My Shipyard

I've been told that some of my ancestors were ship builders in Norway. It's possible that some of that quality has been passed down to me, at a smaller scale anyway.

I haven't posted much, but each time I post on a social media group about my scratch-built ships, someone is interested in how I built the models. So this will be my how-to post. Follow along as I make another ship.

Step 1: Blueprints

This is easier than you might think. There is a website called the-blueprints.com. First thing is you'll want to head over there. Find the "Ships" section in the database (link). Ships are arranged by classification and country, so if you know what you are looking for, this can be helpful.

For this example, I am going to make the Japanese armoured cruiser, Izumo (aka Idzumo). Click on "Cruisers (Japan)" and we get a listing of names of Japanese cruisers, through which we scroll until we find Izumo. 

Keep in mind, this listing contains all kinds of cruisers from different eras and maybe not all cruisers ever built, so mileage may vary. Also watch the check boxes on the right, they indicate whether the image being called up has top view and side view or just a side view. Both views is ideal.

So here we have top and side views of Izumo. Download the image.

2. Scaling the Image Download

I chose 1:3000 scale for these ships, but this will work for other scales, just insert the scale factor where I have 3000.

Do a web search of the ship and find it's Wikipedia entry. 

In the column on the right, you can find all kinds of info about the ship. For this, we just need length. Izumo is 132.28 meters.

Using a calculator, divide the ship's length in meters (132.28) by the scale factor (3000). We get 0.04409m, or 44mm. This is how long the model will be.

Open an image editing software, I used PowerPoint. Import (paste) the image onto your workspace. Crop the left and right sides of the image to the bow and stern tips of the boat. 

Resize the image length to the model length (44mm in this case). Make sure the image height is locked in with the length so that it scales both directions.

Repeat as desired for other ships. quite a few will fit on a letter size piece of paper. Print the ships.

3. Basic Ship Construction

Cut out the top view. Note where the superstructure rises above the hull of the ship. use the side view to help locate the extent of the superstructure. With these lines in mind, use a glue stick to apply glue to the bow and stern of the ship, leaving the superstructure glue-free. Affix cutout to a craft stick (like a popsicle stick).

Using a knife and the glued-on cut out as a guide, carve the ship shape from the stick. For these battleships at 1:3000 scale, there is generally no need to worry about the thickness of the stick if using popsicle sticks.

With the ship shape complete, use a sharp knife to carve the lines of the superstructure. As it isn't glued down, the superstructure cutout should just lift away (if it did get glued and the glue is not totally dry, it may still peel off using the knife blade and some care). Then glue superstructure piece to craft stick and repeat the shaping process. 

Finally, glue the superstructure to its place on the hull. I use Tacky glue for this. Write name of ship on the underside if doing multiple ships assembly line style. 

We could call this ship done at a couple steps above bare minimum and skip to basing...or we could delve into the land of high-fiddliness.

4. Intermediate Ship Construction (or A Reason to Use Some Special Tools)

Note funnels (smoke stacks) and masts on the ship (see side view). Find some metal or plastic rods of similar thickness. I used some worn out metal anode rods from some laboratory tool my brother uses at work for the funnels and paper clip wire for the masts. Cut pieces of rod/wire to their respective length in the side view plus the distance to the waterline (on some drawings, only the ship above waterline is shown, others show the whole boat, so watch for that). File off burs, bevel one end and flatten the other.

Locate the masts and funnels on the top view paper layer of the model (compare to side view if unsure). With a pin vice and appropriately-sized drill bits, drill holes through the model for the funnel and mast rods/wire to fit. Slowly so as not to split the wood.

5. Basing

Cut a 50mm length of a wider craft stick - mine are 20mm wide - and glue the boat onto it. Write the name of the ship and indicate which end is the front on the underside.

Press rod and wire into the holes, beveled side down. With the base there, they'll stop close to the right hight. Glue if needed. File funnel tops to the same level if applicable.

Paint or stain base if desired. The sticks I used were already blue.

Affix national flag on rear of base and write name of ship. Alternately one might print, cut, and glue name along with flag to the base. Consult underside of base to double-check which end is the rear.

And that's it! We now have a smart-looking model for wargaming.

Edit:

Oh wait! I forgot about the turrets.

Find a cylindrical object roughly the same diameter as the turrets on the top view. Things that work might be a bamboo skewer or a toothpick. a piece of plastic spru, etc. Cut a slice and glue it on. Or cut a tiny circle out of a thin bit of plastic, like a bread tag, and glue it on.