James H

Hahahahaha! Maybe.....

As promised, here's the start of my build. The weather here is way too hot for me to do my usual airbrushing of plastic models, so it was just the opportunity I needed to crack open this lovely kit, from Amati. First of all, I removed all of the parts from the thick ply sheet. These parts are the keel, bulkheads, dragon head mounting post....and a part not on the schedule. This is a replacement for the curved tail. The original keel has quite a simplified shape which is a little unsatisfying, and instead of reworking the keel, Amati has included a reworked section for the modeller to use, should they wish. As this is heaps better than the keel shape, I carefully marked out the new joint onto the keep and then sawed off the section. The new shape was now grafted into place with Titebond III adhesive. Here are the bulkheads. These will of course need fairing slightly when fitted. Notice how the middle frame #6 has a stepped profile to aid locating the shaped planks. There's no real need to remove the char from any of these edges. After test fitting the bulkheads to the keel, it became obvious that the joints were way too tight. To correct this problem, I ran a coarse sanding stick a few times through the slots on both the keel and the frames. As the stick is slightly spongy and will compress a little, it only took a few seconds to remove the required amount of material. Before I can fit the bulkheads to the keel, I needed to draw the line on the keel to where the planks would terminate. Amati suggests tracing the shape from their lower half of their plan sheet, containing a keep profile. As this was only a parts list section, I cut the shape from the plan and transferred it to the keel where I then used a pencil to draw around the paper template. I found the stern keel to differ very slightly from the shape of the plan, but it didn't present any real issues. Each bulkhead, except for #2 and #10 were now glued into position using Titebond III aliphatic adhesive, along with the dragon's head mounting post. The reason I left the two bulkheads unglued is because these will need most shaping as the planks sweep steeply upwards here. They will be rigid enough to be faired with the other bulkheads, but allowing me to remove to finely tune them. At this stage, note the tops of the bulkheads aren't flush with the keel. This doesn't matter, as confirmed in Amati's instructions, as the deck more or less sits on top of the bulkheads and not the keel itself. One thing I noted was the curved notches in the two false deck sections. These needed to be squared off so they would sit to the frames properly. I now sit the two decks in place, temporarily, whilst the bulkheads set. A quick check proves that assembly is nice and square. More soon as I then fair the bulkheads in readiness for planking....

