"Working with balsa? British Squadron for Skyships!" Topic

So I've had a set of rules kicking around for 6mm/1:300 scale Skyships in my brain and I'm ready to take it off the bench and at least put it on a back burner. For play test purposes I'm scratchbuilding with odds and ends I have or can pick up cheap. For now I'm going with "waterline" models but if things tour out well I'll add full hulls to the bottoms. I've cur out some basic decks from balsa and have some wooden "buttons" for turrets for my first British squadron.

I have paper to glue down for decking and will obviously want to add a cabin and bridge etc. to these outlines.

Any tips on working with balsa? I'm thinking at the least I should spray them with sanding sealer to help prevent warping when I start adding glue, paint etc.

Here are the simple shapes I've cut out (the smallest ship will only have "carronades" as it is a patrol/scout type craft.

P.S. I'm working in 6mm so I can integrate with land battles, and so boarding parties can be modeled (the fluff explains why capturing is SO much better than shooting down your enemy).

The fluff also explains (*kof kof* handwavium *kof kof*) that the current technology can't get ships above a certain size airborne….

Tips on working with balsa? Don't. At least not on large pieces. Better off with basswood. Balsa has a nasty habit of splitting.

One of the best ways to prevent warpage is to lay two layers cross grain. Lay the deck layer with the grain running the length of your ships, and the lower layer with the grain running 90" to that.

Two layers – good tip. I'll add cross pieces to the lower sides.

these are going to be quick and dirty models for play testing. If things go well I'll progress to really nice ones. In that case my plan is to get laser-cut MDF decks.

your best sealer is going to be Elmer's wood putty. Put a blop in the middle of your deck and then using a wet finger spread it out. Let it dry overnight and light sand it with a sanding block.

Thanks!

I don't how useful this will be to you, but I will share something with you that I picked up a very long time ago.

A very long time ago when I attended an "Odyssey of the Mind" competition, there was the annual bridging contest. The bridges had to span a certain length, could not weigh more than an certain amount, and be made out of balsa wood.

When finished making their bridges, it seems like all the teams were dipping or brushing the whole bridge or important key areas in what looked CA (Cyanoacrylate), or better know as Krazy Glue.

It made the bridges very strong! Anyway, this might solve a lot of issue working with balsa wood.

I've also seen the results of balsa soaked in cyano glue.

Makes for a strong, rigid material.

John T