Jump to content

Search the Community

Showing results for tags 'marisstella'.

  • Search By Tags

    Type tags separated by commas.
  • Search By Author

Content Type


Forums

  • The Captain's Cabin
    • How to use the MSW forum - **NO MODELING CONTENT** 
    • New member Introductions
  • Member's Build Logs
    • Build logs for SHIP MODEL KITS - by era - launch date
    • Build logs for SCRATCH projects - by era - launch date
  • Group Projects on MSW
    • Group Projects on Model Ship World
  • Shop Notes, Ship Modeling Tips, Techniques and Research
    • Nautical/Naval History
    • Discussions for Ships plans and Project Research. General research on specific vessels and ship types..
    • Building, Framing, Planking and plating a ships hull and deck
    • Discussion for a Ship's Deck Furniture, Guns, boats and other Fittings
    • Masting, rigging and sails
    • Model Tips and Tricks and Making Jigs
    • Modeling tools and Workshop Equipment
    • Metal Work, Soldering and Metal Fittings
    • Wood discussion...Where to use it? Where to get it? What types are best? How to Finish it?
    • Painting, finishing and weathering products and techniques
    • CAD and 3D Modelling/Drafting Plans with Software
    • Photographing your work. How to do this.
  • Ship Modeling News And Reviews.....Traders and Dealers...Ship Model Clubs
    • General Ship Model Kit Discussions - NOT build logs
    • Reviews
    • Book, Monograph and Magazine reviews and Downloads. Questions and Discussions for Books and Pubs
    • Traders, Dealers, Buying or Selling anything? - Discuss New Products and Ship Model Goodies here as well!!
    • NAUTICAL RESEARCH GUILD - News & Information
    • Important Ship Model Club News, Links to ship modelling resources and museums
  • The Crew's Lounge
    • Non-ship/categorised builds
  • Medway Long Boat - 1742 - Public group project.'s Plans and Instructions/Downloads
  • Medway Long Boat - 1742 - Public group project.'s Medway Long Boat - 1742 - Public group project.
  • Medway Long Boat - 1742 - Public group project.'s General discussions/How to join
  • Rope Making/Ropewalks's Ropewalk Plans/Downloads
  • Rope Making/Ropewalks's Discussions about Rope Making
  • Rope Making/Ropewalks's Rope Materials and parts resources
  • Rope Making/Ropewalks's Commercial sources for ropewalk machines
  • Intro to carving - typical decorative relief carving for ship models's Build Logs for the Carving Group Project
  • Intro to carving - typical decorative relief carving for ship models's Tutorials and Discussion for the Carving Group
  • Intro to carving - typical decorative relief carving for ship models's How to join this Carving Group
  • HMS Triton - 28 gun frigate's Build Logs for the Full Hull Version of HMS TRITON
  • HMS Triton - 28 gun frigate's How to Join The HMS TRITON Group Build
  • HMS Triton - 28 gun frigate's Cross Section Build Logs for HMS TRITON
  • HMS Winchelsea 1764's How to join this group project???
  • HMS Winchelsea 1764's General project discussions on planking, fittings and monograph chapters
  • HMS Winchelsea 1764's Member Build logs for the HMS Winchelsea
  • Planking Techniques's Planking Downloads and Tutorials and Videos
  • Planking Techniques's Click Here for Topics dedicated to planking!!!!
  • HMS Granado 'Cross Section' - CAF Model's Questions and discussions about building the kit
  • HMS Granado 'Cross Section' - CAF Model's Build Logs for the CAF Granado Cross MID-Section

Calendars

There are no results to display.

There are no results to display.


Find results in...

Find results that contain...


Date Created

  • Start

    End


Last Updated

  • Start

    End


Filter by number of...

