New to ship modelling? But what do you build first?

[bowwild]

Build something you like.

 

This is the recommendation from kit builders advising relative newbies that I struggle with.  I've built, in my youth several plastic modes, mostly airplanes but a Constitution also. 

 

Twenty-five years ago I build a small "sloop" without any difficulty. Then I built the Harvey, again without too much difficulty, but I made a lot of rigging mistakes as I discovered a month ago when repairing the bow of the boat after a fall.  

 

I kept a Mantua HMS Victory kit and a Sovereign of the Seas kit in the que for nearly 25 years. I got the Victory kit out after having stopped building just before the planking step. I spent a few days on first layer of planking and discovered that I had not done a good job of bulkhead preparation. I then sold the just opened SOF kit for a $500 loss a few weeks ago, I didn't like the instructions. 

 

Now I'm heck-bent on giving it another serious go. I am an experienced wood worker built on a much larger scale than model ships (furniture).  I have way too much equipment for the hobby nature of my activities in that area.

 

Building something I like is very important to me and I'm not drawn to the simple or small builds such as row boats and single mast ships.  These days with build logs, videos, and great instructions I think I can take on a variety of complicated model kits from say Vanguard, Syren, Caldercraft, or Occre.   I'm leaning very heavily towards Vanguard's Indefatigable because of its large scale, great instruction. and builder friendly design features (locking wedges and the like).  However, I am more interested in even more imposing ships like Victory, Sovereign of the Seas, San Felipe, Wasa, HMS Trafalgar, and Le Soleil Royal, but I don't know which of any of these will come close to Vanguard's thoroughness in terms of materials, instructions, and build design? 

 

 

 

 

[Thukydides]

On 3/4/2025 at 2:09 PM, bowwild said:

Now I'm heck-bent on giving it another serious go. I am an experienced wood worker built on a much larger scale than model ships (furniture).  I have way too much equipment for the hobby nature of my activities in that area.

As you say you need to have an interest in the subject matter, but I would caution you about doing a 3 master. The Rigging is a whole skillset in and of itself so even if you are comfortable with the woodworking side of things, you my find yourself bogged down on the rigging with such a large project. My view of the matter is that you don't know what you don't know until you do it and I chose to do something a bit smaller first to make mistakes on before trying "the ship of my dreams" so to speak.

 

That being said this is not to say you can't be successful diving right in, just that I would recommend starting with a smaller project such as a cutter or maybe a small brig first.

[Meekes]

(Hey! new guy here!)

 

I've been looking around for the perfect kit to start off with and i'm so terrified of buying the wrong one (either me buying a kit i find boring or one that's too difficult for me to start with).

 

I've been looking at Artesania Latina (as i'm from Europe so i'd rather not pay massive import costs) and mainly at their J. S. Elcano kit.

Their Drakkar viking boat and indian girl canoe look great aswell but i'm not sure which i should go for first.

 

I was wondering though, are these recommendations still up to date? as this topic is almost 7 years old (crazy huh) or if anyone has any other recommendations for me?

[ccoyle]

29 minutes ago, Meekes said:

I've been looking at Artesania Latina (as i'm from Europe so i'd rather not pay massive import costs) and mainly at their J. S. Elcano kit.

Their Drakkar viking boat and indian girl canoe look great aswell but i'm not sure which i should go for first.

 

I have no experience with AL kits, so I can't speak to the suitability of their kits aimed at beginners. I would stay away from the JS Elcano as a first model, though, as that is a pretty complex subject at any skill level.

[Morten in Norway]

The most omportan thing is that you are interessed in the ship. Next perfect build manual and good materielas.

 

Go for a Vanguard kit from Chris Watton.   Forgett about Al, BB and a few more. I have built

them for more than 40 yares and I know what I am talking about

 

 

 

 

 

Morten in Norway

[ubjs]

JS Elcano is rubbish, the material is bad, the scale is difficult. AL probably has several other good kits, a lot has happened in 40 years. I have their Vasa for example which is not perfect but ok, not a beginner model though. I think Vanguard is good, don't know where in Europe you live but there is a German dealer. https://www.krickshop.de/Models/Static-Models.htm?shop=krick_e&SessionId=&a=catalog&p=80

 

[mtaylor]

Meekes,

Over the years the best advice to a beginner was to "start small with no masts, then go to model with one mast and then two and build your skills with minimal investment  ."  Since you're in Europe, I'd suggest have look at the Model Shipways 3 ship beginner set and see if you can find a comparable set of models where you are.  Thinks like planking can be steep learning curve for some of us and this method is good way to start.  It's relatively fast and inexpensive compared to larger modes.

