Lead Adventure Forum
Other Stuff => Workbench => Topic started by: FierceKitty on November 12, 2019, 01:44:34 AM
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Does anyone want to share advice on waterlining a full-keel model longship? The keel is hard plastic, and currently in two halves, divided lengthways.
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Here are some ideas. You may find others on that and other fora:
http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling_subjects/f/7/p/98348/963602.aspx
http://www.finescale.com/online-extras/extra-articles/2018/09/waterline-hull
http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling_subjects/f/7/p/55798/569958.aspx
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I have a model like that, waiting for assembly.
Given the shallow keel, it makes most sense to build up some waves around a base, rather than whacking off part of the hull to waterline it.
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Thanks. It's meant to be moored next to a jetty at a fortified Viking camp. Probably a river bank, not a beach.
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Micro-Mark makes a tool designed to mark a waterline for doing just what your are seeking - not the actual cutting. Might not be cost effective for your purposes. I think PhilB gives reasonable advice, you can always model gentling lapping waves with whitecaps. Otherwise, mark you lines and cut away - I'd consider a dremel tool with a cutting wheel at the lowest possible speed setting and a lot of patience - extreme care - and perseverance (and maybe having a backup of the model if possible in case you mess it up).
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If you don't get the cut perfect, remember you can always use a large piece of sandpaper laid on a table to smooth any wobble in the edges.
Just be careful to apply even pressure so you don't end up giving it a list. lol
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Assemble the hull and push it down into a large blob of plasticine making sure that the deck is flat and level in both directions. Place a mark on the hull where you want the waterline. Now place any flat objects i have used table mats, next to the hull so that a pencil, laid on top of them is at the height of the waterline. By moving the pencil round, you can accurately draw the waterline around the hull and across the transom.
To cut along the line you can either use a modelling knife with a lot of shallow cuts or preferably a modelling saw. Its actually much easier to do this with the hull assembled as its stiffer and you can hack at it with a saw without much risk
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Thanks, all. There's much to be considered here.
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I build my Revell longships first and used a jigsaw second to waterline the model. The Revell plastic is to fragile in my opinion to waterline first and then building the ship. Somewhere in the Internet someone used building foam to fill the hull before waterlining to stabilise the ship.
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Hmmm...maybe glue some tissue inside the hull to reduce splintering, then saw? Or even use scissors while holding it underwater to dampen vibrations (scissors will cut glass that way)?
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Hmmm...maybe glue some tissue inside the hull to reduce splintering, then saw? Or even use scissors while holding it underwater to dampen vibrations (scissors will cut glass that way)?
I've never needed to do this. Simply constructing the hull including the stern/transom parts and deck and you have a fairly rigid structure. Then a simple hobby saw has always done the trick.
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When I waterlined my own I just attacked it with a dremel. It was not the best idea. So I don’t recommend that.
But I saw someone who assembled a ship, placed it in fine sand and then spray painted it. And cut away the unpainted bit. That is probably what I will do for my future vikingship.
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Thanks. It's meant to be moored next to a jetty at a fortified Viking camp. Probably a river bank, not a beach.
If the ship is pulled up onto the riverbank, you wouldn't need to waterline it at all.
If it's in the river next to a jetty, in a sort of permanent diorama, it would be easy to sink the hull into whatever you're using for the river surface.
Personally, I like to keep models out of fixed diorama positions so that I can use them in a variety of situations during games. You could make a rectangular base for the longship that is just a little bigger than the hull, and has water effects slightly layered to make it a waterline model without the angst of whacking off part of the hull.
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The diorama has to have a flat base, since it's a Viking camp for use as the baggage train in battles. The water level can't be above ground level. But I've found the plastic was soft enough to cut with scissors, so it should work well enough when sunk into a thin layer of epoxy which forms the river surface. The bank will have lots of vegetation after that.
Thanks for all the input.
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In 2010 I wrote an article about Vikings for Wargames Factory. I included water lining the Revell Longship.
I have uploaded it to my Facebook Group.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/136386787001968/files/ (https://www.facebook.com/groups/136386787001968/files/)
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It's to be seen on the medieval board, on the recent topic "I painted a few 28mm Vikings", which I'm putting my own 10mm on as it develops.
http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=120415.45