Joined

  • Start

    End


Group


AIM


MSN


Website URL


ICQ


Yahoo


Jabber


Skype


Location


Interests

  1. Hi all, As I draw to an end with Ethalion, I was thrilled and surprised to find that in these somewhat uncertain times of COVID, the model I ordered from Croatia arrived a day early. So - I thought I'd put an initial post in what looks like being another build log that will take some time. I need to finish my HMS Ethalion build first, so there may be a few weeks delay to getting started, but then we'll be up and running. What I can do in the meantime is give a few first impressions of both MarisStella and their kit, and once I've read the book about what happened to Barque Stefano and her crew I shall understand better why this is such an historically important vessel. If you want to know more, I'd recommend looking at the build logs of MarisStella.hr, and HeronGuy who have said more on this subject. The company I found the company a joy to deal with. Yes, they don't have a traditional payment gateway on their website, but they do live up to their claims as far as personal service is concerned. They were quick to respond to my initial enquiry, helpful with all my questions, and absolutely true to their word when I went ahead with buying the kit. From ordering to my door was six days. 1 quicker than they said it might be. I think that's enough said. The kit I can't comment on how the kit goes together yet... as I haven't started it. But the kit has certainly survived a long journey in excellent condition. I bought the upgrade version (as opposed to the retro version) It was in a good heavy, outer brown cardboard box, and the inner kit box is really nice with nice big colour printed image of the model. It's built to be good and sturdy with helpful and well thought out packing inside that keeps everything really well secured. The plans themselves are heavy! (14 sheets of well printed, clearly set out plans at the same scale as the model that at first glance look really good quality). The plan booklet contains a copy in good English, and various diagrams and schematics adding detail to the sheet plans. The materials look good at first glance - building the kit will give a better idea. The photo etch and copper plates were well packaged to give protection from the journey and arrived in perfect shape. The copper plates had some black marks on them, but I'm confident that this will come off with a little clean up. No big deal I'm sure. They are so finely etched that I'm really looking forward to fitting them. They have a lovely deep copper red lustre which should look amazing when fitted, and as has been mentioned before, they are -handed so will overlap as on the real ship (if I get it right when I build the model!). All-in-all, I'm really impressed. So. If anyone wants to join in the journey, please do. I'm pretty sure that being a more modern vessel there's going to be a bunch of metal work to do that I've never done before... but it's all part of the learning experience, so we'll make it. I'll try and take some pictures to go alongside these comments in the next few days. Rob
  2. I have made a small start on the trabaccola by Maris Stella. Also known as a a trabakul, it is a coastal trading ship from the Adriatic - specifically Croatia. Maris Stella are based in Split, Croatia and I bought the kit directly from them. The support from Zoran at Maris Stella has already been amazing. I chose this ship for its likeable and unusual shape and for being, well, different. Plus being a freighter there are no cannons - yay! It is also a ship type rather than a specific vessel so I can paint it whatever colour I like and they came in many colours. There are existing trabakul, so plenty of photos online. The kit set looks beautifully made and comes with pre-sewn sails - whether I install these remains to be seen. Its not a common subject here with one log for the kit by Don Robinson, who did an amazing job, and one scratch build by Mfelinger (Matija from Croatia). There are lots of photos of the real thing on Matija's log. At 1/32 it is a large scale and a big model at 876mm long. It has plenty of challenges including a fully lined interior and single planking for a very bluff, rounded bow and stern. Nothing is as normal... To start, I examined the need for building the ships boat from a balsa wood plug which you have to carve. I was not really up for that, so I bought a Quay Craft resin 1/32 boat through Cornwall Models. It is almost exactly the same size as the kit version but with a slightly different seat configuration. It is also clinker built which I like. The Quay Craft kit comes with a huge number of parts i.e. four - one hull and three seats. The casting is a bit rough but cleaned up okay. You detect more roughness when you paint and it is hard to get a really good finish and even lines. I added oars, a rudder and bolts. I'll also add an anchor and rope at some point. I like to start with a smaller kit part to get my head around the scale and this is really big! It also gives me a chance to play with my basic colour scheme which will deviate from the box lid. In my case a pale blue grey with very dark blue trims but mostly natural timber (the boat seats and floor is just painted resin made to look like timber). I haven't given up on HMS Fly - I just got bored with it for the time being. The box - big! Inside the box - there are plenty of descriptions of content on the Maris Stella website. Inside the box The plug for the boat - no thanks... The Quay Craft alternative - more or less completed. Size comparison with the Vanguard Models launch and pinnace at 1/64.
  3. Recovering from a health problem that kept me away from my studio since june, I decided to start a small project that will hopefully allow me to slowly find my feet. I've had this little kit from MarisStella for some time now, and I decided to build it because it should perfectly match my expectations: a simple model without any headaches that should be a pure pleasure to build and yet give a nice looking model. The kit Batelina is a 4 meter flat bottom boat used since the early 1900's as a small fishing boat. The name "Batelina" is derived from the Italian word "battere" which means to hit, this was describing the sound of the flat bottomed boat hitting the waves. This vessel is now found throughout the entire Croatian coastal region. The kit is at the 1:10 scale. The wood supplied is of excellent quality and can be used without needing to be replaced. The box also contains a laser board with a precise cut and without too many traces of burn residues. There is also a base provided (which I do not think used because the laser board is plywood) A 1:10 scale plan and an instruction manual richly illustrated with color photos describing the different steps complete the box. The manual is written in three languages (English, Italian and Croatian) Rabbet The rabbet is already drawn on one side with a small laser cut. You just have to remove the wood inside the tracing with a small wood chisel. I photocopy the plan to simplify the drawing of the rabbet on the other side. The plan is cut out and the rabbet area is removed so that the rabbet can be traced on the blank face. A wood chisel will allow me to hollow out the rabbet. Bow Filler I photocopy the original plan again so that I can have templates to trace the part of the bow fillers that needs to be beveled. Once the two fillers are beveled, they are glued to the keel with the first frame. Time to move on to the next frames...
