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Hello everyone! It's time to open a new log after finishing the HM Pickle. That was a wonderful project and i'm happy with the result. It can be found here: So I chose the HMS Pegasus as a second build because it is somewhat larger then the Pickle and a bit more challenging I asume. But the appearance of the ship is what's the most important factor for me and the Pegasus is a beautiful ship! The lines of the Swan Class are just wonderful, and a nice bonus is that the kit designer is here on the forum. Plus it's a different manufacturer so the construction and building manuals etc. are somewhat different, so that's interesting to. I also purchased the 3D digital model that is just released by Greg Herbert to assist me in the build and give me ideas to finetune the kit. The goal is to take the kit a step further then the previous one and to modify as much as I feel comfortable with and expand my skillset a bit There are great logs on the forum to assist me with this build like the great build logs of Blue Ensign and Vulcanbomber and many others, so I will look into them! So let this new journey begin!

I completed La Nina in 2019 and am currently building HMS Victory 1805. I am building the Victory in New Hampshire. I travel south in the Winter and Victory is too big to take a long. So while I am south I will build smaller, less complicated ships. Santa Maria is my choice. I am only in New Jersey now to see a couple of doctors. The coronavirus is worse here in New Jersey and we are better off in New Hampshire. We also have a grandson graduating from high school and we are going to congratulate him, unfortunately at a distance. So for a start I am putting the basic drawing in along with the frames on the keel. I see already that a frame is below the keel and will have to remedy that along with truing the frames in general. I did not bring my shipyard for this short trip so I will only have this entry for now. I will be back here in November and resume the Santa Maria. Sorry about feet.

Thanks for looking at my first ever build log! For my first wooden model project I chose the 1:50 Amati Drakkar Viking ship for several reasons. The kit seemed challenging enough, but not too challenging, and perhaps forgiving of beginner errors. We shall see. Being optimistic, I have a perfect shelf to display the finished model. We recently finished binge watching “The Vikings” and “The Last Kingdom” mini-series, so we’re on board the Viking craze bandwagon. Criticism and comments on my build or log are welcome. Praise is also accepted, but only if warranted. 😊 For starters I wanted a dedicated workbench and found a nice one on amazon. The kit and a few preliminary tools came from Ages of Sail. More tools were ordered from Model Expo. The folks at both of those two shops were extremely helpful. I checked the kit’s “List of Materials” and everything was present and accounted for. The first step in the instructions is to draw a guideline for the strakes at the stem and stern. I copied the 1:1 scale drawing and used cutouts from that. A part not listed in the kit is a more ornate curve for the stern. James H’s MSW build log pointed that out to me. This curve is apparently based on the Oseberg ship reconstruction, which itself comes from images on 9th century coins and picture stones. So, my very first cut was to remove existing curve from the stern. The replacement is on the right. The next decision was how to square the frames to the keel. On my kit the frames were rather loose fitting. I looked through several build logs of this kit but didn’t find a precise answer. Matt H suggested using Lego blocks, which seemed good. But I don’t have any, and didn’t want to buy a huge set of them. I found some 59-cent hardware store brackets in my household tools. I convinced myself, probably incorrectly, that these were square. I used one and cautiously started gluing with Titebond II. Here is Captain Aegir watching the progress. When done I dry fitted the deck and realized that I screwed up two frames: #7 was tilted several degrees to port, and #5 was 1 mm above the level of the keel, creating a gap between the deck and keel from frames #4 to 6. I tried ungluing with 91% isopropyl alcohol, but that didn’t seem to work. That stuff is hard to come by these days anyway. After thinking about it, I decided to use my new razor saw to cut through the joint. After cutting the four legs of the “H” I easily squared off #7. Repeated gentle wiggling on #5 allowed me to remove it and file the slots so it’s level with the keel. The frames are now all glued, no doubt not perfect, but hopefully good enough. After going through all that I discovered jack.aubrey’s build log of a Dusek Viking boat. He posted a simple solution to squaring the frames that I wished I had seen earlier. Live and learn. - Nelson

