I have seen plenty of places out there that sell the little bits and bobs that would be scattered all over the deck of a ship. (Chocks, cleats, hatches, vents, fire hoses) but I am unable to see a great variety of items in 1/144th. I found EVERYTHING I wanted...SLQ-32, SPS49, the lot but in 1/96th! minus the WWII stuff that the hobby has from places like Battlers and Strike, does anyone know of a place that has 1/144th fittings on a website that I can actually understand? Bluejacket has a TON of stuff but the website is a mess. I wish I was still back in school, the actual store was like an hour away. Also, has anyone used different scale stuff (N Gauge Railroad, 1/16") that gave that "close enough for Govt. work" look at 10-20ft? I don't have the time to do the whole casting thing, or the budget to rock out a 3D printer but don't mind dropping a little coin to give her the right look. (BTW I hate you ALL who have one. Specally Tug, that May SS is gorgeous.) Spanks
N-scale works well enough if you can find what you need. If you are willing to make the drawings you can always have someone else print out custom parts, not cheap but way less than buying a printer.
Geez what I wouldn't do to have a 3d printer or the cash to get all of that fine scale stuff. So what to do. Well there are items I buy that won't cost an arm or a leg and then are there a ton of stuff I just scavenge such as anything whether it's stuff from a craft store, or the tops of bic pens the blue things that plug the pen on the top. I use small scale army tank tracks for ladders, chicken fencing for rails and bridge windows, screen mesh for radars, snap fasteners for pulley wheels, piano wire for rigging, plastic rods and I beams for well anything that goes on a deck like ammo boxes or flag lockers, those brass servo rings I use as portholes or dressing atop of flag poles, carpet tacks/nails for portholes closed, the end caps of battery connectors great for placing a skinny rod and flat piece of styrene notched to make a 20mm AA gun. These are just some examples. The part doesn't have to look exact as long as it is within the approximate dimensions because at 20 ft out it can't be seen and with paint it will look good on the model as most people don't realize what the part is let alone what it represents or what it is made from.But if it adds depth and dimension to the model from a few feet away you will take feel good about that and if it's shot off no big deal to replace with little expense. Consider the part expendable. The NC SK radar I made by taking the suction cup that secures items to your window. I just dress them up with styrene and wire. I use small dubro collars to secure the bases of masts amid the upperworks. I do use N scale city workers as they work out to be 5feet 5 inches tall so they are just fine. One time I was so cheap I used to cut out a flag out of white plastic bag and paint the flag then glue it on a stick. They never lasted but they were easy to replace. Deck bits I used various shapes of wood, or model parts bits. I will use anything as long as it looks the part or fits the part . Check out NorthStar Models website and http://www.loyalhannadockyard.com/ fittings and accessories.
Check out my 4 ships here in the photo section under Fleet Photo .Lots of close up pics of Yamato, Roma, Bismarck and Missouri's superstructure and note the detail items. See what you can identify as store bought, made or just added item from whatever. This should give you a good idea what you can do.
You have a great knack of using everyday things to make your ships pretty. I will be looking at this thread again when it comes time for me to add some detail to my ship. Beaver
