Seeking input on case refinishing

[Elia]

Shipwrights,

 

A brig model I gave as a gift many years ago has returned to me.  From the moment I put the brig into the case I wasn’t happy with the pairing.  I find the wood and details of the model compete, and are somewhat overshadowed, by the vastness of the case’s wood.  I’m looking for your thoughts on changes to the finish of the case.  I’m also considering putting a different finish inside the case on the surface beneath the ship.  Maybe railroad train simulated gravel, or maybe something like green felt.

 

Thanks in advance,

Elia

[Jim Rogers]

Here is a couple ideas. First one is a knock down, very easy to transport and ship. Second one is maple and pauduck, 

[gsdpic]

I agree that the color of the wood in the case is too similar to the color of the ship.  It looks like a beautiful model but the hull gets lost a bit.  Do either of these very, very quick and dirty (and sloppy) photoshop edits help?  The first two I just changed the color/lightness of the base and the third I attempted to use the new "generative fill" tools to put gravel on the base, but I had trouble getting it to generate gravel as small as I wanted.

 

 

 

[Jim Rogers]

You could get some iron on veneer from https://www.veneersupplies.com. They have a great supply. Then get some inlays from https://www.inlays.com. Pretty easy fixes with a beautiful result.

[Paul Le Wol]

Hi Elia, beautiful ship. If this were my case I think that I would try adding a dark colored board to the floor of the case so that it is flush with the tops of the bottom/horizontal pieces of the frame. It looks like there is enough clearance at the top.

[Jaager]

I have been imagining using sea green or blue marble tile as a base.  It does increase the weight significantly, but it sure ain't going to tip over very easily.

It would be a chance to use the diamond hole boring bits from American Surplus.

 

A dark Rosewood dye on the frame?

[druxey]

Of course, one doesn't need to use real marble. Faux painted marble is much lighter - and cheaper!

[Elia]

Jim,

 

Those are some nice cases!  The second one is ornate.  You second post linking to the inlays and strips helped me understand how that might be done.  Very nice.  
 

My thoughts were initially along the lines of applying an additional finish to the case, either to lighten it some, or to darken it.  Something to differentiate the case color from the ship wood tones.  I can deconstruct it as it’s held together by screws, with only the top panel being fully glued together (if I recall correctly).

 

I like the idea of a darker ‘floor’ inside the case, either as a solid color, or maybe a secondary insert.

 

Thank you for the ideas,

 

Elia

[Elia]

Gary,

 

Thanks for the quick visuals!  That helps a lot!  The green felt, or at least that example, tells me that that option may be too visually distracting to me.  I like the dark ‘floor’ example you’ve shown.  I also like the gravel example, recognizing that the stuff I’ve seen from model railroading is pretty small compared to the quick overlay you’ve provided.

 

These are quite helpful.  Thank you!

 

Elia

[Elia]

Paul,

 

It is distracting, isn’t it? I like the idea of adding a dark ‘floor’ to the case.  Thst helps visually isolate the model from the case.

 

Thank you,

 

Elia

[Elia]

Jaager,

 

Now that could be quite nice.  Have you seen something like that done in a case before?  I imagine it certainly would add some heft to the base of the case.

 

Thank you,

 

Elia

[John Ruy]

One more idea that’s really simple. I built this case and was quite happy with a black lacquer.

 

[Elia]

druxey,

 

I’m afraid my rendition of faux marble finishing might be distracting from the model, though not in a good way.  It would most certainly be cheaper than the real stuff!

 

Thank you,

 

Elia

[Roger Pellett]

Here’s an idea that I thought worked out well.  It is intended to give a  impression of the blue green of water.  It is a sheet of copper that I treated with vinegar, ammonia, and salt, then sealed by spraying it with Matt varnish.  Same effect as Jaager’s sea green/ blue marble base.  I treated the turned brass supports this same way.  The stripe next to the hull is a light reflection.

 

Roger

 

[Elia]

John,

 

That is very attractive and sets the light colored model off well.  My case is pretty large, and I have a concern of a very dark case frame being too much of an eyesore for the size of the room it’s in.  I see this endeavor as trying to make the case not complete with the model (in tones and grain), though also not be too visually grabbing or jarring within the room.

 

A balancing act as it were.

Thanks,

 

Elia

[Elia]

Roger,

 

Oh that is quite nice!  It works well with the frame wood tone (stain?).

 

Elia

[Roger Pellett]

The case is native American Black Walnut.  Where you live it should be easy to find.  The stain is a “French Red” gunstock stain.

 

If you decide on the patina’ed copper, I saturated a towel with the chemicals and suspended the copper sheet near but not touching the towel; all in a covered plastic tub.

 

Roger

[Elia]

Roger,

 

The case of mine shown is a type of mahogany.  It’s fairly grainy.  I believe it is finished with just a coat or two matt or satin urethane (it’s been 14 years since I made it and I don’t recall).

 

I really like your case’s stain color.

 

I am fascinated by the technique.  The chemicals evaporate, becoming a mixed gas in the closed chamber, and somehow muddle etch the copper sheet?  Were the chemical evenly spread on the cloth or blotted here and there?  The muddled effect, maybe a bad way to describe it, looks great.  Do you recall how long it took?