1/2” Scale Queen Anne Style Royal Barge 1705 Syren Ship Model Company Catalogue # SKU QABK01 Available from Syren Ship Model Company for $225.00 A royal barge is a ceremonial barge that is used by a monarch for processions and transport on a body of water. Royal barges are currently used in monarchies such as the United Kingdom, Sweden and Thailand. Traditionally the use of royal barges was of high importance in southeast Asian monarchies such as Siam, Burma, Brunei, Riau and Cambodia. The River Thames in London was a regular thoroughfare for the Sovereign until the middle of the 19th century, on state occasions or between the Royal Palaces of Windsor, Westminster, Hampton Court, Greenwich and the Tower of London. In the UK, there is currently no State Barge in active service, but until 2017 the Royal Nore, owned and maintained by the Port of London Authority, was used whenever a member of the Royal Family travelled on the river Thames for an official engagement. Royal barges are typically elegant in style, and those built in the period of Queen Anne were still striking, despite their relative simplicity in relation to other vessels of the same stature. Resplendent in ornate carvings and decorative panels, these barges provided a comfortable and stylish method for the monarch to move between their residences and their courts. Edit courtesy of Wikipedia The kit This is my first experience of dealing with Syren Ship Model Company, and of course, the Royal Barge kit is designed and produced by them. My kit took around 9 days to reach UK shores from New Jersey, via USPS and Royal Mail. Of course, I got hit by the obligatory import duty, but it wasn’t too bad. After paying their ransom, I picked up the package a couple of days ago and now spent some time flicking through the contents. The kit itself is packaged into an extremely sturdy corrugated cardboard box with tabs that release so you can flip up the lid. With the lid open, the plans are the first thing seen, and these are gently curved over the components underneath, along with a contents checklist which has been manually marked to show the contents are indeed in there. A nice system that gives peace of mind to the buyer. I’ll look at the plans further down the review. With these lifted out, some very soft packing foam is included so stop the contents rattling about. Inside the box, there are two robust clear sleeves which contain all of the timber planks, three narrower sleeves with strip and dowel, a card box with resin, wood, wire and black fishing line, a length of thick black cartridge paper with laser-cut elements, a packet with friezes for the interior of the barge plus some decorations for the sweeps, and two flags. Onto the sheet timber. Syren has produced all of the main parts from a superbly milled cherry wood, and the finish is silky smooth. The quality of the wood is also amongst some of the best I’ve seen since I started in this hobby almost 20yrs ago. The colour, which I hope I’ve captured in most of my photos, is a very pale golden colour which looks quite muted. The grain, as you would expect, is very fine. Laser-cutting quality is also on a par with the best kits I’ve seen, with almost zero heat effect, and small tags that only just hold the parts in position. Edge scorching is also very minimal, and it’ll only take a few swipes with some sandpaper to remove them totally. You will of course need to do that thoroughly as this model is only partially planked, as it the style of barge models of the era Circa 1700. Cherry was also chosen because it best replicates the colour of the wood used on these models and allows the kit to be affordable too. Also among the thicker sheets of cherry wood is a two-part building jig which needs to be assembled. The zig-zag edging of this will make the job easier. Each frame slot is also numbered so there’s less chance of human error. When the model is later released from this jig, it will be modified to accept the keel for the remaining construction, using more supplied parts. This is probably the time to explain roughly how this model actually does assemble, and I’ll add a few images here to illustrate things. Each of the frames has an infill piece still attached, and this is what will slot into the building jig. When the outside planks are added, this can later be carefully cut away to reveal the interior of the barge which then needs to be fitted out. Before slotting those frames to the jig though, you will need to add the floor frames. The position for these is finely engraved onto the waste material within each frame. You can use a straight edge along this and then fit the floor frame up to this mark. This way there’s no reason to use pencil on the parts faces themselves. This technique is superbly illustrated here by Rusty, in his MSW build log: