by Darrell Wakelam
Firstly, you’ll need to halve the tubes and draw a really simple hull for your boat on one of the pieces, so it’s good to have some reference photos to look at. Then cut it out, and tape extra bits of card on if you want to make the design more elaborate. When you are happy with the shape attach the bottom edge of it onto your background, leave the top part open for now. Save any leftover pieces of tube.
Next, for the masts you need some really thin strips of cardboard. You can cut them from the tubes, or you can use other scraps. I’ve introduced some corrugated card here as I like the different texture it offers. Glue three or four of these long strips on for the masts and then use smaller pieces to make the cross beams. I sometimes slightly tilt these which makes them look like you are looking up at them. At this point I also use up the scrap pieces from the first two stages to begin to add texture to the sea. This not only looks effective, but also uses up all of the leftovers.
Now you need more pieces of the tubes to make the sails. Again, it helps to look at reference photos to get the shapes right, but as a rule, if the wind is blowing into them, they will have curved sides as you can see in the photos. Then use some more thin pieces of the tube to make some flags. Any of the remaining pieces can now be incorporated into the sea.
Once the ship has dried out you can start painting. With this kind of model, I often choose a simple colour and undercoat the whole model first, in this case I’ve used the sky colour. This helps to fill in any details, makes it easier to paint, and also makes it a little stronger. When this initial stage has dried you can then paint in the details. I’ve used some white paint to add splashes and some gold metallic paint to pick out some of the details. I’ve even added some of the ship colours into the water as a reflection.
Models like this are not only fun, but they also allow you to really explore the structure of sailing ships, their function, and design. The materials can be used in a very simple way but can also be used to make intricate details if the children have the patience. The whole method can be simplified or extended, and the painting stage can be very precise or alternatively, it can be wild and expressive.
I don’t think I’ve ever attempted a project like this without the children enjoying it, and like the majority of my ideas, it’s achievable, affordable, and adaptable.
