ccoyle

She looks fantastic!

Welcome aboard! Have you had a moment to read this topic? Of the three models you listed, Albatros has the easiest hull form and rig to model, but all of them would be a stiff challenge to a beginner. Most folks around here would recommend something a little less demanding for a first-time wooden ship model. As mentioned, the fishing boats from Vanguard Models are popular choices, as are the Midwest Products line now available from Model Shipways. MS also offers an 18th century longboat kit that has been very popular, as has OcCre's Polaris. BlueJacket Shipcrafters also offers several kits aimed at beginners. Lots of choices out there these days!

Interesting. Seefalke is available as a 1/250 card kit from HMV.

Do you have any pictures of the models to be repaired? That might influence someone's decision about whether to take on the task, as well as determine whether the job is truly a minor repair or actually a restoration. Gotta ask, too -- are you prepared to pay for the work?

Good luck! And this is the first time an ITC kit has been featured in the forum.

There's no real trick to this. The key is to get the straps curled to exactly the diameter they should be on the bar. Once you get that, stiffening them with CA might help -- don't worry about the slight color change, as no one is likely to notice. I apply a tiny dot of glue to each end of a strap and then set it on the bar. There is very little time to reposition it once that is done. With the canopy glue, if a re-do is needed, the semi-cured glue can be removed from the part.

That's a fantastic piece of work, Dave!

Yes, I have encountered that problem myself. It's been 25 years since I built my Sherbourne, but I believe I did the standing rigging first. Working around the sails would be rather aggravating, I think.

Probably not. The plans and instructions probably have copyright dates, but those won't tell you when the kit was produced.

Yes, it does. In the hobby, these are known as Model Shipways' "yellow box" kits and date back to when the company was located in Bogata, New Jersey. I don't remember off the top of my head when the move to Florida happened, but it was at least thirty years ago. Some of the yellow box kits are even much older than that. Many of the yellow box solid-hull kits were converted to plank-on-bulkhead kits, but some were kept in production as solid-hull kits, and some of the converted kits have since been reissued as solid-hull kits again. Confusing, right? A couple of things worth noting about this kit: Depending on its exact age, the kit may have lead fittings. These will decay over time ("lead disease") and should therefore be replaced. Later kits included cast parts made of Britannia metal, a type of white metal alloy, and will probably state that somewhere as a selling point. Most Model Shipways kits, especially the older ones, offer little or nothing in terms of pre-cut parts, e.g., laser cutting or CNC. Things like deck houses, companionways, and pinnacles must be built from strip or sheet wood using dimensions taken directly from the plans. If your intention is to eventually build a plank-on-frame Endurance, such as the kit from OcCre, then building a solid-hull kit will not prepare you for building a plank-on-frame hull. The two methods are substantially different. If none of those things is a deterrent, that old yellow box kit can certainly be built into a nice model. Cheers!

No clue. At their age, they have little value as actual projects -- kit design has advanced far beyond what these kits can offer. They may have some collector value. One suggestion is to browse listings at eBay for similar items and see what they have been going for.

Looking great so far! The staining is a nice touch.

Welcome aboard! When you say "vintage" kit, how vintage are you talking about? Various iterations of that kit have been on the market for decades, and the art of kit designing has advanced considerably during that interval.

Mine did, too. For anyone following, if that little strip in the back is damaged beyond repair, it's not a great loss. The two fuselage sections can still be glued together, and the bulkhead that ends up there can be covered with a strip of scrap card and painted to match. PS -- I added a link to your build in my signature so interested parties can easily toggle between our builds.

Either canopy glue or medium CA, depending on how much stress will be applied to the finished part. I haven't been picky about the brand, as long as it's matte clear acrylic. Cheers!

Are you thinking about starting a brick-and-mortar business or internet/mail order? Hobby shops in general have had a tough go of things in recent years, and ship building is a pretty niche hobby (I can't speak to the popularity of 'hobby woodworking in general').