https://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/17889-queen-anne-barge-by-rustyj-syren-ship-model-124/ Looking at the timber, you can see that just about every shape is either cut with laser or engraved for reference. All planks for this are supplied spiled, need bevelling from the laser-etched line. These planks are supplied in suitably thin sheets of cherry, and for extra clarity, each sheet is labelled PORT or STARBOARD. The keel is built up from scarfed sections, as the real thing would be. Very impressive. The rabbet is created my inserting thinner keel parts on the inner edge of the keel, creating a recess into which the limited planking will sit. When it comes to the thwarts, these are also laser-engraved to create the stepped edges to them. Also included with the laser-cut parts are the mounting pedestals (you just need a nice piece of polished/varnished timber to use as plinth), and also the sweep (oar) racks so those can be decoratively mounted on the plinth, adjacent to the barge. Now, this model has some ornate and intricate carvings adorning it and these are provided as laser-cut items for which you can try your hand at carving. Does that sound scary? If so, don’t worry because also available for this kit is a set of resin-cast carvings which are more or less all ready to be attached and provided as an upgrade set which you can buy either at the same time as the kit, or later if you struggle with the boxwood blanks. The resin parts are supplied in a small white box to protect them. With this sample, they were supplied directly in that small box that sits within the main package, and the extremely delicate filigree parts were packed into two zip-lock wallets. Very little clean-up is required with these, and to give them a nice natural appearance, weathering powders are suggested. You can also airbrush them and apply an enamel-based wash which would bring out the details superbly. It’s all a matter of preference. These carvings include the scrollwork for the port and starboard side, the quarter-based figurines and the Royal monograph. They really are superb to look at. Other parts were included inside this box. These include some extra boxwood parts for things like the internal panelling that the friezes will sit within. Extras are included in case you screw up. There is a length of wire and also some black 20lb fishing line that you will use to simulate the black nail heads on the planking. A length of resin-impregnated black card is also to be found in this kit, and like the timber, all parts are laser-cut. Parts here are provided for the keel banding and rudder straps etc. Three sheets of colour-printed paper are included that hold the parts for the friezes and the ornate decorations for the sweeps. These will need to be carefully cut out with a fresh blade and then attached to the model using a very dilute PVA or children’s glue stick. Two period flags are also included, printed on thin tissue paper and with good colour definition. Note the union flag, minus the diagonal red cross, which is of course accurate for 1705. I’m presuming the quadrant flag is either of the period or even related to the monarch of the period. It should be quite easy to make these drape realistically due to the thinness of the paper. Certainly easier than some of the materials some companies use for their flags. Two large plan sheets are included, clearly depicting construction in clean line drawings, and of course, the images are at full scale for any measurements you need to take. Please note that no instruction manual is included with this release as it helps to cut down on price. It also helps reduce weight for shipping. There are three manuals for this, in full colour PDF format, and these can be downloaded from the Syren Ship Model Company’s website. These are extremely comprehensive and beautifully describe the whole build process, including hints and tips for your project. Conclusion I’m not usually the sort of guy who gets enthused by barges and narrow/longboats etc. but the sheer beauty and ingenuity of this kit appealed to me instantly and I followed the kit development here on MSW. The kit is just exquisite, with beautifully milled timber and laser-cut parts, printed materials etc. The construction process has been made as easy as possible at every stage of construction with such things as the laser-shaped thwarts and planks that have been spiled ready for you to shape. An amazing kit, intelligently designed, and with the very best in materials. Syren has this model on sale for $225.00 and I think that represents excellent value for money for what will give many hours of building pleasure and a real ornate stunner for the display shelf! My sincere thanks to Syren Ship Model Company for sending this kit out for review on Model Ship World. To purchase directly, click the link at the top of this article.