  4. This the start of my next build the “Trabakul” by Marisstella: First up I would like to thank Marisstella, especially Zoran, not only for this great kit but also for the fantastic service and patience of putting up with my endless questions some of which were not that bright. That being said two of the concerns I had were the instructions and the shipping from Croatia and to that Zoran e-mailed me the plans and instructions. They looked real good with lots of pictures showing pretty much everything one would need, then to top it off the shipping was free ( not sure if this offer is still on you will have to check with Zoran) so I went for it putting my other kits back a little further on the list. Time to Start: Upon opening the box I was first impressed by the amount material it contained. This is a single planked hull, my first, so I guess I was expecting a lot less wood. I’m thinking maybe they know my skills with wood and just sent lots of extra as a way of me not bothering them anymore . I went through all the packages and billets and everything looks excellent, one thing that did stand out is the fine laser cuts in the billets much finer than I have seen. The strip wood all looks real nice and of good quality even the dowels are straight (a real bonus!!). Reading the instruction book and going over the plans there is some challenges ahead, one being the interior which is completely finished (another first for me). My plan is not to bash this kit what so ever and just build as is, now I said this is the plan not a promise . Here is the box and contents: all pieces sanded and dry fitted. a little tough getting pieces out of billet but nothing unmanageable a glass kitchen table is indispensable for this hobby, everything so far has gone well. Lots of charring but easily sanded More to come, seem to have misplaced some pictures
  5. This kit was provided for my YouTube channel as sponsorship from one of the channel members who wished to remain anonymous. I was offered a choice between two fairly well-established manufacturers. My attention was drawn to the Carrack model, because this is my passion: ships from Columbus’ time ... OVERVIEW KIT: RAGUSIAN CARRACK Manufacturer: MarisStella (Croatia) Scale: 1:59 (775 mm/30,5") Single plank-on-bulkhead hull. All visible elements are made of solid walnut wood (laser cut). The bulkheads are of plywood. Detailed instructions with pictures and drawings. Fabric for the sails is ready-dyed and pre-stitched...
  6. Nice to see you again. This is my second project this year. I had a motive to build the ancient Greek ship from two games I played; Assassin's creed Origins and Odyssey. They are based on the ancient Egypt and Greek eras. You may be familiar with the Amati or Dusek's Greek trireme, but those kinds of late greek ships aren't in the games. After days of research, I found an unfamiliar wooden ship model company, MarisStella, in Croatia. Unfortunately, I had a communication issue with the company when I tried to make a purchase at the EU store. When I received the kit, it was two months late and the iron was already cold. This is a reason I started it now. If you live in North America, you should buy the company's products at Model Expo or the Art of Age of Sail. Otherwise, you can order directly from the company in Croatia, but you should be patient because the the EU store is based on a mail-order system. The ordering system was a bit embarrassing, but the kit is the best I've ever tried. The laser cut is so accurate that I even don't need to sand anything. The selection of wood species is adequate; walnut strips and thick plywood. Manuals are traditional style and very detailed. Also, the manual introduces the spiling planking technique very shortly. They know how to drill. 😎 This is one of the innovative ways of aligning frames. With the super accurate laser cut frames, the 16th walnut strip made me a perfect equal hull fairing I've never made before. It is much simpler than the twin wood rods in the middle of frames the company used before, and still effective. Very clever! Of course, not everything is perfect. Some parts or materials are difficult to handle. For example, it is almost mandatory to fill the entire hull with balsa wood before hull planking or deck planking in my opinion. The balsa wood in the kit isn't enough and is difficult to cut. In addition, I have to make some accessories like cleats, which are usually offered as metal parts. The manual doesn't say anything about it, and the 1:1 plan suggests making cleats from walnut strips. Moreover, I have to sand 1.50mm walnut strips to make 0.70mm strips to fill some parts of the hull. Why shouldn't I sand it? I just used my 1/32 inch walnut sheets. It's not frustrating, but challenging and fun in my opinion. In general, the missing or self-made parts increase the difficulty level of the kit. The above pictures were taken in May. I'll upload the current process soon.
  7. Greetings shipbuilders, Following is my build log for the Brazzera from MarisStella. I think it will be rather short, at least for the beginning because I didn't take many pictures and because it seems to be well covered by Zoran in his news from MarisStells log and Don in his Trabaccolo log. The Trabaccola is very similar - the Brazzera is a bit shorter and has only one mast. This kit has beautifully prepared materials. It is not an easy kit to build but I am enjoying it. If anyone has comments or suggestions I very much welcome them. Regards, Ian
  8. Hi all, MarisStella, in cooperation with The Art of Age of Sail, have just released their new kit, the 1:48 HMS Ontario. This is a multimedia kit, including many traditional elements, but also some 3D-printed , resin, and photo-etched parts. Finished model will be 81cm long. We promise to being you an in-box review of this as soon as we can. http://www.marisstella.hr/gotovi_modeli_galery.php?id=1111&tip=2&hms-ontario-81cm-1-48
  9. Thursday 19 October 2017 A warm welcome to all users of this forum. A few days ago, I received from Zoran Pavlovic, the kit manufacturer, the material I ordered for my next model, a project I want to manage in the period of time I will spend in Tuscany. The kit is produced by a Croatian company, MARISSTELLA of Split, founded in 2008. I found it on the Modelshipworld forum where Marisstella is present with a advertisement banner. The company has a remarkably interesting product catalog, with typical boats of the Adriatic Sea. He is the same producer of the kit of my latest model, finished a few months ago: Gajeta Falkusa. The first impression is that the materials supplied with the kit are definitely valid, the timbers are of good quality and the two sheets containing the plans are very well done. Many pieces are laser pre-cut both on plywood and solid wood. Concerning the wood used, the walnut is used for each element: planking, masts and spars, detail of the decks. As I wrote the wood is of high quality but personally I would have preferred a mix of wood with different colors to make the model less monotonous. I do not exclude that during this project I do not invent something using different woods to obtain a more lively and chromatic results. We'll see. Again the biggest flaw in this kit is the assembling instructions: they are written in Croatian and English language. No comment on the Croatian, I do not