Just starting up the build of the J Class Endeavour Yacht. If some of you have seen my other logs, you know I am a beginner builder at best. Main thing is that I really enjoy the builds. In my past (earlier) life I raced 36' sloops (22 sq meter class) so the J Class yacht always caught my attention. So when looking for a model to build, the Endeavour caught my eye... As others have done, the instructions call to first build the mast and boom, but I was too excited to start the hull, so my mast and boom will come later too. Instructions call to fist connect the two keel sections with two rectangular support pieces - One on both sides of the keel. Does not specify an exact location. However you really need to insure the support pieces will not interfere with the section of the hull that is double reinforced as those double frame pieces are really close to these support pieces. In my case I dry fit the two double reinforced pieces and drew a line at the edge of the 2nd support piece. That way you will know where to locate the two rectangular support pieces. 2nd piece removed and line drawn. You need to verify when you add the two rectangular support pieces they do not cross this line... or you will have some "adjustments" in your future. With the double double reinforced frame pieces removed you can not glue the two halves or the keel. First side is easy just lay the tow keep halves together and glue on the support piece Support piece on the other side is more of a challenge, as you have to add a pieces of scrape wood under the bow and stern sections to keep the keep straight. In addition to scrape wood under the bow and stern sections I added a level (for weight) on top in an attempt to keep the keel straight as the glue dried. Not sure if that was a good idea or not, as then the glue dried and I looked town the keel, it still had a small bend to it. Maybe I should have used a vice to hold the pieces together. In any event, the bend was not severe, and I think when the deck is added, it will straighten out... Lets hope,,, Kind of hard to notice in the picture but there is a slight bend in the keel as it goes aft. Before I begin the frame sections, I decided to build some planking clamps out of paper binder clips. These are the same other modelers have made and really make the planking much easier. In my case I bought the smallest binder clips I could find. Before adding the frames, they were numbered just to keep them straight. Not so much with this model, but with another model I worked on, I did not number them and they were very similar is shape. And after getting them all cut out and put in a pile, it was a challenge to keep them straight. In any event, a good idea to number them. Below shows the first two frame sections added. Note in the first picture the double frame section is right up against the line I drew earlier. While the line helped me with fore and aft positioning of the keel support pieces I did not think of up and down positioning. Note in the picture above and below, the shaded wood. This is wood that sticks up above the frame section and needs to be shaved down. In reality the two keel support pieces need to be higher more toward the top of the keel, or as in my case, you will need to do some "adjustments"..... The instructions seem to imply the keel support pieces can more or less be positioned anywhere between the two frames.... So,,, do as I say, not as I do... Side view showing the keel support pieces sticking up above the frame pieces Adding the support frames is more or less straight forward... Be sure to verify each support piece is perpendicular to the keel. I would suggest some sort of right angle like a corner brace to hold each frame as the glue dries. In my case I attempted to keep the frames straight, but I have to admit there are a few close but not exactly perpendicular to the keel. I have a feeling I will pay for this with the later planking,,, At this point I was curios as to what the rudder would look like so I dry fitted it to the keel. Unless I am mistaken, the rudder is too large for the keel. Assuming this was a mistake with the kit i trimmed down the rudder to match the keel. After I did that, initially I was feeling pretty good as it turned out OK. But afterwards I got a little anxious wondering if the kit was correct and the mistake was me trimming it down. We will see later on... Below is the trimmed keel. Next the fore and aft sections of the deck were added to the frame. As I was hoping earlier, with rubber bands, clamps, and a little muscle, the bent frame straightened out when the deck sections were added. Let the planking begin,,,,, Below are a few pictures of the planking. Not much to say here as planking is pretty straight forward. I started at the top and worked my way down each side alternating each plank to avoid warping the hull, Every once in awhile I had to add a filler strip to keep thing straight, but no real issues with the first planking Closing in on the end,,,,, Complete with first planking,,,, Just need some sanding and wood filler to smooth things out. At this point the debate is still on as to whether to make the hull blue (like the real Endeavour) or have it natural with the walnut finish. Will make that decision after the 2nd planking,,,, How that turns out will probably determine which way I go,,

Hey! No need to write a history of this model. This is my first wooden ship build ever. I bought this kit from a local shop in my city. I had no idea where I was getting into! First look inside: Work of first evening: It was a really tedious process to sand all the edges: I had to get some power tools in order to sand trickier parts: I have made clamps from document clams (similar to Amatis https://store.amatimodel.com/en/tools-and-equipment-parts-per-model/product-clamp-set-b7377.html) Getting first planks in place was difficult since I was doing that first time. I had to read and watch lots of videos to understand all the techniques. Props for this forum and written guides! I was really surprised that I my planking speed was 2 planks / hour. I was using hot water and soldering iron to get planks into the shape. Dremel tool was a huge help shaping this line: Starting to look like a ship: I saw no point covering back of the ship with these planks, but instructions showed that I have to do it: It took a while until I have prepared hull for second planking, but it is smooth as butter now: Started second planking:

