1/96 SEAWOLF Turnkey Build, Part-2

A Report to the Cabal:

I mentioned that I have a special 'black' mix. Let me explain:

The topside areas of the real boats are indeed painted with a coating of pure black. However, model colors (including the non-color, black) need to be lightened up a bit, to account for 'scale.' Just know that a very, very dark gray is much easier to see on a model than a true black. I poured an amount of ChromaSystem black into a glass container, doped it a bit with ChromaSystem white and mixed. This very dark gray becomes my model 'black,' used on my r/c and static display model submarines.

After the color's had been applied to hull and all appendage, the masking tape was removed and I made use of Artist oil-paints to deal with the weathering. This included the representation of the greenish 'scum line' at the waterline, and light colored bleaching of the hull from waterline to a few scale feet below the waterline. Some subtle streaking effects to sail access hand-holes and deck items was also done by some stipple, scribing, and streaking strokes of various style and stiffness brushes to the Linseed oil paints.

A few thoughts about masking and masking tape: Self-adhesive tapes come in many flavors, but the one you should use is produced by the 3M Company. Specifically this 'blue' tape. This stuff has a low stick (tack) adhesive that is just strong enough to hold the tape down on the work, but not so strong that it will pull up paint when the time comes to remove the masking. When cut into very narrow strips (I've cut and worked strips as narrow as 1/32"!), this tape will negotiate curves as tight as a half-inch radius! Wonderful stuff.

You never want to use this tape off the role as the two edges are banged up from storage and handling and likely have collected quite a bit of lint and dirt -- you use the natural edge of masking tape your paint demarcation line will be ragged of form. Don't do it! What I do is remove a length of tape from the role, then stick it down on my shirt -- this acts to further reduce the adhesive properties of the tapes adhesive. I then place the tape down on a plastic sheet cutting board. From there I use a metal straightedge and sharp #11 X-Acto knife to cut strip of tape.

A narrow strip of tape is worked around the upper stern of the 1/96 SEAWOLF hull. One of the beauties of the Thor SEAWOLF kit is the extensive amount of scribed in detail, including a very lightly engraved waterline and outline for the deck nonskid areas -- there is no need for the kit-assembler to mark out the waterline, it's already there. All I needed to do was to lay down the masking tape below the engraved waterline -- simple!

Before the masking was put down, I wet sanded the upper surface, above the waterline, with #600 to scrub away most of the brown overspray.

Masking completed to protect all below waterline areas of the hull. Note that I have backed up the thinner strips of tape with larger pieces, taken right off the roll.

Note that I have painted this model from the keel, up: first the lower portions get the anti-foul red, then I protect that work with a mask, its upper demarcation edge falling along the submarines centerline, and then I paint the brown. Then I lay down masking tape to protect the brown and red from the black that goes on the above waterline portions of hull. Methodology!

Once the spray-brush was loaded with the very dark gray (I always clean the gun between color changes), I set it on low pressure, and screwed the feed needle into its nozzle for minimum paint flow, and started in applying the paint to the hard to get at places: the many vent holes on the deck (most of them 'scale', such as the forward and after ballast tank main ballast tank vents), then the six fixed cleats, and then I painted right at the masking tapes edge, along the waterline -- care taken to aim the airbrush so that the spray hit the tape edge perpendicular, avoiding the possibility of the paint running under the tape, spoiling the hard-edge I wished to achieve. The objective is to get it right the first time, avoiding later touchup tasks.

Removing the three layers of masking tape, used to protect the work under the waterline. Note how thin the strip of tape is around the tight curve of the bow. The wide pieces of backing tape are needed to mask the work below from airbrush overspray.

Damn, I'm good!

I mixed up some light-gray ChromaSystem and shot it with the airbrush to represent the bleaching at and below the waterline. I then used oil paints to represent the narrow band of marine growth you see at the waterline - care was taken to give the upper rudder, at its waterline, the same treatment.

Of course the upper rudder got the 'Merriman trademark', bird-shit streaking. Once I was done with the initial weathering, the entire model (hull and these appendages) was given a very heavy coating of ChromaClear (which has its own chemistry - don't confuse the activator/catalyst of one for the other!). I prepared the ChromaClear by first mixing to the clear the directed ratio of 'activator,' mixed, then added a substantial amount of special flattening agent, mixed, then cut that mix to a very thin consistency with lacquer thinner. This is against convention, but a formula I found that produces a very flat, non-reflective finish, which dries very quickly, and is rock hard.

Clear coat applied. This will dry overnight. Tomorrow I apply the markings and finish the weathering, then protect that work with another flattened clear coat.

The stern. After I wet sanded the clear coat a bit. I'm going to go over the 'bleached' areas with the spray-brush shooting some brown -- to even out and make the bleaching a bit more subtle. I'm at the 'twiddling about' stage of weathering -- which means the time is quickly approaching to finish that and clear coat the thing.

The sail and appendages in clear-coat. After a light wet-sanding with #600 I'll outfit the sail with a rub-on '21' dry-transfer. Some more diesel exhaust streaking near the trailing edge, and a bit more 'wear' around the access plates, maybe even some running rust here and there.

The last weathering operation will be a 'dry-brushing' of pure white to the many projecting surfaces of the display: the trailing edge and upper corners of the sail, the wells for the masts, the deck mounted cleats, the tips of the control surfaces, the top of the flushing-tube deck fairings, etc. Dry-brushing accentuates those naturally reflective portions of the display.

The dry-brushing is very much like the make-up a gal applies to her cleavage, in order to better define the shadow, and depth, between the breasts. In this case we are lightening those areas which catch and reflect back to the viewer white light. It's make-up; a cheat. But, it looks good, and works to increase the sense of 'real' one should have when they view the display.