Ship hulls

[Phrog Phlyer]

I have built a 1/100 destroyer from a printed kit. I used florist foam (it is green or brown here in the US). It can easily be cut to fit between the bulkheads, does not react to most construction solvents or glues. Wood glue or PVC works fine. Sands easier than balsa. I then plated the hull over the top of it with the kit prints. To be safe, I covered the hull with two layers of very light fiberglass & resin. I operate in a pond (rocks) or other ships colliding (crazy captains) I do not paint the hull, the printed parts are visible and water tight.
Mike

[Sakrison]

Originally Posted by JCA

John, that is what I'm trying to achieve, a smooth surface over the formers to glue the hull plates to. I always seem to get that buckle where the ribs are. I use chipboard for the formers and try to sand to conform to the hull shape but the buckles remain.

Paper mache is an awful mess and the results could be just as buckled as if you applied the skin piece by piece.

I managed to avoid any buckling by assembling the hull's skin apart from the hull formers and then applying the skin to the skeleton in one or two large sections. I described the method here: Akitsushima Hull - 1/200 scale

When I wrote that post, Akitsushima was only my third ship model. I have since used the same method on GPM's Bismarck (54" long) and several smaller ships. Each time, it has worked like a charm.

If the assembled hull skin is in more than one piece, as on the Bismarck, the place where the two pieces are joined is kept from buckling by extra formers and strips of Tyvek applied lengthwise to the skeleton.

--David