[ubjs]

No, no! You can buy Model Shipways in America, in Europe they cost a fortune. 90 euros for a dory, that's a joke. The Polaris from Occre is a pure beginner's kit, a real ship for about the same price as a dory from Model Shipways.

https://occre.com/en/products/polaris

[mtaylor]

11 minutes ago, ubjs said:

No, no! You can buy Model Shipways in America, in Europe they cost a fortune. 90 euros for a dory, that's a joke. The Polaris from Occre is a pure beginner's kit, a real ship for about the same price as a dory from Model Shipways.

https://occre.com/en/products/polaris

I guess I should have been a bit clearer.  Yes.  Research everywhere but buy local when possible.   In this case Occre is a good start.

[ubjs]

Over 200 euros for this one, but I think it's a lot of boat for the money. Good materials and construction. Maybe the best choice as a beginner boat if you can afford it. 

https://www.krickshop.de/Models/Static-Models/Saucy-Jack-Well-Smack-Bausatz-1-64.htm?shop=krick_e&SessionId=&a=article&ProdNr=25319&p=80

 

I have built Occre Polaris, the material is ok and the instructions is the best I have seen, got all printed in the box.

There is a lot of videos also.

But Vanguard is top quality.

 

Another way to think about it is that the first boat is rarely great, so maybe buy cheap and save the money for your second ship.

[Meekes]

Thank you all for the fast and clear responses!

I guess i should've known about starting with no masts (eagerness to start high often overpowers logical thinking).

I'll have a better look around and start with something alot smaller, i'm in no rush so got lots of research to do.

[palmerit]

The Vanguard Sherbourne and Vanguard fishing boats (with the reddish sails, there are six varieties - the Saucy Jack is one of them) are a great first model. Definitely take serious the ratings and start with a novice kit. There is so much to learn. I almost jumped up a couple levels for my second build but then decided instead to build some additional simpler boats first. Most of the Vanguard models do have a mast but the materials are great and the instructions clear. You can download (for free) the instructions on the Vanguard web site (https://vanguardmodels.co.uk) and check them out.

 

I'd recommend picking a model that has a lot of build logs here - that means a lot you can learn from and folks who built (or are building) can answer questions. This page has a fairly up-to-date index of various ships (by year range) of all the build logs : 

While the original post date was 2017, the first post was last updated a couple months ago. 

[Meekes]

11 hours ago, palmerit said:

The Vanguard Sherbourne and Vanguard fishing boats (with the reddish sails, there are six varieties - the Saucy Jack is one of them) are a great first model.

 

Yeah the Sherbourne of one of the fishing boats from Vanguard do look really nice.

But for my first build i'll probably look for one that's not 200+ euros as it's mainly to get into it and it'd be a dream to think that i wouldn't make some kind of mistake while learning. It's definitely on my list if i enjoyed the first one though!

Plus knowing that i also need to get some tools still i'll be getting up there in costs already.

 

I'll definitely listen to you and look and models with lots of build logs, great tip!

I have to admit with all of you being so informative and helpful i'm very much looking forward to getting into this hobby.

[GrandpaPhil]

I used the AL Bounty Jolly Boat as my intro to an actual planked hull model boat.

 

It worked perfectly and I learned a LOT!

[ubjs]

I really like this one.

A fast way to search build logs here is to use the web browser and write modelshipworld polaris build log.

 

[palmerit]

2 hours ago, Meekes said:

it'd be a dream to think that i wouldn't make some kind of mistake while learning

True. That's why I ended up doing some Model Shipways kits while continuing to work on my Vanguard Sherbourne. Too bad the Model Shipways kits are too expensive in Europe - I'm surprised they don't have a European vendor. Their Shipwright series of three boats is a nice trio of started kits (despite some frustrations with the material and instructions).

 

The biggest mistake will probably be with planking. My first planking of the Sherbourne was a mess. The second planking of the Sherbourne hardly better. I've done better on later kits. It definitely takes practice. One nice thing is that for any beginner kits, you'll likely be painting the hull anyway and there's not much you can't fix with wood filler and sanding. My final Sherbourne hull doesn't even look like what I started with. Definitely read build logs and tutorials on planking (including the ones linked on the Articles Database at the top of this web site). But you eventually you need to just try the planking and make mistakes.

 

One thing nice about wooden model ship kits as that you can always unglue things (with the right solvent). And you can usually remake parts with scrap wood, which is good practice for what it might be like to kit bash or scratch build. On my Sherbourne, I certainly messed something up somewhere because the parts on the side at the rear of the ship did not line up right. So I ended up making some parts from scratch and used filler and paint and I don't think most people would be able to tell that I ever made a mistake or what mistake I made. I've made plenty of mistakes on the few kits I've worked on and I've never been able to undo any of them or get around them in some way or the mistakes just add some character to my finish result.

