ccoyle

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder," so they say. I rather like off-beat modeling subjects and lug rigs. BTW, halibut and orange roughy are excellent eating, but neither of them will ever win any piscine beauty contests. 😉

Bill, try starting with a free model. If you mess up, you just print up another one and try again. Take a look at the V105 tutorial in the card models section. The kit is a freebie from Digital Navy and is a great beginner's model.

Nice warm and dry climate there in Indio -- good for storing and displaying wooden models!

Jim, I somehow missed this log altogether. Very nicely done to this point! You will post some photos when you get the sails bent, won't you? Cheers!

Hey, Jim. I'm thinking of leaving this one in the natural, both to simplify the job and because I feel the wood is of sufficient quality to look good with a clear satin finish. Cheers!

Why this kit? Hey, friends! Welcome to my review of the 1/72 scale Cannon Jolle kit from Master Korabel. As near as I can tell, "jolle" is a Swedish word for a small boat, and this particular type of gunboat was designed for operation in the shallow waters of the Baltic Sea. I prefer to use the term "gunboat", since "jolle" strikes us English-speakers as kind of funny-sounding -- at least to me, anyway. I chose this kit because, believe it or not, I am in the midst of a very long modeling drought. I have not finished a model in four years, though I have started several. I decided I needed to get myself something relatively simple to work on, just so I can actually finish something. This kit looked like a good candidate, since all of its parts are pre-cut -- no cutting, spiling, etc. I ordered the kit off eBay from an outfit called V-Hobby in Moscow. Yeah, that Moscow, not the one in Idaho. Between my $5 coupon code from eBay and the $15 shipping charge, the kit and a set of pre-sewn sails set me back $83. The folks at V-Hobby kindly combined shipping for the two items, and I'm sure they'd do the same for any other interested buyers. 10 Long Days Later ... ... my kit finally arrived from the Rodina, securely wrapped in bubble wrap and tape. The box inside had not suffered any damage during the arduous trip from Moscow to Greenville. As you can see, the box art is very nicely done. The kit contents were packed loosely, but the more delicate parts were wrapped in cling wrap or sealed in bags, so everything arrived in good shape. Kit Contents Wood I knew when I ordered the kit that the model it produces is on the small side (finished length is 215 mm), but I didn't fully realize just how small until I started unpacking the parts. It's little -- but I digress. All of the kit's wooden parts are laser cut. Some of the wooden sheets have some charring on the back side, but the fronts are flawless. Hull formers and other structural components are cut from 2.5 mm plywood. Section lines for fairing the hull are laser-engraved onto the formers. The false decks are cut from 2.5 mm MDF board. Other parts are cut from various shades and thicknesses of what appears to be walnut (2.0 mm, 1.5 mm, 0.7 mm, and 0.2 mm). Plank seams and treenails are laser-engraved into the decks in very fine detail. It took me a moment or two to notice that the kit doesn't have any strip wood or dowels -- all of the parts are pre-cut, and any that are supposed to be round in their final cross-section will need to be sanded into that shape. Other Materials The remaining parts consist of: * 3 spools of rigging line (0.4, 0.3, and 0.2 mm) * pre-blackened metal cannon with period-appropriate imperial crest * 2 small PE brass frets containing anchors, oarlocks, pintles, gudgeons, strops, and other small parts * a bag of wooden blocks * sail cloth * a length of brass wire * a laser-engraved nameplate (in Russian). The blocks are a cut above the usual kit-grade blocks, not Syren Ship Model quality, but definitely something that other manufacturers could stand to take a cue from (I'm looking at you, Corel). Plans and Instructions The kit includes step-by-step instructions in both Russian and English, a full-color illustrated construction guide, and a single two-sided , full-sized plan sheet that shows an outboard profile, deck plan, sail plan, spar dimensions, construction details, and options for either stayed or unstayed masts. A key to all the parts sheets and an itemized parts list are also included. This is truly a wealth of documentation, and it's hard to imagine what else the designers could possibly have included. A set of optional pre-sewn sails is available for $6. I'm normally not a fan of pre-sewn sails, since I feel that I can do them better from scratch, but I wanted a simple project, so I splurged for them. They're about what I expected in terms of quality, that is, not as good as mine, but better (especially in terms of the fine-woven cloth used) than I have seen in some other kits. Overall Impressions If you've had a chance to see some of the other Master-Korabel kits being built by our members, then you know that MK has created a little bit of a buzz with their designs. For folks who do not care so much for the tedium of spiling and planking or having to fabricate everything from scratch (some people just enjoy putting things together), then these kits are worth a look. MK seem to have taken pains to ensure that their design will improve the success rate for modelers with a modicum of skill. So far, I'm favorably impressed with the quality of the components, the documentation, and the innovative construction technique. I think the pricing is competitive as well. I'm looking forward to seeing how well this little gem goes together. Cheers!

