Getting ready for a Great War cycle so I've got a Flyhawk Derfflinger (1/700) near the top of the build list. An elaborate PE set comes with a wooden deck. Really not sure I want to use the deck. They seem to have genuine fans but also detractors. I find split opinions (often pretty sharp) on Modelwarship, Youtube and Finescale. Some have suggested that 1/700 scale is not as wood friendly as larger kits. Interested in anyone's views.

If I do use it, I'm having a hard time figuring out whether those wood decks are supposed to be painted/finished or not. The most meticulous video on YouTube shows a gent putting one on a 1/350 Prinz Eugen - took some serious time - and then he sealed it with varnish with no paint or wash. A more brief video had buff paint washed with an ink wash. Other wood fans have suggested wood varnishes, oils etc with warnings about acrylics.

Derfflinger is going to be a serious project and I'd like to get it right.
Eric

Hey Eric, personally I like the looks of the wood decks and the overall final result is worth the effort of install. See,s there are different approaches to finish. Again, personally, I like the contrast of the wood deck...whether or not it should be painted or not. Your model, your call, as it should be! With that said, if you wanted to leave it natural, a sealer is all that is needed. If you use true varnish, this would darken the tones slightly versus something like any of the modelling clear coats out there. If you were going to paint it, I would suggest sealing the surface as well. The decks can be stained as well. Regular wood stain can be used, but you will want to thin it a lot. Also you can use any washes you might have as these are basically thinned down stain to begin with! Best to do some test runs not matter you decision. Take the scrap pieces from around the decking and sections that are removed for superstructures and play around to see what look works best for you!

A couple of years ago I had serious doubts about wooden decks - now almost all my ship models have them. If you're going all out to super detail a model, a few bucks more for the wood deck is not much compared to some PE sets. Plus the fact that painting a plastic deck to look like wood is an art in itself, and a poorly, or plainly, painted deck will detract from an otherwise well-done model. Nothing looks more like wood than real wood! Paint the deck and any molded-on detail that will show (but don't glue any parts on yet!), then carefully apply the wooden deck. Much easier to have these details already painted rather than trying to paint them after the deck has been applied. Right away you're going to be amazed at the appearance! Be sure to press the deck down firmly around and in between raised detail parts to ensure even adhesion - little bumps and lumps in the deck look odd! As for sealing, I always spray my complete model with a flat coat anyway.

Is it true that you shouldn't use Acrylics on the wooden deck.

Hi Eric,

I have only used a press-on wood deck once, so I don't have much experience, but it was just attached to the ship without any cover coat at all. I reasoned that once inside a case the model should not have any problems with moisture or dust, so why take a chance with the extra step?

Three years later the wood deck still looks the same, but down the line I guess we'll see...!

As someone will no doubt mention they are hopelessly out of scale, but too me they look too nice to pass on...

That said, I do worry about how they'll hold up in the long term, so I do oil and varnish them like I do all wood, and have thought of using a different glue and a veneer roller too apply it.

I am a great fan of wood decks, I have only used them in 1/350th, yes the grain is overscale, and they are generally unweathered, but they look like wood. and give a better finish than I can achieve with paint.

I have never tried weathering them, but I do seal them with gloss varnish, (a couple of mist coats) especially if I am applying decals (Flight decks and air recognition markings) and put a matt coat over the top.

I have used decks by Artworx and Pontos and found them very easy to use, as long as moulded detail is pre painted (or removed if so guided by the instructions).

Cheers.

Si

Right folks, bear with me on this!

Wood is a natural organic material.
Acrylic paints are water-based.
Water makes wood swell - ergo, to me, it is not a good idea to coat wood decks with a water-based acrylic paint unless you precoat it with an oil-based clear lacquer beforehand.

I am no expert when it comes to paints. Some say oil over acrylic, others say acrylic over oil. Me? I'm confused by the whole subject.

I hate acrylic paints - they are far less durable than oil-based enamels. Having used Tamyia acrylics once, I'd never ever use them again. Same goes for any other brand of acrylics.

I don't want to start WW3. Some folk may well have consistent positive results with acrylics - I don't - period.

Moving on - I have only one wood deck in my possession at the present time which I have yet to use. It is part of the MK1 Design set for the trumpeter 1/350 Queen Elizabeth.

I am fully aware of my own artistic shortcomings when it comes to replicating wood effect using paint alone, yet I am still in two minds as to whether wood decks are the answer.

Everyone's mileage will no doubt vary. I wish you good results whichever way you choose.

Thanks all for the needed wisdom.

I have taken the precaution of getting a deck for a 1/700 Trumpie Q Elizabeth 1918 as well as the Flyhawk Derfflinger. And I hope to be able to experiment on some of the spare materials - maybe assemble part of QEs deck. Just to see.

But, I'm still a little wary. Photos are not the best way to quibble about things like this, but we'll try. Below is a pic of the Texas WWII era deck (pre or postwar).


That may argue that considering scale that you might want something light and pretty uniform. (I've been told USN decks were given a kind of bleach when cleaned - which was often.) Wood might be perfect. But I'm not sure that using the original materials at these small scales necessarily makes things look more "real." (A scratch sail ship fanatic I know thinks the ideal small kit would be "multi-media" and include resin, styrene, PE and only some wood. Course I think his pride wouldn't allow him to build it.) Anyway Model Warship has a big section in "Tips" on painting decks - Jim Baumann contributed a lot. Modeling brings out humility in yours truly, but I'd say these are ballpark:
Glencoe 1/225 Oregon

1/350 ICM Konig

1/600 Iron Duke (first ship model with rigging and it shows)

1/700 Tamiya Scharnhorst


I do get a kick out pushing my humble envelope and as noted above I'll do medical experiments on wood remnants and, if needed, install a deck on a ship I don't plan building now. And I suppose a deck could be removed if needed - the planking is excellent on Derfflinger and no one has urged sanding it down. Wish me luck.

Eric

Don't know about the bleach cleaning, but they were "holy-stoned", (nothing at all to do with "The Pope Smokes Dope" ), which was spreading sand on the deck and scrubbing with bricks, in effect, sanding the wood surface, for a nice new clean look.

During WW2 the RN did, maybe not from day one, order unstained or unpainted wood decks not to be holystoned, and left to fade to a natural weathered light greyish shade.

Must admit that is a colour I have not been able to replicate realistically.

Cheers

Si