Stena Germanica (1987) 1:500 waterline model

[MBJ]

I am building a scratch model of Stena Germanica II (1987), a ferry I travelled with in my childhood.
Thinking on how to constuct it, I realized this is basically a box with a bow and a stern, so that´s what I would go with. I built the stern section separately and attached it to the bottom.

 

[MBJ]

Next, I attached the sides of the box and carved the bow, before attaching the top of the box - the boat deck.

 

[MBJ]

The ship has a docking deck below the forecastle deck (hope this is the right terminology?), so before attaching the latter, I worked on the tiny winches, bollards etc. on the former.
After attaching deckhouses and a little bit of sanding/painting, it looks pretty much like the ship already.

 

[MBJ]

From now, it is mainly details: rails, portholes, deckhouses...

 

[MBJ]

In the next step I attached a layer of cardboard to the model to be able and resemble the bulwarks etc. It was quite tedious to get the shape right at the curved bow, and cardboard is definitely not the perfect material for this - can´t sand it, it frays and must not get wet. If you are aware of another material as flexible and thin as cardboard, that could be used for such tasks, I´d be happy if you could share.
After a layer of white, I painted the red at the waterline.

 

[MBJ]

Another tricky bit: the davits. I went for cardboard again, as these are way too fragile to be sawn from wood (at least with my tools).

 

[MBJ]

Now some painting - pretty proud of that, to be honest

 

[Roger Pellett]

Very nice work! If I you decide to build more models like this I suggest brass sheet for details like your davits. I make brass sandwiches. You can do this by gluing your cardboard pattern to a piece of brass. I use nitrocellulose glue. Here in the USA, brand names are Ambroid or Duco. It’s not hard to shape the brass with needle files. When done, dunk the part in Acetone.

Roger

 

[MBJ]

Very nice work! If I you decide to build more models like this I suggest brass sheet for details like your davits. I make brass sandwiches. You can do this by gluing your cardboard pattern to a piece of brass. I use nitrocellulose glue. Here in the USA, brand names are Ambroid or Duco. It’s not hard to shape the brass with needle files. When done, dunk the part in Acetone.

Roger

Hi Roger, nice! Do you have a tutorial or something similar on that technique? Would be very interested.
Best,
Malte

 

[MBJ]

Just a short update today - a few more details: Helideck + a logo showcasing Stena Line´s cooperation with WWF for a cleaner Baltic Sea in the 1980´s/90´s.

 

[Genesis]

Nice job

 

[MBJ]

I´ve spent quite a few hours on details like bulwarks, lifeboats, railings etc. Yesterday I started the mast, 22 mm height in total.

 

[Genesis]

Looking good. A great start for a new hobby. What will you build next?

 

[MBJ]

Looking good. A great start for a new hobby. What will you build next?

Thanks! Next will be Deutschland (1900), HAPAG´s only fourstacker and blue ribband winner. Check also my previous build, if you´re interested, the Willem Ruys: https://shipsofscale.com/sosforums/...terline-model-from-scratch.14555/#post-427072
Happy to connect here!

 

[MBJ]

Mast attached

 

[MBJ]

Here´s the next update. Although you might not see much of a difference, I´ve added quite a few details: further railings, life rafts + davits, vents. I´ve also (finally!) started working on that iconic smokestack, which I have left for myself for the very end.

 

[MBJ]

Work on the smokestack progressing.