catopower

Paul, I don't know why nobody else has commented since you started this build. But, it is looking very nice. I agree that this is a very nice looking ship. Although you are an experienced modeler, I think it would make an ideal first model for a beginner. It has a nice easy hull shape for planking, and a square-tuck stern, which also makes for ease of planking. There are some metal parts, so they simply need to be painted, and glued into place. Again, this is easy for a beginner to do. Plus, the lateen rig is simpler than a square rig, and it's interesting. You've done a nice job making your own replacement parts and showing us what an experienced ship modeler can do with this kit!

Hi All, I just thought I'd post a pic of my Schwarzer Rabe kit from Shipyard. The last photo I posted here was over 3 weeks ago. So, here's what it looks like now.

Congrats, Tim! I've been thinking about ordering that kit, or the Duyfken, or the Meerman... I keep playing around with the shopping cart, adding something different, but haven't gotten around to submitting the order yet. Just can't make up my mind!

Daniel Filipe, you are doing a wonderful job with this build. your model is looking great!

Tomek, that was very helpful. Thank you for posting!

Hi Tim, Well, I have to say I'm a bit lost on where to go on this project at this point. I want to add the outer planking "skins", as they will make the hull sturdier. But, I think for rigging the guns, the easiest thing is going to be to make all the eyebolts/ringbolts long and drill through the hull. That's probably best to do at this stage. I did just make an investment in this project. Since I'm not really happy rolling my own cannons yet, I went ahead and I ordered a set of cannon barrels from GPM. I'm also trying out some barrels that I might use with the Schwarzer Rabe, but they don't have an actual set for that one. The HMS Mercury cannon barrel set should include both sizes of carriage guns, swivels, and carronades. But we'll see. The barrel set says it contains 46 pieces and I count 48 on the model, so we'll see. If anything comes up short, I just hope it's the swivels, as I won't really care about them. There are plenty of sub-assemblies I can work on too, I just don't know where to get re-started.

Chris, these kits look great. Thanks for bringing them to our attention, because I REALLY NEED more projects! Especially these relatively inexpensive card model projects, because I can load up on so many of them for so little money. Plus, they take up so little room in my stash that I can fit half a dozen with all the available accessories in the space of one wooden ship model kit! 🤪

Jan, those are all really wonderful models. Very realistic. I'm not sure how my cat would react to them... (!)

Card models of animals confuse the heck out of my brain. How is it they can look so realistic? That's absolutely incredible, Leo! Thanks for sharing (and confusing the heck out of my brain!)

Having completed my laser-cut Hanse Kogge from Shipyard and put in a little time on Shipyard's 1/96-scale fluit Schwarzer Rabe kit, I can't help but think about this HMS Mercury project. I basically put it on hold as it's a complex project that I felt a bit ill-prepared for. However, now that I'm well into the planking of the Schwarzer Rabe's hull, it's making HMS Mercury seem a little less daunting. So, don't it out even though I have posted any real progress here in... over 3 years! 😮 This week, I think I'm actually going to get all the parts, instructions, and assemblies together to take stock of where I'm at on this model.

I don't know how this one slipped past me! Shipyard's 1/72-scale HMS Mercury is already a great kit. But Pitr, that is one gorgeous model! I started working on a 1/96-scale version long ago, but never finished. This model is very inspiring. Thank you for sharing all the great photos of it! Are you planning to eventually rig this model? There's so much great detail on your gun deck and cabins that it almost seems a shame to cover it up with the spar deck. Looking forward to seeing more from you.

By the way, this discussion of paper models got me to looking at a couple projects I've had in the works. One is a bit too complicated for me to continue with just yet, that's Shipyard's 1/96-scale paper model of the frigate HMS Mercury. The other, however, is much simpler. It is Shipyard's 1/96-scale paper model of the fluit Schwarzer Rabe. I started this one early last Fall when I had to temporarily relocate to take care of my elderly mother after she had a mini-stroke. The model kit kept my mind busy and required few tools, so it was easy to work in my bedroom's desktop workshop. I didn't really plan on making it a regular project – it was mostly just to fill in the spare time I had. However, this past week, I decided to pull it out of storage and do a little work on it. I started a build log on my own blog site as well as on Papermodelers.com, but I may go ahead and post it on MSW. I'm not sure, as I have other build logs I need to wrap up here before I add yet another! It's just the way I like to work 🙂 I work on this kind of thing in spurts. So, maybe now I'll wait until my next burst of progress before I start the build log here. But, hey, at least I finished the Bremen Cog build (and build log) this year!

