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Please note that I built this kit 15 years ago so there might have been uptdates to the kit that I´m unaware of. Review HMS Pandora Constructo 1:85 ref.80824 Background HMS Pandora is best known as the vessel sent to capture Fletcher Christian and the mutineers of Bligh´s Bounty. After arresting the majority at Tahiti and then spending four unsuccessful months combing the South Pacific, Captain Edward Edwards decided to give up the chase and steer for England. In attempting to discover a new, more direct passage through Cook´s Endeavour Strait, between the northeastern trip of Australia and New Guinea, HMS Pandora was wrecked on the Great Barrier Reef on 29 August 1791. Thirty-one of the crew and four of the mutineers went down with the ship. Edwards, with the ninety-eight survivors, sailed four of the ship´s boats 1200 nautical miles to the Duch settlement of Coupang in Timor and eventually made their way to Batavia ( Present day Djakarta) There, those that did not die as a result of their privations, found passage back to England. The eventual court martial of the ten remaining mutineers resulted in three being hung at Portsmouth from the foremast yard of HMS Brunswick. The fate of Christian and the others who had sought refuge at remote Pitcairn Island was not discovered until 1808. By then, all but one were dead. ( Text from the manual) Construction of the kit Length: 32,5 Inches ( 78 cm) Height 24 Inches (58cm) With: 11 Inches (26,5 cm) The Constructo HMS Pandora is a plank on bulkhead construction with the option to make it a single or double planked hull. The colour and quality of the first planking strips are good enough to be left without the second planking. The second planking consists of veneer 0.6mm. thick which is relatively easy to work with but I find it a little too thin for hull-planking. Materials The wood in the kit is of mediocre quality and strips break easily while soaking and bending. This is compensated with the fact that there is a great deal of spare wood. The strips are made from Mulkaly (light Ochre), Sapelly (Dark Brown), Ayous (Ivory). The different colourations of wood strips results in less need for painting of the hull which displays the beauty of the wood. All fittings are either wood, brass or cast metal there are no plastic parts. Fittings The kit contains a lot of standard or generic fittings that are out of scale. What I mean is parts that you can find on other Constructo kits, so if you are looking for historical accuracy you will have to do a bit of research and scratch building. The cast metal parts are not the best I have seen and the transom is a disaster. It’s heavy, hard to fit and looks out of place when fitted to the ship. Manual List of parts and manual are in seven different languages which is commendable but the backside is that the different languages are mixed up. Every part is presented 7 times resulting in a manual that is a little hard to follow. The Manual is easy to understand when you finally find your own language but you need to have some previous experience in ship modelling to completely understand the instructions. The level of detail in the manual is at an intermediate level but this does not include the rigging. The rigging is explained by the plans and some very poor photographs this is not a task for a beginner. You really need to read up on rigging before trying to understand Constructos attempt for a rigging instruction. The pictures are in black and white and of poor quality. Constructo needs to improve the picture department a lot. There are also a few numeric errors meaning that the pictures and plans do not correspond to the numbers in the list of parts. Plans The plans are ok and mostly in scale admitting you to take accurate measurements. It helps if you have had some experience reading plans. For instance a plan showing the fittings on deck does not reveal both sides of the deck. You are to understand from experience that certain parts are to be fitted the same way on both sides Building experience I had some trouble with the poor wood quality but then again this improved my skills. I had no plan of making a historical accurate ship so the prefabricated standard parts did not bother me that much. Although I might sound negative I had a great time building the ship and the learning experience was over the top. The Constructo HMS Pandora was my second build and I can recommend it as a second or a third build. It’s of great help if one has already done the rig of a ship with at least two masts and has some experience of plank on bulkhead models. Reading my review might deterrent you from buying a Constructo Pandora-kit but keep in mind that these are my personal thoughts and I’m a little picky. Summary If you are looking for that second or third challenge but your wallet struggles against you, the Constructo HMS Pandora is a great kit for learning the skills of the hobby. It’s well worth the money you pay for it and is sure to give you many hours of fun and pleasure along with some aggravation but that’s part of the hobby. With a few scratch-built fittings and some book reading on the side, your model will look great. If you are a little more experienced and are looking for a high quality model kit with historical accuracy and perfected instructions the Constructo HMS Pandora is not for you. Ps: This is my first review ever so if you have any questions about the review or need some guidance building the kit, feel free to contact me through PM. Erik Nyren
