Hey Everyone-
So I finished up the Imai Pirate Ship/Spanish Galleon that I’ve been working on…
I kinda lost patience with it toward the end, and I’m not super-impressed with the result, but I figured I’d post a few pics anyway…
And how is it that you got impatient?
Wonderful work.
AHA !
That is definitely the ship I have .Good job ! ! If you had soaked the anchor line in strong HOT tea it would’ve had the aged look you needed . Tanker-Builder
Thanks, gentleman!
Rob, my impatience came from a combination of things, but mostly I wish I’d have deviated from the rigging instructions sooner (by the end, I was referencing Petersson’s Rigging Period Ship Models, and things made more sense). But I also have been looking forward to my next project, a race car kit build/tip tutorial for a hobby magazine. So I’ve been distracted, and working to get this kit finished. It looks okay, but I could’ve done better…my next ship will be better, thanks to all the stuff I’ve been learning on the way.
Tanker, you should have seen the anchor line BEFORE I soaked it in tea! HAHA…I could have gotten it darker, though…
Mighty nice model - and, like almost all the old Imai products, obviously a first-rate kit.
But I can’t resist the temptation to pass on a piece of advice (strong advice) that I’ve offered several times before here in the Forum: don’t use tea to dye thread, cloth, or anything else.
Tea, like coffee, contains tannic acid, which literally eats fabric. It also darkens over time - and not much time. The rate of deterioration seems to be unpredictable (probably connected with the type of tea and how strong the brew was), but it’s just about guaranteed to happen eventually.
Some years ago I got hired to restore a nice old model (probably made in the 19the century) of what I concluded was an East Indiaman. (It was about three feet long.) The sails were made of either silk or linen (probably handkerchief material), and they’d obviously been dyed with either tea or coffee. They’d turned an extremely dark, slightly reddish brown, certainly not the color the modeler intended. When I started to take them off the model for cleaning, the fabric literally crumbled under my fingers. I called up a friend who at that time was in charge of fabric conservation at Colonial Williamsburg, and asked his advice on what was happening and what I should do about it. He said what I was looking at was “fabric breaks,” caused by the tea/coffee; it had literally eaten through the fabric. As to what I could do about it, the answer was - nothing.
This probably won’t matter much to Dave’s anchor cable; it will be relatively easy to replace it in the future. There’s also a good chance that the thread is synthetic; I have no idea whether tannic acid will affect it or not. But I strongly recommend against the use of tea or coffee for any modeling purpose other than slaking thirst. Tea and coffee are two of the four things I make it a point never to use in a model. (The other two: balsa wood, because I hate it, and lead, because it’s one of the most physically unstable materials known to mankind.)
Bottom line, though: it’s a mighty nice model. The paint job, in particular, is superb.I hope I don’t sound patronizing if I say that Dave’s progress through (if I’m counting right) three sailing ship models has been a great pleasure to watch.
If you want stuff dark in a hurry…use brown india ink diluted in alcohol…Bam!
I concur with the Kudos. Really fine work here. I particularly like the paint job on the hull. Could you please explain what you did to get that effect?
I like the idea of using diluted brown ink…seems like it would work quickly, and the level of tint would be easily adjustable…not to mention it’s probably less likely to deteriorate the materials…thanks for the tip!
And thanks for the kudos, John! It’s funny how, as I learn new techniques, I wish I’d had the skills then when I built previous kits…such is life, you can’t have experience until you gain it!
This was my 5th ship kit…My first was a Revell Bonhomme Richard, which was a sloppy build (I didn’t join the forum here until I was pretty much done with it), then I built the Revell Vasa…and followed it with the Black Swan (which I consider a great experience, I learned much, and the kit is very high-quality, in terms of manufacture)…then I did the Imai Santa Maria, and finally the Imai Pirate/Galleon Ship.
I agree that Imai makes beautiful parts, and fortunately for me, a lot of what they produced are in the style that I like…I have a number of Imai kits in the stash, and I’m looking forward to building each one!
Dave
Arnie, the paint job is a combination of acrylic basecoats, followed with a weathering blend using artist oil paints…a big part of the effect is due to the texture and wood grain molding of the plastic.
Remember bro,the alcohol evaporates fast…leaving a nice stain…easily corrected for lighter or darker.
Rob
I am only a lowly initiate in this type of magic ( learning to master washes at this point) , but would you be willing to share your recipe with me. I would be most grateful.
That is awesome! All the detail just pops.I had this kit as a kid but never finished it.This was an absolute pleasure to view.
Looks great! Very nice job.
Did you use orange pekoe or earl grey ?
He.HE.HE .Neat ! I guess you ran into the same problem I did .It seems that the line in question was NOT true cotton ,but one of the cotton like synthetics .I ran across that on another of IMAII’S model ship kits . The thing is ,you still did a bang up job . So keep on keeping on . Model On Tanker-builder
Hey :
Proffessor , I was trying my best to use that tea in the cup that had gone cold He.He.He. Now , you’ve solved a mystery for me . I may have had a good education , but chemistry wasn’t my strong suit when it came to fabrics . I too , had to restore a ship about twenty-five years ago and the sails just literally crumbled in my hands .When I asked the owner of the model he said his dad had the model restored in 1959 and I wouldn’t be doing it except the trip it took mast first to the floor from twelve feet up on a wall . I at least now know why the fabric crumbled .And it was a reddish color !
I always appreciate your input on things .Thank You ! Model On - - - - Tanker-Builder.
Excellent craftmanship. Very fun to look it (and admire).
Thanks everyone for the nice words!
Tanker, it was Gingerbread Tea…so now my ship smells like Christmas! lol
Arnie, I consider myself an initiate, as well…only been building ship models for about 1 1/2 years…I get the feeling some of these guys have been doing it for tens of years, and they are the ones with all the real good advice!
There’s no real secret recipe, but I can offer you the same advice someone gave me:
Get yourself a guinea pig (an unfinished kit you don’t care about) and go to the art store and pick up some artist oil paint in the tubes. pick a couple of colors that look like you would want your ship to look like…I like Burnt Umber and other woody colors…also get a stiff oil paint brush and some odorless mineral spirits…
Paint a base coat on your plastic guinea pig hull, deck, etc. (use acrylic paints, because I’m pretty sure the oil paint later will mess up enamels)…once your basecoat is dry…start with the experimentation! Slap on some oil paint!! Smear it around! Blend it in! See where it takes you! That’s what I did, and though I haven’t mastered the technique, I’ve learned a bit about how to get the effect I like…
I know it seems like some arcane witchcraft, but I promise if you dive into it, you’ll begin to see how it works…
David that is the best yet. I won’t patronize you either but I wish you were my son. Very well done, indeed.
My one comment is that those preformed deadeyes are always a challenge. Why?
Simply because the kit manufacturer doesn’t provide channels that are broad enough to set up the one thing that really matters. And that would be that the deadeyes, their lanyards and the stays they tension all have to line up. In tension as loose items.
Your ratline skills are great.
Really like what you have done with her. Very very nice indeed…Cheers mark
GMorrison…Your son?!? haha I don’t know how old you are, but I’m 38…I guess you could adopt me!
I know what you mean about deadeyes…it feels like a shortcut to just cut the shrouds/ratlines off and use the molded deadeyes…that’s one of the next big steps for me, but I’m getting there! If you saw my Santa Maria build, it actually came with some pseudo-deadeye hearts, and I tied the lanyards up on that one…came out pretty good!