How about this:
Something quite common for found materials going into a ship? Well,You say,what is so common we missed it? How about the styrene Egg containers? The deep ones from refrigerators. I have four right now. They have been end sawn and blocked in on the bottom.
What will it be for? how about a H.O (1/87 Scale)Great Lakes Freighter? Yes, I need two more units to finish the main Hull. I glue stringers on the inside at deck level, for strength and joint plates at each of the joints.The bottom gets thicker joint plates.
Now because many Lakers were very Flat Bottomed so the shape is okay. Then the stern and bow that become the only parts requiring any shaping. Yup, they sometimes float too! I don’t build them to, it just happens.
I have found another material that many of us have used in the past. Remember Card-Board waxed milk cartons? They still work with hot glue, being as how they are plastic coated now. Neat start for a W.W. 11 Victory or Liberty ship or AKA or APA.
Look around you and build your larger fleet or in some scales even larger Armor models. Cut in half and turned on it’s side You can see the front Glacis and Topside for a tank!
The problem I see is that you have not very much control over the beam, if you are shooting for a specific scale. If the beam of the ship you are modeling is not represented by the width of the carton, how do you change it?
Also, many of the egg cartons I see have some flare to the hull- the beam is wider at the deck level than at the bilge. I suppose you could add some formers to draw it in at deck level, but that seems to be as much work as sawing a wood block or set of laminations. Maybe a little cheaper, but I find the cost of wood for a wood hull is not much of an expediture compared to a kit.
Really, making a decent laker hull is about as hard as finding a nice straight 2x4.
I’m with you on being creative about materials and it’s a good way to keep costs down and be green.
Whattya mean?
I ain’t never in me life seen a straighht 2x4! Really a modeler can make any adjustments to beam and bow flare as well as the stern. If you want to model there is material available without going to Joe Money’s Expensive Hobby Shop We just have to look Right?
Even if I use nicer wood I find the cost is minimal. I use the bread and butter (lamination) method for hulls. My local Menards carries nice poplar s4s. Even the cost for my biggest laker, a 1:196 700 footer was minimal compared to even large plastic kits let alone the European wood kits. I spend more on PE and plastic detail than the cost of the wood.
Don, Hi;
Call it a Fixation if you will. I usually Don’t like Bread and Butter builds. I don’t know , but I remember a bad experience with a Bluenose that engendered the dislike I believe.
I will build Plank on Frame and Bulkhead till I cannot see the wood I guess. I went to the plastics because of the requirements of R.C. and No Titanic action was allowed!
I’m with you, when it comes to scratch building if you can make it work, use it!
Josh