[kurtvd19]

You should look at the NRG's Planking Kit - https://thenrgstore.org/collections/plans-and-projects/products/half-hull-planking-project  -

It has a very complete tutorial guide on the proper way to plank a hull.  There are a bunch or build logs here on MSW along with the build log by Toni Levine who designed the kit.  This will aid you in planking future kits.

Kurt

 

 

[palmerit]

The Half Hull was a great learning experience for me, though you don't end up with a complete ship at the end. As the name implies, it's a half hull. Having to cut out the planks from sheets of basswood gives you a good appreciation for how you might have to bend (in three dimensions) strip planks (which are common in lots of kits). I will say that that was great to do after having first tried planking the Sherbourne (with small success and lots of filler and sanding, trying to digest lots of planking guides and build logs). I don't know what the shipping costs are for sending that kit overseas.

 

The Model Shipways kits (Dory, Pram, Smack) give you already-shaped planks (that you snip out of a sheet) that you just have to bend into place in one dimension. The Half Hull has you cut out planks to the right size yourself from sheets. The Vanguard kits (and many others) give you strips of wood that are all the same size that you need to cut, trim, bend, and shape (often with water and heat) to fit the hull. Some hulls (like the Vanguard Ranger) are fairly simple, the Sherbourne is a tiny bit more complicated, and more advanced kits (that I haven't attempted) are even trickier to plank. I know I'm not saying anything most people on here don't already know. But these were dimensions of difference that I was completely clueless about when I first started not so long ago.

Edited Tuesday at 06:38 PM by palmerit

[kurtvd19]

The Half Hull kit can be finished off as a complete model with the installation of the deck and masts - Use only a partial mast as in an Admiralty model if rigging is not something you have leared or don't wish to do.  However, if you do the Rigging Kit you will know what is needed for a full half hull model.  A lot of half hull models are not rigged.

Kurrt

 

[Kenchington]

21 hours ago, ubjs said:

No, no! You can buy Model Shipways in America, in Europe they cost a fortune. 90 euros for a dory, that's a joke.

I agree that that is a terrible price! However, after building that kit and now being well ahead with the next in the trio (the Norwegian sailing pram), I have spent far, far more on the tools and supplies needed to complete the two models to my satisfaction. Of course, the tools are available for any subsequent models, while the amount spent on extras is partly because they come in packages of six, when you only need two, or 200, when you need 20 -- so I'm left with a supply for later projects too. But then there is your time committed to model building to consider and, most important, the value of the learning experience from a first model (or a first three).

 

If the option is either 200 euro for tools and materials, plus 90 for a kit, to get a precious lesson that will set you on the path to advanced ship modelling, versus 200 for tools and materials plus 25 for something cheap and simple from which you will learn little, I know what my choice would be. Same if it was 200 for the extras and 200 for a more complex kit that might drive you to give up in frustration.

 

So I'll second what mark advised:

21 hours ago, mtaylor said:

have look at the Model Shipways 3 ship beginner set and see if you can find a comparable set of models where you are

Except that I would add: If there isn't anything comparable locally available, accept the cost and get the Model Shipways combo anyway.

 

Trevor

[palmerit]

The Model Shipways Shipwright Combo (Dory, Pram, Smack) is $149.99US and it comes with a bunch of tools (though I imagine you'll soon want to replace them with better ones) and paint (not the best paint, but it's free). Don't know what the shipping would be but you get 3 kits in on package.

 

https://modelexpo-online.com/Model-Shipways-Shipwright-3-Kit-Combo-Series-with-Tools-Glue-and-Paint_p_5290.html

 

[palmerit]

I have an order in the queue for the Pavel Nikitin Oseberg - which will probably sit in my stash for a while - and it's shipping from Ukraine was nearly $100.

[James H]

1 hour ago, palmerit said:

I have an order in the queue for the Pavel Nikitin Oseberg - which will probably sit in my stash for a while - and it's shipping from Ukraine was nearly $100.

I hope you'll do a build log for this.

[ubjs]

I have the Norwegian Pram (because it's a Norwegian boat) and I don't think it suits everyone. 
It is small and the wood material, I don't know what it is, something between balsa and linden. 
Fragile material that I don't like to work with anyway.
Maybe it's linden but of a soft kind? The parts are also very thin.
Probably depends on who you are, probably fits well for small hands.
The wood material in the Occre Polaris is the same as in their larger ships. 
If I were to choose a dory as a start, I would buy one from Bluejacket, 
it is in any case something to take in and you get big, nice drawings.

