kit bashing

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

back in the late 1970s 1980ish kit bashing was all the rage. The Lumberyard for model shipwrights sold more milled wood to kit builders than to scratch builders.

Back then kits were not of very high quality and early kits makers did not have a grasp on types of wood suitable for fine model building. Plus, cost factor was a major concern. cheap available wood was chosen over the more expensive exotic and better quality wood.
The idea was to buy a cheap kit and toss out all the wood except for the set of bulkheads and structural components the replace the planking with better wood. As it turned out a cheap kit ended up as a nice quality model.

i do not know if kit bashing is still a thing these days but a poor quality kit can and was turned into fine works of art by replacing the wood and sometimes the fittings.

 

[Corsair]

back in the late 1970s 1980ish kit bashing was all the rage. The Lumberyard for model shipwrights sold more milled wood to kit builders than to scratch builders.

Back then kits were not of very high quality and early kits makers did not have a grasp on types of wood suitable for fine model building. Plus, cost factor was a major concern. cheap available wood was chosen over the more expensive exotic and better quality wood.
The idea was to buy a cheap kit and toss out all the wood except for the set of bulkheads and structural components the replace the planking with better wood. As it turned out a cheap kit ended up as a nice quality model.

i do not know if kit bashing is still a thing these days but a poor quality kit can and was turned into fine works of art by replacing the wood and sometimes the fittings.

I believe there are still many of the builders still like to replace the lumber with a better quality wood.

 

[DARIVS ARCHITECTVS]

I believe there are still many of the builders still like to replace the lumber with a better quality wood.

I am one of them.

 

[Jack Sparrow]

I am a wannabe. Lots of things to consider such as:
(i) Do I want to setup my garage to cut wood, even in the winter? would need heat
(ii) How much wood do I need to complete the model?
(iii) What wood works best for what application? For example if I wanted to plank the deck with a hardwood what would I use?
(iv) What wood is actually available?
(v) Can I get the wood locally or do I have to go through one of the specialty sites? If the latter then I have to be prepared to pay high delivery fees.
(vi) Am I painting or staining the boat or nothing? For example, when I completed the mirage from Corel, they used different colored wood to give the boat character.

Just some things that I need to consider. Now that I think about it, I don't even know if I can purchase wood products from outside my country.

 

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

I am a wannabe. Lots of things to consider

very good point

kit bashing is in the middle between built it out of the box and full-blown scratch building.

such as:
(i) Do I want to setup my garage to cut wood, even in the winter? would need heat

that is true you need a basic wood working setup that is a small hobby type table saw or band saw. and perhaps a hobby size thickness sander. With these basic power tools you should be able to mill your own planking.

(ii) How much wood do I need to complete the model?

if you bashing a kit all you need to do is replace what was provided in the kit

(iii) What wood works best for what application? For example if I wanted to plank the deck with a hardwood what would I use?

that is what this forum is for, just ask and someone will give you suggestions.

(iv) What wood is actually available?

that would require a bit of Google search i would venture to say any wood imaginable is available.

(v) Can I get the wood locally or do I have to go through one of the specialty sites? If the latter then I have to be prepared to pay high delivery fees.

there are shipping services available and 1/2 the cost of standard postage. Granted shipping cost are much higher these days but there are ways to reduce the cost. For example, you want to replace the Basswood decking provided in a kit. The kit has 80 pieces 18 inches long X 1/16 x 18, Don't order rough lumber because 1/2 the wood will end up as saw dust. Why pay for the weight for unusable saw dust. Order resawn 1/8 thick sheets it is less weight.


(vi) Am I painting or staining the boat or nothing? For example, when I completed the mirage from Corel, they used different colored wood to give the boat character.

some kits provide only a limited selection of wood. So yes if you want you can replace some od the wood like for cap rails or decking or bulwark planking.

Just some things that I need to consider. Now that I think about it, I don't even know if I can purchase wood products from outside my country.

granted some countries have restrictions on lumber imported into the country but that mostly applies to container loads of rough lumber or logs. I do not think restrictions apply to wood used in model kits.

 

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

i remember a long time ago i think it was the original model Shipway kits that you could buy the entire kit or just parts like just the hull or fittings or plans.
it would be nice if you could just buy a set of bulkheads and just the structural parts and maybe some of the fittings buying a kit à la carte.

this is a step away from the production line of every kit exactly the same.