I'm Patrick Lynch, an author and artist, retired from Yale University, and I'm resuming scale ship modeling after a gap of 30+ years. My goal is to build wooden ship models. I'm currently doing the Model Shipways introductory wood models series, but I also decided to build a series of plastic sailing ships to limber up my fingers and learn more about ship rigging. My background is in biology and natural history, so I'm particularly interested in Darwin's ship, the HMS Beagle. I have both the Mamoli and Occre Beagle kits, but I'm far too inexperienced with wooden ships to launch into either kit right now. I'd welcome any advice for newbie wood modelers, and any thoughts about the available HMS Beagle kits on the market.