This looks interesting, I’ve been going over it in my head how to paint the waterline and i was thinking maybe I’ll measure one out but the way you did it makes more sense in my mind. I need painters tape, imncurrently using the tamiya(?) thin yellow masking tape Which works but ive had minor issues with it in the past. This looks amazing by the way and looks real beautiful especially where the propellers and props are I can see the shadowing but it’s not to much.
I usually wash Parts with mild soapy water to get rid of Mould Release Agents then paint over the bare Plastic so I do not lose any Hull Detail, especially when building 700 Scale Ships…Cheers Mark
I’m building my first 1:350 model (Tsarevitch -cut down to waterline) and found the tip about using a base - even a temporary one very useful. After thinking about how to do it I put masking tape on the hull bottom, put a little PVA on the outer surface of the tape and glued it all to a plywood offcut.
I have yet to discover how easy it will be to remove, but not anticipating a big problem.
Check how any turrets attach. If they use a “T” pin through a hole i nthe hull, a wood screw with a washer will hold the hull down on a temporary base.
Alternately, you can find a spot where superscructure will leave enough space to run a screw down into a base.
Alternately, if you fit a sheet styrene “base plate” in at the waterline, you can use a bolt with washers and a nut to hold those bolts to that base that the hull is then glued to.
That latter has the virtue of being able to get “under” the line of the base with an airbrush or the like.
Your Mileage May Vary.
CapnMac82!
Just a thought. On my larger ships fastened to a base. I will find a spot in the Superstructure that will hide a long bolt then drill out carefully the levels.This results in lone recessed washer and nut in the base holding the ship down. When you put the felt on the bottom(Don’t want to scar the furniture) Nothing is in the way to sit flat and beautiful!
Looking at your photos!
Don’t you just love that "Sheer’ line.(The line and curve of the deck from (Bow to Stern) Most noticeable in Photo 5!
Many of us here will advocated for builing in sub assemblies.
Especially given the complexity of painting decks and verticals differently.
The “armor model style” of build-it-all then paint just does not work quite so well. Especially given how much PE “we” often expect to install (all of which is too fussy and soft to be anywhere near clumsy human fingers, ever, once installed).
You are likely going to need a lot of masking material. Often you will want to slice that masking into dozens of small squares and/or wedges, some as small as 5x5 mm.
Be aware that some ships will have a “scum stripe” at the base of vertical ship structures which might be washed by rolling seas. The stripe is typically about 6" high and will be a blackish or very dark gray color (for many USN ships it’s Deck Gray). This will be found on the main deck and to 01 (0100 in WWII) superstructure deck (but you need reliable refernce photos).
Capnmac82!
I certainly have your back on this one. It was always something our Bos’n Mate first class would get on the guys about.“Get that aweful stain off there afore we make port” “Got that”. That’s what paint is for I guess. We only painted stuff in the Engineering spaces after yard time. Just so everything matched.