Well, this one has been a LONG time coming. I mean, this lockdown seems to have lasted a lifetime, so the original notice of Amati's now almost mythical 1:64 HMS Victory seems to have been such a long time ago! A lot of water has passed under the bridge since 2013 when Chris drove to Italy with the original design model in late 2013. Amati had enough general interest about their Victory from modellers to warrant then asking me to build a production prototype for the new format instruction manuals they now use. There were a few changes from Chris' original kit too, and Amati wanted those incorporated in the new manuals. Those manuals (yes, plural!) will contain (tentatively) around 1500 build photos, and be perfect-bound, glossy productions. I've already broken down Chris' construction into a multitude of chapters, with each depicting a specific sequence/task. For example, there will be a chapter for building each size of gun, each of the launches, the stove, first planking, but also for fitting out whole decks. For this build, I will use the existing manuals that Chris made when he finished his kit. Since Chris designed the model, Amati's laser manufacturer had changed the specs on sheet size that they could cut, so the sheet layouts needed to be rehashed for the new sizes. That was done earlier this year, but just when everything looked like it was going to plan (again), Italy, then the rest of the world, went into lockdown. So here we now are on the other side....just about. DHL delivered the HUGE box not long ago, and it is fantastically heavy! What is omitted at the moment are some first layer planks that they will ship when back in stock, and the cannon and figurehead. They won't be needed for a long time. They are also waiting on the copper PE, but I do have all the sheets of brass PE here. So, we have bags of laser-cut material (MDF, ply, timber), sleeves of strip (lots of them!), bags of PE and a whole bag of various fittings. I already have the thirty-one sheets of plans. Remember, this isn't a review, but just a build log. I cant review something like this which isn't quite complete. That's not the purpose. Inside the box, all the laser cut parts were bagged into two thick poly sleeves. These packs were of course the real weight behind this delivery. I'll open them later to look through them but I've included a few images they sent me of the parts before they shipped out. The sheer quantity of strip and dowel in this model is bewildering. The only time I've seen as much as this is when I've been in a hobby shop! Fittings. Usually Amati pack these into trays, but for this purpose, all the stuff is in little bags and sleeves and bundled into this substantial bag. You name it, and it's in here... Photo etch: Here's all the brass sheet stuff. I am waiting on the copper parts yet, but thought you'd like to see these. As I've been promising this kit arriving for a long time, I felt the need to stick my flag in the ground and start a build log showing the stuff that I now have. I won't be actually starting this until after 3rd August as I'll be away, plus I also have a project I need to take care of before that (written article, not a build). So....there we have it!!! **Apologies for phone camera pics too. The build will be done like my typical studio photos**

Intro: Recently retired I have decided to attempt my second ship build. My first was the Model Shipways Rattlesnake and it went fairly well with the body 100% completed but I ran into some issues with rigging due to not planning the sequence out well and putting myself in a position where some of the rigging was pretty much impossible to do without tearing down some of the existing rigging and I was never able to bring myself to do that so it’s still slightly unfinished. I hope to avoid such mistakes on my second build with that experience under my belt. I still consider myself very much a novice at this art and plan to stick to the instructions pretty closely unless I see a significant reason for deviating from them. I picked the 1577 Revenge because I've always thought the ships of this period were particularly beautiful and I was looking for a kit that was detailed and included high quality parts and the reviews and build logs seem to indicate that is the case with this kit. I also liked that fact that it is 1/64, I like that size. All reviews of this kit have seemed quite favorable and I'm hoping I can produce a nice looking ship. I’ve also picked up a Dremel 8050 hoping that it will make some of the shaping and sanding operations a little less time consuming. Since there are several really excellent build logs on this kit here already I’m not sure what I can add but I’ll show my progress and ask for help when I get stuck. I've read through the existing build logs and I'm sure I will be referring to them frequently as I progress through the build. I ordered my kit from Ages of Sail and I'll try to add whatever I can to the body of knowledge on this kit and focus on any unique issues that arise or if I do something different than the existing logs. I am looking forward to the process and working through the issues that will inevitably arise when doing something this complex.

Greetings to all the shipbuilders in this forum. I'm sixty-five years old and the last sixty I dealt with model railways. Few months ago I decided to do another attempt in shipbuilding (the first was the Golden Star when I was fifteen) and I chose the AMATI's Coca, because she's very nice and seems easy (but I realized it wasn't so for me, may be for other people more skillful). After examining the plans and looking for images of contemporary boats, I decided to make some changes: 1) the hawse hole have to be moved forward. 2) the yellow marked area will be "clinker working". 3) the upper beams will have a smaller section, differently positioned and will be more numerous. 4) the lower beams will be more numerous and differently positioned. 5) some top-timbers will be differently positioned and the number 5 will be added. 6) the frames and the bulwark stanchions will be more numerous. 7) the rigging will be totally changed: I've never seen such a disposition. Attached are some examples that inspired me. Have a nice evening, Rodolfo

Day three of my build. I'm trying to decide how to hold down the false deck while the glue sets. I have nails ordered but no delivery date as of yet. I will appreciate any tips.

