palmerit

Some (maybe all) Occre kits have videos to supplement the printed instructions I believe. I know for some of their kits you can view their videos.

The Ultimation slicer uses a very sharp upholstery-style blade so it can cleanly cut through a fairly thick plank. It’s a really sturdy piece of machinery all metal (except for the rubber disk). That said, doing two cuts produces a clearer result (if you’re asking what I think you are). I’m out of town and can’t check the specs on mine. It’s a small company and you might be able to ask them.

Ultimation tools are great. Everyone I’ve seen review and discuss them here says they’re great. I have both the slicer and sander - bought them as a set that includes accessories. These are really well-engineered, solid, great tools. More expensive but you get what you pay for. I haven’t tried others, but I know with other tools (for modeling, for DIY around the house) I prefer having ones that are high quality. Are the Ultimation tools worth paying 3-4x the cost? No idea.

In addition to which model you like the most, especially as a relative novice at wooden model ship building, I’d check the quality of the instructions and the number and quality of build logs here that you can reference. It’s also great to have a YouTube video you can reference. (On those dimensions, have you checked out the Vanguard Models Sherbourne - great detailed instructions, a Modelkit Stuff build on YouTube, and lots of build logs).

Have you considered the Ultimation tools - sander and slicer : https://ultimation.ca They’re high quality but non-motorized. They both small and light enough that you can easily take them on and off a workbench. Lots of uses of a power sander are easily done with the Ultimation sander and the slicer is great for cutting planks. I use both of them all the time. The total for both tools I think is around your budget and worth it I think. This set solves the problems you highlighted about keeping your part cut and sanded at 90 degrees. I’d recommend these first and then move on to power tools that will need a dedicated area. With the Ultimation tools I can do everything from my work table in the house, keeping the slicer and sander right under the table. For me, a power sander (or mill or lathe or table saw) would have to be down in the cellar.

There are some peculiarities with the kit. These are re-issues of Midwest kits that are decades old. The instructions are detailed but describe techniques that haven’t been used for years and there are mismatches between the instructions and the parts as re-issued. I ended up modifying the kit a bit, adding some interior trim pieces to correct for where the pieces left gaps, and added a skirt around the open section because there were inexplicable gaps in the thwarts.

Some simple rigging on this one. I might finish this kit tomorrow before leaving to go out of town to visit family next week.

@Nickk I assume you’ve built a lot of models - can’t imagine taking on a ship the size and complexity of the Victory unless I had way more experience than I do now. And I can’t imagine building any kit of that complexity with poor instructions unless I could essentially scratch build a model without needing instructions. I agree with @Ronald-V that if I were going to take on the 1000s of hours to build a Victory that I’d want one with great materials and great instructions - and build logs and videos to turn to for help.

Take 2: left: original plastic piece from the kit middle: first attempt with thicker rope and a larger thimble (and a black seizing) right: second attempt with thinner rope and a smaller thimble (and a tan seizing)

Thanks. Yeah, after doing it I was thinking the same thing.

@DB789 how does the Grecian compare to the Adder? I’m thinking of doing both. I know the Grecian has copper plates, which is certainly something new for me and likely contributes to the cost difference. Is there any real difference otherwise in the complexity of the hull or the rigging between the Grecian and Adder (I know they're different, but would you recommend doing one before the other)?

The kit-supplied block (right) and one I made from a Syren block, thimble, and rope (left).

Making progress. Added the molding along the top, rudder, and attached the rudder.

Put an @ then if you start typing it’ll autocomplete user names. Hit enter when you see it come up. @_SalD_

I'm not an expert - one thing I'd recommend: That looks like green Frog tape (or similar). For masking at the edge of painting a line like that, Tamiya tape (which is yellow in its thicker versions, white in its thinner) is significantly better (I've seen people test alternatives on YouTube and the difference is pretty striking) - it comes in a bunch of sizes (from really tiny to wide). It's kind of expensive (certainly compared to Frog tape) but you do not use much, especially if you just use it to mask lines being painted. Also, after you put the tape down, "burnish" the line by running the back of your fingernail or the back end of a paint brush along the line. Another trick for painting a line: Imagine you are painting the top white and the bottom red and you already painted the top. After masking the line with (Tamiya) tape, paint white along the line and let it dry, so some white paint is where you'll be painting red and on the tape. Then paint the red. That one layer of white paint can really help keeping a fine line (along with using Tamiya tape and burnishing), limiting the bleed through under the tape. I learned all those tricks here and the most recent line I marked off and painted was nearly perfect compared to the first couple of times I tried just using tape alone. Depending on how OCD you are, you may still have some bleed through you'd need to touch up with a tiny paint brush, but doing these things can help keep the bulk of the line crisp.