A Solution to a Naval Problem

H.M.S. Superb - note the white ‘boot topping’.

One of the challenges when scratchbuilding warships is how to tackle ‘boot topping’. Traditional boot topping is the line along a ship’s hull between the main colour and the red anti-fouling paint. For the Royal Navy during the ironclad era this was white, as seen in the model of H.M.S. Superb above, now in the collection of Bob Cordery.

In the past I would laboriously apply masking tape and paint the line but, to be honest, it is a little on the fiddly side as straight lines and I have what can best be described as a tenuous relationship…. The red anti-fouling lower hull is simplicity itself as the whole layer of 3mm thick MDF is edged in the appropriate shade prior to be fitted to the upper hull. It is for that reason the line for this is absolutely dead straight! I also employ a similar technique for broadside mounted gundecks where a white line is required. 

The Hampton Roads trio that need no introduction! Note the gun deck on the Union frigate - the layer was painted before assembly which makes the whole process very straightforward to execute.

It occurred to me sometime ago that the same technique that I use for the red anti-fouling layer - painting it first and then adding it to the hull - could also work for the white boot topping. The only problem was that I was unable to source any material that could be usable. Most suppliers of laser cut MDF usually work in two or three millimetres and I really wanted something one millimetre at most. I discarded the notion of using plastic card or even ordinary cardboard - the former requires rather more work than MDF and the latter is too fibrous when filed to size. 

I have no idea what prompted it but I was having a meander across the internet when I found a supplier of 1mm thick MDF sheets that are A4 sized. Straightaway I ordered ten sheets that will not only be used for the aforementioned boot topping or other lining effects but also for things like flying decks or other superstructure bits and bobs.

The immediate effect of this is that the work on the Royal Navy and the Turkish hulls can continue - in truth I was puzzling about best to tackle this as I have around two dozen ships to complete.

Like most simple ideas I can’t believe I did not think of this sooner….