I won’t spend much time going over the kit in general because James H did a very thorough job of that in his excellent review here. As James said, the box is packed with high quality material, a clear, full-color instruction booklet and 7 sheets of detailed plans. I’ve read lots of great things about Chris Watton’s kit designs here and from what I've experienced so far, the praise is well-deserved. A word of caution for those of you with limited work space...this is a BIG kit! I knew the specs going in but didn't fully appreciate the sheer size of this thing until I started dry-fitting the frames. I'm drooling over the possibilities in terms of adding detail to this build but you need to have plenty of space if you decide to give this one a go. I have fairly ambitious plans for this kit. I'll be displaying the Fifie as a waterline build in the act of hauling nets. I haven't quite figured out how I'll be pulling this off but I love the look of these boats in the water and really want to display it that way. I'd also like to add some crew if I can get my hands on some halfway decent 1:32 figures to rework into Scottish fishermen. With that said, here we go... A nice big box full of high quality stuff! The die-cuts here are very clean and precise...not at all like my previous build. Kudos to Chris Watton's clever engineering which makes assembling the frames problem-free and extremely sturdy. Even I can't screw this up! Stern assembly. The bulkheads fit perfectly without modification. Making quick work of the frames thanks to excellent fit/finish. Each part adds stability and guarantees correct alignment. This tray is intended to house the rudder servo if you plan to do an RC build but needs to be installed regardless. And just like that, if you're not going to be chopping the hull off at the waterline (probably a wise choice!), the sub-deck can be installed. I, however, will need to do some additional planning to add support and stability for the surgery to come. Stay tuned...

Welcome to my latest Build This was presented to me by MSW a few months ago as a retirement present, for which i am extremely grateful, this actual kit was kit reviewed by @James H so i have put the link in, i hope to do the kit justice, and of course i will do things different, as i make her my own, im already thinking of a royal blue hull

Here is my most recent build. I have historically started ships and not finished them, or sidelined them and start something new, so this time I decided to wait until I finished the build before I posted my build log. Although I am not quite finished, I am almost there and will have it completed within a week or so, depends on how long the oars take me. I have not abandoned the other builds I have started, but decided to put them on hold while I work on some slightly smaller projects before moving forward with them. As usual here is the required box opening and contents photos. Everything was well packaged. There is a single sheet of plans that were in Italian, some picture instructions with a few words in Italian. The text instructions had a separate sheet in English. I did have to get my phone to look up some Italian to English translation on a few words in the images and plans, but overall the instructions were adequate. I will make several smaller posts of my progress rather than one large one. More to come shortly.

Hello, I did not take photos during its assembly, I present it finished. I hope you like it. Greetings. (Hola, no hice fotos durante su montaje, os lo presento terminado. Espero que os guste. Un saludo)

