L.A. Boats Anechoic Tiles - Need Mucho Help!!

[anonymous]

Diane,

I defer my experize on

Diane,

I defer my experize on the LA boats to our very own Jeff LaRue, a person of impecable knowledge, and would sell his body to you to see your model was the most accurate humanly possible. LOL. So there!

Steve



Edited By Dolphin on 1130699720

[JWLaRue]

Steve,

Goodness....I will unlikely never claim

Steve,

Goodness....I will unlikely never claim to be an expert on the LA-class! I know that there are folks out there that have much, much more knowledge of these boats than I do.

Now.......certain U-boats, I might admit to knowing some things.

-Jeff

p.s. if you do sell my body, make sure you get a good price.

[diane paterson]

??? Thanks Jeff. I'll take

??? Thanks Jeff. I'll take it under advisement. Fact is, that untill I get into the actual hull construction and detailing phase, I'm not quite sure how I will handle the tiles. I will just have to experiment and find out what seems to work best in my hands. Time and experience will tell.

[anonymous]

Thx Jeff for taking it

Thx Jeff for taking it the right way. Nice to know you ain't cheap, but you can still be had. lol

Steve

[fx models]

IMHO, tiles never look right

IMHO, tiles never look right on a model.

Sheerlines model subs have tile detail, OTW models of the same boats do not. I think the OTW models look more realisitic.

I have an OTW Vanguard, when it comes to detailing that, I won't be adding any anechoic tile detail.

However, if you're hellbent on applying them, I would suggest searching this site for posts by 'FX models' and painting tile effects- quite and interesting technique.

Andy

Andy,

Adding to that I can say some more about proper tiles at scale. We still submit that the best way is to use the finish on the boat to achieve them. I have done it a million times on projects where you only see the subtle details in the final paint or in the light as it plays on the model. ANY raised or engraved surface on a model in smaller scales will run the risk of looking out of scale.
For example on the Mystic that we did, look at this image]http://fxmodels.com/DSRVMystic/NonSkidEffect.jpg[/img]

The dark non skid area on the green conical back is shown as dead flat whereas the hull is a matte finish and much more reflective all around that particular area as is evidenced in this image taken specifically to show this effect. We used the Specularity or "glossiness" to showcase this aspect by masking off the non-skid panels, and any other area we wanted dead flat, and then sprayed the boat with a matte finish, and removed the masks. Done. This reflectivity is used to good effect on all of our models where the non-skid decks are shown not through any COLOR change which is also in use here, but through simply specularity only. It is subtle but comes into view as get closer to the model.

Had the Mystic's non-skid areas been the same exact green and not darker gray you would still see them quite well just in the reflectivity alone. Imagine now a tile pattern on the 688 or 688i [different patterns by the way!]. It could be made using paint as I pointed out in those other posts, or could be simulated very effectively just using specularity. It would look gorgeous.

Tiles are made to order for this approach to maintain the proper look.

Marc

[Guest]

Hey Marc,

Sorry to go off

Hey Marc,

Sorry to go off topic, but whatever happened to the RC version of the DSRV that Dave M was working up?

Andy

[diane paterson]

]

[color=#000000]]

[fx models]

Hi Andy,

Dave and I

Hi Andy,

Dave and I have not talked lately about the DSRV but we at this end are still committed to the RC version ... We have been doing a number of higher end projects right now frankly and have to complete them before starting on this. By December we will be ready to remold the DSRV for RC.

Dave M lurks the forums still I think and he will probably yell at me letting me know that he AINT doin' anything with it over Christmas... [ha ha]. Dave did discuss the thrusters and I suspect he is still going to want to outfit this with a nice WTC and thruster assembly. He STILL needs me to get him a hull but I want him to have a typical RC DSRV hull from us and not the piecemeal model we put together now from many separate molds. So he is actually waiting for ME to get off my butt and stop making money and just do this. It will all work out fine once we get past the new molds next month. Then it will probably move pretty darn quickly.

So it is still coming. That is why I tried not to promise WHEN it would show up just that it would within a few months .. er.. a year... well you know what I mean!

Thanks for asking Andy!

Marc

[fx models]

]
Diane,

I can get you started

[color=#000000]]

[color=#000000]Diane,

I can get you started really quickly. Just cut yourself a bunch of thin little strips of masking tape, perhaps only a 32nd thick. Get some nice consistent thin strips. Then put them down in a grid, one direction first, then the other. This is a test grid so you can see how well this works. Burnish them down so they are well attached to the plastic [use styrene for this if you can otherwise a piece of plex will work]. Then start laying some paint on it, nice and lightly first, mist coating initially, and slowly build up to a heavier coat. As you get to a point where you look like you have laid on a bit of paint, go ahead and pull the tape off strip by strip not all at once, and do it as soon as you are done painting. Dont wait for it to fully dry! What will be left is your raised panels with a deep trough in between them which is just what you will want.
Summarizing then for this test/practice of the technique]

[gerwalk]

Marc]

[color=#000000]Marc]

[fx models]

Marc]
Pablo,
Yes that will probably

[color=#000000]Marc]

Pablo,
Yes that will probably work just fine. This technique reaches far. You can use it for all kinds of details.

I have not seen the Kilo kit but can you just sand off the raised lines and start from a blank hull? This would be best if possible. Just take digital photos of the raised panels so you have a reference first!

just a thought...

Marc

[gerwalk]

Marc]
Pablo,
Yes that will probably

[quote]

Marc]
Pablo,
Yes that will probably work just fine. This technique reaches far. You can use it for all kinds of details.

I have not seen the Kilo kit but can you just sand off the raised lines and start from a blank hull? This would be best if possible. Just take digital photos of the raised panels so you have a reference first!

just a thought...

Marc

[color=#000000]Thanks. I should correct what I wrote]