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Hi Mates. I have wanted to build this kit for a long time, I will also attempt to super detail this project beyond the “out of the box” kit – as excellent as it is. I have “bashed" my two last builds – enjoy the challenges of added detailing -- I have the McKay book that is filled with many line drawings and images; it will be an excellent guide. Along with incorporating great ideas seen in other build logs of this ship here at MSW. I recently acquired a 1980s “new in box” kit from a member who had one available. He contacted me after I had made a request for one here at MSW. That specific vintage kit was of interest to me because the 650+ included decorative bits were all cast in solid bronze (that number includes cannons). The current kit is supplied with 650+ white metal bits that have been electroplated, and apparently, from what I’ve been told, may result in some lost of casting details?? (TBD) – many other advantages are certainly in the current kit’s box as well, and not part of the 1980s box contents. Given that this ship’s beauty, for-all-intent-and-purposes, was because of its 600+ ornamentations I got intrigued with the idea of solid bronze castings; luckily found one (Big thanks Jay L) That said, instructions were really non-existent, included lumber still looked very good, other included kit’s amenities were, well from three decades ago. Bronze sculptures were, for me, the prize….as well as the 1:1 plan sheets (nice) only in Italian. Jay's kit did not have a single super tiny missing bronze ornament – all were mixed up in 15 or so zip lock baggies – took hours to go through them all –haha. all other parts were 100% there as well. Moving forward two weeks – a large heavy UPS box arrived at my door hmm? – Turns out that I was gifted, for Father’s Day, with the current Sergal #787. So best of both kits will be blended into this single project. My family did not know that I had already purchased a much earlier edition. The current kit certainly has its many advantages, but the earlier kit shines in many ways as well, many of which will become part of this project. I will balance this log with some, as needed, comparisons between the old and new kit versions – No criticisms of either just occasional comparisons. That said, this log will focus on the build as it goes forward. I am lucky to have the best of both available for this project. PS: I have listed this log as a 1637 ship – I know that she was around for many decades after, and that her stern ornamentation (provided in both kits) is more reflective of a much later example. But for builders 1637 is the “agreed to” year. First log entry with some notes. – will also (thankfully for you) keep the writing to a minimum going forward. Thanks for looking in, and if you are interested Welcome to the shipyard. Regards,

Hello, This is a restoration effort on the Sergal 1/78 scale HMS Victory originally constructed in the mid-1980's. My Uncle originally constructed the ship and it has been in the family ever since. As age caught up with my Uncle and dimentia started to take hold, he decided to do an "after the battle scene" and with a propane torch reduced the ship to what you see in some of the photos. When I found the kit, my Aunt was getting ready to throw it in the trash. Seeing that the hull was in pretty good shape, I knew I could not let the ship get thrown away. After obtaining the original plans, extra parts and books I have begun the restoration. I have been a modeler for many years, but this is my first opportunity to work with wood ship kits. Having read through some of the build logs on here before the crash, I know there is a lot of experience and knowledge here. Feel free to let me know if you have any advice or direction. Thanks for following my restoration/build log! Mark