1:32 Fifie – The Scottish Motor Fishing Vessel Amati Catalogue # 1300/09 Available from Amati for €220.00 The Fifie is a design of sailing boat developed on the east coast of Scotland. It was a traditional fishing boat used by Scottish fishermen from the 1850s until well into the 20th century. These boats were mainly used to fish for herring using drift nets, and along with other designs of boat were known as herring drifters. While the boats varied in design, they can be categorised by their vertical stem and stern, their long straight keel and wide beam. These attributes made the Fifies very stable in the water and allowed them to carry a very large set of sails. The long keel, however, made them difficult to manoeuvre in small harbours. Sailing Fifies had two masts with the standard rig consisting of a main dipping lug sail and a mizzen standing lug sail. The masts were positioned far forward and aft on the boat to give the maximum clear working space amidships. A large Fifie could reach just over 20 metres in length. Because of their large sail area, they were very fast sailing boats. Fifies built after 1860 were all decked and from the 1870s onwards the bigger boats were built with carvel planking, i.e. the planks were laid edge to edge instead of the overlapping clinker style of previous boats. The introduction of steam powered capstans in the 1890s, to help raising the lugs sails, allowed the size of these vessels to increase from 30 foot to over 70 foot in length. From about 1905 onwards sailing Fifies were gradually fitted with engines and converted to motorised vessels. There are few surviving examples of this type of fishing boat still in existence. The Scottish Fisheries Museum based in Anstruther, Fife, has restored and still sails a classic example of this type of vessel named the Reaper. The Swan Trust in Lerwick, Shetland have restored and maintain another Fifie, The Swan, as a sail training vessel. She now takes over 1000 trainees each year and has taken trainees to participate in the Cutty Sark Tall Ships Races to ports in France, Denmark, the Netherlands, Ireland as well as around the UK. Extract from Wikipedia The kit Fifie is packed into a large, heavy box that certainly hints that there’s a good quantity of material included to build this historic fishing vessel in all its glorious 1:32 scale. I do admit to particularly liking this scale, having built plastic models for many years and indeed for magazine publication. It’s definitely something I can relate to when eyeing up the various dimensions and features. Amati’s presentation is flawless and certainly stands out, with its large, glossy lid that captures an attractive view of the Fifie. It has to be noted here that the hull is usually fully painted, with green being common above the waterline, but this model was finished to show off the beauty of the walnut timber supplied in the kit. And why not! For those that don’t know, this kit, under the Victory Models label, was designed by Chris Watton. Many of you should be familiar with that name and his design pedigree. At 1:32, this kit is no shrinking violet in terms of size. Fifie is 700mm long, 470mm wide and with a height of 230mm (sans masts). Lifting the lid does indeed show a box crammed with materials. Inside, we have several bundles of timber, plus a packet of timber dowel/strip/metal rod/tube, a thick packet containing numerous laser-cut sheets, another packet with plans and photo etch, and underneath the main timber, we have sail cloth and fittings packs. Thick foam is included to stop the main materials from banging around in the box. Strip wood Fifie has a double-planked hull, with the first layer being constructed from 1.5mm x 7mm lime strips. These, like many of the other bundles, are 600mm long, and very cleanly cut with no fuzzy edges Sixty-five of these are supplied. The same quality goes for the second planking layer, which is supplied as 90 strips of 1mm x 6mm walnut which is some of the best I’ve seen in a kit. There is little colour variation in these, and they look pleasantly uniform. I’ve always found Amati’s timber quality to be exceptional and this is no different. As well as elastic to hold the bundles some labels are also included to help identity the material. Other strip wood is included (beech and walnut) for such things as deck planking, caulking (yes, caulk plank!), lining the various deck hatches, sheathing the deckhouse structures, rubbing strakes etc. These bundles are both taped and bound with elastic, with the deck planking having an identifying label also. Cutting is clean and precise. Dowel and tube/rod Various lengths of dowel is included for masting, false keel strengthening pins etc. and thicker strip wood for the timberheads. All is supplied in a nice uniform walnut colour….no nasty walnut dyes/stains in this kit! These latter lengths are also packaged into a thick clear sleeve, unlike the others. Note also various lengths of brass and copper wire, as timberheads well as some copper tube. Some mounting parts are included for RC conversion, but you will need to purchase other items to complete the model for radio. MDF sheet items Again, Amati has made extensive use of 4mm MDF for the hull false keel and bulkheads, and all are laser-cut, as are all individual wooden items in this kit. Cutting looks very precise with very little in the way of scorching, apart from very localised discolouration. I know many don’t like MDF as a material for our models, but MDF sands easily and is also warp-free, lending itself to a nice, true hull. You won’t see any of this when you start to lay planks. There are FOUR sheets of this material, and you’ll notice that there aren’t any parts numbers engraved on here. You will need to refer to the first two sheets of plans which contain the parts references. A single sheet of 2mm MDF contains parts such as the four-piece deck, cleats, and the bulkheads and keel for Fifie’s single launch vessel. There is also a single 6mm sheet of MDF (sheet 2698-B) which contains the four parts needed for the cradle. I’ve seen numerous sites which now sell this model claim that no stand is included with this model. Well, this sort of proves that statement incorrect. This is the same cradle shown on the box lid images. Of course, you’ll need a suitable MDF primer for this, and some nice coats of gloss lacquer to get the best from this. Ply sheet parts SIX sheets of thin ply are included for just about every other timber construction elements of Fifie, including the deckhouse, deck superstructures, keel sheathing, and bulwark capping strip. Again, all parts are laser-cut and will require minimal effort to remove any edge char. Fittings Two boxes of fittings are included in the very bottom of the Fifie kit box. Some of the weight bearing down has caused a small crack in the two vac-form fittings boxes, as you can see, but all parts within are absolutely fine. The first box contains the cast metal propeller, deck buckets, ship’s wheel, rigging blocks, life preserver rings and a whole load of beautifully smooth wooden balls for making the many buoys which sit on Fifie’s deck. These are perfectly circular, yet the ones on the box image are slightly shaped. Instructions show these as the balls, and you could perhaps opt to use a little putty to add some shape to these. The second fitting box contains seven spools of rigging cord in both black and natural colours, nails, various cast fittings such as bollards, plus rudder pintles, anchors etc. Copper eyelets, chain and ferrules etc. make up the set. Sail cloth Should you wish to add sails, then enough material is supplied for you, in bleached white cloth. Photo-etch Very few kits come without photo-etch parts these days, and this is no exception, with TWO sheets of 0.7mm brass with a very high number of included parts. A quick scan around the sheets will easily identify parts for the mast bases, steam winch, engine skylight, capstan, deck hand pump, wheel assembly, herring shovel, tabernacle, mast rings, etc. Acetate and card I have to say I’m not entirely sure what the card/cartridge paper is for except for maybe general use, but the thin acetate is obviously for the cabin windows. Instructions and plans Without a doubt, Amati produce some of the very best instruction manuals to come with any model kit. For reference, check out my Orient Express Sleeping Car review and that of Revenge. Fifie is no different with a luxurious and fully-pictorial, 64-page publication. Whilst this isn’t perfect-bound as with the previous reviews, it is in full colour and produced to a standard that’s still far higher than many contemporary manufacturers, with each stage being shown under construction so you get a perfect idea about what is required at that point in construction. Text is also in English, or at least in the sample I have been sent. The rear of the manual contains a complete components list. Backing up this publication is a set of seven plan sheets. The first two of these are for identifying the various timber and PE parts. The others show general profile and detail imagery, as well as masting and rig drawings. Remember that the hull itself is built entirely from the photographic sequences so everything you see on these drawings is for external details. Conclusion I have to say that you get a lot of kit for your money with Fifie, and when I first asked Amati what they envisaged the RRP to be, I was quite surprised at this. Everything about Fifie is quality, from the packaging and presentation, to the beautiful, photographic manual, fittings, sheet and strip timber, all the way to the superbly drawn plans. I’m very surprised that the gestation period has taken so long for them to bring this excellent kit to market. It’s also a Chris Watton thoroughbred. If you’ve seen his previous designs, then you’ll be familiar with the format of Fifie, which was quite the different vessel for Chris to tackle, when everyone seemed to think he would only design fighting vessels, armed to the teeth with cannon. I must admit that Fifie did take me quite by surprise too. The very shape of this iconic and historic vessel is so homely and welcoming and for me, invokes images of those times when fishing communities were happy and thriving. Whether you’re a fan of Chris’s work or not, Fifie is most certainly a kit that you should consider dropping into your virtual shopping cart next time you visit your favourite online model ship/boat retailer, and of course, if RC is your thing, then this kit will also suit your genre! VERY highly recommended! My sincere thanks to Amati for sending out the sample kit you see reviewed here. To purchase directly click the link at the top of the article to take you to Amati’s online shop or check out your country’s local distributor. Plans are also available from Amati, for €21.00