You're right. My terminology is awry!

Looks like another one I must add to the collection.

1:70 Hannah Ship Model Okumoto Catalogue # Available from Ship Model Okumoto for ¥ 33,000 (approx. $290) The schooner Hannah was the first armed American naval vessel of the American Revolution and is claimed to be the founding vessel of the United States Navy. She was a fishing schooner owned by John Glover of Marblehead, Massachusetts and was named for his daughter, Hannah Glover. The crew was drawn largely from the town of Marblehead, with much of the ships ammunition being stored in Glover's warehouse now located at Glover's Square in Marblehead before being relocated to Beverly, Massachusetts. The schooner was hired into the service of the American Continental Army by General George Washington. Washington commissioned Nicholson Broughton to command the Hannah on 2 September 1775 and ordered the vessel to, "...cruize against such vessels as may be found . . . bound inward and outward to and from Boston, in the service of the [British] army, and to take and seize all such vessels, laden with soldiers, arms, ammunition, or provisions . . . which you shall have good reason to suspect are in such service." Hannah set sail from the harbour of Beverly, Massachusetts on 5 September 1775, but fled to the protection of the harbour of Gloucester, Massachusetts two days later under the pursuit of HMS Livelyand a second British vessel. Leaving Gloucester Harbour, Hannah captured HMS Unity. Hannah's brief naval career ended on 10 October 1775, when she was run aground under the guns of a small American fort near Beverly by the British sloop Nautilus. After a 4-hour engagement between the British ship and Beverly and Salem militias on the shore, Hannah was saved from destruction and capture. According to legend, soon after Hannah's decommissioning, the schooner was towed to Lee's Wharf in Manchester, where its name was changed to Lynch. There, the vessel was restored to working condition by 7 carpenters over the course of 3 weeks. In March of 1777, Lynch was sent to France with congressional correspondence for Benjamin Franklin, who was there as U.S. Ambassador. Upon embarking on their journey back to the U.S., Lynch and its crew were captured by British ship HMS Foudroyant. Lynch was sold as a prize by the British and documentation indicates that the schooner was used as a merchant vessel thereafter. Edit courtesy of Wikipedia The kit Hannah is the fourth release from Ship Model Okumoto and has only been on sale for a week or two, so my thanks to those guys for getting this out to me from Japan so quickly. According to their website, this is the kit specification: Scale: 1/70 Total length: 335mm Height: 90mm Width: 100mm Wood: Agathis Build time: 100 hours Parts count: 310 laser-cut parts, dowel As with my previous reviews for La Couronne, Endeavour and Santa Maria, this kit is packaged into a transparent, lockable box. However, this one is smaller, and our postie actually managed to pop it through our letterbox! As well as being smaller in general size, it’s about half of the depth of the previous releases and has some separate green plastic locking clips to hold it together. Inside, we have eight sheets of laser-cut Agathis wood, a small bundle of dowel, plans, instructions and a parts list. A hallmark of Okumoto’s kits is the very low scorch that results from cutting via laser. You can see that very little heat has crept into the area adjacent to the cut, and there is no discolouration of the parts. A simple clean-up of the edges is all that’s needed, so remember to do this to each inner frame edge and component before assembly. All parts are also nigh-on cut through in their entirety, so lengths of tape have been attached to the rear of the sheets, holding each part securely in place. Removal of the parts shows that no sticky residues are left behind either. As with the other kits, there is no part nomenclature on the sheets, and you need to refer to the paper plan sheets to identify each component. There is a little laser etching on each sheet which indicates the sheet number, for reference, and also the sheet thickness. Timber quality is excellent, with the Agathis being very fine grained. This should be nice and easy to work with, and you shouldn’t get any splitting etc. The slightly golden colour is also very attractive. Note that whilst these kits are POF, there are some simplifications in their construction. For example, these models don’t have cant frames. However, each frame is constructed from a number of individual components that would be similar to the way the actual ship frames were constructed. A small bundle of short dowel lengths concludes the timber items in this kit. Underneath the colour image of the completed Hannah, lies a profile plan that’s roughly A3 in size. This contains a port elevation as well as a partial upper and lower plan. Annotation is in English. We next have three sheets that contain the parts maps for the eight sheets of timber supplied. These are exact duplicates of the timber planks with regard to layout. Now, unlike the previous Okumoto releases, this one has a far more comprehensive instruction manual, again making this an ideal introduction to POF. Twelve sheets of paper are printed double-sided and stapled, creating a 24-page manual. Whilst this is still in Japanese, the photos are very good at explaining the steps. You can also use a smartphone app, such as Google Translate, so scan the text and convert it in real time. Lastly, a series of sheets are included which show the frame and detail assemblies. For the frames, you simply put these together over the top of the printed paper, after applying a little wax, maybe, to prevent the timber from sticking to your plans. Conclusion Out of all the Okumoto kits now on sale, Hannah has to take the place of Santa Maria as the first one that a newcomer to POF should tackle. Whilst Santa Maria is a beautiful and relatively uncomplicated in comparison to La Couronne and Endeavour, I feel that Hannah is well-pitched in complexity and price, to possible be the first POF from Okumoto that you consider due to its straightforward design. It’s worth noting that despite being an easier build subject, it still has almost twice the number of parts, according to their website, than Santa Maria. It’s also a little gem with its length of just over one imperial foot (13 inch, 335mm). A superb project that will look perfect on the mantlepiece and one that also won’t break the bank. Estimated building time is around 100hrs too. Please let Ship Model Okumoto know that you saw this review on Model Ship World. My sincere thanks to Ship Model Okumoto for sending this sample out for review on Model Ship World. To purchase directly, click the link at the top of the article.