Greetings MSW I am new to the forum and to model ship building. During the corona-staycation I decided to give model ship builing a go to kill some time. I started off with the Brittania by mini mamoli. This is a pre-build hull kit so it wasn’t really challenging but I had a lot of fun building/assembling it and therefore decided to learn more about the hobby. When searching online for building logs etc, it didn’t take me long before I ended up on msw, where I found all the information (and a lot more) that I needed. After the Brittania was finished, I ordered the whaling sloop by Artesania Latina because I read somewhere on the forum that this is a good kit to build up some experience and so I decided to give it a go. It took me about two weeks to finish this model and in hindsight I can say I enjoyed the build, but it wasn’t that more challenging than the Brittatnia. I did however “plank” a “hull” for the first time. Then I went looking for the next kit. With all my newly acquired experience (lol), I decided it was time to tackle something more elaborate. I searched online in the “2” (novice/intermediate) category and found my next build, the topic of this build log, the Racehorse by Sergal. I chose this kit/ship for it’s looks and also because the kit is not that expensive and so failure wouldn’t be too costly. I started this build about three weeks ago. I was not planning on making a building log, but since the building logs of others on this forum helped me so well, I decided to make one anyway. None of you masterbuilders will ever learn anything from me, but I hope to help other beginners out and maybe pull some over the line in having a go at this hobby. I am making lots of mistakes and for now my work looks sloppy-ish, but most important of all, I am having fun! I know I will get better at it. We all have to start somewhere. After reading a few reviews of this kit I learned that the model wasn’t based on an actual ship, but a chimera from Sergal. But I do not mind that all, on the contrary, it only gives me more “artistic-liberty” to make my own interpretation of a bomb sketch. For this model I will mainly be focussing on the building process and tyring out different things anyway rather than making a historically correct ship. That’s something for later models. Tldr; - novice - 2 previous builds (Mini Mamoli Brittania and Artesania Latina Whaling Sloop) - having lots of fun - build log : Sergal Racehorse…

Welcome to my new build log of the HMS Victory. This journey has a special meaning for me. All my life I wanted to build a ship. Not just any ship, but a highly detailed model, but as with most things life gets in the way. I built many models as a kid and teenager, but nothing like this. I grew up, went to school, got a degree in electronics, then became an engineer, worked at many trades, became a master machinist, a tool and die maker, traveled the US, Canada, and Mexico as an engineer for a CNC machine tool manufacturer. My lifelong hobby was wood working. I retired at age 48 due to medical issues. Now, at 68, I am working on goals on my bucket list. I desire to build this ship while I still can. I don't know what time is left .... one year .... 5 ... 20, it's unsure, but I have life threatening issues along with other issues. Enough about me, now let's build a ship. I recieved the Mantua Sergal 782 kit of the HMS Victory this morning. This was not the kit I wanted. I wanted the Billings Boats kit, but due to the difficult times now with this virus they are closed temporarily and my order could not be filled. The distributor was very helpful in getting this kit to me as a substitute. My reason for wanting the Billings was it provided the basics at a good price and I could replace the lesser quality parts with aftermarket and make the ship better detailed. I will be doing the same thing with this kit. I did have to pay an extra $72 for this kit. The Billings was $397. I have been studying McKay's book , The 100 Gun Ship, and finding sources for upgrades while waiting 2 months for the kit to arrive. I figure another $300 in aftermarket pieces will accomplish my goal, still being less than the Caldercraft kit.. and hopefully better. Mark Frazier

I had started some build log in the former edition of this forum, and for a number of reasons I did not rewrite it in the new version. Some of the reasons (excuses): - A lot of work involved - Not familiar with the new procedures to insert pics - Long term inactivity on the project - Moderate interest from other members… I have now restarted the build and will re-post some of the previously sent pictures, if I manage to tackle the pictures insertion. Anyway this is the model as it looks now. Any critical or better, constructive meaning is more than welcome, bearing in mind that not a lot can be changed to what is already done. Question. I want to give the ship a name. For a number of reasons I will explain later, this will be “The Pole Star” or rather in Dutch “De Poolster”. Problem is that Dutch spelling of the 17th century is not something I am familiar with, so the name could also have been written Poolsterre or stern or sterne. Any idea from the Dutch colleagues?

The Sovereign of the Seas Build Log

I managed to get more accomplished with unpacking at the new house today and so I decided that I needed a reward. Therefore, I have started my build of Le Soleil Royal. This will probably be a slow build as I am still working on La Couronne and she still gets priority but, as I plan on making a lot of changes to the kit, things will work out well. So to get started, here are the pictures of the contents of the kit. The parts all appear to be usable. The wood is of good quality and the laser cut parts are very clean. The metal fittings look usable as well though as with most, they could be improved. The instruction book is about what is expected in a kit. Plenty of information to build the ship but further research and knowing how to gather additional information from the drawings will be needed. Something nice that was included is a very large, clear and full color picture of the completed model. This helps to make some of the details a little easier to see. Here are the pictures!

