Bob Cleek

You realize, of course, that we have no historically accurate idea of what Columbus' ships actually looked like?  
 
If cost is an object, and ship model kits can be amazingly expensive sometimes, I'd suggest you might consider "card" models made of paper.  These are much less expensive and many are even free. You download the "parts" and print them on cardstock on your printer. The parts are then cut out of the cardstock and glued together into a model. There is a separate section on the forum discussing the techniques for building with card. These aren't cheesy models, either. The cardstock is painted and sealed and quite permanent. The result is indistinguishable from full wooden models. The big advantage of working in cardstock is that you don't have to invest in tools and the downloadable kits are relatively inexpensive.
 
Check out the build log below to see the potential of cardstock modeling. It can produce models of museum quality no different than any other material. Parts sheets for downloading for lots of different vessels with varying degrees of modeling difficulty are available. As everybody new gets told, don't get over-ambitious. It takes years, even a lifetime, to get to the point of some of the masters on this forum. The rest of us stand in awe of them. Start slow with something you like. Take your time. See if you like it. If you run into problems, you can always ask for help here.   https://modelshipworld.com/forum/28-card-and-paper-models/
 
 

I'd say Model Expo's going out of business is unlikely. They are the biggest outfit in the game. Many US companies have inventory clearance sales before March when they are taxed on the inventory they have on hand. The less inventory, the less they pay in inventory taxes. They stock up thereafter.  I expect that fact, plus the big surge in demand for modeling kits and materials since the pandemic "lockdown" probably explains the shortage at present. Chuck Passaro of Syren Ship Models, who is one of the forum sponsors, and makes great rigging line, scale blocks, and other goodies, has been lamenting that he can't keep products in stock with the present demand. Another factor is that the supply chains have been disrupted due to the pandemic. Jim Byrnes has had to stop taking orders for his modeling power tools because he can't get enough motors shipped to his factory. The kit companies are probably experiencing shortages of raw materials, as well. 

As said, aside for a thickness sander, disk sander, and perhaps a sanding drum, there's little use for sanding machines in modeling. The thickness and disk sanders for modeling really have to be specialty machines designed to work to very close tolerances. The thickness sanders perform the same function as a thickness planer in full-scale woodworking and a disk sander for modeling has to have a very accurate table and miter gauge. These specialty modeling machines work to tolerances of .001 and don't come cheap. (Byrnes are really the only ones worth spending the money  on, IMHO.) Proxxon and MicroMark market all sorts of powered modeling tools, but most all are overkill for ship modeling. Modelers cut pieces with jeweler's saws, small chisels, and hobby knives and scalpels, rather than shaping wood with sandpaper. In many instances, a scraper is the better tool than sandpaper in any event. Given the size of the work, there's no need for full-size sanders. Many is the part that's been ruined by an over-aggressive powered sanding machine. Finish sanding on models is done with paper in the grit ranges of 320 to 600, which doesn't work so well with power sanders, anyway.

Incidentally, at such small scales real wood often is not the best choice because the wood is too prominent and/or the wood is not stable enough at small sizes, particularly, if one does not have access to hardwood, such as boxwood. Therefore, it might be better to use metal or plastics and paint these to simulate wood.
 
Hence, it may be harder, but it may be a good idea to cut the hearts in question from brass or aluminium sheet. Styrene might be too soft, but acrylic glass should work as well.

Most of the wooden ship kits built on here will take you months or years.  Even if you spent 40 hours a week building, I doubt you could do most of these ships in less than a month.  Midwest has some very simple kits that are more weekend-type kits that might fit your timing requirements.  I'm working on this Annapolis Wherry kit that could probably be done in a week or so:
 
https://www.clcboats.com/shop/boats/scale-model-kits/annapolis-wherry-scale-model.html
 
You could also do a plastic model of a wooden ship?  Those would be less expensive and much quicker to build.  
 
 

Here is Jim Bynes' site:
 
https://www.byrnesmodelmachines.com/
 
I wholeheartedly without reservation recommend his tools.  

You realize, of course, that we have no historically accurate idea of what Columbus' ships actually looked like?  
 
If cost is an object, and ship model kits can be amazingly expensive sometimes, I'd suggest you might consider "card" models made of paper.  These are much less expensive and many are even free. You download the "parts" and print them on cardstock on your printer. The parts are then cut out of the cardstock and glued together into a model. There is a separate section on the forum discussing the techniques for building with card. These aren't cheesy models, either. The cardstock is painted and sealed and quite permanent. The result is indistinguishable from full wooden models. The big advantage of working in cardstock is that you don't have to invest in tools and the downloadable kits are relatively inexpensive.
 