Some information on what price you wanted for them might've helped your sale?

Hope to see more of this one.

What a great job. I hope mine is half as good.

1/80 Santa Maria Ship Model Okumoto Catalogue # SM-SMO-K80 Available from Ship Model Okumoto for ¥ 39,960 La Santa María de la Inmaculada Concepción (Spanish for: The Holy Mary of the Immaculate Conception), or La Santa María, originally La Gallega, was the largest of the three ships used by Christopher Columbus in his first voyage. Her master and owner was Juan de la Cosa. Santa María was built in Pontevedra, Galicia, in Spain's north-west region. Santa María was probably a medium-sized nau (carrack), about 58 ft (17.7 m) long on deck, and according to Juan Escalante de Mendoza in 1575, Santa Maria was "very little larger than 100 toneladas" (about 100 tons, or tuns) burthen, or burden, and was used as the flagship for the expedition. Santa María had a single deck and three small masts. The other ships of the Columbus expedition were the smaller caravel-type ships Santa Clara; one particular ship sailed for 46 years and was remembered as La Niña ("The Girl"), and La Pinta ("The Painted"). All these ships were second-hand (if not third- or more) and were not intended for exploration. Niña, Pinta, and the Santa María were modest-sized merchant vessels comparable in size to a modern cruising yacht. The exact measurements of length and width of the three ships have not survived, but good estimates of their burden capacity can be judged from contemporary anecdotes written down by one or more of Columbus's crew members, and contemporary Spanish and Portuguese shipwrecks from the late 15th and early 16th centuries which are comparable in size to that of Santa María. These include the ballast piles and keel lengths of the Molasses Reef Wreck and Highborn Cay Wreck in the Bahamas. Both were caravel vessels 19 m (62 ft) in length overall, 12.6 m (41 ft) keel length and 5 to 5.7 m (16 to 19 ft) in width and rated between 100 and 150 tons burden. Santa María, being Columbus' largest ship, was only about this size, and Niña and Pinta were smaller, at only 50 to 75 tons burden and perhaps 15 to 18 metres (49 to 59 ft) on deck. Extract courtesy of Wikipedia The kit This is the last of the first three ships that I have received for review here on MSW, until I receive the new release, Hannah, in the next week or so. Out of the initial three, this is the simplest of them all, and the least expensive, producing a nice rendition of a POF version of this legendary little ship. As with all Okumoto releases, this one again is packaged into a lockable, clear plastic box through which you can see the contents. Okumoto’s stats for this kit are as follows: overall length: 378 mm height: 139 mm Width: 103 mm Wood: Agathis Build time: approx 120 hours, laser-cut parts: 173 This kit has notably fewer planks within, with there being a dozen sheets of laser-cut Agathis wood, compared to double that of the Endeavour kit that we recently reviewed here on MSW (see end of article for links). Fewer sheets of timber of course yield fewer parts, with there being less than a third of the Endeavour, and a total of just 173. The model, whilst of the same scale as Endeavour, has a total length of 378mm, so in itself, is still a very reasonable size for display in a cabinet or on a mantlepiece etc. Looking at the various sheets, it is obvious that any scorching that inevitably results from laser-cutting, is at an absolute minimum as there is very little local heat transfer shown on the wood, and this is clearly seen in the photographs. Indeed, releasing a small number of parts from the Endeavour kit showed that the edges of the parts only seem to be a slightly darker brown, and this will be very easy to sand back to the nice bright timber colour underneath. Agathis wood can be cleanly cut with a knife when it comes to making any parts adjustments during construction, and the fine grain means that you shouldn’t experience anything untoward such as splitting or feathery edges when finishing the model. All parts are retained within their planks by the use of tape which holds things in position on the rear of the sheet. Removing the tape leaves no sticky residues either, and the parts will be ready for construction almost instantly. As no parts numbers etc. are etched to the sheets, for obvious reasons, you will need to reference the sheet against a paper parts plan. The sheet is easily recognised as each is etched with the sheet thickness and number. As per the real vessel, each frame is constructed from a number of timber parts, and these are built up over the frame plans which you should first smear with wax or cover with grease-proof paper so nothing unwanted sticks to your completed assemblies. You will note that not only are the regular frame parts etc. included, but also the strip wood, finely cut by laser. Be careful with these parts as they could well be fragile. To complete the timber contents, a small bundle of dowel is included for mast stubs etc. A colour-printed sheet showing the completed Santa Maria sits on top of the kit’s paper contents and provides the box-artillustration for this release, seen through the clear plastic container. Underneath this an A3-size plan lurks, with starboard and top-down views of the ship, clearly showing the main timber placements. Annotation is in English. Three pages are now included for the instruction/assembly sequence sheets. At the moment, these are supplied in Japanese only, but Okumoto tell me they will eventually provide these in English language text too, opening up their market possibilities. For the time though, you can use a phone app to translate in real time, such as Google Translate, that shows you the English equivalent when you hold the camera over the Japanese text. Four sheets of paper now include a parts plan for all of the sheet timber, providing easily referenced information when you come to locate specific elements for your build. The majority of the paperwork in this release provides plan layouts for the many frames in this ship. These are built directly over these sheets, and the frames are clearly numbered and identified. A handful of last sheets provides drawing data for specific elements of construction, with all annotation supplied in English. Conclusion I feel that this kit could be an ideal first introduction to a POF model, as it’s definitely less complex than La Couronne or Endeavour, and with a lesser parts count. General assembly looks easier too, but still maintains the overall busy look of a more complicated model. You’ll note that Santa Maria only has single frames and not the double of the previous releases, of course cutting down in the required number of timber parts. Production is excellent with cleanly-cut laser parts with hardly any charring, and a clear set of plans. The only drawback, at the moment, are the Japanese instructions, but that is easily overcome if you purchase now, and then there will be the English sheets which Okumoto will add in the future. In all, a very pleasing looking model and one at a size that will nicely fit in a small display cabinet. Give it a go!