Hi all!! Finally my kit arrived yesterday evening. I had to wait for her for 8 weeks. I wanted to take a picture of all what is in the box but my hobbyroom is simply not big enough to show it all. Sergal renewed the building inscription, now also in Dutch. I putted my new topic on the wrong place and also dubble, so I had to delete it all, so: @Jörgen and @Sjors, you both have to renew your follow and @Eddie, thx for the tip. I hope I did it right now Some pictures...

Beginning a new one after a short break. Here's the "what's in the box" picture. This is my first Mantua kit, and I'll be interested to see differences from other kit makers. One thing I've noticed is that plans are printed on both sides of the paper, which may turn out to be cumbersome (vs. just posting them up on the wall). Regards, David

Kit from Sergal. Ready to start the masts, and rigging

Any advice or whatever is greatly appreciated Thanks Bill

I'll be starting a log for this build. I'm finishing my current project but I've done a dry fit of center keel and bulkheads and this is as good a place ever to start. The kit is the newer version of the Cutty Sark and I have gone through the counting process. Some pieces and such were short on the count and Ages of Sail will be getting the materials to me (nice folks). I'm sure I'll be needing advice and guidence and any comments will be appreciated. For reference I will be using Longridge, Campbell and plans from the Maritime Museum. I intend to do some bashing but my goal is not to go overboard with details.

Possibly a bit late to start a log, but what the heck! Being an old steel boat sailor myself I never thought I could fall in love with any other type of craft. I was wrong! When I saw Charles's build log of this vessel I literally fell in love with this type of craft. Since then I have tried to learn as much about them as I possibly can. Kurt and Cathead have provided a wealth of information, and for that I am truly grateful. Previous to starting this model my main understanding of this type of vessel came from multiple viewings of the Jodie Foster ( best actress ever) film, Maverick. Obviously I had a lot to learn! The thing I learnt very quickly was that this particular model was not a very true, or accurate depiction of the type of craft of the day. Spewing, as Jodie would look fine on mine! Anyway, so given it is a bit of a fantasy boat, I intend to try to glam mine up a bit (as would befit Jodie). There are a few gaps between pic updates, but since Santa deemed I had been extra good this past year I was presented with a cool new digital camera! So once I get to master it a bit better I hope the updates will be more frequent. Anyway here is where I am at the moment.

Hello everyone.Sorry about starting this log in the middle of the build but I was to this point when I joined MSW.The build has gone relatively well to this point.All the laser cut parts fit together with very little adjustments.First & second planking went well - decided not to treenail the hull.I am attempting to paint the ship similar to the model at the Vasa museum.I say similar because many of the castings are not correct - probably due to the kit being designed before all the decorations were known.Please let me know how the pictures come through since I do not have any edit or reply option buttons on this page. starboard view stern view starborad bow

