Hi Alasdair,

Ive used thin card for my plating and a pounce wheel to represent the rivetting. Whether this would suit your prpose Im not sure but test pieces would be worth a try. I`d never done it before either and had a lot of of advice from others on the forum before I tried.

I also used Tulips Metallics dimentional fabric paint for rivets, applied very sparingly with the tip of a cocktail stick. It`s a cream which dries hard after a few hours.

Best of luck with your search.

Jim.

Looking at the Caldercraft, advert it rather depends on how much detail is already shown. If you don’t like the detail (including rubbing strakes) then you have the option of sanding the hull smooth and then applying your own plating and rubbing strips, perhaps using card or 0.4mm ply and adding rivets using a hypodermic syringe and PVA glue. Quite a fiddly job.

You have to ask yourself what is the best compromise between realism and practicality. The model as it comes has a degree of representational detail which might not be strictly correct but looks the part and would be accepted by most viewers,albeit not by yourself. So you could spend a great deal of effort in making corrections that nobody else but yourself will notice, especially at the distance that the model is viewed on the water.

Moreover, the kit itself will have other compromises over a strictly scale depiction for commercial reasons as is pretty much normal.

If you want a model which is a true to scale as is possible then building from scratch is probably the best option rather than trying to modify a commercial kit which inevitably incorporates compromises for sound commercial reasons.

In reality the differences in some cases my be not all that great, especially as viewed by the average onlooker.

As always, horses for courses and you only need to satisfy yourself.

Colin

Further to what Richard has said, most rivet detail on a hull would only really be seen when the boat is out of the water and can be looked at closely by anyone who has an interest.

I think our modelling interest takes us to the level of including whatever we can whilst accepting that once on the pond it’ll disappear. When starting my current build,I hadn’t given a thought to the rivetted plating on the hull till a suggestion was made that it would improve the look, but I’m certainly glad I made the effort.

Jim.

Have to agree with that Richard, your completion of Ben Ain proving the point prefectly.

Oddly enough I am in need of fake plating detail on the next build. I am using the subterfuge of random paper squares representing the plates which when painted black, should give a fair impression of plating.  Looks reasonable in its grey primer!

Ashley

Didn’t bother with rivets. At 1/80 the rivets would be very small…

Yes I think the paper I used was cartridge paper…fairly thick and with a slight texture. Ashley