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Cutty Sark by civilian - Constructo - 1/90
civilian posted a topic in Build Logs for SHIP MODEL KITS
Hi everyone! This will be my official build log for Construto's Cutty Sark 1/90. I am already about 5 weeks into the build and finished the hull planking, deck cabins & decorations and is currently working on masts and rigging. I start my build log this late because I do not want to end up not finishing the model at early stage and everyone knows about it. While I was building the ship, I tried to stick to manufacture's plan with no side work of sketch builds. I will also not paint or stain my model as I think the original dark and light wood color scheme is quite nice. First is a little bit history of Cutty Sark form the Manufacture: "The Cutty Sark is a clipper ship. Built in 1869 for the Jock Willis shipping line, she was one of the last tea clippers to be built and one of the fastest, coming at the end of a long period of design development which halted as sailing ships gave way to steam propulsion. The opening of the Suez Canal (also in 1869) meant that steam ships now had a much shorter route to China, so Cutty Sark spent only a few years on the tea trade before turning to the trade in wool from Australia, where she held the record time to Britain for ten years. Improvements in steam technology meant that gradually steamships also came to dominate the longer sailing route to Australia and the ship was sold to the Portuguese company Ferreira and Co. in 1895, and renamed Ferreira. She continued as a cargo ship until purchased by retired sea captain Wilfred Dowman in 1922, who used her as a training ship operating from Falmouth, Cornwall. After his death she was transferred to the Thames Nautical Training College, Greenhithe in 1938 where she became an auxiliary cadet training ship alongside HMS Worcester. By 1954 she had ceased to be useful as a cadet ship and was transferred to permanent dry dock at Greenwich, London on public display. Cutty Sark is one of three ships in London on the Core Collection of the National Historic Ships Register (the nautical equivalent of a Grade 1 Listed Building) – alongside HMS Belfast and SS Robin. She is one of only three remaining original composite construction (wooden hull on an iron frame) clipper ships from the nineteenth century in part or whole, the others being the City of Adelaide, awaiting transportation to Australia for preservation, and the beached skeleton of Ambassador of 1869 near Punta Arenas, Chile." There are some photos of the packaging. -
First off, would like to say thanks to Paul0367 and his amazing build so far, that hopefully I can avoid some of the pitfalls on this build. Next I would like to add, that this is not a historical representation of the Victory but more a decorative interpretation of her. That being said, I hope to build the majority of the kit to be more accurate and in the end it’s all part of the fun. Refference galore with all the usual suspects in there, Longbridge, McKay, Goodridge, etc Victory and man of war related as well as others. Commenced the build at the end of February, so now have some build to start sharing. Some framing Using the 4 butt shift method for deck planking, instructions in the kit are basically to lay big long lengths. On to the main deck Deviation here, decided to use walnut, narrower strips rather than the Sapely that is supplied. Also to add a little detail with the windows, as in the kit these are just left as blank bulkheads. So onto the next stage, did find this keel clamp by Expotools at a 1/3 of the price of the Amati, must say have found it to be of decent construction and allows me to work on the model in many different angles. -
Been a looong time since I’ve posted here, but I thought I’d drop in and give an update on my build. I recently dusted her off, found a spot on the work bench and am continuing the build. It’s slow going, just a piece or two a night between diner and bed, but I’m starting to see the slow progress. Excuse the mess, we’ve recently moved and I haven’t arranged everything yet:
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I bought the kit in 2008. This far I have: Glued the frames to the keelson Glued the decks in place I am now at the stage where I have to shape the ribs. I am not sure how much I must do this? How is the part that must be beveled measured? The instruction manual mention marking the the edge of the rib with a felt pen. I'm not sue how and by how much? I also, on advice, filled the front between the keelson and the front frame with soft wood to make planking easier. Did I do it right? -
Well, I thought I better get my build log back from where I left off.