No, the Hermione is definitely a new Disar kit. Ages of Sail just got the shipment in. Disar also came out with a new stern paddlewheel river boat kit called the Marieville. So far, I'm only getting early reports on the new Hermione kit. It is a 1/72 scale kit, as opposed to AL's weird 1/89-scale kit. The result is a model that's just over 36" long. It looks very comparable to the AL kit, but the rigging appears to be more complete in regards to the sail handling lines, mostly bowlines and buntlines. Cannon barrels actually look like cannon barrels. Probably for many modelers, they will also appreciate the printed instructions, as opposed to AL's instructions on CD only. Looking forward to seeing the kit in person. Sadly though, that means no Navio Glorioso or Principe de Asturias yet. Maybe this kit held up their development of those?

Hi Rooster, Welcome to MSW! They're showing contact cement there, but I think it's better to use medium-cure, gap filling CA glue. I built this model and that's what I did, at least in part. I used masking tape to hold the strip into place while adjusting the strip to get it aligned just right on both sides. Then, using a pin, apply tiny drops at various points along the strip. The tape can then be removed. Then you can hit it with a little thin CA at a few places. The thin CA will run all along the seam, completing the bond. Hope that helps!

Omissions and lack of source citations aside, I think it is still the best handbook on ship modeling for beginning and intermediate ship modelers. Eventually, one may "graduate" to various sources for more specific details. But, if I were to hand a promising ship modeler one book to help him or her out, it would be this one.

Hello Karkka, I'm familiar with the kit and the instructions are correct. You are trying to input your own assumptions about the build, which is not necessarily correct. Others are right about the curvature of the boat. You'll need to bend the plank just enough to follow that nice curvature formed by the tops of the frames. Now, some frames may be off a little bit due to variation in how you glued them into place and also slight variations in the slots in the keel and the frames. So your plank may not be EXACTLY 3mm down from ALL of the frame tops. But, as long as its true for most of them, you'll be fine. It's really not as complicated as it sounds. The planks are fine, the kit is fine, the instructions are fine. Just get that first plank curved and that sets the nice gentle curve for the next planks to follow. The only thing that I wouldn't do from the instructions is to use a hammer and nails on open frames like that. I think you're more likely to snap a frame. I'd just glue the planks to the frames and use small spring clamps to hold them into place while the glue dries.

Since it's a Dumas kit, is it used for RC operation? Looks to me like the planking is flexing a little and causing the cracking in the finish. If you can open up the model (as in the RC operation question), I'd make sure to reinforce the backside of the planks, maybe by gluing some wood behind it, or at least coating the inside with epoxy to strengthen in. After that, you can worry about the finish. I'm sure any mahogany stain will do to hide the crack. When that's dry, apply a finish coat to seal it up, and I think it should be just fine. It's not anything serious looking. Barely noticeable, even. Anyone else have suggestions?

Jean-Pierra... So, I cleared up with Roger, the owner of Ages of Sail. He's funny in that he sometimes just tells the manufacturer "send me a dozen of everything" without knowing what he's actually getting. In this case, turns out that he did get a new Disar kit ordered, but it's the Hermione, not one of these big Spanish kits. These are STILL "coming soon" 🤨 But, now that we're discussing it, I'm really interested in what Disar is going to do. I want to take another look at the Santiago de Compostella, which is a Spanish galleon, and I think maybe the best looking kit they currently produce.

