Hi all,

I'm working on a 1:700 civilian ship. I'd like to make it as accurate as possible, but at that scale how much detail is too much. Is there a point where things would be just too small to make the ship look any better? TIA

Thats a hard question , it depend on the modeler and his experiance. there are modelers out there that can add detail to these little scale ships that make them look like the real thing. Myself I am not that qualified in the least! I mainly build 1/700"s out of the box. Those that I have added extra detail to, I just added PE rails and ladders to. My fat fingers cant handle any smaller parts than that! I mostly realy my painting techniques, and weathering.
Removing the molded on anchor chains and replacing them with brass chain is always a nice touch. As is drilling out or adding portholes to where they are to be. In this scale, I will leave the rigging of the mast to some one with better eye's than me!
Its all a personal effort, Just realy on your talent and your goals, and do the best you can.

HTH,
Garry

I used to do 1:700 back in the dark ages. Now only 350 scale. Wouldn't even consider doing one of those without a PE set. You might buy some railings and add those to a point where you are comfortable.

Hey there, Big Duke. I build ships occasionally, too, and in 1/700. I wouldnt say that you can have too much detail on your models. What may limit you is the effort you need to put into the model when adding/fabricating parts, especially considering the fact that the scale is really too small. And yet the satisfaction you get out of it is truly remarkable. If you can somehow replicate in 1/700 what you would find in a 1/350 kit, you'd be twice as proud.