Thanks,

 

Elia

Edited November 1, 2023 by Elia

[Jaager]

57 minutes ago, Elia said:

Have you seen something like that done in a case before?

No, I have not.  I bought a large green and a large blue single tile from Home Depot in the late 90's for the heck of it.  I do not remember to price being all that prohibitive.

It is just another armchair thought experiment.

[druxey]

I'd be concerned about off-gassing from the copper compounds produced by that method. Even if sealed, I'd not trust it to be effective. Paints sponged on would be safer both to do and for the model's longevity, plus it would be less expensive.

[Jim Rogers]

13 hours ago, Roger Pellett said:

Here’s an idea that I thought worked out well.  It is intended to give a  impression of the blue green of water.  It is a sheet of copper that I treated with vinegar, ammonia, and salt, then sealed by spraying it with Matt varnish.  Same effect as Jaager’s sea green/ blue marble base.  I treated the turned brass supports this same way.  The stripe next to the hull is a light reflection.

 

Roger

 

I like that. Have looked at doing that base finish for one of my cases.

[Jim Rogers]

This is a water feature I did for the Morgan. This was in the Whaling Museum in Lahaina and got burnt up in the fire. A friend of mine built the model. The case was designed as a display and transport case.

[Roger Pellett]

Like many on the forum, I have been attempting to build ship models since I was a small child.  Way longer than I care to admit to!  The first model that was nice enough to deserve a case was a “Yellow Box” Model Shipways Harriet Lane received as a gift in the mid-1960’s.  The case was a sad affair made from plexi-glass glued to a Walnut base that eventually warped.

 

I eventually developed a system for making wood framed glass cases.  These are neat, and rugged but not artistic works of cabinetry like some posted on the forum.  Some are old enough (35-40 years) that I was unaware of problems from off-gassing and didn’t consciously worry about ventilation.  Some of the older cases feature veneered baseboards glued to a plywood substrate with rubber based contact cement.  Somehow all of this has survived the test of time!  While I am pleased with my models and cases I’m not to worried about longevity once I’m gone.  My daughter has limited space in a New York Apartment and my daughter-in-law is fussy about her decor. 

 

The patined copper was inspired be a similar product sold by a commercial veneer distributor.  I had a sheet of .005in copper surplus from a project, and the chemicals are not exotic.  The effect was far better than I could have simulated with paint.  

 

I bought a plastic tub with a lid.  The towel soaked with Ammonia and vinegar was spread out in the bottom of the tub.  The copper was tacked to a homemade wood frame and suspended over but not in contact with the towel.  Salt was sprinkled into the copper.  The tub was covered with a snap on lid and allowed to sit for 3-4 days.  After it comes out of the tub the copper needs to be throughly rinsed. The copper should be cleaned to remove grease, oil, corrosion before being exposed to the chemicals.  

 

Specialty  gunsmith supply houses; Brownells, Herters, Cavella, etc. can be good sources for case finishing materials.

 

Some of the woods sold as Mahogany are pretty poor stuff and that’s probably what you got.  As mahogany like teak, is associated with classic yachts and fine furniture I suspect that most ship modelers have been faced with trying to finish this faux Mahogany.  You should be able to find Wood Filler at local paint stores. This is NOT the stuff kit builders use to try to fill in planking mistakes.  It comes in quart cans and is something called Fullers Earth mixed with linseed oil.  It can be mixed with your choice of oil based wood stains or you can mix it with oil based artist colors (the kind that come in tubes) to create your own.  Paint it on, let it soak in, and wipe it off.

 

Roger

 

Edited October 31, 2023 by Roger Pellett

[John Fox III]

Greetings,

Here are a few ideas I've used for case bases. First is a Lexington model in a glass case with a mirror for the bottom. I think it is sort of "airy" and shows the underside of the model too. The model was fastened to the base by scratching the mirror beneath the area with the wooden "waves" and then using epoxy to fasten them to the mirror. The second is a small scale model of a tahiti ketch model, with maple veneer "planking", minus any trunells, beneath the model.

Anchor's A Weigh!

John Fox III

[Elia]

Roger,

 

Thanks for the additional information.

 

John,

 

The mirror floor is different and sharp.  That does impart an airy feel, and I’ll bet it provides reflected light onto the lower hull and planking, usual in the shadows.

 

The planked floor is clever and different too.  In my ‘case’ I’m not sure that would help solve my issue of the planked hull being overwhelmed by the large wooden case.

 

Thanks for those!

 

Elia

[DonSangria]

I am thinking about using a blue colered MDF-plate as a base. What are your thoughts about that? Does it look cheap?

[Roger Pellett]

MDF is just a substrate, a blank canvas.  It can be finished with a variety of finishes.  If the finish is tasteful and well done it will look fine.  For example, MSW member Druxey is a master at applying faux marble and wood burl finishes to ordinary base materials.  Unfortunately I can’t come close to matching his artistic skills.

 

A caution- MDF is a wood fiber product and can and will warp from changes in ambient moisture. It is therefore necessary to balance the two opposing sides of the baseboard.  A while ago, I glued a piece of veneer to one surface while leaving the other exposed.  It warped like a banana.  So, if you paint or otherwise finish one surface it’s necessary to likewise treat the other.

 

Roger