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Greetings, after thinking for a long time and being un succesfull with plastic-kits i buyed my first wooden kit the HMS Prince of 1670 by Constructo around May-ish from Spain. With alot of Pause in between my work sessions i finally managed to get the first Plank on. getting started in May: Sadly i used the wrong deck planks at the bow these were intended to be the vertical Walls . June: after some break adding the fake decks and adding the first planks huray. Sadly i later had to find out that the fake decks accidently shifted around 1-2mm to starboard wich is causing me some minor problems wich take some time to fix. August - November: adding more deckplanks and the first Bulkheads/vertical Walls. Later November: getting the first Planking on the hull. i hope to get the basic Hull done befor new year. Some tips about steaming the Planks for easyier bending are alot welcome, the material is 2mm x 6mm thank you in advance -
Hi all, this will be my log for my first ship build: the Lady Smith kit by Constructo. I had planned on ordering a kit from the internet, but after a stop at a very unique local model store I found this on the shelf and brought it home: The box was in good shape and everything was packaged really nicely so I figured it was worth a shot. Being my first build, I wanted something that would be challenging but perhaps not as much so as a ship with considerable rigging. This seemed like a good balance, though to be honest, having read through everything, I may have bit off more than I can chew at this point.. Here is my workspace. I was quite pleased to see a plan, instruction manual, and a photo booklet showing the various steps. Right off the bat my main concern is that there are two thin plywood sheets of parts (including the decks) that are significantly warped. I've soaked and steamed them but I think they are unrecoverable. My guess is this kit had been sitting on the shelf for quite some time. Thankfully the thicker plywood which has the false keel andbulkheads is straight so I at least have a decent starting place. My plan is to find some thin plywood (looks like 2mm according to the parts list) and recut the warped pieces unless by some miracle they straighten out after sitting under weight. I was hoping to get started but I think patience will be key and getting new plywood for the decks at the very least will be worth it. Thanks for looking and I plan to keep updating as I make progress. -
Hello readers of this forum, My name is Hjalmar im 31 years old. I Work with computers and at a brewery. Previously i've built a model of the santa maria it was my first model and plank on frame scratch built. Not nearly as nice as some of great ships built on this forum, but was good for learning a bit. Then i built this model of the half moon also scratch. I hope noone minds too much the topic is unfinished, but the ship itself is also unfinished. The rigging is most of the work still to do on it. And improve some details. Now im making a kit model from constructo. The Enterprise built in 1799 i believe. A bunch of pictures will illustrate my progress so far. I used epoxy glue to make a strong hull construction. Because the bulkheads were flimsy, not strong. I foresee alot of problems i will need to solve: - The planking is not tapered of bent (dont know if its called tapered) bent sideways. To make the planking lay flat against the bulkheads as they curve. I didn't see how to make that bend in the planks and didnt have materials in the kit to make them. So the planking is not correct according to the "rules". But i also cant do this with the second layer of planking strips. Its 0,5mm x 5mm sapelly. - Drill the holes for the masts without destroying the ship, and more even, drilling the hole for the bowsprit without ruining the planking. The last picture is the planking after making it wet to see a stain effect. It looks decent, but the planking is incorrect, but i dont know how to make the necessary planks with just the strips of veneer. -
Hello MSW, First off thanks for checking out my inaugural wooden kit build. I will do my best to document my experience bearing in mind that this kit has been discontinued by Constructo. For the record: these are completely uncharted waters for me so I will likely be asking lots of specific questions. I have read a number of build logs on MSW now and done a fair bit of research, but I am looking forward to finally engaging with the community. Without further ado, from Toronto where we have some proper arctic weather (feels like -27°C), here is The Gjøa. For those unfamiliar, The Gjøa was the ship with which Norwegian Explorer/Capt. Roald Amundsen first sailed the Northwest Passage. Below are photos from my first afternoon. The false keel/bulkhead board was thankfully (relatively) warp-free so I jumped right in. I was also happy to see that the false keel was 4mm thick, and rigged up a keel clamp