1:350 Battleship HMS Warspite 1942 (For trumpeter 05325)

A 1:350 wooden deck for a model of the battleship HMS Warspite by Artwox Model

An accessory, not a kit. The package holds a thin wood veneer with a pre-printed pattern of deck planks and an adhesive backing, which you glue over the plastic deck of your model. The piece is cut for the Trumpeter 05325 kit and for the specific 1942 form of the ship; on ships that went through modernizations the outline of the deck differs between versions, so check the match in advance.

Varnish: the last step, and the one that decides

A glued-down veneer is beautiful but vulnerable. Bare wood soaks up the grease from your fingers, catches dust and is easily smeared with glue during further assembly. So do not stop at the natural surface and seal it with varnish. Apply it in several very thin coats with an airbrush; a heavy coat would flood the pre-printed seams between the planks and the texture would be lost. A matte or slightly satin varnish works best: high gloss does not belong on deck wood and in 1:350 scale looks unnatural at once. Before spraying, let any wood stain dry out completely, otherwise the shade will shift once the varnish is on.

Weathering after varnishing

Only a sealed surface takes weathering. Let a heavily thinned wash run into the seams between the planks and wipe the excess off with a cloth drawn along the planks, never across them. Accentuated seams give the deck depth and the model stops looking like a flat print. On a warship it pays to keep the weathering restrained and to concentrate it where dirt would naturally collect, around the superstructure, the feet of fittings and the hatches.

Who the set is for

• The builder of a model of the British battleship HMS Warspite in 1:350 scale.
• The modeler who finishes a surface with varnish and weathering, not with paint alone.
• Anyone who wants to replace an engraved plastic deck with real wood.
• The collector of large ship models destined for a display case.

This is an accessory for a plastic kit, not a standalone model. The kit, paints, varnishes and glue are not included in the package, unless stated otherwise.