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Long before model boat and ship kits were available in shops and stores, building model boats and ships were popular hobbies. Now however, things are much easier and you can just walk down to your nearest store and pick the model ship building kit of your choice. And the result is satisfying too, because the model boat and ship looks very realistic. You have to decide for yourself the scale you want to work with. Since it is handcrafted you can have any size you require. The model scale is written like this – 1/12 which means that one inch on your model ship or boat would represent 12 feet of the real ship.
The tools required to build a model ship or a model boat are simple. First off you will need a small carving knife. It is with this carving knife that you will cut and fashion the hull and deck. Of course, if you use a model ship building kit or a model boat building kit the carving knife is optional as most of the pieces in the kit are pre-cut and fashioned.
You will require light-grain sandpaper, which would help you smoothen the wood. You will need thin wooden craft sticks which you can fashion into masts. To glue them to the deck you will require high quality glue. Scissors are another pair of essentials in this craft. This would be required to cut the cloth for masts. Your carving knife can be used to put holes in the cloth pieces so that you can string them to the masts. You will need a small engraving tool so that you can add ornamental designs to your model boat or model ship. Sandpaper is essential in almost every stage of the building as you will be required to smoothen the wood removing excess wood and rough edges. Wood varnish will give you model ship a fine finished look. You can if you wish paint your model boat or model ship with acrylic paint, adding colour and a personal touch to your masterpiece. You can, if you wish, also add on ship emblems.
You will need twine – either black or white, to string the sails of your ship. Sewing thread can also be used.
So essentially you will need a carving knife, an engraving tool, scissors, sandpaper, wood, glue, twine, cloth, varnish and acrylic paint – if you were to venture into model ship building or model boat building on your own.
However, if you were to use a ship building kit or a boat building kit that you pick up from the store the tools you will need are much smaller.
First off, you will need the model ship kit. There is a wide variety of model ship and model boat kits that are available. Make sure you choose the kit that interests you the most. Because most often you could just by chance pick the wrong model ship or model boat kit and then find yourself disinterested in building. Make a thorough inventory of the kit. This will ensure that you have all the required pieces in place and it will also give you a chance to get familiar with what is in the kit. You will need a hobby knife. But keep in mind that hobby knives are actually razor blades and so should be handled very carefully.
You will need good quality glue so that you will be able to fix the pieces together. Fine-grain sandpaper is highly essential as it will help smoothen the edges and give it a finished look. Finally, you will need model paint. This is more laborious and time- consuming. The alternate is to use spray paint. This is faster and the finished product is much better looking.
So essentially the tools you require while making a model ship or a model boat from the kit is a hobby knife, fine-grain sandpaper, plastic model glue and model paint.
Before you begin your project, it is advisable to take a look at drawings of the actual ship. Once you are able to visualise the actual ship then building the model ship or model boat would become easier. Remember, to use as little glue as possible when constructing.
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