using a couple of camera tripod ballheads, a 4mm thick piece of aluminum (used to offset camera flashes) on a 90° attachment, and some small clamps. Since this kit doesn't allow for a building board/groove this spot was a concern for me, but so far everything seems to have worked out to my eye. FYI I was actually working on an old tripod, and since gluing/taking the photos I have repositioned the clamps to provide more support. First feelings: relief. Constructo's english instructions aren't so bad. The wood seems to be a nice quality/tone (Sapele, Ayous, Manzonia, Mukaly, & Anatolia for masts), and I'm feeling pretty decently prepared for a beginner. I know the hard parts are yet to come. I look forward to feedback. Off to sand her down for the deck, Simon *edited for font size. -
Reading this forum has helped me so much, so I though of sharing my first build project with Mayflower by Constructo kit. Specially pictures have been great help because these instructions (at least for a newbie) has been awful. Secondly I didn't exactly know what I actually started, before I needed to do first hull plank pending... Since I started this project few weeks ago, I try to put dates to different phazes that might help some newbie like me getting the understading how long it takes . Project starting 10.4. 12.4. Keelson, frames and false decks glued. These were ready cut parts so it was simple. First mistake: At this point I measured ~ish by eye that everything was in 90 degress angle (I come to this later, but it might be that this caused a slight pending of the hull later (or the fact that I used slightly force in hull plank pending). -
In 1988, at the age of 35, I bought the cross-section model kit of the Constitution from Mamoli, (which is still available). During a long illness at that time, I built the bulkhead, easily planked the 70mm length surface and carved the multi-deck furniture. I put it away at that stage, having returned to health and work. Admittedly, I was also intimidated by the rigging and mast/spar construction ahead. Over the years, I made sure to preserve the model, though not very delicately. I must have used good glue as I lost no parts or furniture. Now I'm 61 and returned to this Constitution about 8 months ago. I thoroughly enjoyed finishing up all the fittings and furniture. I then tackled the rigging. Other than some basic work, I left it without finishing the mast, spars, shrouds or sails. I am pleased and proud of it anyway as this was my first build. My second build was just finished - the Gretel by Mamoli. It is an 18th Dutch pleasure yacht, which was the early era of such vessels. The whole construction took me about 8 weeks. I now realize how rushed that time frame was. The planking was difficult but I pushed ahead without reading up on this skill. The finished product was flawed, with gaps and razor thin splines. But the decking, mast, spars, gaffs and wood fittings went very well. And this time I completed the rigging! Mamoli makes challenging models in my opinion, with skimpy supplies and inaccurate plans. I had to make a lot of emergency alterations because of some misleading illustrations and quality issues. I do have to say the wood was top quality (except one warped delaminated plywood deck). Now, on to my third build, which I share here. I'll need support and advice on this project! Pilar made by Constructo. I ordered the Pilar because it will require a lot of planking. I didn't do even a good job on the Gretel, so I now have an eighteen inch long model to be completely planked, top to bottom. Great practice! The romance of the Pilar being Ernest Hemingway's yacht also makes it even more interesting to build. The original boat still resides in a Hemingway museum in Cuba. I received the kit via UPS from Florida to Boston today in great condition. I opened the box and saw that all the plastic bags of parts had shifted out of their compartments. The attached pictures depict the contents that I had to reorganized by part number / step. Mamoli had a hard, transparent lid that sealed each compartment, so that parts were less likely to get lost. The first problem I am encountering was evident when I removed the timber. Other than the thicker lime for the first planking, the wood is a mystery. There is one bundle of a single species, which is encouraging if I can figure out what species it is and where it will go. The other two bundles contain a variety of unmarked wood in different shapes, thicknesses and species. These woods are exotic, not the standard walnut or mahogany. Very confusing and irritating. Signing off for now from this first post. Thanks for reading. I promise to be less wordy in the future as the build progresses. First thing is for me to read the instruction booklet and plans, then read it again, and then it read for the third time. No rushing! -