This will be my second build log since joining as a member in November 2018. I started building the Cutty Sark by Mantua Sergal on September 1st. Now, in late November, I have pretty much wrapped up all of the hull and deck work and am starting to work on the masts and (gasp) the daunting rigging. I’ll try to do better with my pictures. I read the build log by keelhauled, posted back in March 2013, and his overview of the Mantua Sergal Cutty Sark kit is so perfect that I’m going to borrow (plagiarize) a good bit of it and include it here. I hope keelhauled won’t be offended. His work was too masterful to ignore. KIT OVERVIEW Manufacturer: Mantua (Sergal), Italy Model: MA 789 (Art 789) Dimensions: Length 45” (1150mm) Height 26” Scale: 1:78 Purchased: 2018 Price: $549 USD (2018) Construction: Double Plank on Bulkhead: Limewood inner, Walnut outer Fittings: Brass, copper, bronze, copper plates, walnut dead eyes and blocks, copper sheet with ornamentation and deck siding, bronze figurehead, grey cotton rigging line in various sizes, silk flag. Instructions: Booklet with translations into English, Italian, French, and German. In my opinion the translations are similar to what Japanese instructions in the 1950s used to look like. Not very clear and only marginally useful. Plans: Four very large two sided sheets – Eight plans total . 1:1 sheets for the deck, side, standing, and running rigging. Other sheets detail building steps. The parts are generally high quality but in at least three instances I felt I could improve on the stuff they included. I’ll detail my deviations from what Sergal Provided as I go along. As for reference materials I haven’t yet checked out the books and sources that keelhauled included in his build log, but can certainly recommend a book which has become sort of a bible for me re the building of rigged ships in general. Mastini, Frank. Ship Modeling Simplified: Tips and Techniques for Model Construction from Kits . McGraw-Hill Education. (I have the Kindle edition which allows me to check things on the fly while out in the shop). KEEL & HULL CONSTRUCTION I’ve read a lot about various methods for checking the alignment of keel and bulkhead and deck components – and certainly about all of the after-market products that supposedly make this a breeze -- but the laser cut parts in this kit slipped together so easily and precisely that I didn’t waste a lot of time agonizing over that. Instead of an after-market vise to clamp the keel I used the large end vise on my workbench to keep things stable while I assembled the parts. Many years ago I built a plank-on-bulkhead version of the Vasa (a Billings model), and even though it didn’t turn out very well I learned about soaking & bending planks, and using small pins/nails to hold them in place while the glue was drying. That was a single layer planking job, and I think that the double planking of the Cutty Sark is much better for obtaining a smooth finish on the hull. It was during the application of the second layer of planks that I began taking pictures of my work. I got pretty cocky at that point, figuring that if I could do a nice planking job like this that this build was going to be a lot easier than I expected. So, after lots of sanding and filling and smoothing I proceeded to spray paint the hull with matte black paint as directed. This what the hull looked like when I finished -- but not until I had stripped, sanded and repainted the dang thing 2-3 times. I tend to work too fast on almost everything, and this was a really good message that I needed to slow waaay down. DECKING Applying the main decking material (which may or may not have been maple) was tedious but ultimately very satisfying. The directions suggested painting the decks with a nice varnish when they were done, and I used a satin finish spar urethane. I smoothed the work with 0000 steel wool between coats and after the final coat. The directions actually suggested that I start applying the gazillion copper plates to the lower hull before doing the deck work above, but I was a bit discomforted at the way the black matte paint I had applied to the hull was prone to showing fingerprints, so I decided to put that chore off. My disappointment with some of the model’s instructions started at that point. Ultimately, once I got the hull finish smooth I painted over the matte black with spar urethane, then restored the matte finish by carefully rubbing it out with 0000 steel wool. The final result looks great, but it required a lot of fussiness to get there. COPPER PLATING I found this chore to be a nightmare. If each little plate wasn’t perfectly aligned with the waterline or the surrounding plates it looked really crappy. Avoiding getting glue on the plates was very difficult too, and even when a line of plates was firmly glued on there was a tendency for some of the plates to bow out a bit, and some even popped off while I was working. Worst of all, when it came to tapering the plates I had no clue re how to do that. Tapering or trimming stiff little 1:78 scale copper plates with scissors or a small grinder just was an untenable answer. I suspect that anyone who has installed copper plating to a model of this scale will probably be nodding with understanding. In desperation I went hunting for advice online, and that's how I discovered Model Ship World and its fantastic group of members who can provide great advice on any phase of model ship building. I found the answer for my copper plating problems with a fellow that had ditched the little plates in favor of copper electrical tape. Sheer genius. I got some of that tape, stripped the lower hull of copper plates (for the second time) and applied it. Using an Xacto knife I carefully added slits to emulate the plates, and it worked great. I had to forego the rivets on the copper plates that were provided, but on a 1:78 scale ship it was no great loss. After I had the tape applied I finished up the lower hull with two coats of satin finish spar urethane for protection and enhanced bonding. I didn’t take specific pictures to document all of the above, but the one below should give you a rough idea about the