida beaches, but nothing beats the Jersey shore and that is one of the four things I miss up there.

 

Mark, any samples from the Legacy of a Ship Model that you can share?

 

Thanks gentlemen

Allan

 

[mtaylor]

10 hours ago, allanyed said:

Mark, any samples from the Legacy of a Ship Model that you can share?

 

Thanks gentlemen

Allan

 

I'll have to re-read it.  I recall some shortcuts like wood scored to indicate planking, but it's been a few years or more since I read it.