Dave_E Posted March 10, 2022 Share #1 Posted March 10, 2022 Hi All, Getting ready to paint the Lady's hull white. I've seen several models (of many different ships) where they did not have the rudder painted white and the rudder hinges not painted either. I'm going to guess this might be for athetics and not historically accurate? Input? mtaylor and thibaultron 2 Quote Dave Current builds: Rattlesnake Completed builds: Lady Nelson On the shelf: NRG Half Hull Project, Various metal, plastic and paper models Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlight Posted March 11, 2022 Share #2 Posted March 11, 2022 Hi Dave, Perhaps an expert can chime in here, but my thoughts are: The white "paint" was not just for show in real life, it was an anti-fouling coating to inhibit the growth of barnacles and other marine life which would increase the hydrodynamic drag on the hull, slowing the ship down. Therefore it would make sense to paint everything below the waterline, including the pintles and gudgeons (the two parts of the rudder hinges). Whether or not you choose to as an aesthetic matter is a different story entirely. -starlight thibaultron, allanyed and Canute 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtaylor Posted March 11, 2022 Share #3 Posted March 11, 2022 Starlight is correct, IMO. It's your model and your the captain so it's your choice, Dave. starlight, Canute and thibaultron 3 Quote Mark "The shipwright is slow, but the wood is patient." - me Current Build: Past Builds: La Belle Poule 1765 - French Frigate from ANCRE plans - ON HOLD Triton Cross-Section NRG Hallf Hull Planking Kit HMS Sphinx 1775 - Vanguard Models - 1:64 Non-Ship Model: On hold, maybe forever: CH-53 Sikorsky - 1:48 - Revell - Completed Licorne - 1755 from Hahn Plans (Scratch) Version 2.0 (Abandoned) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave_E Posted March 11, 2022 Author Share #4 Posted March 11, 2022 38 minutes ago, starlight said: Hi Dave, Perhaps an expert can chime in here, but my thoughts are: The white "paint" was not just for show in real life, it was an anti-fouling coating to inhibit the growth of barnacles and other marine life which would increase the hydrodynamic drag on the hull, slowing the ship down. Therefore it would make sense to paint everything below the waterline, including the pintles and gudgeons (the two parts of the rudder hinges). Whether or not you choose to as an aesthetic matter is a different story entirely. -starlight Concur completely. So… wanting to be more accurate than not… rudder will match the hull waterline. mtaylor, starlight, thibaultron and 1 other 4 Quote Dave Current builds: Rattlesnake Completed builds: Lady Nelson On the shelf: NRG Half Hull Project, Various metal, plastic and paper models Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr PR Posted March 11, 2022 Share #5 Posted March 11, 2022 As I understand it, the "white paint" for hull bottoms was actually a yellowish off-white mixture of white lead, tallow, and a few other things like sulfur that made a foul gunk nothing would want to live on. However, I know of no reference that says just how "off-white" it was. Canute, allanyed, thibaultron and 2 others 5 Quote Phil Current build: USS Cape MSI-2 Current build: Albatros topsail schooner Previous build: USS Oklahoma City CLG-5 CAD model Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allanyed Posted March 11, 2022 Share #6 Posted March 11, 2022 Dave, A number of contemporary hull block models can be seen on the RMG site that show the white bottoms. For some examples of 60 gun ships for instance go to https://www.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/search/60 gun ship full hull block models You can find a lot more examples of other rates on their collections site. One of the things I found odd was that most of the contemporary block models from after 1782, when copper sheathing became the norm, mostly have white painted bottoms. I did find one photo of a contemporary block model a with copper colored painted bottom which looks far better than the out-of-scale plates found in modern kits. Allan mtaylor, Canute, thibaultron and 1 other 4 Quote PLEASE take 30 SECONDS and sign up for the epic Nelson/Trafalgar project if you would like to see it made into a TV series. Click on http://trafalgar.tv There is no cost other than the 30 seconds of your time. THANK YOU Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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