SPA Modeler

Nobody posted here since winter?? Time to do something about that!

As i was working on the review build of the Phantom Mustang elsewhere on this forum i slipped into this deadly "i am not having fun with this" state of mind. So i am taking a break from it to build something else. A little while ago i picked up this kit from someone for next to nothing:

The Kit:



Yes, 1:1200! Lucky for me the Yamato is the biggest battleship ever so the finished model measures about 8 inches... gigantic!
It even comes with tiny Zero fighters or at least, that is what they look like:



With just over 30 parts, and some of em not even used in the kit the build itself took but one evening. The painting not much longer. At 1:1200 it would be very hard to make everything look uber realistic and the modeler has a tough time stripping the model of a distinct toy like appearance. After painting and the usual drybrush and wash routine i came up with this result:



Since the kit did not provide me with a mast i made an attempt to scratch one. Still a bit rough looking but at least it has one now!

So we have a model done in like 72 hours... Now what?? I am glad you asked

The base:

Off i went to Target. Came home with this 3 buck photoframe and some plaster! I then took some Reynolds aluminum foil and crumpled it up, then tucked it into the frame:



And ofcourse the plaster!:





After an hour or so baking in the Arizona sun my little concrete slab was ready for flipping over:



I then gave it a day to cure and currently i am preparing to start modeling on the neccesary bits and bobs to my seascape. Stay tuned folks!

Oh yeah!



- Kari

The base - Pt.II

Now that the plaster base plate was fully dry, i could then proceed with creating the bow waves and wake. Using ordinary DAS clay you outline the ships contours using fingers and spatula. Once that is done, you can add the bow waves with more of the clay. With wet fingers and brush you can round off any edge.





A ships wake is created with generous amounts of putty and dabbing it with toothpicks or maybe even an old toothbrush. It gives the impression of foamy and churned up water perfectly. To soften edges, gently brush over with some thinner

This is really an interesting project Kermit!

- Kari

Thank you Ksaarni, it is really fun to do as well! I picked up this way of modeling water from the IPMS Stockholm website and did a few projects with it.

Wow - that's looking Really good project Kermit, looking forward to seeing it come together.

Interesting technique for the sea - I've seen something similer done with acrylic putty (the stuff that artists add to their paint to give it more volume) - the downside to that technique though is you have to stuck the model into the putty and then build up the bow waves around it - so if you mess up the base you've lost the model.

Can't wait to see how your's looks when done.

And as for those Aircraft - Were they Floatplane Zeros (Rufes) maybe? Not sure if they used them as spotters,

Now THAT'S a cool idea for water wave simulation! Wow!

Thank you for the kind words! A better painter than me can really make this into a very convincing sea scape.

The Base Pt.III and Finish

Time for paint! But before we do that we need to seal the plaster. Not using any kind of sealant will most likely make the plaster soak up a lot of the paint you apply. I used a dilluted white glue mix for this.

Now, ... For painting your base you can basically use anything you personally prefer but i recommend oil paints. They take forever to dry so you have ample time to alter your sea painting if you so choose. Not the first time i think something looks ok, then step out to run an errand or grab a coffee, only to come back and feel something is "off". Oil gives you this time.


What you need is some shades of blue, some emerald green and some white paint. Different locations have different shades of water. For instance a tropical place or something mediterranean will look a lighter blue than the Baltic or Atlantic would. My model being a Japanese ship i went tropical on this one. Cerulean Blue captures the feel pretty well. And for the deeper water you can dab on some darker shade like ultramarine Blue.

Once you have your blue shades on, be sure to add some emerald green here and there. It greatly enhances the realism. Finally, use the white to cover the tops of the biggest waves and bow waves. Once this is all dried you can use ordinary enamels or acrylics to give the whole thing a thorough drybrushing, especially the wake.







Happy with your result? Then put away the base for a few days so the paints can cure sufficiently. Then break out your favorite glosscoat paint (i like future for this bit because it dries fast enough inbetween layers) and really go to town on your base. More gloss is better! We want that glossy wet effect. My base received three generous layers of the future. And there you are! A nice looking, plaster based seabase for your model:



During the playing with clay stage you already made sure your model would fit so here it is just a simple matter of grabbing it off the shelf and applying it to the base with some CA. Done!





Thanks to the increased drying rate provided by the scorching sun here in Arizona the oil paints dried fast enough for me to be able to create model and base from start to finish in under a week. Hope you like it!

Like it? Love it - a really great build! And I love that sea base.

I wonder if this method would work for a 1/72 float plane..?