As you know, I just completed the Royal William. The Prince was a ship that was remodeled into the Royal William in the very early 1700's. Amati had a nice kit about 40 years ago of the Prince, but discontinued it long ago. I searched for a source for many years and finally found a fellow through this forum, who had the kit but never started it. I bought it from him a few years ago. Since the Royal William was a remodel of the Prince, to do a "Before and After Display" will be cool. The kit cost $600 back almost 40 years ago, so it is definitely a high end kit. As with the Royal William, I intend to greatly enhance the detail and rig her with full sails. There are a few modern kits available of the Prince, but none of them compare to this old kit, and the scale is big enough to go along side the Euromodel Royal William. The kit came in a nice wood case instead of a cardboard box. Back then there was no such thing a laser cut parts, so looking at the kit, everything must be hand cut by saw and file. There are 34 bulkheads which is about double of modern kits and each and every one will have to be hand cut. I will definitely get my money's worth out of the my band and scroll saws. 😛 Virtually nothing is pre-cut. The amount of decorations appears to be quite extensive as well. I am really going to enjoy this project. The first photo is from a 1980 catalog showing this kit listed. Vince P.

Greetings. This is my first attempt at a build log, though it is far from being my first ship. Having recently finished HMS Kingfisher by LSS (see gallery), the Revenge caught my eye and I decided to have a go of it. For those of you who decide to follow along, please note that my work on models can be sporadic at times. I will try to post updates as I complete each page or 2 of the manual. Kit was ordered from Ages of Sail and here is what comes in the box.

Couldn't wait any longer on this one. It is an odd creature to say the least. I learned about this type of boat while researching Niagara and the goings on at the Great Lakes during the War of 1812. They have an interesting history. The kit is pretty minimal. A lot of wood without much metalwork. From a quick glance things don't look too bad. The main instructions with all the illustrations is in Italian of course. There is an English version but it refers to the figures in the Italian instructions so you really need to have both opened. The plans show decent details about the build but NO MEASUREMENTS. Very odd. The first task at hand is to drill the mast holes in a piece they call the centerboard. They supply a little jig so that you can drill the holes at the proper angles. That's assuming you can drill a hole straight down. Good thing my drill has a bubble level in it. So I got thru that. Now for the frames. Here's a weird one - frames go on the keel right? NOT! The flat side of the frames are glued to the centerboard. You have to center them and make sure they are perpendicular. I marked up the centerboard and that turned out not to be a big deal. So the first 11 frames are on. Next are two end frames glued to the end of the centerboard. The instructions say that the flat side of the frame is supposed to be above the centerboard surface. How much? That's when I noticed there were no measurements.Turned out to be 5/32" Added the undersurface for the lower deck Began planking the lower deck. Odd as it is, I still think this is a cool looking build. As you can see things are moving along well. Just what I needed - a build that won't take years to finish. 03/11/17 - I have decided to add a few notes here regarding things that I have turned up during the build. Hopefully this may make it easier for a future builder. A couple of things today: 1. As you are building out the lower deck - planks, foot rests, benches,etc. - color and finish them at that time. It will get progressively more difficult to access them later. Same thing for the upper deck. 2. The instructions say to plank first then install the stem and stern post. In hindsight I will disagree with this. I would follow a more normal pattern of installing those pieces and the additional step of cutting a rabbet. I've found that the ends of the planks just kinda lay on top of the pieces. They don't integrate like they would with a rabbet cut all around the hull. 3. If you decide to do #2 be sure to make and install the gudgeons and pintles for the stern post and rudder before the stern post is installed. Don't let the gudgeons extend too far back on the stern post else they will keep the stern post from sliding all the way into place.

