How to Build Ship Models From Kits

Hobbyists have known for hundreds of years that building model ships can be a fun and therapeutic experience. The type of ship to be built is dictated entirely by the tastes of the builder, and the types of model ship kits available are almost innumerable. Whether you're looking to build a small sailing vessel or a massive military aircraft carrier, you'll most likely find what you're looking for at your local hobby shop, department store toy section, or internet model supply company. Whatever type of ship one chooses to build, the principles of sound and efficient construction are the same.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Model ship kit
• Hobby knife
• Fine-grain sandpaper
• Plastic model glue
• Model paint

How to Build Ship Models From Kits

1. Take a thorough inventory of all of the kit's contents. Inventorying serves two purposes. First, you need to confirm that all of the ship's pieces have been included in the box. Second, inventorying familiarizes the builder with the pieces and where they are located, making for a much smoother building process.

2. Cut each piece from the kit's part trees. Plastic models are usually packaged unassembled with all of the pieces attached to plastic frames called "trees." Pieces are then numbered with the number not on the piece itself, but printed beside it on the tree. For this reason, you shouldn't cut the ship's pieces from the tree until each one is needed.

3. Trim and sand all of the model's rough edges and tree attachment points before painting and assembling the kit. Use a hobby knife to trim any excess plastic or imperfections, then use a sheet of fine-grain hobby sandpaper to further smooth the spot.

4. Paint each of the model's parts before assembling the kit. This is an especially important point if using spray paint. It is much easier, not to mention efficient, to spray-paint unassembled pieces individually than to mask off areas of a completed ship.

5. Assemble the kit in the order that the instructions direct. Jumping ahead in the directions can lead to irreparable mistakes.

Tips & Warnings

• Study any available photographs and drawings of the actual ship corresponding to the model that you're building before you begin the project. Possessing an up-front familiarity with the actual ship will ensure accuracy when building the model. Use as little glue as possible when constructing the model. It may seem necessary to use a lot, but model glues are highly effective at cementing pieces together with what seems to be a minuscule amount.
• Hobby knives are actually razor blades and should be handled with the utmost caution. Most model glues are highly toxic and should not be ingested. Some glues are even dangerous to work with in confined, poorly ventilated areas. Vapors from these glues can be toxic, and breathing them in can lead to serious medical problems, such as scarring of the lungs and mucous membranes.

References

• Website elaborating on some of the important aspects of model ship building.