Highest difficulty kit model

[Rainbow]

Hey guys,

 

I browse these days a lot of online shops, especially the ones from kit selection pdf here and notice that most of the kits are marked as difficulty level 2 or 3 out of 5.

 

So I was wondering is there any kit that is ranked at 4 or even 5 out of 5? I'm curios to see how it looks like, what's in the box, etc.

 

Because for me as a beginner even the ones rated at 3 looks pretty hard (I'm working on level 2 right now - Corsair by OcCre). Or the people here with more models through their hands - what do you consider the hardest kit?

 

I hope it's not duplicate topic since I didn't found anything like that in the search

[mtaylor]

This is kind of hard to quantify as each manufacturer seems to have it's own system on "rating".    Generally, the more guns, the more masts, and the more decorations (aka fiddly bits), then the higher rated it should be.  

[Rainbow]

So maybe it something like very detailed version of Victory I guess

[mtaylor]

Probably.  Royal William, Soleil Royal, Wasa/Vasa, Sovereign of the Seas are in there also.   There's an awful lot of these over the top ships sold, but few get finished.  There's not just complexity but also redundancy to be taken into account.  Building, installing, and rigging 20 guns is one thing.  Doing 50 or 100 is another.  More planking, more rigging.

 

Maybe instead of rating them on experience, they should be rated on the stubbornness and determination of the builder?      

[uss frolick]

I would say the Bluejacket solid hull Constitution is one of the most challenging. She is very complicated for 1/8th scale, and the sheer number of her "Britania-metal" fittings looks rather daunting.

[marktiedens]

I have built Sovereign of the Seas,Victory,San Felipe,Royal Louis,& 2 models of the Vasa. The Royal William I am currently working on is definitely the most difficult to me.

 

Mark

[pirozzi]

I have completed several complex models over the years. The last completed was the Sovereign of the Seas and that was the most intense and difficult up to that point. I am now working on the Royal William and this makes the SOS look like a piece of cake. The RW is extremely difficult because it leaves much of the build to the disgression of the builder. Most of it has to be created from scratch even though it is techically a kit. But I have to confess, I chose it for this exact reason. I wanted a real challenge, and it does not disappoint. I have made a lot of mistakes along the way, but I have learned a great deal, and have improved my skills considerably for the next model once she is completed.

 

Vince P.

[grsjax]

Depends on what you think is difficult.  A small scale three masted ship may not cause as much difficulty as a large scale open boat with a wealth of detailed structure and fittings.  Take a look at Model Shipway's whaleboat kit and compare it to Amati's 1:177 (think that is the right scale) HMS Bounty as an example.  The larger the scale the more detail is needed.  Of course for a whaleboat and Bounty built at the same scale the latter is going to be more complicated.  All in the eye of the builder.

[mtdoramike]

Any solid hull kit is difficult to build because of fairing the hull properly. Most folks take off too much wood and by the time they realize it, it's too late. So it's putty and filler time. You can take wood off, but you can't add it. That is why you have to use the supplied templates to check and triple check the fairing after a little sanding. To me, a solid hull is more difficult to build than a plank on frame. Plank on frame, all you have to do is lay a plank of wood, sight down the plank at each frame to determine where it needs to be shimmed and they all have to be shimmed whether it be a few or a lot.

 

Also to me, the cheaper the cost of the kit, the harder it is to build due to substandard parts, woods and usually smaller size. 

 

 

mike   

Edited March 18, 2016 by mtdoramike