Can anyone give me some advice?
Progress on my 1:150 scale liner model Miltiades has come to a virtual standstill due to my inability to make the railings and supports of the promenade deck to an acceptable standard. Basically it entails 4 bar railings (including a capping rail) plus a base rail with vertical supports extending to the boat deck above.
I have tried using brass wire and rod and alternatively Plastruct rod with the aid of jigs but with only one remaining eye I cannot solder with the necessary accuracy to give a neat and even result. The Plastruct rod has been a bit more successful but it is still difficult to get a consistent result and the rails are slightly too thick. If I use thinner rod they are too fragile! See example in the photo below.
An alternative solution would be to use Photo Etch but the only commercial offering that comes anywhere near what I need is the Aber type:
https://www.super-hobby.co.uk/products/Ships-railing-five-horizontal-bars.htmlHowever the spacing between the uprights is not quite right and I suspect that the material would be a bit on the thin side. So what i really need is something similar to this with a slightly different pattern incorporating full height and a bit thicker, in other words a bespoke design!
The basic design is pretty simple, being a mixture of horizontals and verticals of different dimensions. The height between the decks is 15mm and the height of the capping rail is 7mm. I would want a base rail to assist in securing to the deck. I can describe all this with the relevant dimensions but can't do either the artwork or etching myself.
Looking online it would seem that 4D Model Shop could do the artwork and etching but this could be a bit expensive. Has anyone any experience of commissioning something like this and the costs involved? Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Colin