Edited Tuesday at 08:48 PM by ubjs

[ubjs]

There are of course a lot of options. I searched at Krick on simple and here is the list.

https://www.krickshop.de/Models/Static-Models.htm?shop=krick_e&SessionId=&a=catalog&p=80&filter=k10g53p55

 

Billing boats are hated by Americans, I understand, but for Europeans, they have many interesting ships. Here we Europeans have the opposite compared to Model Shipways, Billings kits are relatively cheap in Europe and probably more expensive in the US. I have built the fishing boat Norden and it is nice and absolutely suitable as a first boat. Link to Norden, the instructions can be downloaded. Billings instructions are based on exploded views instead of text.

https://www.billingboats.com/index.php/modelboats-footer/39/120/boats/the-beginner/P-bb603-norden-cutter

 

[ubjs]

Reminds me of Torborg, a small Norwegian rowing and sailing boat from Billings. 

Build log: https://shipsofscale.com/sosforums/threads/torborg-billing-boats-1-20.6226/

 

 

 

[Kenchington]

56 minutes ago, ubjs said:

I have the Norwegian Pram (because it's a Norwegian boat) and I don't think it suits everyone. 
It is small and the wood material, I don't know what it is, something between balsa and linden. 
Fragile material that I don't like to work with anyway.
Maybe it's linden but of a soft kind? The parts are also very thin.
Probably depends on who you are, probably fits well for small hands.
The wood material in the Occre Polaris is the same as in their larger ships. 
If I were to choose a dory as a start, I would buy one from Bluejacket, 
it is in any case something to take in and you get big, nice drawings.

Linden, lime, basswood: All the same botanical genus, though there are many species. Besides, the quality of lumber depends on much more than just the kind of tree: Soil type, local climate etc. all have large effects. The variety used by Model Shipways is certainly light, and nowhere near as strong as the tropical hardwoods I use on my full-size boat, but I don't find it excessively fragile. (And no: Nobody would describe my hands as small!) The parts do need care, but that is one of the things we need to develop when building ship models.

 

To me, one of the attractions of the Model Shipways dory and pram is that the wood thickness is as much in scale as are the length and beam of the boats. Both prototypes are light-weight boats and the models reflect that. Besides, working with those 1/32-inch (0.8mm!) planks is all part of the learning experience. On the other hand, the instruction booklets do fall badly short.

 

I'm not here to promote Model Shipways products, though. There are only one or two of their other kits that interest me and neither would be next on my list. It is just that I have found building the first two of their introductory trio to be really helpful.

 

Trevor

[Meekes]

15 hours ago, palmerit said:

The Model Shipways Shipwright Combo (Dory, Pram, Smack) is $149.99US and it comes with a bunch of tools (though I imagine you'll soon want to replace them with better ones) and paint (not the best paint, but it's free). Don't know what the shipping would be but you get 3 kits in on package.

 

Buying that combo here would be 225 euros, i know you get a 3 ship Combo for that price but i'd rather wait for that after my first build (if i don't end up liking it i'd be stuck with one unfinished ship and 2 i haven't even started).

 

I'll probably go for the Occre Polaris.

I've already looked at a few build logs and i'll admit i'm still slightly afraid that this ship will be more than i can chew, i'm an overthinker, it often happens.

Meanwhile i'm still doing research and getting a small list of needed starter tools to get an eye on the overall cost to get into the hobby.

[ubjs]

The thing about wooden ships is that most things can be fixed.
The important thing is to start building. You will make mistakes but they can be fixed.
If you fail to plank Polaris, you can always plaster her and paint.
When you do the second planking on Polaris with the thinner strips,
 I suggest that you finish planking one sian first. 
Then the other side will probably be better and you can turn it towards the ¨audience¨.

My tip, whatever ship you choose, buy it now and start building.

You learn step by step by building, not by reading.

[palmerit]

One piece of advice I remember reading when I was just starting - which was not long ago - was to treat each step of building a model ship as its own "project". That could mean adding a plank, shaping a mast, rigging a block. As you've seen, these models can take a long time to build - they're not just a weekend project. The Polaris says 120 hours. And as others have said, you can always fix a mistake on a wooden model.

 

I wasn't put off by the amount of time it might take to build one of these models - in fact, it was an advantage for me because I wanted something I could get immersed in over the long run. I am glad I didn't try to tackle a model that would far exceed my capabilities because I probably would have had a 1/2 finished model packed away in the cellar. If I hadn't checked out this web site, I probably would have bought something far beyond my capabilities.

 

The Polaris shows an all-wood model, which requires a really nice planking job that few novices would be able to pull off - I certainly couldn't. But you can always paint the hull, which would then allow a lot of filler and sanding. If you look at my Sherbourne, the planking was kind of garbage, but the end result after painting was fine.