results. DECK WORK Now let’s get on to another gripe I have with this model. Beautiful brass hull decorations are provided, as well as a whole sheet of doors and decorations for the deck crew quarters and hatches. The directions tell you to spray paint these bits with either black or white paint and then, when dry, to lightly rub the raised surfaces with a 600 grade emery cloth to (theoretically) rub away the paint on the raised surfaces and leave a decoration or component with a bright brass accent surrounding the colors. As it turns out, rubbing the paint, even very gently, results in you removing the very thin brass plating and exposing the copper underlayment. It just ruins the piece. I was beside myself, because there was so much of this work to be done. I had to finish the hull decorations with a very fine brush and some gold flake model paint. Looks OK, but they would be better with a real brass finish. The initial work on the deck housings and other deck components started with the stern deck house. Here is a picture showing a partially completed deck house, along with the various decorative brass pieces that are to be attached. I didn’t even think of spray painting and rubbing – I once again wielded the smallest brush I could find and filled in the sunken areas by hand. Yeah, I know they look OK in this picture, but I was not happy with them. Here is a picture showing the stern deck house completed and installed. The brass stanchions and railings came out nicely. Note also the rudder control housing and the ship’s wheel. BOWSPRIT Before tackling the other deck accouterments I went to work on the preliminary assembly and installation of the bowsprit and the hawse supports. Also note the two small lavatories (er, outhouses) on the main deck and the bits on the bench that ultimately became the two cargo hatches. Work on the rest of the deck structures went pretty well, and I think the various components look very nice. Shown below: one of the main hatches, a windlass, belaying pin holders and a very nice bilge pump assembly. The decorative panels and doors on the crew quarters shown in these photos require some better explanation – because I think I managed to solve the hand-painting of brass pieces problem in a rather unique and satisfying (to me) fashion. After carefully measuring the surfaces to be covered by the brass panels, I turned to an old friend – PowerPoint – and designed similar decoration panels for the crew quarters. It’s easy to size things in PowerPoint, and it also has the capability for dragging in colors from photographs. I took a picture of one of the brass pieces and used it to make the designed panels really look authentic. Here’s the brass picture and the designs I worked up to replace all of the brass work on the whole deck. I printed the page above on glossy photo paper on my ink jet printer, trimmed everything with scissors and glued them each in place with Goop rubber cement. Authentic? Maybe not, but a satisfying solution for me that I think looks way better than the glue-on brass pieces provided. Note the comments about properly orienting the crew cabin doors to account for wind direction. I got that tip from Mancini’s great book. It seems counter-intuitive, but the wind comes from behind on a sailing vessel, and doors that open the wrong way can be ripped right out of a seaman’s hands. LIFE BOATS So, I went on feeling my way through the rest of the deck details, and that finally included building and mounting the lifeboats. They are also plank on-bulkhead construction, and were fun to make. Laser-cut wooden parts are a huge improvement in model boats since the last ones I built years ago. Here are some other pictures of deck construction ... … and on to adding support chains to the bowsprit and installing the anchors. Yeah, I know the figurehead is supposed to be white, but I like the bronze color better. MASTS & YARDS For the past two weeks I’ve been working on the masts. Here is a shot of what I’ve done so far. See if you can detect the problems I’ve had that are going to lead me to start all over again next week. Note the completed and installed life boats that came out quite nicely. The masts themselves are pretty much OK. But the yards are a disaster in my eyes. Shaping them and gluing them together was not bad, but the attachments of the lower yards to each of the masts is “amateur hour”, and the rope supports that sailors stand on to work on the sails are all grossly out of scale. Also, I used the spar urethane on the masts and yards, which are supposed to be matte black, and it just came out way too shiny. No good. Last but not least, when trying to drill holes in the yards it is almost impossible to keep one’s drill bit from wandering off-center. Bad, bad, bad. DRILL PRESS FOR ROTARY TOOLS To solve the hole drilling problem I’ve ordered a drill press assembly for the Dremel, along with a machinist’s vise to hold even the skinniest of dowels firmly while I drill. I found all kinds of cheapo attachments like that ($30-$40), but somewhere I ran across a link to a review of a small company in CA that produces what appear to be real high-end accessory attachments for rotary tools. https://www.evilmadscientist.com/2013/drillpressplus/ If you’re interested in accuracy, and you aren’t totally constrained by costs, you might want to take a look at this guy’s work. Some really neat ideas for the small home machine shop, all powered by rotary tools. http://vanda-layindustries.com/html/drill_press_plus.html I am looking forward to taking delivery of my new drill press station next week. I’ll let you know if it’s as good as it looks. "He who dies with the most tools wins." So ends my rather lengthy narrative re stage one of my Cutty Sark build. From this point on I’ll try to do a much better job with photos and update my progress as I go -- and maybe not be so wordy. I’ve already gotten several responses to my previous posts from model shipmakers around the world. Really neat. I hope to continue tapping into this fine group -- not for approval of my work, but for suggestions re how I can do everything better. Phase 2 coming soon. Tom in NC November, 2018

