Post by Green KreationZ on Dec 26, 2023 22:15:34 GMT -5
I was asked on another forum to explain in detail how I recreated a section of the IJN carrier Hiryu for photographs. Since I shared this info there, I figured it could be beneficial to share here as well.
The deck sits on two 48”x12” sheets of styrofoam. The styrofoam would be fine if thinner - I just had this size lying around. Here is an image of the back to show the styrofoam sheets:
The wood used for the deck is 12”x12” sheets of balsa.
wood. Here is a piece overlayed onto the deck:
I applied the deck planks by using a mechanical pencil, and a yard stick. The graphite in the pencil leaves behind a dark grey line in the groove which adds to the “plank” effect. The planks themselves are roughly 0.25” x 4” inch or 0.63cm x 10.16cm:
After the planks were scribed in; I masked off the deck and applied medium grey via my airbrush. The grey is intended to depict the metal decking sections which I found on reference photos. Unfortunately I do not have a photo of this step. Here is right after the grey but before the deck stain and weathering:
Once the medium grey was fully cured, I went in and stained the deck with a burnt umber/black/white oil wash. I mixed and alternated the three colors to create a more realistic appearance. Once all the washes had mainly dried, I went back with thinner and some Q-tips to lighten some planks. The last step before applying the white lines to the deck was to add more dirt and grime. To do this I dipped a paint brush in various oil paint washes (burnt umber, black, white) and flicked it from about 4’ above the deck. This step created randomized light and dark spots. I had intended to only have horizontal white lines as depicted in the reference photos I saw… but as you can see, there were large sections that didn’t properly absorb the stain (from excessive glue):
The last steps were to airbrush on the white lines and weather the deck. I just used Tamiya XF-2 and masking tape to do this. The deck wear and tear was done with a hard plastic brush:
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Finished deck sitting on my work table:
The biggest obstacle on the whole build was getting the balsa wood to stay adhered to the styrofoam. I used Elmer glue to attach the wood to the foam which cause the wood to warp upwards. I ended up having to use all the books at my disposal to weight it down. As you might know, many glues including CA glue have a chemical reaction with many foams and cause them to melt. Elmers glue is one of the few types that does not have the same issue.
The deck sits on two 48”x12” sheets of styrofoam. The styrofoam would be fine if thinner - I just had this size lying around. Here is an image of the back to show the styrofoam sheets:
The wood used for the deck is 12”x12” sheets of balsa.
wood. Here is a piece overlayed onto the deck:
I applied the deck planks by using a mechanical pencil, and a yard stick. The graphite in the pencil leaves behind a dark grey line in the groove which adds to the “plank” effect. The planks themselves are roughly 0.25” x 4” inch or 0.63cm x 10.16cm:
After the planks were scribed in; I masked off the deck and applied medium grey via my airbrush. The grey is intended to depict the metal decking sections which I found on reference photos. Unfortunately I do not have a photo of this step. Here is right after the grey but before the deck stain and weathering:
Once the medium grey was fully cured, I went in and stained the deck with a burnt umber/black/white oil wash. I mixed and alternated the three colors to create a more realistic appearance. Once all the washes had mainly dried, I went back with thinner and some Q-tips to lighten some planks. The last step before applying the white lines to the deck was to add more dirt and grime. To do this I dipped a paint brush in various oil paint washes (burnt umber, black, white) and flicked it from about 4’ above the deck. This step created randomized light and dark spots. I had intended to only have horizontal white lines as depicted in the reference photos I saw… but as you can see, there were large sections that didn’t properly absorb the stain (from excessive glue):
The last steps were to airbrush on the white lines and weather the deck. I just used Tamiya XF-2 and masking tape to do this. The deck wear and tear was done with a hard plastic brush:
Finished deck sitting on my work table:
The biggest obstacle on the whole build was getting the balsa wood to stay adhered to the styrofoam. I used Elmer glue to attach the wood to the foam which cause the wood to warp upwards. I ended up having to use all the books at my disposal to weight it down. As you might know, many glues including CA glue have a chemical reaction with many foams and cause them to melt. Elmers glue is one of the few types that does not have the same issue.