Check out the build log below to see the potential of cardstock modeling. It can produce models of museum quality no different than any other material. Parts sheets for downloading for lots of different vessels with varying degrees of modeling difficulty are available. As everybody new gets told, don't get over-ambitious. It takes years, even a lifetime, to get to the point of some of the masters on this forum. The rest of us stand in awe of them. Start slow with something you like. Take your time. See if you like it. If you run into problems, you can always ask for help here.   https://modelshipworld.com/forum/28-card-and-paper-models/
 
 

'Don't fry bacon in the nude'
 
    NOW you tell me.
 
    I would NOT recommend either the Model Expo 18th Century Longboat or a card model-particularly the paper ones.  I have built both (all 3?).  The longboat is a great model.  Looks simple but really is not, considering planking needs to be PERFECT since you see both sides of it (inside and out).  There are many great card models out there as well except I find the smaller parts deform when removing from the sheet.  Alos I find it harder to work with than wood.  Stay away from paper at this point.  If you have a level of dexterity above me, you might want to try the SHIPYARD model of the ALERT.
 
    Nina and Pinta are good choices in that they are relatively simple.  You also have an option with Nina in that you can build it as it was before Columbus got to the Canary Islands or after...he had the rig changed to better handle the expected wind conditions...but that may be a project too far.  As Bob Cleek said, we really don't know exactly what they looked like, only close approximation.  At this point in your model building career, that is probably not an issue.
 
    Monetary cost is only one measure of cost.  Some models are very poor quality and some have really poor instructions.  A slightly more expensive kit may be a better choice if it enhances your building experience.  Poor instructions can be overcome by the many fine build logs here.  Poor material can only be remedied by scratch building/bashing.
 
    Expect to make mistakes.  Most people do first time around.  I still am 20 years later.  Get a bottle of alcohol (2, actually...1 bottle of rubbing alcohol and 1 of scotch).  Use the rubbing to de-glue your gluing errors.  Fix the problems...don't try and paper over them  The just compound.
 
    Enjoy the experience!

I don't see how you could go wrong with ModelExpo (one of MSW (sponsors). If you mess up a part it is easy to get a replacement. I know from experience. 
I used some material that was suppose to be used for something else and they sent me some more and didn't even charge me for the shipping. 👍
I think you would be happy with there "MODEL SHIPWAYS WILLIE BENNETT SKIPJACK1:32 SCALE" for a 1st time.
https://modelexpo-online.com/Model-Shipways-WILLIE-BENNETT-SKIPJACK132-SCALE_p_1015.html
 
Or one of there many other fine model kits.
RussR

A good modeller lives at present time, without thinking about next day, he then becomes a Master of Time, walking on a simple path  😋
 
There is no complication taking right time to do each thing at time...

Hello Rick, another idea might be to use plastic cutty sark revell model and you can modify it with wooden parts up to desire...so that can be easier than starting wood from scratch....

Kurt's the airbrush maven in here, but I'd be inclined to say that no such animal exists!
 

You can't keep building kits forever. The more you do it, the more you scratch-build. Before you know it, you'll wake up one morning and say, "Why am I building models that have been built a hundred or more times before when I can build anything I want?" 
 
Save your money and buy the saw. You know you want it. You know you deserve it. When was the last time you treated yourself to something really nice?  

It depends upon how thick the primer will be applied. It should be applied very thinly on a model, so I'd say 320 would be as coarse as you dare. 400 would be better. 600 is probably finer than you need it.
 
Wet or dry, doesn't matter. Dry is a lot less messy.
 
It has to be perfectly smooth. Use your finger tips to feel for imperfections. Touch is better than sight.

It depends upon how thick the primer will be applied. It should be applied very thinly on a model, so I'd say 320 would be as coarse as you dare. 400 would be better. 600 is probably finer than you need it.
 
Wet or dry, doesn't matter. Dry is a lot less messy.
 
It has to be perfectly smooth. Use your finger tips to feel for imperfections. Touch is better than sight.

quite right Druxey there certainly will be gaps for the flanges This picture shows it a little more clearly, I have been shaping the rails and there will be enough clearance in both rail sizes for the wheels of each to clear.
 

This overhead shot gives a better view of the way the track will set.
 

The points will function as a normal set will function. The most fiddly part will be filing the gaps in the large and small rails at the cross over place. One of the comments in the Crewe book is that most of the points on the narrow gauge were kicked over by the driver when needing to change tracks.
 
Mark and Egilman welcome to this new project.
 
Michael

I have the fks/e proxxon saw, nice saw but not even close to a Byrnes. Has some desires regarding the fence. I do like the change of speed. A friend of mine has a Byrnes but I think there's some years in difference in between them to.
Some day that Byrnes saw will be sitting in the workshop.

