Build Better Ship Models

Ship models are special builds with all their rigging, metal railings, radar equipment, flags, along with their water- and weather-worn hulls and superstructures. Then there’s the task of putting them in context, on the water, be it rough seas or smooth sailing on glassy waters. Ship building takes special skills and more than a niggling amount of patience. With all the variety, from battleships to sailing sloops, and then to U-boats that cruise mostly underwater, we felt it time to compile a special issue of our absolute best model ship building stories. These are excellent how-to and step-by-step builds from the past 10 years of FineScale Modeler gathered together to serve as an authoritative source for ship modelers. You’ll find everything here that you’ll need to build a fine ship…

I build a lot of different kinds of models — civil and military aircraft, armor, cars, science fiction — but it’s been a long time since I set out to build a ship kit. As a kid, all of the small parts were difficult to handle and I was never happy with the way those clunky models looked with misaligned or broken parts. During the time I’ve worked at FSM, I’ve planned to build another maritime subject, but it wasn’t until Trumpeter’s 1/350 scale USS Independence littoral combat ship showed up that I felt inspired to get my feet wet. The Independence is a good choice for a first ship. The oddly shaped hull has clearly defined decks, making masking and painting easy. The number of small parts is not…

In this second part of “Builder Basics” I’ll get into adding fine details to our sample ship, Trumpeter’s sharp-looking 1/350 scale USS Independence LCS-2. The littoral combat ship’s simple shapes and lines, along with a minimum of photo-etched (PE) metal, offer novice ship modelers a good introduction to the genre. In the first part I assembled the hull. In this segment I’ll touch on weapons, masts, and radars. That means dealing with small parts and PE. I have a love/hate relationship with the latter. I think it looks great, because the thin metal lends finesse to a model that plastic just can’t achieve. But, it’s also fiddly and easy to mess up or lose during construction. All of that means special care should be taken during construction. I assembled some…

Our “Builder Basics” ship series uses Trumpeter’s 1/350 scale USS Independence littoral combat ship to demonstrate all the techniques you’ll need to complete a ship model. Earlier, in Part 1 you learned to assemble the tri-maran hull and other major components. Part 2 focused on adding details, both plastic and photo-etched metal. In this segment we’re off to the paint shop where we’ll have fun airbrushing various grays and using a lot of masking tape.…

This wraps up the “Builder Basics” series for creating a fine ship model, no matter your experience level. In this final segment we put the emphasis on small details to give your ship a finished, realistic look. So far you’ve learned how to build the hull and other major components, add small parts and photo-etched (PE) metal that help detail modern ship kits, and then paint the vessel, after carefully and properly masking it. Now it’s time to paint tiny details and apply decals before adding the last of the parts, including PE metal railings.…

Kevin Wenker’s HMCS Fennel attracted a lot of attention several years ago at an IPMS/USA national convention in Omaha, Neb., and collected its share of awards, including best ship and Popular People’s Choice. Kevin started with Matchbox’s 1/72 scale Flower-class corvette, converting it to the Canadian navy’s Fennel with photoetched (PE) metal and scratchbuilt parts. Along the way, he used several unique techniques that he happily shared with FSM. 1 Plan ahead “I have learned the hard way to plan ahead in my shipbuilding,” Kevin says. “It is easier to lay out a plan of action to account for the various features of a ship than to try and go back and correct them after the fact.” He also advises breaking such a large undertaking into small subassemblies to prevent…