Just remember how fun and relaxing this hobby is supposed to be!

On to the wings. The kit provides two sets of spars, one for the complete wheel wells option and the other for w/o wheel wells. For parts that will only be partially visible on the finished model, like #108, I use only the visible portion of the printed part. The English directions are a bit cryptic. The upper part of the wheel well doesn't fit the interior framing exactly, so I tinted the surrounding areas of the wing skin that might show around the edges of the well. Note that I have added joiner strips to the trailing edge -- these aren't included in the kit. The interior framing is a little wobbly. I suggest putting as much of it together as you can before gluing. (EDIT: There's actually a rod, part #59, that fits inside the framing and will help align things as well.) The leading edge piece is the key to getting everything aligned properly. Notice that no spacers are provided around the wheel well. Test fit the framing inside the folded wing until you get the wheel well positioned properly, then mark the inboard edge of the framing -- it doesn't sit flush with the wing sheathing. Once you're satisfied with the location of the interior framing, you can tack it to the topside skin. Once the glue has set, you can glue down the bottom skin, but don't try to do it all at once. Do the inboard stringer and wheel well surround in one go, then zip up the trailing edge separately. After that you can add the wingtip piece and close up the wingtip. That's one wing down and one to go!

Well done!

Time to install the canopy! But wait -- don't forget to add the gun sight first! Then you can install the canopy!

Time to frame the canopy. A couple of tips may be helpful. First of all, I usually do not attempt to glue an entire frame piece in one shot -- it's messy, and the glue I use (Evergreen canopy glue) doesn't give a lot of working time. Normally I tack one part of the piece in place and then do the remainder as several small sub-steps. Second, do everything you can to make sure the first piece is aligned on the canopy correctly -- it acts as a kind of keystone for the remaining bits, and if it is off-kilter, then what follows will be off as well I opted to start with the front panel, because its location on the molded canopy is fairly obvious. For the next piece, you can see how I tacked the top section, making sure to align the tic marks on both pieces. BTW, on the aft portion of this piece there are two stub pieces of framing. The closed canopy should fit inside these pieces, but I didn't discover that fact until after I had already glued them down. That made it necessary to trim the next piece slightly to accommodate the stubs. Make sure you allow plenty of time for the glue to set. If the glue is still white instead of clear, as seen here, you're not ready to move forward. And here's all the framing attached. Let the glue cure well -- some flexing will occur when the canopy is freed from its sheet, and improperly cured bonds may pop loose as a result. That's it for now!

This is actually a rather generous description of the instructions -- the translation is very obviously not the work of a native speaker. I'm happy to see this one under way. Best of luck!

Armament installed, plus shell case ejector ports. Nothing special to watch out for here -- just fiddly parts. Use something like styrene rod to help roll the gun shrouds. The kit includes paper barrels, but it's wise to substitute styrene rod for these, too. Also, pay attention to the orientation of the ejector ports. I glued one on backwards and didn't notice it until the following day. 😑 Moving to prepping parts for the canopy. If you chose not to add the cockpit interior, then you'd use the opaque windscreen parts provided in the kit. I'm using a molded canopy, so the framing parts will need to be cut out and edge colored. Start by cutting out the interior portions of these parts. Don't cut the parts all the way out just yet. Leaving them like this makes coloring the interior edges easier. The backsides of the frames will be visible, so they need to be painted. I made no effort to match the cockpit interior gray -- I just used the closest AK color in my set. The main thing is that the backs are not white. Now we can cut the parts all the way out and color the exterior edges. In the next installment: Framing the canopy! 😬

1/1 scale boat? 😉

BTW, I just received an order from Widget Supply. The owner is retiring and selling off his inventory at deep discounts, limited to stock on hand. I was able to snag a whole bunch of goodies: knife blades, sanding disks & drums, drill bits, Dremel bits, mandrels, needle files -- even zip ties. You should check them out!