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- Nov 4, 2021
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Looking for some assistance from the old salts out there. I picked up Model Expo's Phantom off the open box shelf before my LHS went out of business and have downloaded Chuck Passaro's exceedingly helpful practicum. I've been making slow but steady progress and am about 3/4 of the way through coppering the hull. Here's the starboard side, which came out far from perfect, but was my first attempt at coppering and quite a learning experience:
I can already tell the port side will be an improvement, but still a way to go with that. Coppering the tiny rudder was an even greater challenge and I had to use some artistic license to get a result that would keep its shape but still look convincing.
The coppering consists of a seemingly infinite number of 1/4" x 1/8" pieces of self-adhesive foil. Here's my set-up for cutting them:
The coppering actually has been going surprisingly quickly, but I'm finding that the exposed corners of the plates on the completed starboard side have a tendency to lift and roll back on themselves if not handled just right. My first question to the experienced copperers (is that even a word?) out there is whether anyone has solid recommendations on how to seal the coppering in order to make sure it stays put, but not diminish the appearance of the copper itself. I'm not sure whether clear poly spray would achieve the desired result. Perhaps shellac?
The next question concerns the deck planking and waterways. The deck planking provided with the kit comes as a single scored sheet. I spray painted the whole thing black and then sanded it back to bare wood to represent caulking in the seams. Chuck's practicum suggests making the waterways from a manila folder, which I have, but don't feel looks convincing alongside the deck planking. I want to find an alternate that's not going to be too drastically out of scale. It seems like making the waterways from material just slightly thicker than the deck planking would achieve the desired effect but would require a level of joinery of which i am not yet capable in order to cut the deck exactly to the inner outline of the waterways. Unfortunately, I know that my carving of the solid hull was off enough that I cannot simply copy the plans to get the right shape. Anyone have any suggestions on how to proceed? I think I can get a solid fit between the outer edge of the waterways and the bulwarks using carbon paper to transfer the shape straight from the hull.
Thanks for looking and commenting!
I can already tell the port side will be an improvement, but still a way to go with that. Coppering the tiny rudder was an even greater challenge and I had to use some artistic license to get a result that would keep its shape but still look convincing.
The coppering consists of a seemingly infinite number of 1/4" x 1/8" pieces of self-adhesive foil. Here's my set-up for cutting them:
The coppering actually has been going surprisingly quickly, but I'm finding that the exposed corners of the plates on the completed starboard side have a tendency to lift and roll back on themselves if not handled just right. My first question to the experienced copperers (is that even a word?) out there is whether anyone has solid recommendations on how to seal the coppering in order to make sure it stays put, but not diminish the appearance of the copper itself. I'm not sure whether clear poly spray would achieve the desired result. Perhaps shellac?
The next question concerns the deck planking and waterways. The deck planking provided with the kit comes as a single scored sheet. I spray painted the whole thing black and then sanded it back to bare wood to represent caulking in the seams. Chuck's practicum suggests making the waterways from a manila folder, which I have, but don't feel looks convincing alongside the deck planking. I want to find an alternate that's not going to be too drastically out of scale. It seems like making the waterways from material just slightly thicker than the deck planking would achieve the desired effect but would require a level of joinery of which i am not yet capable in order to cut the deck exactly to the inner outline of the waterways. Unfortunately, I know that my carving of the solid hull was off enough that I cannot simply copy the plans to get the right shape. Anyone have any suggestions on how to proceed? I think I can get a solid fit between the outer edge of the waterways and the bulwarks using carbon paper to transfer the shape straight from the hull.
Thanks for looking and commenting!
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