Landlubber Mike

Great work Mark. The Licorne is a gorgeous ship - can't wait to see her develop under your care

Ian - not sure if you have a used book online vendor, but I've managed to track down a number of used books for reference for relatively low cost. In the US, for example, we have Abebooks.com, which functions similarly to a consortium of used book dealers that post their books for sale in a common forum.

Thanks for the link Robboxx. Looks like another nice Corel kit

Great thank you!

Just out of curiosity, has anyone bought the pre-sewn sails offered by Corel for their specific kits? I was thinking about adding sails to my Unicorn build, and was wondering whether they were a worthy investment, or if I should try to make my own. I know pre-sewn sails generally are out of scale, etc., but was wondering if Corel's were halfway decent. Thanks!

Thanks Zyxuz. Nice models on your blog by the way The quality of the kit components seems very good - almost unfortunate as I may end up replacing the kit wood with stuff from Hobbymill or the Lumberyard. The fittings are very good, except, in my opinion, the stern gallery tops and bottoms. I might end up scratching those components as well as the stern area generally. Not sure if folks know about this, but I saw that Cornwall Model Boats sells individual Corel fittings. For my Unicorn build, I'm thinking of buying an extra pair of port holes (to move from 4 to 5 pairs), as well as some decorative strip molding should I go for scratching the stern galleries and transom. I might also get an extra figurehead, to see whether I want to paint it a "wood" color or a white painted look. http://www.cornwallmodelboats.co.uk/acatalog/corel_fttings.html

Just to ask this again, besides purely being able to work metal in addition to wood, is there any benefit to upgrading from the Proxxon 250DB mini lathe to a Sherline or other lathe? Thanks everyone for all the responses

Thanks Tom, that's a great option also. Thanks for the tip.

Unfortunately I don't have much space for a dedicated workshop. I've been doing my build on the coffee table (sometimes using my lathe in my detached garage), but have been planning on buying more power tools to paint with wood. My garage is not climate controlled, so it's not an option for half the year So, at this point, I'm looking at a bench with some power tools in my furnace room to cut and shape parts, and then do the actual assembly on the coffee table. Will be a bit of a pain but got to make the best of the situation. Otherwise, I'd do something like the watchmaker's bench for assembly and the Harbor Freight bench for the power tools.

I agree with the double POB comment - the first planking for me was a bit rough, but I got the hang of it so the second went much smoother. The Constitution looks like a fantastic kit. I ended up getting the Corel Unicorn and MS Charles Morgan for a great price for when I finish my Badger. Eventually, I'd love to work on the Constitution or one of the newer big kits from either MS or Amati.

Hi Spaceman, thanks for the kind words. It was actually my first ship and first wood working experience, so there was some learning on the job that I had to do I picked this kit because of the good instruction manual, the fact that Caldercraft kits are known for their quality of components (though, the walnut wood could have been a bit better in my opinion), and because it wasn't a weekend kit. I figured I wanted something that would be a challenge to keep my interest, yet not be too challenging to make me frustrated and not complete it. For a first time, I would recommend getting something with very detailed instructions to at least help out with the basics and general tips. Here are the Badger instructions in case you are interested: http://www.jotika-ltd.com/Pages/1024768/Manuals_Badger.htm There are also plenty of ways to modify the kit if you should like. I ended up doing more accurate rigging of the cannons, added treenails to the deck, made the chimney out of brass tubing, and plan to add furled sails. Another great thing about this particular kit is that at least at the time of MSW 1.0, there were lots of build logs out there. I'm always happy to help out with any questions, and I'm sure the rest of my "Badger Brothers" on here are willing to do the same. Other kits I thought about were the MS AVS and the MS or Amati Bluenose. I think there are very detailed practicums available online for both. I didn't go with the AVS because I wanted something a little more challenging with two masts versus one mast. I didn't choose the Bluenose because I wanted to work on a fighting ship, but that seems like a very nice model as well. One thing to consider is that the AVS is 1:48 scale, which means the small parts are less fiddly. It was a bit of a shock when I opened up the Badger kit and saw how small some of the pieces actually were at 1:64 scale. I guess it all depends on what you are looking for. Some people want a very basic model to get their feet wet on and see if they are going to stay interested in the hobby. I figured I would like the hobby as I enjoyed doing small plastic models as a kid, so I wanted something that would both be a learning experience and offer a bit of a challenge. Good luck with whatever you pick - they are all nice kits

Wow, beautiful work Mobbsie! I still can't believe how you can work so quickly yet with such incredible results

Hi Jason, thanks very much. To make those hooks for the cannons, I didn't use the photoetch hooks that Norman is describing because they were too big, but instead used the brass eyelets that came with the kit (cut the eyelet out and then bent it into a hook shape). I think this was the size in the kit: http://www.cornwallmodelboats.co.uk/acatalog/caldercraft83505.html

I'm on the Caldercraft Badger as my first kit. It has great instructions, nice fittings (though the wood is a bit sketchy), and can be modified to add nice details. Oh, and it's a nice looking ship too.

Thanks very much everyone. I'll start with the books and take it from there. It's always good to stay on the Admiral's good side, unless I can figure out a way to sneak them in (hey, that new machine and all its fancy gizmos have been here for a while, you must not have noticed them).

Sorry, by my response it must be obvious that I don't do much of the cooking in my household

I agree, it's a nice looking build. I'll have to check out what flags are in my kit. Here is another that looks very much like the Corel kit: http://www.modelships.de/Verkaufte_Schiffe/Unicorn,_Fregatte_1/Unicorn_frigate_I_eng.htm http://www.modelships.de/Verkaufte_Schiffe/Unicorn,_Fregatte_1/Photos_Frigate_Unicorn.htm Per Peter's suggestion about the Pandora as a close relative, I have been looking at Pandora builds as well. This is a nice one, and probably closer to the color scheme that I will be looking to represent on my Unicorn (hopefully without using paint). Also note that the waist is opened up, with three small boats. http://www.stephens-kenau.com/hms_pandora-product-view-49.html

Ian, I came across this Unicorn last night. It didn't appear at first glance that any modifications were made, particularly at the waist area, but it's still a nicely done Unicorn. http://www.shipsofscale.com/gallery/jshorter/hmsunicorn/index.html

Thanks for all the feedback on the Sherline mill. My Sherline mill from eBay came in yesterday. I gave up trying to explain to my wife and in-laws last night what it can do All I can say is wow, those things are built like tanks - it's a very solid piece of equipment, and definitely a lot more precise than my Dremel work station Now I just have to get some resources to figure out how to use it. Are there any particular accessories that are very handy to buy for it? I think what I have is the basic set up, so besides various cutting implements, I wasnt sure what else would be good to have like the rotating table, bigger vices, etc.

Oh, but you rig ships so well Frank! Don't you want a big triple mast vessel?

Thanks everyone! For $6.99 shipping, it would probably cost me almost as much in gas to go to my local store and pick it up. Thanks for passing along the price Jack - I'll wait to see if it gets marked down even further

Thanks Adam. Are you using power tools? I'm starting to add to my power tool collection, so was wondering how the bench holds up when it comes to space, not adding to vibration, etc.

I think this bench was recommended back with MSW 1.0. Is anyone using this? I don't have the equipment (or inclination) to make my own, but thought that this could be a good option. http://www.harborfreight.com/60-inch-workbench-93454.html# Thanks in advance!

Corel kits?

Thanks Chris - good thing I have a big coffee table to work on.