My painting ships learning process (4)

[Lluis of Minairons]

Hi all, let me show you a couple of naval samples else from my collection, that I've just finished this week.

Now that I've started feeling reasonably secure of what I want before the start of a painting job, I've gradually begun to dare with some customization of models. Such was the case for instance with a second frigate I wished to add to my collection:



So during the preparation stage I had its original bowsprit and sail exchanged with one from a Skytrex race-built galleon, I added a third sail on top of foremast, then I gave some additional height to the mainmast, replaced mizzenmast lateen sail by another one from my spares box, and finally exchanged its stern plate with that of a galleon. Quite of a Frankenstein, wouldn't you say? 







I wished the model to stand as the frigate "Santa Eulàlia", a 24-gun warship the Catalan government purchased from Genoa in 1713 to face the imminent siege of Barcelona during the last stages of War of Spanish Succession. On its arrival, she was uparmed to 34 guns and became one of the most outstanding warships in the small Catalan fleet (no more than 6 frigates, 9 brigs and several dozens of smaller boats such as xebecs, sageties, tartanes and so).



Here you have her proudly sailing side by side with a tartana. The colour schema I followed was more or less the same already explained in my previous post --except for sails, where I for once essayed to use a standard colour instead of mixing. The chosen colour was 70.837 Pale Sand. Not bad results I'd say, but will keep trying and essaying slight variations.

Lluís

[Lluis of Minairons]

Same with a fluyt I wished to paint as a French merchantman, for a long term Caribbean campaign my gaming mates and I have recently started:



Once again I made the mainmast higher and added a third sail to it, and afterwards changed its original mizzenmast lateen sail by another one from a discarded 1/1200 xebec. Small wires were glued to stern and on top of masts, and started to paint the model following the schema above commented.



I use not to glue masts to hull until painting job is nearly finished --or to glue just one at most--, so as to have the most room for working on the deck. Flags and rigging are added right in the end. This is what the French fluyt looks like, now that it's finished:







Now I'm working on a race-built galleon from Skytrex that I plan to paint as French too (can you guess what nation I'm going to carry in that campaign?), a Peter Pig sloop I have no idea on what to use for (but I wished to paint), as well as an entire fleet for a gaming mate who's going to carry Spain. So a couple of Minairons large galleons, a man-of-war, even another frigate, a schooner and... er... (more ships there, but can't remember which ones  )

[Colonel Kilgore]

Lluis,

Lovely models as ever - thanks for sharing more of your modelling tips!

[Lluis of Minairons]

Thanks for your appreciations, Colonel Sir! 

Right now I come from having finished another model from Peter Pig --their large full rigged ship, that I've modified only slightly by giving some added height to the mainmast, replacing the original bowsprit by another, larger one from Minairons and replacing the mizzenmast lateen sail too.



On a first moment, I painted and decorated her as an English man-of-war in times of Queen Anne, for the long term Caribbean campaign being gamed at my local club. But later I removed flags from their staffs, with the aim to allow it to be used in multiple roles:









Cheers!
Lluís

[Colonel Kilgore]

Wow - I love the deck-level detail!

[Leslie BT]

Brillant Lluis, your putting so much effort into your ships and they are turning out great.

What have you used for the Ratlines on your models?

[Lluis of Minairons]

This time I've given a try to some 1/700 photo-etched ratlines made by Ocean Spirit from Japan.
They look amazing once placed, but they're a real nightmare to handle --besides of being too expensive if compared with the price of model itself.

(BTW, LeslieBT: as soon as I'm delivered the parcel you sent me, I'll e-mail you for a couple of questions, or three)