both

Having it

ways

T
he sleek Charles F. Adams-class guided-missile destroyers had diorama story. I fashioned it so that when I slipped it around the
always been my choice for “most beautiful ship” in the U.S. hull from below, it fit snugly at the waterline, surrounding the
Navy, and the USS Semmes (DDG-18) was very familiar to ship at the bow and stern. This shape also allowed for an open
me. I had recently completed my military service as a medical side, from which the ship’s underwater details could be seen. I set
officer on the Destroyer Squadron Six staff and still had pleasant the cardboard pattern onto a piece of 3⁄16" acrylic sheet, cut it to
memories of sea cruises and liberty calls, many of them aboard shape, and set it aside while I built the model.
this ship. This was going to be a special project. ˙
I was holding a newly carved wooden hull in my hands, turn- Back aboard
ing it this direction and that, trying to visualize the finished My destroyer evolved from an old Ship Model Shop custom
model. The problem was that I saw two models rather than one. wood-ship kit. It contained the basic hull and superstructure
The vision of the graceful hull with the sonar dome and bilge shapes along with cast-metal fittings for the gun mounts, rocket
keels, 1, as well as the screws and rudders, 2, drew me toward the launchers, gun director, and other small details.
idea of a solid-hull ship model mounted on a varnished base in I added a considerable amount of scratchbuilt detail to the
the classic tradition. But, I also saw an equally appealing image: wood shapes. The bridge was fabricated with a complete interior
a waterline diorama with the ship in its natural element and the from styrene sheet. I vacuum-formed the stack caps and hol-
crew going about its duties on deck. lowed out the stacks. The most difficult part of the model was
I fancied the Semmes at anchor in a tropical lagoon with boat scratchbuilding the SPS-40 and SPS-52 radars, but I particularly
booms swung out and accommodation ladders extended, 3. I enjoyed making the crew figures from copper-wire armatures
could just imagine the liberty boats plying from ship to shore filled out with putty.
like water beetles and a small sailing craft pitching and bobbing When my destroyer was painted and complete, except for
alongside the ship with locals selling trinkets to the crew, 4. All the masts and rigging, I mounted it on a stained and varnished
of the figures would be placed so that they would not be visible decoupage plaque. Brass finials found at a lighting-fixture store
from the “solid-hull” side. made up the pedestals. Then I went back to the water.

Into the water Another dip

Both visions drew me equally, so I decided they must be com- The acrylic “water” was temporarily placed at the model’s water-
bined. I started with some scrap cardboard and through trial and line, and four points were marked with a pencil, one at the bow
error, cut a shape that would represent the water’s surface for a and stern on each side. Then holes were drilled into the hull at

52 FineScale Modeler April 2005

 1/ 250 Scale | Ship | How-to

You can have

your full-hull ship
and your waterline
diorama in one model
By John T. Leyland

The port side of John Leyland’s USS Semmes (DDG-18) por-

trays the ship at rest in a tropical lagoon.

these points to receive small wire nails that support the acrylic
sheet. I test-fitted the sheet, removed the pins, and slipped it off Mounting the “water.”
for painting. Wire brads in holes
The upper surface of the acrylic sheet was airbrushed with
two shades of blue-green in a random “splotch” pattern. When
completely dry, the acrylic sheet supported by the pins was rein-
stalled on the model. I’ve used acrylic gel medium for water on
several other diorama projects and have been pleased with the Acrylic sheet
results, so I used it on this project as well. Acrylic gel medium
comes out of the jar with the appearance and consistency of may-
onnaise, but dries completely clear, giving a translucent appear-
ance for the color beneath it.
I placed masking tape around the joint from below the ship’s Wire brads
waterline so that no gel would run through the gap between the
acrylic sheet and the hull. A layer of gel medium was spread over
the “water” surface with an old kitchen knife. I was extremely
careful not to stir any bubbles into the gel, because they would be Gel medium
visible later.
When I applied gel medium to the surface, it resembled a
frosted cake with swirls and peaks. Starting at one end, I dipped
an inexpensive 1" paint brush in water, and while it was dripping
wet, I dabbed it on the gel to create realistic waves. The brush
picked up “peaks” after two or three dabs in the gel, so I rinsed
it regularly in water and kept dabbing. When the whole surface
was finished, it had puddles of standing water all over it. After Masking tape
several days, when the gel was firmly set yet not completely dry, I
removed the masking tape.
Next, I set the ship’s boat and the outrigger canoe in place

April 2005 www.finescale.com 53

 1 2

The Semmes displayed as a graceful solid-hull model reveals its sub-surface . . . screws and rudders.
details including the sonar dome, bilge keels, and . . .

3 4

The ship lies quietly at anchor with a local catamaran pitching and bobbing . . . boat booms swung out and accommodation ladders extended for liberty
alongside and . . . boats plying to and from shore.

John enjoys seeing the solid-hull view

of the ship’s starboard side.

and gently pushed them into the “water.” After the surface was ing the ship around to enjoy the other model for a
completely dry (at least a week), I dabbed on small drops of gel while. FSM
to shape the motorboat wake and the rippling of water against
the ship’s hull. I rippled the water just slightly because the ship is Dr. John T. Leyland is an anesthesiologist. Away from
at anchor. When this dried, I painted ripples around the anchor his workbench, John enjoys sailing, hiking, and read-
chain and the hull with titanium-white acrylic paint. ing. He and his wife Marilyn live in Peoria, Ill.

My visions realized
The completed model is much more interesting than either of
my two original ideas. Now when I admire it, I find myself turn-

54 FineScale Modeler April 2005