I'm starting my second wooden build. I've have been eying this build for a while, but always looked at the 1:35 kit. After seeing how big the 1:35 is (4 ft long 5 ft high), I saw Amati offered a 1:80 that was plank on frame also. So, that is the route I went. I see there is another build of this scale active (Henry James) which hopefully we can help each other. The drawings and instructions are not near as detail as the MS Bluenose, and are not in English, but hopefully I can follow along well with the experience I had from my first build. I'm looking forward to the painting of the hull. The combination of natural wood, white water line and blue should look fantastic if done right. I all boils down to the second layer of planking at the bottom since that will be seen. For some reason they show the first step of assembling the main mast. I'm skipping that and going straight to the keel assembly. Anyway, here are some kit pictures.

Hello All, I bought this kit - my first - in April 2011 and discovered the MSW site and forum soon after. It has been an invaluable source of inspiration and information and I was saddened to hear that a lot of work and information was lost recently when the site crashed. I'm sure the forums will soon be back to full-strength and hope that this build log will be a small contribution to that effort. It has been a slow build so far, but one which I am enjoying hugely. I'm determined to do a decent job, and not to rush or make silly mistakes. There's and old carpenters' saying: "Measure twice, cut once"; I've developed my own mantra: "Measure twice, stop, check the plans, measure again, have a cup of coffee and a think, measure again for luck, cut once!" Again, this is my first kit and build, so I have no real point of reference for comparison, but the kit (by Amati) seems to be of reasonable quality. The instructions are patchy and are mostly in Italian, so I've been relying on 'Google Translate' for some assistance. Here are some initial pics before moving on to the build: Packaging - nicely designed Photo on the box Contents Guide book and instructions (Italian & English) Plans (page 1/2) Plans (page 2/2)

This is my first build ever, which I've been working on for a looooooooooooooong time now. I've had so much trouble building this thing, and I'm not 100% satisfied with it, but I think its turned out pretty well so far. I've finished basically everything now other than putting the sails up. I lost a bunch of pictures I had of the progress of the build, so I don't have nearly as many pictures as most people here. Since my older pics aren't great I'm only posting pics of where the build is at now. I won't finish any more for a while since I'm going away to school tomorrow. Hopefully I can get something done around xmas.

I’m going to take another stab at a build log, I have been eyeballing this kit since Chris Watton gave his little preview of it way back when.... I found a few build logs on here but I think only one of them has been completed. I plan on doing my usual kitbashing - replacing most of the kit wood with Pear, Castello Boxwood, Maple, Holly, Redheart, etc.etc. I will probably break down and use some white paint where it’s called for but I hope to come up with some alternative to the decorative paper decals that are on the upper hull - thinking maybe I can do some inlay work or use some inlay strips or something as I don’t want to use the paper and I don’t really want that much bright coloration on my Revenge. I purchased the kit from Ages of Sail - first time I didn’t use CMB for a kit - even with a 5% discount CMB was over $30 more delivered.... I must say that Ages of Sail was top notch, a human answered the phone every time I called, they were knowledgeable, competitive and efficient, called right at closing - they still took my order, packaged it very well and got it out the next day. I won’t hesitate to buy from them again. Not affiliated, just great customer service and earned a great shout out.I won’t show the kit contents- James H. Has a great review on here and several logs show what you get. I must say that the kit is very nice, the supplied strips and dimensioned wood is very high quality, the MDF is great, etched brass, cannons and embellishments are well done. I’m not a big fan of the African Walnut (Dibetou) they provide but the laser cutting is top notch and as long as you are cautious with the grain direction it will be just fine. I will probably be re- making most of it with other woods though.