Jack London's Snark is quite well documented. There are many photos of her posted on line. https://www.google.com/search?q=jack+london+%2B+snark&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjHjZjS5NbnAhUHrZ4KHVD1C8AQ_AUoAXoECBYQAw&biw=1440&bih=749#imgrc=pKcBFiiXa67niM&imgdii=LvoBgGAxqOHmqM
 
There is a model of her on display at the Jack London State Historic Park (His former home) in Glen Ellen, California, USA, north of Sonoma, California. (pictured below)  http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=478 Details of the vessel are in London's book, The Cruise of the Snark: Jack London's South Sea Adventure, which is still in print. I don't know if the book provides lines drawings, though. As famous as London was in his day, there was much recorded about Snark. The primary places I'd suggest beginning primary source research would be the Jack London State Historic Park, the J.Porter Shaw Library at the San Francisco National Maritime Museum, Fort Mason, San Francisco, CA, USA, and the Oakland Museum, Oakland, California, USA. 
 

 
 
 
 

 
 
 

Very tasty! 
 
One question, who's going to keep all the brass polished on this model... Or are you going to gold electroplate it all like they used to do with the metalwork on the old builders' boardroom models?
 
 

 

 
 

It depends upon how thick the primer will be applied. It should be applied very thinly on a model, so I'd say 320 would be as coarse as you dare. 400 would be better. 600 is probably finer than you need it.
 
Wet or dry, doesn't matter. Dry is a lot less messy.
 
It has to be perfectly smooth. Use your finger tips to feel for imperfections. Touch is better than sight.

It depends upon how thick the primer will be applied. It should be applied very thinly on a model, so I'd say 320 would be as coarse as you dare. 400 would be better. 600 is probably finer than you need it.
 
Wet or dry, doesn't matter. Dry is a lot less messy.
 
It has to be perfectly smooth. Use your finger tips to feel for imperfections. Touch is better than sight.

For the moment, I had no need to use it for that purpose, but some years ago I bought a hot-air soldering station. The temperature can be regulated between 100°C and 450°C and the air-flow can also be regulated. It comes with different size nozzles and cost under 40€ including shipping from China.
 
As heat is the main ingredient in plank-bending (the steam mainly serves as heat carrier ...) I would make myself a jig to fix the planks while cooling down. With the temperature and air-flow control and a small nozzle it may be even possible to heat the planks in situ on the model, but beware that you do not loosen previously glue planks. The in situ method might be useful for compound curves.
 
If you want to know what is really possible in terms of wood-bending, look up Thonet-furniture (their famous No. 14 chair is the classical bistro-chair). They used mainly beech, I think, and massive cast-iron jigs to hold the shape, while the wood was cooling down:
 
 
Also note the use of steel strips to distribute the bending forces and prevent kinking.

It depends upon how thick the primer will be applied. It should be applied very thinly on a model, so I'd say 320 would be as coarse as you dare. 400 would be better. 600 is probably finer than you need it.
 
Wet or dry, doesn't matter. Dry is a lot less messy.
 
It has to be perfectly smooth. Use your finger tips to feel for imperfections. Touch is better than sight.

Quite astounding. I also am interested to know the history of the model. I note that it's a waterline model and appears to have casters on the bottom. Might it have been built as a movie prop? There was a television series, The Gale Storm Show, which was about a cruise director on the Cleveland or Wilson, but I can't recall which. That show ended in 1960. She was later used in other films, as well. I remember my father mentioning when they would make movies aboard her. 
 
My father worked for Dollar Steamship before the war and then for Dollar's successor, American President Lines, in all for over forty years. He was an accountant in the home office in San Francisco. As was the custom of the time, he got me summer job working there as well in high school. I was aboard the President Cleveland, President Wilson, and President Roosevelt, APL's passenger liners, many times. When I was in grammar school, when my father had the "weekend duty" and one of the liners would come in, he'd go down to the ship and clear the purser's books on board and he'd often bring me along. An ice cream sundae in the galley was the highlight of those trips. When I worked in the summer for APL, another fellow and I would make the run from the foreign exchange bank to the ships and bring the foreign cash aboard for the foreign cruises. You might think it was a high security job with lots of armed guards, but in fact it was just two young guys pushing hand trucks with nondescript metal boxes on them from a van and up the gangway. It was very low key, so nobody really knew who we were or what we were doing until we were aboard. I still have a champagne ice bucket with the APL logo on it off of one of the liners.
 
As you probably know, the Cleveland and Wilson were laid down by Bethlehem Steel in Alameda during the war, designed as very high speed troop transports for the Navy. The builds were cancelled later and they were then redesigned as passenger liners. APL operated them on a charter for MARAD. They were great ships and, in my opinion, quite beautiful. 
 
Please do keep us up to date on your project !
 

 
As I remember her. She'd carry passengers' cars on the Hawaii runs, seen here parked on the dock after off loading from the forward cargo hold. Note the cargo nets over the side. This photo was in the days before intermodal cargo containers. 

It depends upon how thick the primer will be applied. It should be applied very thinly on a model, so I'd say 320 would be as coarse as you dare. 400 would be better. 600 is probably finer than you need it.
 
Wet or dry, doesn't matter. Dry is a lot less messy.
 
It has to be perfectly smooth. Use your finger tips to feel for imperfections. Touch is better than sight.