Hello, everyone! I've been a hobby modeler for many years now, though my focus has been building and painting scale figures. I love the look of a well done wooden ship and have always wanted to try building them. A little over 20 years ago, back when I was in high school, I purchased the Model Shipways kit, the Fair American. I had high hopes, but could see I was in way over my head and never started it. I still have the kit and want to build that ship one day, but I know I need to work up to it. I think it's past time I found a good beginner kit and started working my way up to more complex ones. I've had a look at some of the suggestions on this site and I think I'm going to start with the Grand Banks Dory from Blue Jacket. I also had my eye on the Revenue Cutter from Blue Jacket and the new 18th Century Armed Longboat from Model Shipways. But, I think the Dory is probably a better choice for the first project and perhaps I'll take on one of those others afterward.
What do you all think? Is the Grand Banks Dory a good beginner kit or would you recommend something else? I saw Midwest Products mentioned in some posts. It looks like they're no longer in business but I still their kits sold here and there. I'll start a build log once I get the kit, so I can hopefully get some feedback and advice as I go. Also, I'm located in San Jose, CA. I tried to see if there were any ship modeling groups nearby. I found some up in San Francisco, but would love to find a group a little closer to home. If you know of anything active in the area, I'd love to hear about it.
Oh, and in case anyone is curious, here are a couple of my recent figures projects (1, 2, 3, 4), all 1/35 scale. I'm a novice when it comes to ships, but I've got a bit of experience with figures. 😉
