Technical, Techniques, Hints, and Tips > Modelling tools
Marking a Waterline
RST:
Hi,
The recent trend is to use a laser level or mini "dumpy" laser to mark a waterline though I've never seen a post how it works or the advantage over the simple "pencil" on a block method (I have such a laser which I used for work but can't see how to use it for models as it doesn't remove the need for marking up). That said, on very large models maybe it's more practical to get a reference?
The old techniques used to be:
* Place in the bath and ballast correctly, sprinkle talc and let the water out. As the WL should normally always be above to account for real-life, measure a uniform distance above when applying markings or masking
* Pencil (or whatever) on block and move it around, or the model on a flat base
* Just measuring offset from a known point enough to string up a line of tape...There's not much need to complicate it. MK 1 eyeball Always applies when applying the line from front to aft and from side to side. I used pencils on blocks for 30 years -I guess that's been used in a form for 300 years or more.
Since we can post .stl files now, if you feel a reluctance to tape or glue a pencil to a block, feel free to use my waterline marker if you know someone with a printer and I used it a couple of times absolutely OK. It uses about 50p of materials (excluding a couple of M3 or M4 bolts and nuts plus the pencil!) but design time is obviously the expensive part so your price seems OK to me for a retail item, it does no better than a pencil on a wooden block as in the modelling books. My laser level cost me £30 without batteries if you prefer that for a bigger hull, I've never tried to use it on a model.
...I know you're splitting posts up rather than following your build thread but please bear in mind your other question regarding painting sequence it's worth bearing in mind curvature of the parts and masking off also. For a good result use thin tape (such as Tamiya) and pay attention whether it's best to mask upwards or downwards according to the curvature. Where possible apply a thin or dry coat of the same base colour over the tape edge to seal it and let it try before applying the next colour. This is basic model painting stuff you can check on youtube etc.
Hope it helps,
Rich
RST:
Picture attachment won't work which is unusual but not the first time I've had this in the last few weeks for other reasons, the usual file compression methods won't reduce file size. See if this works...
...Nope (bring back MS picture manager -it just worked!!!).
Hmm, try again (imported to powerpoint, re-saved as a .jpeg), bingo:
tonyH:
I haven't seen it mentioned if you're going to make a "pencil holder" type but beware of gluing the pencil in place. You'll find that the stern can be a "b****r to mark unless the pencil is pointing uppishly(?), otherwise either it can either slip, or the pencil can stray off the intended line. Obviously, if the hull is upside down, the pencil will point downishly(?) %%
tizdaz:
--- Quote from: RST on December 15, 2021, 12:45:24 am ---Hi,
The recent trend is to use a laser level or mini "dumpy" laser to mark a waterline though I've never seen a post how it works or the advantage over the simple "pencil" on a block method (I have such a laser which I used for work but can't see how to use it for models as it doesn't remove the need for marking up). That said, on very large models maybe it's more practical to get a reference?
The old techniques used to be:
* Place in the bath and ballast correctly, sprinkle talc and let the water out. As the WL should normally always be above to account for real-life, measure a uniform distance above when applying markings or masking
* Pencil (or whatever) on block and move it around, or the model on a flat base
* Just measuring offset from a known point enough to string up a line of tape...There's not much need to complicate it. MK 1 eyeball Always applies when applying the line from front to aft and from side to side. I used pencils on blocks for 30 years -I guess that's been used in a form for 300 years or more.
Since we can post .stl files now, if you feel a reluctance to tape or glue a pencil to a block, feel free to use my waterline marker if you know someone with a printer and I used it a couple of times absolutely OK. It uses about 50p of materials (excluding a couple of M3 or M4 bolts and nuts plus the pencil!) but design time is obviously the expensive part so your price seems OK to me for a retail item, it does no better than a pencil on a wooden block as in the modelling books. My laser level cost me £30 without batteries if you prefer that for a bigger hull, I've never tried to use it on a model.
...I know you're splitting posts up rather than following your build thread but please bear in mind your other question regarding painting sequence it's worth bearing in mind curvature of the parts and masking off also. For a good result use thin tape (such as Tamiya) and pay attention whether it's best to mask upwards or downwards according to the curvature. Where possible apply a thin or dry coat of the same base colour over the tape edge to seal it and let it try before applying the next colour. This is basic model painting stuff you can check on youtube etc.
Hope it helps,
Rich
--- End quote ---
Hi Rich,
Yeh i have a laser level, but its not brilliant but that's probably because its a pretty cheap one i picked up few years ago! So im going to go down the route of using the pencil/holder as its pretty much fool proof, thanks for the tip regarding a thin layer of previous colour over the masking to seal it before next colour! ... I've never done this over the years when spraying my bodyshells, but then we spray them from the inside etc so its a different method, spraying boat hulls is a whole new ball game to me! The bath tub method is definitely a no go for me as i don't have a bath tub that size!
Regarding your device, what's the max height it can reach? as my 2 waterlines need to be around 10cm & 15cm?
Thanks buddy
--- Quote from: tonyH on December 15, 2021, 09:30:42 am ---I haven't seen it mentioned if you're going to make a "pencil holder" type but beware of gluing the pencil in place. You'll find that the stern can be a "b****r to mark unless the pencil is pointing uppishly(?), otherwise either it can either slip, or the pencil can stray off the intended line. Obviously, if the hull is upside down, the pencil will point downishly(?) %%
--- End quote ---
Thanks for heads up! ..yup i was wondering about this section as it does look like it maybe trial & error til i get it just right!! :D
tonyH:
"Regarding your device, what's the max height it can reach? as my 2 waterlines need to be around 10cm & 15cm?"
It's all a matter of "wobble". Whether it's a laser line or a pencil on a stick it's got to stay stable along the length you're marking, so it doesn't matter whether it's wedged up or on a pile of books :-))
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