1:1200 Scale Model Scratch-Building

John authored the following articles describing modeling techniques for scratch building 1:1200 ship models.

Scratch-Building Technique

One can use a large variety of materials in scratch building model ships at 1:1200 scale. Friends have earnestly recommended sheet or block plastic, lime wood, sugar pine, resin-filled plastic, and maybe other materials that John forgot over the years.

 

Most would tell John that him he couldn’t build respectable models using balsa wood as my basic material. Based on 37 years of experience, he disagreed. John used balsa exclusively and was able to achieve credible results with elementary tools and really a minimum of time. Balsa does, however, have a more noticeable grain than other materials...​

Scratch-building an Aircraft Carrier
The IJNS Shinano

For some years, John intended to add IJNS Shinano to his fleet of Japanese WW2 carriers, but had been somewhat daunted by its layout and the lack of really good reference material. However, the appearance of the Hasegawa 1:700 scale kit of Shinano made the job relatively easy—at least as far as research goes.

 

While he recognized that almost none of the known references on Shinano agree totally in layout details—or even in total length—John believed that one may rely on the research performed by the design staff at Hasegawa...

Scratch-building the USS Arkansas

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The USS Arkansas (BB33) was commissioned Sept. 11, 1912 before WW I and was still serving in 1945 (she was sunk at Bikini Atoll on July 25, 1946). By 1945, she had been refitted and updated several times during the war years, but her appearance was essentially unchanged from the 1930s. More guns, radar, etc., but she still looked like a member of the pre-WW II "battle line". One of the reasons John chose this particular ship is that it has a number of different size and function guns and some unusual hull features...