Waterline for Ships and Submarines - Width 0.9 mm / Length 2820 mm (for All Kits)

A straight line where the draft ends

The transition between the underwater and the above-water part of a hull is among the most conspicuous elements of any ship. Unfortunately it is also one of the hardest places to do on a model. A rounded side runs together toward the bow and the stern, so masking tape breaks, forms wrinkles and paint runs under it. The solution on offer goes about the thing the other way round: instead of masking it brings a finished color strip on a decal base, which is simply laid onto an already sprayed hull.

A width of 0.9 mm corresponds to a fairly pronounced line of the kind carried by larger vessels or by models in more generous scales. The overall length reaches two thousand eight hundred and twenty millimeters, which is amply enough even for a long hull with several corrective attempts. The material is continuous and is trimmed as needed, so it can be led even around cut-outs or broken off at the anchor hawse.

How to achieve a straight line

Finish the hull first and varnish it to a gloss, as on a smooth surface the strip seats without silvering. Proceed in shorter sections, hold each one down with a damp brush and check the distance from the keel as you go. In a curve a softener helps. The strip suits surface models of ships and submarines alike and is not tied to a particular reduction.

Builders of ship models fall into two camps. One insists that only a sprayed line looks convincing, the other found out long ago that nobody can tell the difference in a photograph, while the time saved is felt. A continuous strip moreover allows a repair: an unsuccessful attempt is peeled off while still damp and you start again, without having to respray the whole side.