I would steer clear of both of those options, though if I had to choose one or the other, I'd go for the Revell kit, for the reasons already stated above. There are some great kits coming out of Eastern and Central Europe these days that should fit your needs and budget. Have a look at the links in the "List of kit manufacturers" topic. Cheers!

John, The 1/200 scale of Danny's Hood model is common, but there also many kits available in 1/100, especially from the J F Schreiber company. In addition, any card kit can be scaled up or down using a scanning printer/copier. This is actually a fairly common practice in the card modeling world.

Not sure what the answer to that should be, having never built a Shipyard kit before, so I'm not familiar with their particular conventions for indicating parts thickness. Hope someone else can help out on this.

"Deeply unqualified" describes many of us who might like a crack at a great kit like this, but have fun anyway! I'll be following with interest. BTW, it seems to be de rigueur in card kits that at least one part (usually it's several) is mis-numbered or omitted in the diagrams. Part of the appeal, I guess?

"Suckers" in this instance is a mild pejorative that can be applied to a wide range of things/situations.

Ah -- I see what you're doing. I had it in my head that you were going to do the ponce wheel thingy perpendicular to the run of planking, doh! 🙄

Beautiful! Congratulations on completing your project!

Ooh! I would be careful with the ponce wheel since it is quite unlikely to produce marks that are correctly spaced. In real life, treenails are pretty much the same color as the rest of the decking material and would be nearly impossible to see at a stand-off viewing distance. At 1/96 scale I think it is perfectly acceptable to omit this feature. But to each his own!

This is similar to what Chesapeake Light Craft (one of our sponsors) does. They do offer models of a couple of their full-size boat kits, built in the same manner as the originals. Something for our members to think about if they don't have the space, resources, or moolah to build a full-size boat. I look forward to seeing pics of yours on the water!

Robert, it is available from BlueJacket and can be ordered from their website. I can attest that it looks quite good in person.

That is a thing of beauty!

Hello, Geoff! Make sure to check out this topic for some advice on beginner models. Also, Modellers Shipyard, who are right across the strait from you over in Oz, produce some kits that fit the beginner parameters mentioned in that topic. Cheers!

John, I grew up in Humboldt County and did fisheries work on timber lands there and in Mendocino County. The sailing and steam schooners were of course vital to the lumbering trade, so I have long had an interest in those vessels. I'm keen to see your photos, though I don't know how much insight I can offer. Cheers!

Man, we were just talking about Gilroy here at work yesterday, believe it or not, in the context of characteristic smells of certain parts of the state.

Welcome! Would the "Piper" part refer to uillean pipes, Scottish great pipes, or some other variant?

Folks, please don't post links in this thread. Send them to a moderator so that we can check them out first. Thank you!

Should point out before anyone gets alarmed that the above list shows only companies that are still doing business in model ships/boats, hence no Midwest Products, Freedomsong Boat Works, Laughing Whale, Scientific, Dikar, Steingraeber, etc.

Hey, my advice is just advice. If you finish that model (which is a beauty, BTW), I won't be mad. Oh, and I'm just Chris. ccoyle is my username.

Oops! How'd that happen? Bob Friedman's username is actually bobcat. Sorry!