this is my first ship model since I was a kid. I always found ship models to be either too pricy with all the PE, or too toylike. When I heard that Flyhawk produces affordable kits with all the basic PE already included, I knew I need to build one. So here I am with the SMS Lützow in 1/700. I ordered the book "German Battlecruisers of World War One" by Gary Staff as a reference:
Before building the ship itself, I wanted to make the base ready with some model water. I loosely followed a YouToube-tutorial by "Plastikschmiede". The ship's hull was glued together and 5mm plastic sheet were added below the waterline. Some nuts were glued into the hull to give a strong connection to the base.
The base itself started as a piece of wood cut to fit inside one of Trumpeter's large display boxes. Styrene sheet was added to the sides with the same 5mm extending over the surface that I added to the hull. The hull was coated with vaseline and screwed to the board. Sand was filled into the box and fixed with thinned white glue, which unfortunately did not produce the strong bond I had hoped for.
To give it more strength, I added a thin layer of plaster and a single layer of a paper towel. Then it was painted in blue (Vallejo model air 087, mixed with some 056 Panzer grey in some places).
Afterwards, about five layers of Schmincke Acrylic Painting Medium were brushed on top, which gives a really nice glossy surface. Then I used some cotton wool to add foam, followed by more Acrylic Medium.
This is the current status of the base:
Now the ship itself has to be built.
Best regards,
Thorsten