Guess this time I'll start at the beginning. I'll spare the group the open box pictures. I did inventory everything in there. It's all there. The wood strips, plywood etc. look like pretty good quality. The laser cut parts are nice and clean - although I've learned here not to trust them. I'll be looking at the member logs of the same kit (Art. 789) for trouble spots. Like a lot of other kits, the blocks are terrible. The rope set and deadeyes are not too bad, but I'll replace them all with Syren model Co.'s materials. Right out of the box the keel is warped - actually just bowed. I'll probably do inter-bulkhead spacer blocks, so I figure I can straighten it at that step. As expected the cast parts will need a lot of cleanup, and the stanchions are flat etched brass, so I'll have to replace them: This thing is big!! I have no idea what I'll do with it when it's done, but I figure I have years to worry about that. Wish me luck! - Tim

Hi! I am a newbee from sweden. I started to build wood model ships in the beginning of this year (2018) because I wanted a hobby. I used to build plastic models in my youth but I was never good at it, I didn't have the patience required. But this time... So I started to build 2 (3) ships. The first was not good the second was better and the third was a disaster so that I had to put aside for a while. But the fourth, Thermopylae, started pretty good. Then I discovered that it was way out of my league but giving up is not an option. So all beginners can follow this log and hopefully not make my mistakes. There are quite a few . I found a absoultely fantastic build log at the internet and contacted he who had it and he "adopted" me and gives me advice and help via e-mail and it´s worth eveything to mee. I'm sorry I don't have thar many pictures from the start but I can describe trhe mistakes I made and had to correct. I guess I started to build this 2018-05-01 and today is 2018-08-03. I started with dryfit of the decks and frames. I had to sand the decks a bit and when I was happy I started to glue the frames puting the the deck on between every frame so it would hold them in place. P.S. I hope my english isn't to bad but I think I can make myself understood even if I spell something wrong and use the wrong word sometimes. To be continued........

Good day folks, Well, what can be said other than that it is so sad that all the beautiful input has been lost from this site. There were so many wonderful models and a wealth of information for all to share. Now is the time for us all to rebuild the site together. Today I will just post a photo of the stern of the Sovereign as she sits today while I consider if it is possible to revive the log as it previously was. More to folllow........... Regards, Bill

After a long time I returned to the construction of a wooden sailboat model. As the first kit I chose a kit I found on the Internet, it´s the "President frigate" made by Sergal. After studying the package, I found out that the model is not quite true to type, or scale. The scale described as 1:60 in my opinion disagrees. I calculated the model to be 1:90 scale, which is more accurate. This is more of a model than an exact replica, but I decided to modify it. I´m building the deck equipment and rigging according to the monograph of the ship Royal Caroline, it is the same size and the era corresponds aswell. I began the construction in August 2012. I aim for a most authentical processing of details for which I draw inspiration from available books and documents. Wooden parts of the kit are good, but the details and ornaments aren´t. Since the beginning of the construction I´ve been taking photos, I´m posting a few to share the experience..

Hi. I have been offered this kit for around 460 dollars. My questions is if this is a good kit? Or is the newer version by mantua better? In one of the photos it also lools like some of the fittings is missing. Can anyone who have seen this kit give some info on it?

