Well ;
Hello again . Now here we go running in circles .Yup ; literally of course ! We are going to shape three things this time .A tapered gun barrel .A mast and a ships bow .
The ship’s bow is the hardest so we will do it last . The gun barrel is first .You have probably rolled paper unconsciously before you threw it away. We will do this consciously this time .Cut a strip of paper about 1.5" by 3" in size . Now taking the paper in hand , Get a very large pair of scissors or a very good stainless steel straight-edge .
You ever do curls in Christmas ribbon ? This is what you will do to this piece of paper , Only , you Must do this from the long side to the opposite side . When you do this you will create a tube .Now adjusting the tube into a taper . Not very noticeable is it ? GOOD . Remember most model ship guns look like they are straight , but they aren’t .
Put a wee bit of glue on the gun edge ( the top of the two edges) . Make sure there’s a little angle to this part , Now before the glue is trying to set put in the taper by pulling one end tighter than the other …
Paint the inside black and the outside grey .You now have a somewhat large gun barrel .You just have to use the same technique only smaller for 1/250 and so on .
A mast is even easier .Take the same sized piece and roll it longways into the tightest roll you can make .Yes . You may cheat and dampen the paper . Now when it’s nice and tight run some glue on the seam .Let dry with a little holder or piece of floral wire on it to keep it from unraveling . When dry , Paint wood brown .
AHA ! you did these two okay ? Good . Now the ships bow . This one requires a little work , but the methods described here-in , Will work !! Get the biggest spoon you can get , or even an oval Deep sided serving dish . This will be your mold . Now spritz the 4" x 6" piece of paper. Now lay it on the spoon or serving dish side .Make sure you coat the mold with a non - oily release agent such as PAM. Lightly !
Gently press the paper to the surface till there are almost no wrinkles .It’s not possible to eliminate all of them .You can , but , this is your first . Now let it air dry ! Remove with a flat X-Acto blade or a thin piece of metal , say a mechanics feeler gauge . Gee , a bent piece of paper ! Now cut it where you have to , to line up with your deck and waterline plate and glue in place .There .You have a nice smooth flared bow on your paper model !
If you don’t need a lot of flare then use the side of a tapered dish soap bottle ( the wider , flatter side) .Same results ! Good luck .Next time it’s tires ! .