But recently I was working on some of War Artisan's excellent paper ship kits, when it occurred to me that they might be the solution to my frustrations in this scale. The kits are purchased as digital files, ready to print, which means you can scale them however you like in whatever graphics software you use.
I scaled the 74 gun kit down to 1:2400, then cut out the side panels and glued them directly to a Tumbling Dice model. Actually, I had to first alter the length and width ratios of the graphics, as War Artisan's kits are much more accurate in their dimension than the Tumbling Dice models. The stern pieces needed a totally different set of ratios, as they are very oversized on the metal miniatures.
I've been much more pleased with these results than any I have achieved with my own brushwork in this scale so far. It was a simple process to scale, cut and mount the graphics on the miniatures, and I'll definitely be doing this on more 1:2400 models.
I'd encourage anyone interested in the subject matter, whatever scale you may enjoy using, to check out War Artisan's catalogue of ship kits. They are extremely well designed, and very reasonably priced. When you purchase a kit you can print up as many models as you'd like, which makes them economically very efficient. And each kit comes with multiple color schemes, letting you add a lot of variety to your fleets. You can find them here:
http://www.warartisan.com/
And here is the Tumbling Dice 74 gun ship with War Artisan graphics. Rigging is done with nylon paintbrush bristles, just like with the 1:1200 scale kit's I've done. I also cut off the uppermost masts and the bowsprit and replaced them with brass rods, which are more in scale.
Amazing - rigging on a 1/2400 scale. I struggle with rigging my 1/1200 Langtons!
ReplyDeleteI tip my hat to you, Sir
Thanks very much jmilesr, I'm glad you like it. Working on lots of the smaller 1:1200 craft was good practice for this one, as the spaces weren't that much tighter.
DeleteDitto what Miles said.
ReplyDeleteVery nice work there. Saw your post on TMP through a Google search. Love how the Tumbling Dice ship came out.
ReplyDeleteIt's a lovely technique I'd like to copy, and I've got a few quick questions. What all did you need to do to the hull or the stern galleries to prep them for the War Artisan prints? Or are they reasonably flush?
Thanks!
Thanks Robert, I'm glad you like them. I actually didn't do any shaping or sanding on the stern galleries of the model, as there wasn't much relief to them to begin with. I just trimmed the paper and stuck it right to the model. Then I painted the yellow lines on to give a little definition to them. Good luck with your project!
DeleteThanks! I'm excited for them to arrive.
DeleteAnother quick question. When you're doing the rigging, are you gluing the running rigging in place before you paint the deck and masts, or after? Also, what're you using to glue the rigging in place?
I do all the painting first, though I scrape a little paint off the yardarms where the running rigging gets attached, to make a stronger bond, and then touch them up after. I use Loctite super glue, the thin runny type. I squeeze a few drops out on to a piece of plastic as a palette, and then apply the glue to the model with the tip of a toothpick. The strands of rigging are nylon bristles cut from a paintbrush. Much easier than working with thread, in my opinion, because there is no tying and you don't have to achieve tension to keep them straight.
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