Hi all This kit was collecting dust on my shelf for a few years. Gifted by my dad, I was delaying it for lack of time and (mostly) because intimidated by a wooden built. I previously built a couple of plastic warbirds, so this is all new to me! After setting up some time aside for myself and getting a bunch of tools (probably not enough but we'll see), I started looking at the content... to my surprise, the kit is different from both what's advertised on the box AND what I've seen online. It's a solid wood hull, advertised as a resin hull (with instructions for a resin hull) and most of the projects I've seen on the web are planks on bulkheads.. oh well, should be easier Also noticed that few pieces don't match very well, so will be making up some woodwork there! I've got a few requests for suggestions, hopefully you guys can guide me in the right directions so I don't capsize the project The box and its content The deck The deck base was laser cut, but, quite a bit bigger than the actual hull. As there was no wood for the planking of the hull I assumed it was a mistake in the plans or the cutting, so I contoured it enough to leave about 1 plank of space between the edge of the hull and the deck. Also, the planking design is not straight (not sure what the term is, so that was a bit tricky in places, might need to use some filler in places. I've got a couple of questions about the deck: How can I enhance the caulking? Should I use a very think black wash? Black wax? What do you usually suggest for a weathered Teak wood finish? Cabins These parts really did not fit well together, especially on the front cabin, the walls ended up plenty within the space for the window... Ideally I would like to give them a darker wood appearance but they require some filler and the laser burn might still push through (that was my mistake not to file them enough earlier). Looking forward for suggestions here The hull Aside of being smaller than the deck plan, the hull seems to be not very straight. Anyhow, I sanded it down a bit and primed it so that I could spot all the places where more work is needed. The finish will be a glossy bi-color white / dark red, so I'll need to make sure that the surfaces are as smooth as they can be. Clearly more work needed here Would grains 120-240 and 400 would work well enough for a gloss finish on wood? And that's it for now, would love to hear your thoughts and suggestions! Safe seas

Hi my name is Keith, and I thought I should make a post to prove that I actually build ship models rather than just lurk! This is my fourth ship model. The first two were abandoned due to catastrophic failures, the third (Artesania HMS Bounty) was completed, and this is my fourth. Four models over the space of 20 years and my amateurish skills hardly qualify me as being even worthy to browse this site, let alone post. I am in fact about 75% through the build - I now know that this model is not going to be a failure, so I can avoid the shame of starting a build log and not finishing it. This is why I am posting! I made this thread for two reasons - first, to help others who may be contemplating building a Viking ship. Second, to solicit feedback on the mistakes I have made along with suggestions for improvement. This boat is intended to be a gift for my friend. He is half Swedish, looks like a giant Viking, and makes jokes about his heritage. I did some research as to which kit to buy. I am aware of three. Artesania Latina was quickly ruled out because it is too basic and does not look authentic. That narrowed it down to either Billings or Amati. The Billings model is of the Oseberg ship, which is sitting in a museum. From what I can see, it looks like a pretty accurate model with some very nice details. However, I do not like Billings' excessive use of plastic. The kit that I inspected had plastic parts which were not moulded properly, so it did not leave a good impression. I therefore took a punt and ordered the Amati kit from the local hobby shop (Float A Boat). To my knowledge, this kit is based on a fictional ship with no original in existence. This doesn't bother me, but it may bother you. Anyway, on with the boat. First, some unboxing photos. The box in my pristine (for now) modelling area. Box contents (L-R): planks, planks, frame, deck furniture, deck, instructions. All laser cut. Only after I started working on the model did I realize that the quality of wood supplied was rather poor. I am not sure what wood was supplied, it is some kind of laminate. Box wood, perhaps? I have more detailed photos later. The manual was surprisingly good. I am used to the poor efforts of Artesania Latina. By comparison, this manual (in Italian, with a separate sheet in English) was clear, well labelled, and well translated. Accessories. Everything present and accounted for - let's get started!

After some thinking I have decided to pick the Santa Maria as my first project. I have some experience in plastic modelling but this is another level. I decided for Amati because I heard good things about this kit manufacturer. This particular kit is specified to be a level 3 difficulty, which means intermediate. Maybe I will struggle a little bit but this is a part of the journey I believe. If I have some issues I will ask for the help of more experienced kit builders so please check my build log. Here it is. The package was more heavy as I expected which is a nice thing. I really prefer the heavier kits. Maybe this is normal for wood but for me coming from plastic models, it is a little bit unusual. I started by studying the plans of the ship and the instruction manual. For now, I understand the process, but there will be some parts where I will need help, especially on the part of the mast and the rigging. I started by carefully cutting out the pieces and numbering them in order to not mess them up later on. After cutting them all out I have inserted them into the keel just to check them out. Obviously I saw some problems with one or two of them as you can see from the picture above. The center bulkhead and the one immediately on his right is not perfectly straight. Another unexpected thing was that one or two of the bulkheads were inserted to the keel with some difficulties and I had a hard time getting the out from the keel. I used a small hammer to get them out... After this I started gluing the bulkheads and attaching them to the keel. I checked their position with a ruler just to be sure that they are straight. After much straightening, I inserted a clip between the two bulkheads and I will let the glue dry for the night.

This is the start of my build log. The first thing was to compare the Amati kit with my previous build which was the Caldercraft Endeavour. I thiunk this is much better, with sharper CNC parts, and much better documentation. Having said that there is an annotation error on Page 1 as pictured below in GB004. The parts wont go in the places described for 6 and 7 but it is obvious where they should be...the other way around. The kit has a very awful paper print cabin floor covering which simulates the parquetry of the real boat. While I am sacrificing some authenticity I am planking the cabin floor with leftover Endeavour decking which I will possibly stain to look like teak, or may leave it matt and blond to show up better inside the cabin when largely built in.