know it, but for English it could be better. But Zoran Pavlovic has available a new version of them : he has reviewed the part in English and has also added instructions in Italian language. Zoran sent me them via email a couple of days after I received the kit and I have to say that they are very, very well translated. Unlike the instructions of the Gajeta Falkusa, my last model, in this case there are virtually no images showing the various stages of construction and this is a small problem because this model is also quite complex and the written instructions become critical. They must be read carefully and understood perfectly to avoid mistakes that could have heavy consequences. And here's a further thank to Zoran for the magnificent Italian instructions: I hope will make the job easier and more methodical. At the moment I'm going to read, understand, interpret and comment them with some personal notes that should help me at the right time. Here I would like to propose some images of the kit and the material contained inside. First, a little bit of data: Scale 1:59 Total Length 775 mm Size of the packaging cm 65 x 21.5 Let's start by looking at our kit before opening it: 01 Ragusian Carrack/13.jpg But let's describe what model is. This model represents a Ragusian Carrack, a sailing ship of the maritime republics of the period from the 14th to the middle of the 17th century, designed for freight transport. The Carrack appears in Venice at the beginning of the 14th century, but at the same time it begins to be built in the city of Dubrovnik (Ragusa), another maritime republic, less famous of the four Italian towns but not less important, as the largest type of Adriatic shipping vessel. In the fifteenth century, the Carrack spread from the Adriatic to the Mediterranean Sea and in the late 15th century to the Atlantic Ocean. Here they were built by the Spaniards, Portuguese, French and Dutch . It is therefore a vessel almost contemporary to the famous caravels and naos from the Iberian peninsula but still before the galleon, characterized by the high fore and aft castles. In the sixteenth century the Dubrovnik Carrack was one of the largest ships in the world and sailed to England. The large and spacious Carrack was called Argosia, a name derived from ragusia, the adjective of Ragusa. The level of popularity of Dubrovnik's carracks is demonstrated by the fact that the English created the literal expression Argosy ship. But let's post some pictures of this gorgeous finished model, pictures sent by Zoran, which worth more than a thousand words. 02 Ragusian Carrack/Images/4CB_4522 DUBROVAČKA KARAKA 16. ST.jpg 03 Ragusian Carrack/Images/4CB_4527 DUBROVAČKA KARAKA 16. ST.jpg 04 Ragusian Carrack/Images/4CB_4532 DUBROVAČKA KARAKA 16. ST.jpg 05 Ragusian Carrack/Images/4CB_4537 DUBROVAČKA KARAKA 16. ST.jpg See you next time with additional images of the Ragusian Carrack !! Cheers, Jack.Aubrey.
  10. Good Morning All, So, I bit the bullet and ordered this kit from MarisStella. I couldn't believe how quickly it came. I ordered it on a Wednesday and it was on my doorstep the following Tuesday. It was shipped with DHL, which I had heard was the best courier for international shipping and I can see why they have a good reputation. This kit was expensive, especially when adding in shipping, duty, taxes and all in Canadian dollars. I have not looked at the VISA bill, so I don't know what the actual total was and my wife and I have tacitly agreed not to discuss it. I don't normally bother with showing the parts of the kits, but I thought it might be of interest this time, since this is such a new kit. There's a large manual - it has very little in the way of written instructions, but is mostly computer generated images that take you through the process. They will require a fair bit of scrutiny to follow, but appear to be quite comprehensive. Here is a sample page: There are four sheets of plans - two for the hull and masts and two for the rigging: Many sheets of laser cut parts. Here are just a couple of examples: This kit has an interesting and different (to me at Least) approach to the decks. I don't know if other MarisStella kits use this method or if it's unique to this kit. The two decks - gun deck and upper deck each comprise a thin sub deck over which is laid the actually decking. However, in this case all of the decking planks are pre-cut, tapered, joggled etc. You can see the decking planks in the top sheet in the picture below. I'm not sure yet how successful this will be, so I will find out. Strip wood, dowels and blocks: stripwood is walnut and lime, blocks are balsa. Appropriate set of fittings - the blocks are standard issue, but there some very nice parrel beads, cannon balls, hearts, bullseyes etc. There are many photo etched parts, which look very nice. And of course, the most interesting aspect of this kit - the 3d printed components. The cannon barrels, windlass, anchors all make a welcome change from cast metal and I expect will paint up really well. The more "controversial" parts are the stern components and the head rails, which you would normally expect to see made from wood. I have always hating making head rails, so I won't mind just having to paint these ones, but on the other hand it's going to require some precise modeling as I have to ensure that they will fit. When you scratch build them you can always alter them to fit the hull; I won't have that luxury this time, but on the other hand if they really don't fit at all, I can always make some new ones from wood. With the stern and galleries, the idea is that you plank the flat surfaces with thin planking, and only the painted trim work of the resin component will be exposed. This will be a bit of an experiment and we'll see how it goes. Again, if it's a complete and utter failure, I can always scratch build these parts. The kit provides for a fully finished gun deck and suggests using one of two options - either closing in the upper deck completely in which case none of the details of the gun deck would be visible or leaving a large portion of the upper deck out, exposing much of the gun deck. I am leaning towards fully closing the upper deck, but haven't decided yet. In any case, I will fully plank the gun deck as good practice for using the pre-cut decking planks when it comes to the upper deck. Until I start building, I won't know what all the pitfalls will be, but at this point, I can identify one huge problem and that is the very poor rigging plans. There is no mention of the rigging and no illustrations of it whatsoever in the manual and the rigging plans are very sketchy. I don't like to complain or find fault unnecessarily, but I can see that this is going to present me with a real challenge. I have become pretty good at following Model Shipways rigging plans, which I find to be quite comprehensive and easy to follow. But here, lines seem to begin and end at random, no line is labeled and not a single belaying point is indicated. The rigging plans are virtually incomprehensible and I'm not even sure of their accuracy - for example at a quick look, it appears to me that there are a least one too many stays on both masts, certainly more than are shown in the photographs of the finished model. So, I am going to have to be resourceful and round up other sources for details. I have never build a brig before, so I'm not too sure how much it differs from other ships. The original model was researched and built by a model maker named John Adela, whose business is called The Art of the Age of Sail. I was surprised to discover that he's located only about 30 miles from me. I have contacted him and he has offered to help me with any specific questions, but I can't be pestering him on a routine basis, so I'm going to have to discover some other sources. John suggested that British brigs of this period were rigged very much like British three-masted ships of the same period which is helpful to know. I know I can buy plan sets for American brigs from Model Shipways, which might be of some help, but I'm not sure how much they might differ from the British ones. Also belaying points look to be unique on the Ontario - there are only fife rails, no pin rails. Instead there are many cleats mounted to the bulwarks. Any suggestions that anyone has about where I should turn would be more than welcome. I spent the day yesterday "retooling" my shop by which I mean cleaning up all the detritus from my previous build, so I'm ready to get started. David