Hi all. I am new to MSW but hopefully will abide by any rules. Apologise in advance if I have completed title incorrectly. I am awaiting my delivery of the Enterprise 1799 from Constructo kit number 80837. I also own the previous kit 80822 which does not have the colour manual. Hopefully I will start my build log with pictures very soon (hopefully tonight/tomorrow morning). After reading many comments about what to look for, I like the look of this ship the most hence choosing to buy. I have made many plastic, resin and smaller wooden boats including planking and look forward to starting this project. Please feel free to add any comments and recommendations you feel necessary and I always welcome criticism where it is due. Photos will be uploaded shortly -
I am new to the hobby and need a lot of advice. I considered buying the Constructo kit of the USS Constitution but I noticed that Model Shipways has a 48 inch model available at what seems to me a good price. I have built many RC airplanes so I'm not new to working with wood although nothing like the craftsmanship needed to produce a ship like this. I would like to know which is the best model to build. My wife calls me "Tim the tool man" because I tend to go with the bigger . . however is there something I need to know before making this decision? I want something that will give me a challenge and look worthy of my time when I finish. Which kit has the best parts quality to it? Or is there another kit of the USS Constitution out there that I am not aware of? Any help and advice is appreciated.
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As a kid I tried my best to finish a partially built Billings kit from H.M.S. Bounty that was given to me by an acquaintance who gave up in frustration. Being too young/inexperienced/impatient/much interested in 1:24 plastic car models, I never finished it either and got rid of the kit after many years. Somehow, this hobby got under my skin so I chose to pick it up again. Since I was overwhelmed by the technical skills that are required when working on the Bounty, I decided to make an easy start so I got myself the Albatros from Constructo. I am well aware this is not a very detailed model and after opening the box I also found out that the materials are acceptable at best. All the better for me though, because I want to gain experience with planking and rigging. I will post pictures and my thoughts as I go along, but being very busy with my work please don’t expect me to do so on a very regular basis. Feel free to comment on my work and do share your thoughts and expertise, as I haven’t done any wood modelling for more than twenty years. Natan -
This is my second ship build, with the first being a Constructo Bluenose II. I made many errors on that build that I hope to learn from with this new build, although this new ship is a large step forward in complexity so I am looking forward to the challenges that it brings. I decided to go with the Constructo version of the HMB Endeavour. Before the site crash there were several build logs with this ship and it appeared to be one of the better kits. I am quite impressed with the quality of the materials provided currently, previous to this build I built the Bluenose II also from Constructo and some of the materials of that kit were less than desirable. It is also nice to note that even though I thought this ship was a single planked hull that according to the note contained with the kit that due to customer requests they have included a veneer second planking. Since I have never planked before as the Bluenose was a solid hull it will be good to have this option should I require it. I was pleasantly surprised that there appeared to be quite a large amount of instructions, there is a book containing a picture of every step of the build along with 5 full scale posters of every aspect of the ship for reference. The bulkheads came nice and straight (thankfully) so they provided very little issues getting the ship square. I used small pieces of leftover wood from the bulkhead punchouts to ensure that everything was held together nice and square for the next parts of deck laying. My first change for this kit was to create some lower decks so the grating in the decks actually went somewhere to give it a more realistic look. It required for me to cut out a few of the bulkheads to make room for the lower decks. This also gave me a chance to try out some decking ideas on decks that are less visible. I used a lumber crayon to blacken the sides of the deck planks to simulate the caulking. From there I used toothpicks to simulate the treenails and then after sanding I gave the deck a nice stain. I am happy with the results although I think the treenails are a bit too large for the scale used so I will use a smaller drill bit size for the main deck treenails (if I decide to do this). Once the lower decks were in it was time to glue on the top decks and start planking them. I decided to go with a 4 butt shift for my deck planking.
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