quote:
Originally posted by SnipeHunter
really? its easier to reskin if you've got more than say 15 holes? gees that sounds like a lot of work. and I thought fast gun patching could be tedious.
It depends on the damage, & some ships are easier than others, but in general, yeah I think so. Unless Axis gunnery really sucks over a number of battles, I usually figure on reskinning every other battle at least. Once I completely reskinned my Nelson in less time than a friend was able to patch about that many holes in another ship. Of course, a big part of being able to do that is being ready. I keep a bunch of doped/silkspanned balsa sheets all prepped & ready to go, so it's pretty quick & easy when the time comes. The old comes off easily (Nobel Prize nominations for the inventors of the Dremel Moto-tool & hand-held sanders!). Total time is about 3-5 hours, spread out over 3-5 evenings (sometimes more, if there are multiple colors such as for a camo job), to let various things dry.
Day 1: Strip off old hull sheet; grind off old glue; glue new sheets onto hull; trim, sand, apply wood filler. Time: Approx. 2 hours.
Day 2: Sand dried filler (no point in using anything finer than #60); apply additional filler to low spots if necessary; dope & paint with spray primer. Time: Approx. 1 hour.
Day 3: 2nd coat primer if necessary; mask off waterline & spray red below. Time: Approx. 30-60 min.
Day 4: Mask off & spray additional colors if necessary; apply boot tape; spray overall with clear dope (helps keep tape from coming up). Time: Approx. 30-60 min.
JM