  11. When I saw this kit released I was intrigued and thought I would give it try. Love the subject/size. etc. Just a bit of background. Some of you may remember this user name from years ago on other forums. I've been building kits for at least 20 years and have completed many. I've got about 10 completed kits in cases distributed around the house (large house) with the largest being the Caldercraft Victory. I would rate my skills as moderate. Love building models of all types but ships hold a special place. Also pretty much stick with the kit and almost no modifying/bashing.
  12. Welcome to my build log of the Stefano. When I saw the 2 current logs for the Stefano I was captivated by the beautiful lines of the ship and decided about a year ago that I would like to try to build it. Now is the time to start. I'll dispense with the kit contents photos. They can be seen both in Don Robinson's log and in Zoran's log. The contents of the kit seem to be of top quality. As noted in the other logs the plans are extensive and excellent. There is lots to be learned from building this kit. A side note for some of the Syren builders out there who are just dealing with the coppering of their hulls - the Stefano kit comes with photo-etched copper plates with toenail patterns (port and starboard) embossed. I'm not going to miss pounding copper foil when I copper this hull! In addition to the plans and instructions with the kit I also have every reason to believe that there is very good person-to-person support here on MSW from both Don and Zoran. Don's already helped out a couple of times.
  13. Hey howya goin all, this is my first build log of a ship but not my first ship that I've built. Carrack probably took her name from Arabic word karraka, which means light boat (Carack, carraque, kraeck, Carraca). this is a big sailing ship in use from 14th to the 17th century, designed for transporting goods. Carrack appeared in Venice in the early 14th century, but almostat the same time began to be built in the city of Dubrovnik (Ragusa) as the largest cargo ships in the Adriatic. In the 15th century Carrack has spread from Adriatic, the Mediterranean Sea and at the end of the 15th century, the Atlantic Ocean. Then they were built by the Spanish, Portuguese, French abd Dutch. In the 16th century Durovnik's Carrrack were among the world's largest ships and sailed to England. the large and spacious Carrack is called argosies, mane that derives from ragusies, the adjective of Ragusa. How popular were the Carrack od Dubrovnik is the best proof that the English have created for them the literary expression the Argosy ship. Here's a look at whats in the kit. This is what the ship will look like when it is finished.
  14. Hello to all friends modellers ... Here is a short presentation of an ancient lady from the 16th century. She originally comes from Ragusa, a town - republic from the Coast of the Adriatic Sea. In the begining it would be nice to mention something about Ragusa, nowdays city of Dubrovnik : Some sources say that Ragusa was founded in the 7th century, named after a "rocky island" called Lausa, by refugees from Epidaurum (Ragusa Vecchia), a Greek city situated some 15 km to the south, when that city was destroyed in the Slavic incursions. Excavations in 2007 revealed a Byzantine basilica from the 8th century and parts of the city walls. The size of the old basilica clearly indicates that there was quite a large settlement at the time. There is also evidence for the presence of a settlement in the pre-Christian era. The Republic of Ragusa was an aristocratic maritime republic centered on the city of Dubrovnik (Ragusa in Italian, German and Latin) in Dalmatia (today in southernmost Croatia) that carried that name from 1358 until 1808. It reached its commercial peak in the 15th and the 16th centuries, before being conquered by Napoleon's French Empire and formally annexed by the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy in 1808. It had a population of about 30,000 people, of whom 5,000 lived within the city walls. Its Latin motto was "Non bene pro toto libertas venditur auro", which means "Liberty is not well sold for all the gold". Merchant galleons, like this one, were used for long trips to overseas areas newly discovered. The most preserved galleons are Spanish and Ragusian, used for the transport of silver from Peru and Mexico. They sailed in groups, fleets, from which the name fleet. At that time the galleons were bigger than the caravel, but smaller than the carrack of Dubrovnik. They weighed 200-500 tons. The Ragusian galleons, something different from the structural characteristics of the other galleons of the time and of the big and spacious carracks of Dubrovnik, are named Argosies, their name date from Ragusies, adjective of Ragusa (Dubrovnik). How these Ragusian ships were appreciated shows the best the fact that the English made for them a literary expression: Argosy.
  15. The following is my build log for MarisStella's Liburnian Novilara. MarisStella has recently re-designed this kit somewhat and has added new instructions and step by step drawings to help guide you through the build, it also still comes complete with detailed plans. I do not have pictures of the box opening as it did not arrive in a box as such but I can assure all material is of top quality and up to the usual high standard MarisStella has set for itself. I would rate this kit as a junior plus or possibly even an intermediate . The hull is single planked as is the deck (no plywood), planks are all walnut. Keel and bulkheads are laser cut from plywood and posed no problems fitting together. One of the many features of this kit is the partial carving of the figurehead. MarisStella does supply the pieces for you to get the basic shape but the final shaping is done by hand which proved to be lots of fun. Rigging is fairly basic, however quite different from the ships of later years. For instance rather than shrouds there are three back stays on either side, no rat lines to tie!! There is also a sewn sail included which adds to the rigging but is not that difficult to install. Overall this was a real enjoyable build and I would recommend it to anyone, especially for those who are looking for something a little different from the normal battleship and want a completion in a relatively short time. I hope you enjoy the build even though I am