Painting the occasional ship provides a welcome break from hordes of figures. These 2 ships are from the collection my son found in his loft. With the old paint stripped off they were duly refurbished and looked quite presentable when finished. Especially bearing in mind they must be over 25 years old now.
The Prinz Eugen is a Navwar model and I believe the Bismark may be Davco. With HMS Hood and Prince of Wales next they will set the scene for some naval action.
Sea Bases:
In response to Peter Little's request in the comments below, I am adding details of how I complete my sea bases.
First, a note regarding the blue colour. Many would argue that the North Atlantic, which is the primary setting for these ships, is normally a dull grey. This is not always the case though -
This is a photo I took last year off the Lofoten Islands. Looks a bit blue to me! The deciding factor for me though being that it better compliments the ship models especially in this small scale. So with that in mind this is the process I used for my sea bases:
My bases are usually artist card cut to the size of the ship rather than any generic size. For the larger ships such as these, I have used 1mm thick plasticard which reduces the chances of warping.
Filler is added shaping a bow wave together with other smaller random waves. I firstly paint black around the filler where it meets the hull. The blue base coat is Vallejo 965 Prussian Blue.
Next a heavy drybrushing of Vallejo 962 Flat Blue is applied leaving the darker blue in the troughs of waves. A lighter drybrush of Coat 'd Arms 206 Light Blue is added enhancing the shading effect. A heavy drybrushing of white is applied to the sea along the ship sides and liberally around the stern. Finally a very light drybrushing of white is applied to the bow and random waves.
The whole model is given 2 coats of matt varnish and when dry, I paint the sea a gloss varnish (I use a bottle of Humbrol).
This is obviously purely my take and hope it will provide for some ideas for those who are struggling with sea bases.
Sea Bases:
In response to Peter Little's request in the comments below, I am adding details of how I complete my sea bases.
First, a note regarding the blue colour. Many would argue that the North Atlantic, which is the primary setting for these ships, is normally a dull grey. This is not always the case though -
My bases are usually artist card cut to the size of the ship rather than any generic size. For the larger ships such as these, I have used 1mm thick plasticard which reduces the chances of warping.
Filler is added shaping a bow wave together with other smaller random waves. I firstly paint black around the filler where it meets the hull. The blue base coat is Vallejo 965 Prussian Blue.
Next a heavy drybrushing of Vallejo 962 Flat Blue is applied leaving the darker blue in the troughs of waves. A lighter drybrush of Coat 'd Arms 206 Light Blue is added enhancing the shading effect. A heavy drybrushing of white is applied to the sea along the ship sides and liberally around the stern. Finally a very light drybrushing of white is applied to the bow and random waves.
The whole model is given 2 coats of matt varnish and when dry, I paint the sea a gloss varnish (I use a bottle of Humbrol).
This is obviously purely my take and hope it will provide for some ideas for those who are struggling with sea bases.
Nice work .. you cannot go wrong with the classics
ReplyDeleteGood sea bases
Thanks Geordie. Yes I am pleased with how the sea bases turned out.
DeleteThese ships look great!
ReplyDeleteNice work Jon!
ReplyDeleteGreat work Jon and the sea looks great, something I think most of us struggle with.
ReplyDeleteMany thanks Steve. My sea bases have gone through several incarnations over the years. Yes it is something that is frustrating to get right.
DeleteGreat restoration Jon! You raised them from the dead!
ReplyDeleteLol. Thanks for that Mike.
DeleteThey recovered nicely Jon, keep safe and well.
ReplyDeleteRegards
Peter
Jon could you do a quick description on how you paint your ship bases, it would be very beneficial to quite a few I would say.
ReplyDeleteRegards
Peter
By all means Peter if it is of help. Will update this posting and repeat it on the forthcoming photos of the Hood and Prince of Wales.
DeleteYou are a star Mr Bleasdale, won't pay you a compliment you have had far too many already😀
ReplyDeleteRegards Peter
Lol. Thanks Peter.
Delete