Greetings, I'm from Hungary, and until now, I built mainly WW2 ships and planes from plastic kits. Now I decided to build a tall ship, and I ended up with two kits, but I can't decide which to buy. One is the 1/96 plastic model of the Cutty Sark from Revell (Nr. 5422), and the other one is from wood, the 1/124 Thermopylae model of Sergal. Which of do you recommend to a beginner in sailing ships, and why? If you know alternatives for a maximum of €80-100, in the category of XIX. century ships, I would appreciate it too. Thanks in advance.

Thought I'd share my build with you all. It'll be a lot of pictures at first since I'm already building Little about myself, I'm Erik, 47 years old and I'm from the Netherlands. Done a partial Rattlesnake build years ago and I've done the Constitution cross section, both from Mamoli. Managed to get this kit second hand. The first owner gave up and it was so cheap I just had to have a go at it. This is what I got: It'll be a kit build with some minor adjustments and replacements

So this is to be my first attempt at building a ship. I have not done anything like this before so the whole thing will be quite a learning experience i think! I have not started building yet (hopefully that will come this evening when the children are in bed) - but have spent some time staring at the instructions and *think* i get the general idea (time will tell). Anyway, this is what I have - so if you see some critical piece of equipment missing from the image please shout! (note - i do have glue - vitalbond aliphatic wood glue) but that did not make it into the photo!

I've mentioned this kit a few times........gotten last Christmas from my admiral. I wanted to bide my time and complete a few of the projects I have going, before starting it. the admiral would ask me about it every once in a while......I'd tell her my reason....and for a while, it was good. I think my logic has worn thin. the time left in the closet was good though.....I was able to find that there is a second version of this kit, which contains some photo etch. looking around for it, following tips from other folks, I was able to locate it. the photo etch mimics a wood sheet contained in the kit. I found it at Cornwall model boats....I ordered two of the photo etch and one of the wood sheet. sadly, I only got one of each......I got the last of the photo etch. I will reorder it at a later date.......I won't try and scare you with what I have planned for this kit....icky mae 1:124 is a small scale for this ship.....to me it is anyway.......it will be quite compact, and not as much detail, as would be seen in a larger kit. of course I don't believe that....quite a few folks here have proven that theory is only limited to those who don't want to. there is one build of this model listed here on the site, but it took a hit with the last crash, losing all of it's pictures......unless the gent comes and fixes it, I'm on my own. the fittings for this model are very small.......lots of tiny parts. as I saw with the other build, there are some thing I will be changing.......railings, for instance will be a focal point. wood strips.......got'em.......looks like a lot of smaller sizes here'e where the kit starts to get dicey.......their laser cutting methods lead lots to be desired. normally, you have the small etch points, which have to be cut, in order to pop the part out. with this one, the laser cuts are not complete, with large tabs that need to be cut {or finished}. the bulkhead sheet is even worse........the laser cutting doesn't go all the way through. I didn't take a photo of the back side......{you'll see later}. it's a really nice kit.....too bad there is a lack of quality. the thinner sheets though are better......they still have the unfinished cuts, but the cuts are much better. the smaller sheet is what the photo etch is copied from. lastly......the order I got from Cornwall Boats this photo etch seems to be thicker than what I have seen with other builds {not my own}......this will be the first time I attempt etch of any kind. we'll see how this plays out.....I like the looks of it. I was hoping that there would be more parts for the windlass and winches, but some of the parts were done on another sheet and not included here. again......we'll have to see how this plays out

After another long break I've decided to get my feet wet once again. I've recently picked up an early Sergal Sovereign of the seas kit. This is I assume at least early 80's judging by the box art and the fact most parts have to be cut out and are not laser cut or pre cut. From what I have read a lot of people were disappointed with the later releases from the rebadged mantua sergal version as it had laser cut plywood deck planking and gun port cutouts as this early version doesn't. There is also no balsa in this kit. This ship has been on a list a mile long for me to build purely due to the ornamentation and what she represented in the future of the three decker warships. So having seen it for sale nearby, whether it was the old or new version I had to grab it!