Thanks Steven! Unfortunately, I can't blame it on a spell checker – Just my brain thinking one thing and my fingers typing another 🤔

At long last, it’s happening! After some enthusiastic petitioning by Kazunori Morikawa, myself, and others to the Japanese wooden model kit maker Woody Joe, it appears that the company is now developing the prototype for an Atakebune model kit. For those who didn't already know, there were three major classes of warships used by the Japanese feudal armies of the warring states period: The large Atakebune, the medium-sized Sekibune or Hayabune, and smaller Kobaya. The Atakebune were boxy-looking, lumbering ships that were effectively floating fortresses. While they were equipped with one large mast and square sail, as well as a single bank of oars, they were often towed by the smaller warships. Woody Joe just announced development work is under way. The new model is 1/100 scale, and it’s only a prototype, so we won’t know if it’s going to go into production yet. I’m a bit disappointed that the model is not 1/72 scale, as that scale would then match Woody Joe’s Higaki Kaisen and Kitamaebune kits, plus it would then be compatible with 1/72 samurai figures that are currently available. However, a 1/72 scale model would almost 40% larger than a 1/100 scale model. And, considering these were large ships, that would be a fairly big kit that might be harder for company to manufacture. Also, such a large model may be less appealing in Japan, which is their primary market. \ By the looks of the photo they posted, they are actually working on a model that resembles the model at the Nagoya Castle Museum, which is on Kyushu, Japan's souther most and western most of the four main islands. The museum model is based on an old painting, also in the museum. In a follow-up post, Woody Joe confirmed that they've been working with the museum staff in developing this model. This is great news, as I'd asked my contact at Woody Joe about the possibility of such a model kit last year, and they'd indicated that they had considered the idea before, but felt they could not do it, as there was not enough firm information about these ships. I don't know if I made any difference, but I did suggest that they didn't have to do all the research from scratch and that they should consider designing a kit based on one of the many existing museum models. That's what they're doing, so it's a model of a model, which I think makes for a perfectly valid subject. I'm very happy to see they've reconsidered and have made such great progress. Here's a photo of the 1/10-scale model in the Nagoya Castle Museum, courtesy of Kazunori Morikawa of Zootoyz.jp. This Atakebune is identified as the Nihon Maru, built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi. No idea what the cost will be, but I don't expect it will be cheap. It's a lot of structural material, I would think. Plus, there are castle-like structures and details on top. Given that the coastal transport kits are around $250, I'm guessing this will be around $500, maybe more depending on how much detail they put into it. Of course, they're likely to make some simplifications to keep the difficulty and costs down to make it more marketable. Here's to hoping it goes into production in the near future!

Jean-Pierre, I'm not sure I agree that the shrouds look heavy at all. Where they turn around the deadeyes, the thickness of the line seems a bit prominent, but that may be due to the design of the deadeyes. Actually, looking closely at the photos on the Disar site, the scale detail of these models look very good. The gratings, the cannons, the stanchions all look good. And, the detail in the stern carvings and gallery lights looks very good. Main problem for me is just that I don't like the weathering effects. If I want a model to look like that, I just leave it out of a case for a few years 😉 I guess we won't really know until someone has some hands-on time with the kits. Being that I do some work for Ages of Sail, I'm very much looking forward to that myself.

Hello Michael and welcome! My sister lives in Shelton. Very pretty area. Do you ever get over to the Wooden Boat Festival in Port Townsend? I had a table set up for my Japanese boat models there a couple years ago. Good chance I'll be there again this Fall. That's a nice looking model – hope to see more about it.

From Disar's photos, the kits look quite nice. And, if the cannons and deadeyes shown are any indication, the fittings look reasonable. But, these kits have been listed for quite some time. I've talked to the owner of Ages of Sail, which is a Disar distributor, about getting them in stock, but I think they just haven't been available, and I'm not sure why. Now that it's been brought up, I'll check with him again. Edit: I found out the the kits are available. Ages of Sail has them on order and they're in transit now. Unfortunately, things being the way they are with Covid, shipping is delayed, and they're stuck in France. I'm guessing they were either sunk or captured by the British...

My rare supply of Syren Pear Wood Blocks is running dangerously low on certain sizes. Anybody have 3/32", 1/8", or 5/32" Pear Wood singles left over? Also 3/32" doubles? Just Pear Wood blocks, please. I know I can try to stain boxwood blocks, make my own, or buy Master Korabel instead, but I would just prefer these same blocks as they look so good and I want to use my reserves, I'm just low on the most common ones. 😕

Party, like it's 1399!