I think 'sails' would be a much needed and appreciated addition.

Superb!

Just ordered my barge kit, so watching this with interest. Loving your progress so far.

1:80 Endeavour Ship Model Okumoto Catalogue # EV-SMO-K80 Available from Ship Model Okumoto for ¥ 60,480 HMS Endeavour, also known as HM Bark Endeavour, was a British Royal Navy research vessel that Lieutenant James Cook commanded to Australia and New Zealand on his first voyage of discovery from 1769 to 1771. She was launched in 1764 as the collier Earl of Pembroke, and the navy purchased her in 1768 for a scientific mission to the Pacific Ocean and to explore the seas for the surmised Terra Australis Incognita or "unknown southern land". The navy renamed and commissioned her as His Majesty's Bark the Endeavour. She departed Plymouth in August 1768, rounded Cape Horn, and reached Tahiti in time to observe the 1769 transit of Venus across the Sun. She then set sail into the largely uncharted ocean to the south, stopping at the Pacific islands of Huahine, Borabora, and Raiatea to allow Cook to claim them for Great Britain. In September 1769, she anchored off New Zealand, the first European vessel to reach the islands since Abel Tasman's Heemskerck 127 years earlier. In April 1770, Endeavour became the first ship to reach the east coast of Australia, when Cook went ashore at what is now known as Botany Bay. Endeavour then sailed north along the Australian coast. She narrowly avoided disaster after running aground on the Great Barrier Reef, and Cook had to throw her guns overboard to lighten her. He then beached her on the mainland for seven weeks to permit rudimentary repairs to her hull. On 10 October 1770, she limped into port in Batavia, Dutch East Indies (now named Jakarta) for more substantial repairs, her crew sworn to secrecy about the lands that they had visited. She resumed her westward journey on 26 December, rounded the Cape of Good Hope on 13 March 1771, and reached the English port of Dover on 12 July, having been at sea for nearly three years. Endeavour was largely forgotten after her epic voyage and spent the next three years sailing to and from the Falkland Islands. She was sold into private hands in 1775 and later renamed as Lord Sandwich; she was hired as a British troop transport during the American War of Independence and was scuttled in a blockade of Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island in 1778. Her wreck has not been precisely located but is thought to be one of a cluster of five in Newport Harbor. Relics are displayed at maritime museums worldwide, including six of her cannon and an anchor. Extract courtesy of Wikipedia The kit This is the second Okumoto kit that I’ve looked at, with the first being La Couronne. Read the review for that kit HERE. As with all of these kits, this one is also presented in a clear plastic, lockable box through which you can see the contents on offer. A colour print of the completed model is sat on top of the instructions, providing a kit identifier for you. Okumoto’s Endeavour is the most complex of the three kits currently on the market, with there being 626 laser-cut parts, and hence more timber. Of course, this is reflected in the cost of the kit too, with this one retailing at ¥ 60,480 (approx. £400, inclusive of taxes, at time of writing). This substantially heavy package also contains 44 sheets of plans and drawings to guide your build. Okumoto estimate that this project will take an average of 240 hours, so that would work out at £1.60/hr for your building enjoyment. Opening the lid and removing the paperwork, reveals a small bundle of dowel, some 1mm strip, and TWENTY-FIVE sheets of laser-cut Agathis wood, in 2mm, 3mm and 5mm thicknesses. Each sheet is around 30cm in length. The Agathis is a very nice-looking timber with a fine grain, and also a soft, golden colour. Of course, as these parts are laser-cut, there is some very localised scorching of the edges that you will need to sand away. As with the La Couronne kit, unlike some other laser-cut kits I’ve experienced, the char is very minimal (check my photo), and you can see from the photos how little of the heat has transferred into the timber. Another feature of Okumoto kits is that you don’t really have to use a knife to free any of the parts from the planks. All parts are 99.9% laser cut and are more or less sat in their respective holes and held in from behind with strip/strips of tape. The tape also doesn’t leave any annoying residues when removed either. Being a POF model, all timbers will be seen from one angle or another, and thus the parts numbers must be referenced against the sets of parts plans that are also included. The sheets do have the thickness of them laser-engraved, plus the sheet number to reference against the parts plans. Timber sheets not only include the various frames, beams, knees etc. but also strip wood which is also held in position with tape. These will be nice and easy to just pick one from the tape put it to use. Take care in removing any scorch though as these could be a little fragile. Overall dimensions of this model are very reasonable, with a length of 429mm, beam of 125mm, and a height of 130mm. Of course, this isn’t a masted model, but simply has the stub masts in situ, as seen on shipyard-style models. A colour-printed sheet is included which shows you the completed POF Endeavour, and very attractive it looks. Under this sheet is an A2-size plan which has a starboard and upper profile, with English annotation. Next, a 5-page instruction manual is supplied, with photographs used to guide you through construction. Unfortunately, all the text is in Japanese, but you can use a phone-based app to translate this in real time. Okumoto also tell me that they will start to include English language instructions in the near future. Nine sheets of paper are included as a parts plan for easy identification of the 626 components that will go to create your Endeavour. These also have some English-language annotation in areas. Twenty-three sheets now show the frame construction, including deck beam positions etc. These need to have the parts sat upon them and positions of the various components marked out on the wood. It’s a time-consuming task, but that’s the nature of POF. The result should be very impressive. A further 11 sheets show Endeavour in more plan detail, with particular areas of construction singled out so you know exactly where each component will fit. Conclusion Another high quality release from Okumoto, and certainly the most involved of all the three releases that I have received. As with La Couronne, no gratings are included, so you might like to source them yourself. I think a little deck planking would also enhance the model further, applied in sections so as not to obscure the majority of the deck beams. As this is the most complex of the three releases from Okumoto, I would perhaps suggest one of their simpler models first, as an introduction to POF. That would be the Santa Maria (reviewed next week), or their soon-to-be-released kit, ‘Hannah’. If you are already proficient in our hobby though, then this kit shouldn’t really challenge you too much, and you’ll end up with an extremely attractive model for your shelf. Okumoto’s approach to construction should provide a very satisfying workbench experience and something a little different too. My sincere thanks to Ship Model Okumoto for kindly sending this sample out for review on Model Ship World. To purchase directly, click the link at the top of this article.