lacking detailed pictures as I was not planning on doing a build log. If you have any questions please feel free to ask, and all comments are always welcome. Here the two piece keel has been put together, bulkheads installed and the rabbit cut. The spacer blocks are included and can be left in or taken out after fairing and planking have been completed. There really is no reason to remove them as they will not be seen after deck planking is done. Notice the extra bulkheads at the bow and stern, this is one of the improvements on this kit. Just a close shot of the bow and my not so good rabbit😁 And the stern area Planking has begun using 1.5 x 5 mm walnut planks. the top planks at the bow are left till a little later in the build. Planking is relatively easy with not too much twisting and bending involved. Each plank after the first two top ones require tapering. As I mentioned most planks require tapering and I later corrected the rise at the stern Planking finished, not yet sanded. Here is where I am lacking pictures, the bow is now completed and I wish I could have shown you the process Waterline masked off and ready for painting Showing the waterline painted with a few coats of wipe on poly Making of the oars Each of the 30 oars consists of five pieces, although not shown here there is one more piece that goes into the end. It is hard to see but after gluing the blades on filler is used to fill the gap where joined to the dowel. Oars sanded to shape and given a paint job. This is far as my artistic abilities go!! Bulwarks painted and oars completed. Thanks for checking things out, see you soon
  16. Sometimes I feel like I need a new build like I need a hole in the head. Other times it's nice to walk away from one build and get some distraction with another. Trajta is my first Marisstella kit and I have their Cog on the shelf. I'm not one to take lots of pix of the box and contents, actually the Marisstella boxes are blue on the outside and do not show a pic of the boat. Here's one (a pic of a pic) and you can go to the Maristella site to see more about this boat. Lot's of good pix and a very good write up on the history. As I alluded to, this is my 2nd build in progress at the moment. I am making a concerted effort to complete Niagara - kind of a personal commitment - so Trajta will be playing second fiddle for a while. If you would like to follow along, please consider that and have patience. The keel has been assembled and the next step will be the bulkheads. As there is a pretty big open hold on this boat, a few of the bulkhead pieces need some dressing up as they will be visible. I've also made a feeble attempt at a build board - recommended in the instructions. I'm not crazy about that, but I'll play along for now. I think the Amati stand would probably be sufficient. Speaking of instructions, the English version has just been revised. Don Robinson has played a big part there so he deserves a lot of credit as does Zoran from Marisstella for continuing to improve on his product. Thanks for reading and I hope you'll stay along for the ride.
  17. Santa Maria by Pierre Tessier - Maris Stella - 1:60 This is a Christmas gift from my son, I promised myself I would finish the Batelina before starting this one. Now that my first build is complete and my shop is clean I can begin my second build and build log here on MSW. I must mention that I was pleasantly surprised when I met Zoran from MarisStella, here online. He saw that I was building the Batelina and noticed I posted that I had the Santa Maria on the shelf. He got in touch with me and mentioned that he was in the process of re-writing the build manuals for the latter, and offered his re-wright. This would allow, help, a beginner to go about the proper way of building this kit. Also must point out this is single layer POB construction. Maris Stella School of Model Ship Building has categorized this as a "Beginner Set: Level 3" which according to them should be your 5th build. I am in no way an expert nor do I feel I am better then others but thought this would be a great 2nd build as I do like challenges. Hopefully I did not bite off more then I can chew. (If I do I have Zoran to help....lol) Now about the box, two full size plan sheets, two plywood laser cut parts, two hardwood laser detailed bits and parts, full stock of beautiful walnut and mahogany wood planks, strips and dowels, bag of hardware including canons, guns, hinges, bags of wooden bits, anchor, rope, carving block for 2 small boats and pre sown embroidered sails, expert build manual. (Beginner manual being written as we speak) Kit box closed Kit box open Kit box stuff Plan 1 Plan 2 First step to do according to manual is to take inventory of supplied wood. Lumber yard (bundled as per material list.) Next I built the stand with an. 11.4mm incline at the bow. This is to allow proper alignment of the bulkheads when using a square. Stand plan Stand keel 11.4mm offset Stand 90' without offset --- 90' with offset Plywood Elements That's it for now, next I will post the work to be done to prepare the keel for the bulkheads. Did I say how much I am enjoying this hobby, So looking forward to building and learning more I'm like a kid learning to walk for the first time.....lol...anyway until next time. Cheers.
  18. As if two builds are not enough here is my third. I just received this last week, it is MarisStella's latest kit, and was going to wait for awhile but could not resist the temptation to start her. I wonder with the name Stefano is it a him? I won't go into the history but it is quite interesting and there is a book written about it. At 1121 mm long it is going to be a big build, it has copper plates and photo etched brass fittings which I believe is a first for MarisStella. As always with MarisStella the kit looks incredible, wood seems excellent and all laser cut pieces are on quality plywood (some of it being Finnish Birch) or solid walnut. Some features are: double planked hull walnut/lime double planked deck walnut/lime over 260 m. of rope in five sizes over 800 wooden fittings(blocks, deadeyes etc.) 38 brass sheaves ( 2 & 4 mm) four different sizes of chain 34 sails 14 sheets of plans Clearly it is going to be a great build and I am pumped up to get started. I got a leg of pork in the smoker and all fridges are full of refreshments so come on over, it's going to be a long ride but a goodie! Here is the contents:
