Hints, Tips and Tricks

Chrome Handrails
Article by Bernard Scott

These handrails are simple to make and look very effective.
The rails are chrome/nickle plated copper wire described as 'Jewellery wire'. The 'joints' are plastic beads bought from a local craft shop - total cost to fit my model - £3.00! This is the model on the water.

All stanchions are single pieces of wire with individually cut-to-length rails between. The lower 'joints' are made with a hole drilled through the beads - upper joints have a hole drilled through just one side. The lower supports are beads cut in half. Cyano is used to glue them together. I used a simple jig when gluing the half bead onto the stanchion to ensure all stanchions were of equal height before gluing the ends of the wire into the hull. Each section of rail was assembled as the stanchions were fitted to the hull.

Fine Line Detail
Article by Bernard Scott

To create black line details on your model like the deck planking, vents and rope lines shown opposite. (Click the image to see larger pics.)
These lines were 'transferred' from a laser print out. I've also used this method for transferring text like the name of the vessel. Create the image you wish to transfer and print out on a laser printer (a photo copy should work just as well but I haven't tried it). If your image is 'handed' like the ship's name would be, it must be 'reversed' on the print out. Prepare the surface with paint etc to produce a smooth surface, any hollows in the surface could ruin the transfer process.

Apply a coat of varnish to the surface and also to the printed face of the paper then immediately lay the paper down on the model, varnish to varnish. If alignment is important make marks on the back of the print out to help place it in the right position. Rub the paper down firmly taking care to remove any air bubbles as these will ruin the transfer. When the varnish is dry, wet the paper and gently rub it away. It will take a lot of rubbing to remove all the paper and I have found it best to dry the area often.

When dry, rub a finger lightly over the surface, if it feels rough there is still some paper left. Keep wetting and rubbing until all the paper has been rubbed off. Excessive rubbing may remove the ink and hollows in the surface could cause area's of the line to miss. If it all goes 'pear shaped' use fine wet-and-dry paper to remove all the lines and start again. When you're happy with the reuslts apply another coat of varnish to seal the transfer.

I use Rustin's Exterior Gloss varnish for the tranfer process which is water soluble. It dries very quickly and is almost invisible after applying a final coat of varnish (I use an oil based matt varnish to finish all my models). Any paper left on the surface will show up so be sure to take care and remove ALL traces of paper.

This process works because the laser 'ink' is absorbed by the wet varnish so the paper can be removed leaving only the ink behind. As you can see from the pictures, I've used this method to create 'plank' lines on the deck, rope effect around a lifeboat and 'vent' effect on a funnel. For the deck, I prpared the wood with a few coats of varnish and some gentle rubbing down with sandpaper.

Electrical Connections
Article by Bernard Scott

My latest project requires a servo to be mounted in the removable superstructure. I didn't want to have to unplug from the receiver each time I take the top off so I used connectors from computer equipment to make these (see pic).

These connectors are IDE connectors cut down into two pairs (I need 3 terminals for the servo.) The gold plated pins and sockets make them ideal for the marine modelling environment. I have used a pair of theses connectors on each side of the superstructure as I am also running lights and radar. Soldering the wires is a little bit fiddly and care must be taken to line them up properly but, when fitted properly, it takes very little force to push them together and they hold the superstructure in place nicely.