The Empress's hull panels present something of a challenge. I am keeping this an absolute cheap-arse build - no buying stuff when I should be able to handcraft it myself - but didn't want it looking too dodgy, maybe just dodgy enough. Anyway, the hull panels needed to be pretty flush on their edges to create the illusion of a vast expanse of metal, but I'm cheap and wanted the flexibility to resize the ship at will.  |
| I layered tape, sprayed it, then dry brushed. Kind of okay. |
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| Sprayed black, pva+sand, then dry brushed with a few colours. Kind of better? |
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| I bought this craft knife with 80 blades a while back - awesome purchase. |
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| Spot the Ikea instructions underneath? LOL |
Then I used my hobby knife to cut the panels into smaller, but regularly-sized sections. A nail came in handy to create rivet-like holes at the joints, seams etc.
Using my PVA/Water/Sand mix, I dirtied it up, concentrating on the waterline and working my way up. The PVA also seals the cardboard some, adding to the model's life (I hope!).
I did all manner of mixes of acrylic paints, ink and rattle sprays until I started getting something that felt right. There was no real hard-and-fast planning going on, rather lots of experimentation.
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| I tackled them in a production line - yes that's a puddle of my home-made wash tipped over in the background. Good thing it is dirt cheap! |
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| The slight texture in the cardboard (being sandwiched) was a bit of luck. |
I revisited the bow as well. After a week of drying, the layers of PVA-soaked cardboard had set rock-hard. The trouble was, it looked really ork-like, which wasn't where I wanted this to go.
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| See the puddle of pva underneath? That's what made it rock-hard. |
Out came the trusty hacksaw and I cut off the rim, created a new paper template, transferred it to cardboard and stuck it on with a healthy dose of glue. A clamp held it in place to dry and hey-presto, one new bow.
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| The hacksaw worked a treat - the cardboard was that hard! |
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| On with some glue... |
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| ...and with a nice new, smooth hull. Blue. Pretty. |
A fortunate side-effect is that the bow is a bit wider, meaning it will fit better with the slightly wider hull sections as well. If I can find some time tomorrow, I will try and panel it up somehow, maybe even get it painted. I've also got to build its deck and I am considering hollowing it out, not that I know what would normally reside in the bow of a ship.
With the interior of the hull having been painted as well, I inserted the eight panels I had previously painted, stuck on the outside hull plates and, well here it is with only a few more weeks of build time available. It's going to be tough to do this AND finish off my dockyard... bugger.
So what's left on the major build elements:
- A Top Deck(s). I think I may create one or two bigger decks to save time. They could rest on the inner hull elements, maybe with some big arse hatches or something to the hull?
- A Bridge/Wheelhouse. This will be a bit intricate. I am thinking it standing as maybe 6-inches above the hull with some side access to the stern and two interior stairwells - one going up to to the bridge proper and the other down to the hull.
- A Stern. It really needs to be rounded as well, just less of a peak. Maybe an engine block to go with it.
The nice thing about this design is that I can add inserts to create new elements if I want e.g., I am thinking of creating some airlocks/bulkheads between the hull sections. Okay, back to the drawing board!