  19. 1:72 Ragusian Galley 18thCentury MarisStella Available from MarisStella for €147 plus shipping The Republic of Ragusa was a maritime republic centred on the city of Dubrovnik (Ragusa in Italian, German and Latin; Raguse in French) in Dalmatia (today in southernmost Croatia) that carried that name from 1358 until 1808. It reached its commercial peak in the 15th and the 16th centuries, before being conquered by Napoleon's French Empire and formally annexed by the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy in 1808. It had a population of about 30,000 people, out of whom 5,000 lived within the city walls. Its Latin motto was "Non bene pro toto libertas venditur auro", which means "Liberty is not well sold for all the gold". The Dubrovnik galley was an integral part of Dubrovnik's war fleet, which in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, had only a few small warships (at most ten), operated solely because of frequent harassment and looting by pirates and cargo ships at that time. The Galleys were stationed in Dubrovnik and Mali Ston. Other Croatian coastal centres had this type of ship, along the eastern Adriatic coast: Kotor, Omis, Senj, and others. The Dubrovnik galley was driven by both wind and rowers (Galiot), who were both sailors and soldiers, as was appropriate, but there were also condemned criminals that rowed the State ships. Their main feature was their speed, and they were used for military, police and customs purposes, courier services, and for the transport of diplomats and senior civil servants. They were also used for the transportation of goods at the expense of the State. The kit MarisStella’s kit range is currently undergoing an upgrade, and most certainly in terms of their boxing. This one comes to me in its original incarnation, with a deep midnight blue thin card lid with all printing and imagery in gold ink. This does look quite stark but very attractive. I’m told that the new appearance will have finished model imagery on the box. MarisStella have said they will send over examples of the upgraded kits for us to look at on MSW, so we’ll get to see those changes first-hand in the next months. This release comes in a fairly weighty box, and lifting the lid off, we are first presented with a product leaflet, sheet of printed flags and a thick 122-page manual which is spiral-bound. All of these items sit on a cardboard tray which when lifted out, reveals the kit materials below. A large cardboard cover first needs to be lifted out to access the kit itself. Inside, several bundles of timber and dowel sit on top of two laser-cut sheets of plywood for the main bulkhead and keel construction, two sheets of laser-cut walnut, several fittings packets, another very thin sheet of laser-cut ply, one fret of photo-etch brass parts, pre-sewn sails, and a packet of rigging cord. Apart from the main sheets of ply and the timber bundles, all other elements within this kit are packed into clear sleeves that are either stapled closed or heat-sealed. My sample arrived with everything in good order. This POB model is designed very traditionally and is constructed around a 3-part false keel and a set of 15 bulkheads. The ply used for this is 4mm thick, and like all other parts on the main two constructional ply sheets, everything is very cleanly laser-cut, with an absolute minimum of scorching. One thing I noticed on all of the ply sheets is the laser-engraving and marking of where other components will fit to. I quite like this approach as it helps to ensure correct and precise construction throughout. That engraving has also been put to good use on the display stand elements that can be seen on these two sheets. These are also supplied in English, Italian and Croatian text, and contain a little engraved scroll work. You may opt for something a little glitzier with your build, but then again you may be perfectly happy with the parts that MarisStella provide here. In between the various bulkheads, some 8mm² lengths of lime have been included that can be cut to length and wedged in to keep everything straight. I believe some of the other kits have lengths of dowel which slot continuously through the bulkheads. I would’ve liked to have seen similar here, but at least the timber is included. It is also suggested that this material be cut up and used to create the bow and stern filler blocks, although you might like to use balsa for this purpose. Two sheets of walnut are supplied, one of which (the narrower and thicker sheet) contains the keel components. Although you will need to cut the rabbet into these, the positions for this are engraved onto the parts and the manual clearly shows how this is done. The other walnut sheet is lighter in colour and thinner than the previous, containing parts for the gun carriages, rail cap strips, cabin bulkhead, and transom, channels etc. Again, and where appropriate, more engraving is present for constructional accuracy. All walnut sheet timber is of high quality with good grain that shouldn’t split etc. A very thin sheet of birch ply is included for the head rails, transom and cabin door detail etc. All strip stock in this kit is also of the same standard, with numerous bundles of timbers of different sizes and types, including European Walnut for the hull planking. There is some natural variation in the colour of the walnut planks, so I would look at possibly grouping them, so wood of the same tone is used the same for both sides. This model also has a single-planked hull, unlike the double-planked that we so commonly see these days. However, the deck is double-planked, and the planks sit directly atop of the bulkheads, with no thin ply deck to lay first. The second layer of deck planking is supplied as beech strips. Various lengths and diameters of dowel are included, and all supplied in walnut. These are tightly grained and have excellent natural colour. This is one model that really would benefit from having sails fitted, just to highlight the elegance of the shape. A feature of MarisStella kits is that the sail material is pre-sewn. By this, I mean that the shapes are lightly printed to a piece of pre-aged sheet and the inner stitched lines are present. All you need to do is to cut out the sails and sew the outer edges. Sail colour is akin to natural linen and looks good to use without any further ageing trickery. Two anchor packs are included. These contain a metal anchor that is painted black, a separate walnut stock, and some brass bandings that would look nice if they were also blackened. Another pack contains 3-eye rigging blocks, single blocks, eyelets, belaying pins, and parrel beads. There is some colour variation in the block colour and all look to be made from walnut. One length of 1mm brass wire is included in one fittings pack, as are two 4mm cannon for the bow. These are finished with an antique patina and may benefit from being blackened in some way. I would use Gunze Dark Iron paint which is then burnished to an iron finish. A reasonably thick sheet of photo-etch parts is also included, containing head rail decoration, transom decoration, rudder straps etc. Quality is again excellent, with reasonably thin tags to remove the parts from their positions. Tag positions are the only clean-up that will be required with these parts. A single packet is included that contains four spools of natural finish rigging cord in 0.25, 0.5, 0.75 and 1mm diameters. One length of 1.25mm is included separately, as is a 1mm length of black rope. Every vessel of course needs a flag and both this and a pennant are supplied here, laser-printed in colour onto paper. You’ll need to furl these realistically and they could’ve done with been thinner, possibly from tissue paper, but will still look very attractive when flown. Instructions This 121-page spiral-bound A4 manual also has a clear plastic cover to protect it. Each of the constructional stages are illustrated by generally uncluttered CAD line drawings that are annotated in English, Italian and Croatian. Some drawing details are a little small, such as the eyelet positions, footplates etc. so maybe magnify those a little. A very comprehensive section on making the sails is also included. Illustrated construction takes place over 83 pages, and this is then followed by the building instruction text and list of parts. Plan A large single sheet plan is included that contains pretty much every dimension/measurement you'll need and the line drawing quality is excellent. To prevent any piracy, I have only included a portion of that plan here, with no bulkhead shapes. Conclusion A very nice kit of a very unusual subject. I’ve seen so many model ships of antiquity, but this is one that seems to bridge the gap by being of a generally ancient style, whilst being an 18thCentury vessel. MarisStella’s design is nice and easy to follow and is coupled with high quality materials and drawings. In all, an excellent package that will provide many hours of pleasure for a very reasonable price. As this is single-planked, I would recommend this to intermediate modellers. My sincere thanks to MarisStella for sending this kit out for review on Model Ship World. To purchase directly, click the link at the top of the page, or head over to your local MarisStella stockist.
