Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length.

[Capt. Spaulding]

Try as I might, I can not make realistic-looking (or even decent-looking) tarps for lifeboats.

Can anyone provide some ideas, or perhaps a link to a successful method?

Many thanks for any help on this topic.

[Big Ada]

I found some cotton material the right colour,cut to shape,glue tacked it on then painted it all over with a diluted PVA glue mix,when dry this tautens the tarp and is colourless.

             Len

[barryfoote]

Capt. This really works.....Single ply toilet paper, painted the colour you want and hung up to dry. Fold and "scrunch " up to shape on your boat, Use a little water to help it stay in place. When dry yo can age it as you wish and a coat of clear matt varnish does the job. Picture of it done on my Talacre is attached. The tarp on the main hatch was done the same way.

Give it a go.

Barry

[Capt. Spaulding]

Thanks, Len. I've tried that method, with mixed results. But it's probably worth trying again, using different materials for the tarp. (The ones I have experimented with -- mostly cotton -- frayed at the edges, even after careful trimming.)

[Capt. Spaulding]

Interesting idea, Barry. Thanks for the tip. It's certainly easy to find the materials....... 

[Dave Buckingham]

With cotton etc run a line of PVA etc where you want to cut let it dry and cut it should not fray.

Dab the glue with a cloth so very thin.

Look at instructins on flag packets
Dave

[Bryan Young]

If you really want to put covers on the boats (I don't) then the method I used on "Hunan" works..OK, I lied.
Duck Tape. You will still need a fore and aft "spreader" as a backbone, and probably 3 sets of athwartships stiffeners to give you the sort of shape you want. Drape the tape over the framework and paint. Put side pieces along the gunwhales with triangular segments running half way down the hull of the boat. Up to you  how you do the rigging, but just general lashings would do. If you feel really clever you can do the covers all in one piece with a doubliing strip around the gunwale area....but the framework is the answer.

[Capt. Spaulding]

Many thanks for the imaginative suggestions, gentlemen. I will be full of optimism when I settle down at the workbench and try them.

And speaking of duct tape...not only is it supremely useful, it has inspired a madrigal: http://www.alaska.net/~ldn/music.htm
   

[BlazingPenguin]

Best solution I saw somewhere, was to use the metal foil thats used to cover butter or other spreads in tubs these days. Folds to contours well, is pleasantly textured and is  very easily painted...looks very realistic.

[kiteman1]

If you are satisfied with a 'stand-off' appeareance, try getting the thinnest plasticard you can get.  Cut it roughly to size and position it over your lifeboat with a reasonable overhang on each side.  Take a hot air gun and gently warm it until it becomes pliable.  It can then be moulded by hand to the shape required. You can trim it afterwards with a scalpel.  It appears like the real thing and is watertight.  Tie-downs can be added later.  Easy innit................ :angel:

[boatmadman]

I used a peice of cotton sheet, varnished it to seal it, then painted it the required colour - worked for me.

http://www.modelboatmayhem.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=1951.140

near the bottom of the page,

Ian

[fooman2008]

they sell some stuff in the U.S. for sewing called "Fray Check" kind of a really thin rubber cement, people put on the cut edges of fabric to keep it from fraying, you could try that.  A type of fabric you could try is 'ripstop' like parachute cloth, nice and light for scale appearance.  It is usually nylon so you can cheat it a little and use a hot knife or even a suitably modified soldering iron,viola no fraying at all that way.
An old trick I learned with Navy hats is to dilute some starch in a container dip the cloth in it and place it over a stretcher (in the case the boat) weight it a little (clothespins would probably work in this case) hit it with a low powered hair dryer and it will take a set in about 15 minutes.  Flip it over and hit (the underside) with a couple coats of flat clear (dull coat) spray paint to make it permanent and waterproof....
Foo

[tigertiger]

You could try soaking your fabric/paper in a solution of PVA.

I did my tarps on my hatch covers with a piece of cotton, and varnishes as suggested above.
These were streched over the hatch covers in making, if your lifeboat is a bit fragile, you could make a solid block copy of the shape of the top in solid wood.

See replies #20-22 on this thread
http://www.modelboatmayhem.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=2716.0

Took my hatch cover and covered in cling film.
Then stretched my cotton over thi san secured with pins.
Next varnished it and allowec to dry.
After that painted it, let it dry.
Then removed from hatch cover, trimmed with scissors.
After that took a bradawl and made holes around the edge for threading line/cord through.
Finally refited to hatch over, threade the cord over the cleats on the hatch, tightened up the cordage and tied off.

[Bunkerbarge]

Just another angle to add to the mix.

I don't really want to cover all the detail in the lifeboat but they do have tarpaulins fitted so for my model I decided to have them removed but still in the boat where they would be placed while work was being done.

I made mine from sticky backed foil tape used in the HVAC industry for insulation fixing.  The gum was washed off with a solvent then the pieces cut out to an approximate shape and size of the required cover.  I like using foil because it folds beautifully and holds it's shape perfectly as well as not having a textured surface.   I think you have to put a bit of thought into what a scale texture would look like on things like this.  If you imaging the hand of one of your scale figures a lot seem to end up with very out of proportion textures.  At the scale I am using 1/35th, canvas or tarpaulin textures would not be visible so a smooth foil surface works well with the texture being generated by painting.

After the foil shape was cut I then folded it in just the same way as I would expect it to be folded as it was removed from the boat and then laid over one of the thwarts.  The boat thwart was used to get the shape correct then the cover was removed, sprayed with a primer then painted up with Humbrol enamels.  A bit of washing in the shadows and then a bit of dry brushing gave it some texture and brought it to life before a spot of glue held it to the thwart.

[dreadnought72]

That's lovely, Bunkerbarge. 

Andy

[Capt. Spaulding]

Fine ideas, gentlemen. Thanks for sharing them.

Bunkerbarge: beautiful workmanship. My hat's off to you.

Cheers,
Capt. Spaulding

[Bunkerbarge]

Thank you gents.