ccoyle

Australian or U.S.?

Rob, I'll answer your question, but before I do I have to ask -- have you read the following pinned topic? For Beginners -- A Cautionary Tale As for Bluenose vs. Mayflower, you're talking about a much simpler and easier to plank hull form for Bluenose and a vastly easier rig, also for Bluenose. Allow me to toss out one further word of caution. I know that you have been looking at tool/model combo deals. When I started modeling, I bought a tool kit that supposedly had all the tools I needed in it. I ended up not using a lot of them. Or, after using them for a short while, I ended up buying (and in some cases making) something I liked better. I'll double-down on my recommendation to try a Midwest kit. It will tell you exactly what tools you need (and you may find that you don't even need some of the recommended tools). My first two models were Midwest kits. Each took me about three weeks to complete, and I had a blast. The finished models still have a place of honor in my home. Trust me -- start simple. Don't think of it as having to put off starting on a more challenging kit that you'd rather build -- think of it as a small investment of time and money that will significantly increase your chances of finishing that more challenging build. Cheers!

The hull form and rigging of Bluenose will be far easier for a first-time modeler to do. Just a friendly warning. :-)

Jacek, Since we don't have a category for semi-scratch, just place your build log in the category that best describes your project. In this case, it sounds like your model will be mostly scratch, so I would place it in the scratch-built forum. Regards,

Great-looking kit and great review, too. I always appreciate it when manufacturers bring out something a little different.

I always recommend a beginner start off with a kit from Midwest Products. They're out of production now, but still plenty in circulation on eBay. They have a lot of things going for them: 1. cheap 2. nearly fool-proof designs 3. very thorough and detailed instructions 4. inexpensive 5. complete list of all tools needed 6. great introduction to working with wood 7. don't cost an arm and a leg 8. don't take a year to complete 9. look great when finished 10. you're only out a few bucks if you decide you don't like the hobby. Did I mention that they're cheap? Try one -- you'll like it!

That would clearly be a violation of copyright.

Too bad the Coast Guard requires her to have that twirly thingy on the back. Looks a bit incongruous.

Welcome, Shean! At least with a steamboat you don't have to fret about masting and rigging. Cheers!

Fabulous! Being as they're a recent MSW sponsor, I bet they'll be thrilled to see one of their kits finished here. Their full-sized wherry is also a thing of beauty. Cheers!

Clare Hess did a nice review of the Kanrin Maru kit on his blog. Lots of photos of the kit contents.

Kevin, I don't think you will have much difficulty finding projects that fit your criteria if you look at subjects from the 100 years prior to HMS Victory. The trouble comes when you look at the 100 years after. Most kit manufacturers appear to think that the Age of Sail ended precisely at Trafalgar (although there are some clipper ship offerings). One type of subject that I find fascinating is the transitional sail-steamer, which is an inexcusably neglected type in the hobby. The only British ship that I know of from that era that is currently offered in kit form is Billing Boats's HMS Warrior, but it is in 1/100th scale; there's a build log on here somewhere for it. BlueJacket have produced limited edition kits of USS Kearsarge and CSS Alabama, both in 1/96th scale; Alabama was, of course, built in England. The kit that really intrigues me personally, though, is Woody Joe's 1/75th scale Kanrin Maru, ordered from the Netherlands in 1853. Woody Joe has an excellent reputation for design and quality, and Kanrin Maru has a lot of visual appeal. It's a kit I'd love to see being built -- even though she may not be all that British. Okay, not British at all, but still very nice. Cheers,

You got your build log title 100% correct on your very first post. I like this thread already!

