looking very nice Tim

Thanks Russ!

After cementing the kit stand and the plastic battery case together, I gave the new unit an overall coat of Tamiya acrylic Desert Yellow (XF-59) followed with a glaze of Windsor and Newton Burnt Umber and Grumbacher Yellow Ochre oils. Now “glaze” may sound fancy, but it is just an artsy term for a thin, semi-transparent layer of pigment which modifies the appearance of the underlying paint layer. In this case I slathered the oil paints over the acrylic yellow base color and then took most of it off with a clean paintbrush.

This simple technique is a quick, handy way to make plastic look like wood!

Normally I would set the base as a last step, but I attached it now to protect the wires protruding from the hull. The awning supports and rails are now secured aboard as well.

That's looking fantastic, Tim!

Can't get enough of this build. She's looking great Tim.

Hi Tim,

Great to see you back on this one.

Very neat job getting the wood effect, very subtle, it is easy to overdo something like that.

Cheers

Si

Getting close to the end here Tim-- what's next? I think Pyro made a model of Drake's Golden Hind if I'm not mistaken-- built it as a kid 55 years ago-- do you know if it's still around?
VR, Russ

Wow, that does look realistic.

Mark, John, Si, & KoSprueOne – thanks!




Russ, Pyro did make a Golden Hind (part of their first series of ship models in the 1950s) ...but is wasn’t one of their better efforts. The kit is easy to assemble and has reasonably good detail, but for some reason the guys at Pyro decided to depict the sleek race-built galleon hull as something that looks more like a walnut!

I do have one of those old kits in my stash, but so far I haven’t been able to bring myself to build it...

Hey Tim,
Slightly off topic question here. Since you have such talent for painting these old plastic sailing ship kits I thought I would bounce it off you. I have an old Lindberg Barbary Pirate Felucca kit in 1/250 scale. The kit is pretty basic, but I'm going to try and dress it up some after filling the large holes in the hull for the grossly over scale sweeps. I want to put some color on the hull, probably in red. I want to have the red faded and weathered. Would your oil wash technique work? I didn't know if you've tried it on anything other than a natural wood look. If you have any thoughts or recommendations I would appreciate it.
John

Hi John,

The oil-over-acrylic technique works just fine for other colors as well as for natural wood effects, since the principle is the same. The acrylic (I like Tamiya, but really any acrylic will work) is the base color. The oils create a thin filter of color which alters that base shade, but since the oil solvents don’t attack the underlying acrylic you can thin and experiment with different oil color combinations until you find one you like. I like Raw Umber, Burnt Umber, and Burnt Sienna oils, but white, yellow, green or whatever can work too. It just depends on what effect you want.

One thing; hobby enamels can work for this, but artist’s oils are FAR superior. I’d recommend investing in a tube each of Raw Umber, Flake White, and Black to start with. Grumbacher and Windsor & Newton are good. They are a little expensive, but they have vivid pigments and yet can provide a translucency that will make your paint jobs really pop.

Experiment on a junked model and you will be amazed at what you can come up with!

Once again, beautiful work Tim!!

Your wood effects are really impressive!!

Cheers,
Jan

I'd be hard pressed to tell the difference between your painting skills and a real piece of timber, Tim!

Fantastic work!

Thanks Jan and Russell – I certainly have fun painting, but Pyro’s positively theatrical depictions of wood surfaces really do help bring out those wood effects!

The kit-provided winches on the aft deck, on the other hand, were uninspiring...


...so I built replacements using HO scale model railroad brass brake wheels and plastic rod.


These hand reels, used for lifting the rudder, would most likely have been outfitted with natural fiber cables; I loaded up them up with thick thread left over from a Revell Viking ship project.


Much better!

Tim,
The Junk is looking great-- your painting techniques have taken this old kit to a whole new level. You're right about the "walnut" shape of the Golden Hind-- I'd forgotten about that, but it might look ok- it reminds me of those "egg planes" the folks over at Aeroscale do. Maybe you could build it as a caricature. Can't wait for the Junk to get some sails next!
VR, Russ

Tim,
Thanks for the info on the paints. I'm going to give them a try. I also really like what you did with the winches. They look great. Did you ever decide about crew figures on deck? I know the ones in the cabin are great.
John

Very neat job on the winches Tim,

Keep up the great work.

Cheers

Si

John and Si, thanks for your comments about the winches. The kit parts were ugly, but fortunately the fix turned out to be straightforward. As for the crew, the two in the cabin would be pretty useless for running the ship, so I guess I’ll have to put one or two others on deck as well!

Russ, I like your idea of a Pyro Golden Hind caricature “egg boat” – you should do it!

Great comment Tim,



A watch on deck might be a good idea!

Cheers

Si

Tim,

I simply love your way of building these kits, and your Junk here in particular!!

I agree with you and Si, some more watch standers seems quite necessary. If you choose to put two more on the deck, be careful that they don't get along with each other as good as the ones already there

Cheers,
Jan

Thanks guys! I hope to get the working deck crew on board after sorting out the tiller, awnings, sampan, and various deck details this weekend. For now, there's one last touch to be added to the hull - the eyes.

The kit had originally come with round openings at the bow for Western-style hawse holes, but the Chinese didn’t use hawser openings for anchor cables, opting instead to simply haul the anchors up the flat bows and secure them on deck. What the Pyro kit designers mistook for hawse holes were in fact the “dragon eyes” so characteristic of Chinese and other Asian vessels.

According to Hans K. Van Tilburg’s Chinese Junks on the Pacific - Views from a Different Deck, the eyes were small painted wooden panels attached to the hull which represented an animistic, “portal by which the sailors imagine that the vessel can espy sunken rocks, schoals, and other dangers of the deep.”


Accordingly, I covered the holes over with plastic discs and painted the eyes on them.

These eyes were serious business. Van Tilburg also relates a story of a 19th Century British traveller in China:

“As I was sailing slowly onwards one of my boatmen seized his broad hat, and, rushing past me to the bows of the boat, placed it over one of the eyes. Several other boats in company were also blinded in the same way; some with hats, others with coats, cloaks, or anything that came readiest to hand. I did not understand this proceeding at first, but soon found out the cause. A dead body was floating up the stream with the tide, and if the boat is allowed to see an object of this kind some evil is sure to happen to the passengers or crew before the voyage is over.”

it's the eyes! They follow you around the room!

great research Tim! Really paying off

The monochromatic boat seemed in need of a bit of color, so I shot the awnings with Tamiya Flat Red (XF-7) acrylic.

To give the old, torn awnings a nice grungy look, I added some more red mixed with a little Tamiya Field Grey (XF-65) for shadows followed by a wash of the same Raw Umber artist’s oil used to stain the wood.

A nice splash of color there, Tim.

Gonna look great with the sail on!

Ahoy Tim

I have been following along on this great build from the start.

I totally admire your fortitude to pick it up again and soldier on.

Cheers


Sean

Looks really good, Tim - this one is getting better and better!!

Cheers,
Jan