Feel free! 👍👍

Looks great! Is it a kit?

I think a starter package for those of us with limited workshop tooling. Sometimes, that's the only thing that may stop a modeller trying a POF.

The MDF is dead straight with no warp. Not sure if initial kits were ply keels, but I'm happy with what's supplied as it will be easier to sand (with a mask!) and as for humidity, how much do you need before you get problems? I don't envisage any issue at all. The MDF in the kit appears to be better than the stuff I've seen previously, and even at work where the school kids use it for building curriculum projects.

Hi Ivan, I'm sure that we can help with the Occre Endeavour anyway!! I also am versed in plastic modelling, so we have common interests. So pleased you joined up here and I look forward to your build logs. Please ask as many questions as you need to.

Evening folks! I recently reviewed Amati's 1:50 Viking Longship 'Drakkar' here on MSW: For a good number of years now, I've been writing articles for the plastic modelling press but I'm rapidly feeling the need to do what I seriously enjoy, and that's some wooden modelling. There are so many great kits out there that I can be stuck for choice, but as I now have this beautiful and historic ship in my stash, it seemed silly not to look at it and build it. At the moment, I'm sticking my flag in the plot and saying that this will start in the next weeks, and I hope to finish it in a sort of dark timbered appearance that will homogenise the ply keel and shaped planks, but still retain some natural feel to proceedings. I know this is too dark for an actual working ship, but you get the idea: Watch this space

Lovely start. Can't wait to see what you do with this.

Do you mean this one from Amati/Victory Models? Should be released very shortly.

That's fantastic! I'll let Amati know straight away

Is this model stalled? Enjoying the planking demo on this.

Thanks for the feedback Peter. I've started to look through the plans in more detail and acquaint myself with the basics. It really is a gorgeous kit and I look forward to getting the time to clear my bench and schedules, and then dive into this. I'll probably continue to use the dummy barrels for the lower deck, or at least see how things look as a mock up and gauge my options, and yes, I'll also look at the main gun carriages too. It's a beautifully designed kit and I'm still pretty much in awe of it.