Robert Hunt practicum?

[poundemin59]

I've searched the site for a review on this but can't find anything so I apologize if this has been asked before. I've been to the lauckstreetshipyards website and these practicums seem to be pretty sweet, but are they worth the money? I know, I know, price is relative, but to anyone who has used them, was it worth your money? Never having built a POB before, I'm wondering if it's simple enough to guide me through the process. I'd like to see a review on any of them. The website special for $200 actually looks like a good deal. Any thought?

Leonard

[kurtvd19]

This is individual and his courses has been a controversial subject here.  In the search box at the top of the page type in Hunt + Practicum and you will see almost 150 mentions.  Check through them.  Some will say great others will say not so good with a few less than OK.  The information is there - you decide.

Kurt

 

[Everest]

If you would like to save $200 go to Articles Database located at the top of the opening page. Everything you need to know about planking is in there, along with a lot of other information pertaining to ship model building. Articles about planking ,rigging, painting ,etc.

[poundemin59]

Thanks. Apparently I used the wrong search phrase.

I've seen where a few people used them but nothing definitive about the actual practicum. I'm thinking I'll just save my money to use on the Constitution kit and just use the build logs here and see how many times I can make the same mistakes.  lol 

Leonard

[poundemin59]

Thanks Everest, I found that yesterday and have already found the Bakker and Brooker article on planking. I think they wrote that for me. 

[solemar]

You don't need to spend lots of money on Bob Hunts practicums.

He doesn't tell you anything outstanding, which the wonderful members of the forum are happy to impart for free.

Just follow the build logs and post questions when you have a problem or unsure of how to do something or proceed,

and you will gets lots of helpful advice and encouragement along the way!

Happy building!!!!

/Andrew

[Nirvana]

Leonard, use that money to buy extra parts from Syren Ship Model Company.

Use this forum for information and guidance.

That's why we are all here.

[Landlubber Mike]

I have the Amati Pegasus/Fly practicum.  I have to say it wasn't really worth it.  He took a lot of shortcuts in putting it together, including using pictures from other models.  He also rushed and did a lot of errors like gluing photo etch the wrong way and probably another half dozen errors he freely points out.  A bit odd to buy something for instruction that essentially says "don't do as I do."  I'd also note that he doesn't have anything on rigging in that practicum.  Some really basic stuff came in handy when I was working on my first build (which wasn't the Pegasus) and had no clue what I was doing, but I probably could have gotten better answers posting here.

 

Some people say the Constitution practicum is pretty good.  Maybe it's a lot better than the Pegasus one, I don't know though.

[Nirvana]

I have the Bluenose practicum,  but barely used it. Worked majorly from the plans.

[poundemin59]

Thanks guys. I've decided not to bother with the practicums at this time. Got the Rattlesnake today. Missing at couple of parts, but I've contacted MS. I won't need them for a while. since I won't be working on the rigging yet. I have everything except an overhead light and wax paper.  And time. 

Leonard

[RustyNail123]

I know I’m late to this but I bought the Fair American practicum. When I emailed him with questions concerning the disks, his response was quite condescending. I’ll never buy anything from him again based on that correspondence alone. Plus, the information as others have stated, seems rudimentary. This is just MHO though. 

[CiscoH]

I am currently building Model Shipways Armed Virginia Sloop and I got Bob Hunt's practicum.  So far it has been very helpful, in part because the supplied kit directions are so 1970's.  I think many people (including me) use his practicum's for their first model.  As i have not tried to contact Mr Hunt can't comment on his responses.

[RustyNail123]

I'm glad you are getting use out of the practicum and I agree about the directions. 

[javajohn]

@RustyNail123 I'm sorry to hear about your experience with Bob Hunt. My experience was much better.

 

@CiscoH I used Bob Hunt's practicum to build the Armed Virgina Sloop as well. I found it helpful for a newbie like me and agree with you - practicums can help first-time modelers, at least with the general build sequence. But they aren't the final word.

 

When I bought Bob Hunt's Fair American kit, he threw in all of his practicums as a deal because I was the 100th buyer. I'm a relative newbie in modeling so I may have been over my head. So, my experience with this build was not as good as the first. There was very little about how to deal with common problems a builder would typically run into. The practicum itself had a few errors and errata, and many of the photos were out of sequence from the text of the build which confused me. In some cases, the photos were of a prototype, not what was provided in the kit.

 

The biggest errors I made were with the cant frames; I screwed up the frames where they met the keel. I just didn't understand what the text was telling me and there were no close-up pictures of this area of the model. That threw off the entire build. I wish the practicum had explained how to shape and measure them better.

 

I believe the issue with practicums in general is an implicit assumption that the modeler really has some experience with wood model making and knows how to correct problems as they crop up. Indeed, I find the build logs here in the forum more valuable, especially for us beginners.

 

I'm currently building the MS Rattlesnake kit and have used Hunt's Mamoli practicum as a reference for a few things. Now if I could actually find the time to work on it...

Edited December 20, 2021 by javajohn

[stuglo]

Bob Hunt's "Hanna Practicum" gave me the foundation and confidence to start scratch building. After 30 years of building kits, possessing and reading many books, never took me beyond this. Thanks to Bob, I am building a scratch Swan class ( also with a practicum TFFM). I never would have tried without such a positive experience. Any quibbles or critiscms pale to insignificance. 

[EricWilliamMarshall]

On 12/30/2018 at 4:17 PM, poundemin59 said:

The website special for $200 actually looks like a good deal. Any thought?

Regardless of the value of Hunt's work, I believe as a beginner, one yearns for something that will cover everything completely. I still do, but the truth is nothing covers every nook and cranny. Mistakes will be made, some items may not be understood until much too late, some things will be overlooked and somethings will not be spot on. That is the nature of the beast. If you want perfect, build a couple dozen and pick the best. It will still have errors but only you will know where.

I also noticed for myself, what is perfect information today, is 'obvious' tomorrow and was over my head yesterday. That is the perfect instructions are a moving target assuming you improve even the slightest bit. 

I'm not commenting Hunt or similar, just the wide nature of this hobby makes it tough to hit all the needed skills easily. Conversely, it is that width that makes it interesting.  

Edited December 22, 2021 by EricWilliamMarshall

[RustyNail123]

6 hours ago, stuglo said:

Bob Hunt's "Hanna Practicum" gave me the foundation and confidence to start scratch building. After 30 years of building kits, possessing and reading many books, never took me beyond this. Thanks to Bob, I am building a scratch Swan class ( also with a practicum TFFM). I never would have tried without such a positive experience. Any quibbles or critiscms pale to insignificance. 

As I ended my post with IMHO, it was stated as that. My comments are not insignificant as yours are not insignificant. I’m happy his practicums helped you, they do not help others as much. As stated, it’s the nature of the hobby, but not insignificant.