  20. Saturday, October 22, 2016 - Introduction During the end of last week I issued on the internet an order for a kit of a new ship model. Yesterday I regularly received the package from the manufacturer and now I am going to open a new shipyard that I believe will keep me happily busy for the next months. Knowing myself I think I'll need, excluding unforeseen situations, a whole year to finish it, but this is just a raw idea. My thinking is that the model I chose was greatly illustrated with a plethora of images in the topic "Italian boats (and not) in the Adriatic Sea". Goto here to review it http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/14414-italian-boats-of-the-adriatic-sea/ . I'm referring to the "Gaeta Falcata" or "Gajeta Falkusa". As widely explained in the topic mentioned above it is a boat originating from island of Vis and used in the past by fishermen of Comiso, a village of that island. The kit is produced by a Croatian company, MARISSTELLA from Split, established in 2008. I discovered this company on ModelShipWorld forum where it has, in the home page, a ad banner. MARISSTELLA has a very interesting catalog, especially focused on boats of the Adriatic Sea. The first impression is positive: the material inside contained is quite valid, the timber is of good quality and the two paper sheets of building plans are very well made. The wood pieces are laser pre-cut, using both plywood and solid wood. For now, in my opinion, the major weakness consists in the building instructions: they are written in Croatian language and English. Well, you may say, you know English quite well and so, where is the problem? The problem is that that English is a lot to be desired and definitely looks like a translation made with Google Translator, most probably a version of a few years ago, and it is therefore hard to understand the concepts to be followed for the building. Luckily there are plenty of photographs of the various build stages, which help me a lot, but, although abundant for some steps, they are totally missing for others and I find several problems in understanding the whole process in a consistent and methodic way. For now I'm spending a bit of time to read them, interpret them, understand them, and given that I'm studying them, rewrite them in a better English with the objective to propose this translation as a gift to the kit manufacturer when all the steps will be checked (this just to avoid me too to write wrong things). Finally, again in terms of weaknesses, I would expect that at least all the frames of this model, in the classical three-pieces structure, were already laser pre-cut. Instead the kit provides many walnut and lime 3x3mm strips that must be soaked and bent before being applied inside the hull. This operation, anyway possible, stretches and increases the overall processing time. Being it a kit, it seems a pretty serious lack. I'll experience in practice how much more time it will need. We will analyze more in detail later all the steps that will lead to the building of the hull inside and outside. Now it isn't the right moment. Here, instead, I would like to propose some of the kit images and the material contained inside. First, a bit of data: 1:20 scale total length (with boom) 70.4 cm packaging dimensions 65 x 21.5 cm Now we can start looking at our kit box before opening it: 01 - 20161021_163657.jpg
  21. Welcome to my official first build log and first ship build. After careful consideration, and thanks to many of you, I have decided on the Batelina as my first ship build. I was told this would be a good choice to get me going, so, I picked up this kit from Rick at Modeller's Workshop. He also hooked me up with Zoran from MarisStella, both are really nice guy's, going out of there way for the hobby. Now to the kit itself, I noticed how nice a quality the wood was, properly bundled, no warping whatsoever. The laser cut plywood parts are equally nice. The step by step manual looks complete and readable, good pictures and a full scale plan with all the views needed. One more reason I picked this kit was the two build logs I found on this forum. Both have super detailed build pictures and extra info not found in the kit. Here is the one from Zoran http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/11779-news-and-info-from-marisstella-ship-model-kits/?p=420044 And this one is from donrobinson http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/14153-batelina-by-donrobinson-finished-marisstella-110/?p=438912 I'm not sure that I can add much to what has been done. This will simply show how a first timer can do at this kit. All that I can hope is for mine to turn out half as nice. Here are some pictures after a few nights. Slow but steady.... Here you can see my home made Keel Clamp. Rudimentary but it works...
  22. Hello all and welcome to my build log of the Batelina by MarisStella. I have just completed this kit that I started about 2 1/2 weeks ago and I will now show you the complete build. I decided to hold back on a log thinking it would save some time as I went along, and to give a complete log in a couple of days. I took on this build after seeing it being built in MarisStella's log here on MSW, and as all my other builds are months if not years from completion I wanted a "completion" in a short time so the Batelina fit that bill. If you are looking for a real bang for your buck this little kit has it all, the materials are excellent and the skills needed to complete her are far from the beginners level. She is a great little kit to practice your planking skills on and short of rigging and cannons has pretty much all the challenges of a full size ship just at a different level. The past couple of weeks have been a lot of fun building her and I have defiantly not only learned new skills but have also honed other ones. I think anyone needing a break from the more complex builds in your life and looking for something on the lighter side this kit is your ticket. And, no, I am not a sales rep for MarisStella The kit comes with walnut planks to complete the boat and although they were perfectly fine to use I decided to do a little changing and used cherry wood on some parts, and I also added some little extras( I think just to further stall from going to my other builds) The contents picture is missing a couple of bundles of planks which I missed putting in picture \ I am not sure why all these pictures turned out blue as they were taken outside. Test fitting the frames and transferring rabbet line to port side. My daughter and granddaughter were not near as excited about boat building as me....???? go figure
×
×
  • Create New...