RMS Titanic by Massimodels – Minicraft – 1:350 – PLASTIC – Tom's Modelworks

[Massimodels]

Hello all,

 

After the semester over I thought of taking on another project – one which I had always wanted to complete, especially as a child. The Academy/Minicraft Titanic. Although not a comparison to the far more extensive Trumpeter at 1:200, I've had two of these kits in my stockpile for a while, that I picked up for a fraction of MSRP, so I thought it would prove wise to start here, and tackle something like that in the future. I have both an early 1997 version and the Deluxe Edition from 2017, I'll probably only use the older one for moral support, as not to worry as much about the perfectionism of the build, but probably will never build it considering the improvements to the kit since that version. 

 

To complement (replace) the given photo-etch, I will be using some sets from Tom's Modelworks – which have not arrived yet. I consider their complete set of photo etch to be overkill for me, and will be opting for the essentials (detail sets and railings), and swapping the PE lifeboat davits for the 3D printed resin davit and lifeboat sets – they are more accurate and far easier to assemble.

 

My main intention with this build is to hone more artistic skills with respect to true realism. I have strong feelings about the ideas of "pristine" or "weathered" builds, as they seem to neglect the idea of scale modelling itself. I have experience with plastic aircraft at 1:48, and whether or not one has a preference for a "cleaner" or "dirtier" build, some common techniques are still employed regardless. Pre/post-shading or panel line and surface washes are almost always used, and to me do not fit into a strict category of "weathering", but are simply required to attain realism at a given scale. Additionally, colour theory also comes into play at difference distances with different lighting – glossy black is really not so dark or glossy at normal viewing distances, neither is it uniform in colour. Now the same must be said about any form, most notably (and prevalently lacking) in ships, especially plastic ones at larger scales. I therefore draw inspiration from James Cameron's 1:20 model from the 1997 movie, which served during the golden period of movie models – truly some art was made. As seen, this model is definitely "weathered" but is also the most appropriate impression of Titanic, given the scale. The first photo gives a good impression of the colours, while the others give good close-up detail. I only hope to scratch the surface with my attempt, but I will definitely use it, and my 1:48 techniques, as heavy inspiration for my building choices.

 

There are plenty of in box reviews of this model, I don't think anyone would benefit from my photos of the parts.

 

All the useful Cameron model photos I could find:

 

As well as a great video:

 

Overall, I perceive this build to be a learning experience, but also a fulfillment of aspirations.

 

More updates to follow...

 

Edited May 16 by Massimodels

[Knocklouder]

Good luck on your journey 

Bob M.

[Massimodels]

To start, I painted the hull black, and painstakingly did some aircraft-type pre-shading on the individual hull plates with white. These helped to get a good baseline of colour differentiation, adding shadows, and the additional layers of paint made the hull extra matte (just what I like). 

 

 

The hull colour was consequently put on with light layers of Tamiya XF-9 hull colour – it seems to fit the bill nicely given distance and general lighting conditions:

 

 

Then added XF-1 black in a similar fashion, making sure to keep lots of the white showing through, and then adding the white strip which was a bit interesting with the white pre-shading (not recommended but didn't want to experiment when white is also so easily weathered with washes and oils):

 

 

This last photo looks promising for a base colour coat – and I hope the ideas I spoke of earlier make more sense with this. If anyone has sympathies towards these ideas please be sure to share, I could use all the tips I can get.

[Roger Pellett]

I enjoy reading the plastic modeling posts on MSW as you guys are real artists when it comes to subtle painting effects.

 

I would like to try your scheme on my current project, the Great Lakes freighter Benjamin Noble .  It has a black hull.  
 

Is the white brush applied? Randomly?  Is the fan in the background serving some paint related purpose?

 

Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

 

Roger