I thought it might be useful to give an example of both the effectiveness of one of our site features and why we are such sticklers for build log title formatting. Let's suppose that you are interested in viewing only finished build logs, and you don't really want to have to spend a lot of time scrolling through the logs section to find them. Well, that's exactly why we take the time to add the tag "FINISHED" to every finished log. If you are not inclined to use the site's search feature, then having the word "FINISHED" in all caps towards the front of the log title makes it stand out from the list and easier to spot if you choose to simply scroll through the pages and pages of logs. But there's an even better reason for adding the tag. Suppose you are interested in seeing recently finished models. After all, not everyone add pictures of their completed projects to the gallery. The FINISHED tag makes such models very easy to find, but there's a little bit of skill needed. If you simply type the search term "finished" into the search box in the upper-right corner of the home page and click the search button, you'll get (as of 10 June 2018) 18,750 results -- hardly more useful then scrolling through the entire site. But when you enter your search term in the box, a drop-down menu appears to the left of the search box. By clicking the option for "topics" and then clicking the search button, the number of results is reduced to only 18,448. Okay, so obviously, that isn't the "extra skill" I hinted at earlier. No, the real trick is to look down to the very bottom of the aforementioned drop-down menu to the "Advanced search" option. This brings up the advanced search page. By clicking the "topics" option from the "Content Type" menu and the "Content titles only" option from the "Find results in ..." menu, the search engine brings up only the 598 topics that have the word "finished" in their titles, and the vast majority of these are finished build logs. You can see what this results page looks like here. There are other options on the advanced search page, too. Suppose you only want to see those builds completed in the last six months. There's an option for that in the "Date Created" menu. Selecting that option cuts the number of results in this instance down to 17. Now suppose that you are getting ready to build a model of the USS Constitution, and you want see some already-finished models of her. By searching the terms "finished Constitution" using the process we've outlined for you (advanced search + topics + content titles only), you can find the 13 finished build logs for that subject. Slick, eh? So, that's why we plug the term "FINISHED" into finished build logs. You can do this yourself, if you'd like, using the edit button located in the first post in your log. Simply add the term to your build log title using all caps, along with the required spacing and setting off with hyphens. Don't use the word "completed", since that won't come up as a result when someone searches for "finished". If you'd rather have us do the edit for you, just PM one of the moderators and we'll gladly do the job for you. The advanced search feature can really be handy, but only if you use it (obviously). Giving thought to how topics will be searched is another reason why we ask that topic titles be specific about the content of a post. Consider this example: Suppose you create a topic called "question about rigging," but all you really wanted help with is thimbles, and you get the advice you needed. Now, sometime later, another member also has a question about thimbles. If they search the term "rigging", they will get over 21,000 results -- not very helpful. If they do a generic search for the term "thimble," they will still get 250 results (topics and posts), many of which will only mention thimbles in passing and are not particularly useful. But if they use the advanced search options described above, they will find exactly three topics that are specifically about thimbles (one of which is called "Thimble help needed" -- bingo!) and which will probably contain the desired information. Advanced search -- use it and plan ahead for it!

Tim Page got shown the door for spamming. You are correct about the reply function. If you wish to reply to a particular something that someone said, you can use the quote function. Cheers,

Another fine piece of work, Greg! Your display case is rapidly filling up!

Hi. The model you describe may have been one produced by Midwest Products, who sadly are no longer making boat kits. But there are still plenty of them circulating around on eBay, and they are very good kits for the money, so snap one up if you find it suits your fancy. If you do go with a Midwest kit, I suggest holding off on the tools until you have a look at their very thorough instructions, which will include a list of all the necessary tools. You may already own many of them. Welcome aboard!

Indio, eh? Make sure your AC unit is in good working order!

Very well told, Mark. All of us here were beginners at some point, so we can all (well, most of us at least) relate to that first reaction upon seeing the unpacked kit. Good luck with your project!

I fixed up your title to help clarify the possibly confusing relationship between the manufacturer, Micro-Mark, and the name of the product line, Micro-Make. I think their marketing department was perhaps trying to be just a tad too clever.

Wow! That is more models than I would probably complete in several lifetimes -- and all very well done! I have to confess that I did not know until just yesterday that Ragusa is the old name for the modern city of Dubrovnik in Croatia. The only reason I found out is because an old high school friend is honeymooning there. It's a beautiful city with a fascinating history. Cheers,

Beautiful!

Hello, watchtinker. The answer to your question depends in some measure on what kinds of vessels you are interested in. There's plenty of suitable beginner-level kits out there, but not all of them will suit your fancy -- or budget.

Hi, William. 1. Use any plastic modeling cement, such as Testors, or CA (cyanoacrylate), e.g. Zap. 2. Just eyeball the thread size, but keep in mind that it's better to err on the narrow side -- looks better on the finished model. 3. The shininess might be due to a releasing agent used in the molding process. It can't hurt to give the parts a wash in mild soapy water, rinse, and dry. 4. There's a wide range of both enamel and acrylic paints available for plastic models. Acrylics are easier to work with, since they are water-based. If there's no painting guide in the kit, then use the box art to get a rough idea of colors to use. EDIT: I see Canute beat me by one minute! Cheers,

This is such a commendable task on your part. I wish you every success with it! Ich hoffe, dass es bei euch beide alles gut gelungen wird! Tschuess!