First wood veneer deck

[Ron Bell]

I got the Trumpeter 1915 Warspite to review and decided I wanted to "up my game" and try a wood veneer deck. I went on line to see what I could find as far as "how to" type info, but had no luck. I got lots of opinions on realism, cost, appearance and whatever but no real advice on how to put one on. Being that this is a self adhesive product, I decided to treat it like you would a laminate countertop. There's lots of advice out there on how to do those, so I adapted that to my deck project.

 

The company Artwox puts out a veneer deck made especially for this kit. It's 1/700 scale and quite delicate looking. It's in several parts as some deck structures completely divide the ship in half. I started at the bow as that was an easily accessible area and was small enough for a first try.

 

I started by removing the multitude of cut outs that accommodate all the detail on the kit's deck. Some of this is pretty tiny, so it can be tedious. I found that if you went over the cut outs with a new #11 blade first, the punch outs came off easier. Seems the adhesive underneath either wasn't cut through or it "heals" itself after the laser cutting. If you don't re-cut, it can leave this sheet of adhesive behind that will glom up the kit part as it goes down over it. This step took a while. It was easy, but as I said, tedious.

 

Peeling the deck away from the backing is a bit tricky at first, but after it got started it was easy. At first I was afraid the thin veneer would crack and/or break, but it was pretty sturdy. You had to be careful, for sure, but it was tougher than I thought it would be. Now the laminate counter top advice kicked in. Start up against some long easy to see surface. Hold the veneer so that it slightly curls. That way you can put down only one edge without the rest getting stuck. Get this edge down and aligned. It is a little forgiving in that you can reposition it if you are careful. When you're satisfied with that, "roll" the veneer down into place, pushing it down around all the detail as you go. This keeps air bubbles from forming under the surface. When it's in place, go back around all that detail with a blunt end tool like the end of a pair of tweezers and push it all down. Then push all the veneer down with your fingers to get good contact.

 

I was amazed. The cut outs on the Artwox product fit over all that "stuff" on the deck perfectly. The results can be seen in the photos below. In the discussions I found on the internet, people asked if it was ok to seal these type decks with dull coat or whatever. I can't speak for other companies, but the Artwox decks come sealed and look great as they are. When I was done with all the railings, I over coated the entire model with dull coat and that didn't seem to bother the deck's finish.

 

Another concern I saw raised was whether you could still put on railings. Again, I can't speak for other companies, but the Artwox decks leave a small edge all the way around that is just perfect for locating PE railings.

 

So, here it is, my first wood veneer deck.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ghodges]

Very nice! I have a wooden deck for my Trumpy 350th Saratoga project.

 

GIL

[Dick Montgomery]

Wow Ron! Beautiful work!

[Guest PetrolGator]

Love the Warspite and what you did with her.