I have been building for about 25 years mostly AFVs and I am well versed in use of resin and pe along with plastic clean up, air brushing (badger 150), washes, drybrushing and weathering of Armor.
I will be recieving (xmas) a few ship models and need some guiding to building, painting and weathering
The kits will be 1/350 Dragon Arleigh Burke with pe and the Revell 1/72 U boat
Any tips on proceedures for build/paint would be greatly welcomed
ie. when to pre paint decks and such before build or do I just build the thing then paint especially the Ship model also what materials are best for rigging at different scales
I did build the 1/350 Tamiya fletcher some years back and used my wifes hair which worked out pretty good
anyway any help would be great
P.S. I am not affraid to really get into the project as I would like the kits to be the best I can get so using after market parts as recommended would be fine
I will post the build progress as it goes
Thank you
Wayne

hello Wayne,
welcome to the model shipwrights site.you will find a lot of good builders here.if you have questions,please ask.as for the rigging i have used differant threads and some very small metal wire.there are some group builds coming up,so you might want to see if any look good to you.
the Arleigh Burke would fit in the Cold War Destroyers Campaign.it is being run by a great builder Jim (Goldenpony).
cheers,
Bruce

What is a group build all about
and one other ?? does who makes a pe set for 1/700 spruance I am testing out my hand building the minicraft kit I hope the Dragon kit has better fit as this kit needed alot for filling
Thanks for the welcome
P.S. i have some photos in my "MY Photos section" under CB1000h

hello Wayne,
a group build is anyone can join in,then you build what is in that campaign,you can do a work in progress blog or post pics as you go along.i am running a campaign called Pre-Dreadnoughts which you can build any ship,from any Navy in the time line of 1866-1905.
the Cold War Tin Cans campaign is any Destroyer in any Navy.the time line is 1950-1992.
for P.E. try White Ensign or maybe Toms modelworks.
Mark(Gunny) knows alot more about who does P.E. then i do.
hope this helps,
Bruce

Hey thanks guys for the help
I am looking forward to the campaign
Is there a way to get some weathering in on a modern US destroyer I am so used to beating up my tanks the modern ships look so clean
I know from my millitary service all we do is clean our Stykers after use so I can imaging the Navy being much more retentive on that subject but they just look so darn clean and in the 350 scale would you even see it
any pics would be helpful
Do you do washes and drybrushing when doing ship models modern in perticular

Try this one, mate...http://www.modelwarships.com/reviews/pe/flagship/tico-spru/fs-tico.html



The minicraft kit has no comparison with the DML version...almost NO putty, my friend with the Dragon kit!

Excellent
Thank you for the link
Wayne

That link didnt seam to go anywhere
I mean I cant seam to find an operating link to flagship

hello Wayne,
try www.flagshipmodels.com that takes to the onlinestore.
cheers,
Bruce

Got it thanks
Does it pay to buy the 1/700 PE from them for this mini craft kit or should I get a better example of the spurance full hull and from who?
Also is the Dragon 1/350 Aleigh Burke kit supplied pe any good or should I buy that set from them as well
Thank you
Wayne

As far as modern ships go you will get some rust streaking (probably light compared to what you're used to) as well as minor paint color variation due to weathering and re-appplication, etc. In that scale accounting for light and shadow differences is also something to keep in mind, similarly as to how you might use a wash to pop out details on armor.... go easy on it though.

Reference pictures for Burke Class DDs can be found on the US Navy's site here. You can see some ideas of the weathering on pictures they post there such as this one.

Thanks
I am looking forward to the change in subjects
I will post as soon as I get under way