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Newbie just starting needing help


NomaD7801

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Hi I'm Damon. I'm totally new to this. I have experience making cars, gundams, and planes. My grandfather left me a 1978 German Revell pirate ship, wooden model kit. The parts are not cut out of the wood boards, they are just printed on them. One board, for the deck, is cut all the way through. Should I bother trying to cut these boards out. They look like they should have been cut out, as I have seen the same types of board used. mKjrKT4.jpg

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Back then, they did things one of two ways as there was no laser cutting.  They either printed the parts or die cut them with metal die that usually went dull pretty quick.  As for cutting, it looks like you'll have to cut even the big pieces as they're not cut all the way through.  Sort of like scratch building except the parts already drawn on the wood.

Mark
"The shipwright is slow, but the wood is patient." - me

Current Build:                                                                                             
Past Builds:
 La Belle Poule 1765 - French Frigate from ANCRE plans - ON HOLD           Triton Cross-Section   

 NRG Hallf Hull Planking Kit                                                                            HMS Sphinx 1775 - Vanguard Models - 1:64               

 

Non-Ship Model:                                                                                         On hold, maybe forever:           

CH-53 Sikorsky - 1:48 - Revell - Completed                                                   Licorne - 1755 from Hahn Plans (Scratch) Version 2.0 (Abandoned)         

         

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

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Back in the mid 20th century many (most, all?) kits supplied sheets of wood with the part outlines printed on them. You had to cut out the pieces one by one. Looks like someone started cutting out the center/keel part.

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Those were the days!  I would recommend cutting and sawing until you get close, but not into the printed lines.  Then sand and file as needed to fit. Sand any left over ink off.  I never did figured out whether to finish to the line, middle of the line or all the line.  Any other opinions out here?   

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2 hours ago, Dr PR said:

Back in the mid 20th century many (most, all?) kits supplied sheets of wood with the part outlines printed on them. You had to cut out the pieces one by one. Looks like someone started cutting out the center/keel part.

I started cutting the center, just outside the line using a bow/coping saw. It's those tiny parts on the printed board that are going to be the worst.s6rDE1W.jpg

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Hmm -- that's an interesting photo. It's curious that this was called a Schnellbaukasten, or "quick-build kit", considering that one has to cut out the printed parts. Typically, "quick build" (one also sees "weekender" kits on the market) means that a kit is a simplified design intended to make construction easier at the expense of fidelity to the subject. In this case, the subject is a flight of fancy, since the makers are conflating the terms "pirate" and "slaver". Either way, the hull form doesn't look right for the 1840s. 

 

Enjoy building this little bit of modeling history -- I'll be interested to see how it turns out.

 

Cheers!

Chris Coyle
Greer, South Carolina

When you have to shoot, shoot. Don't talk.
- Tuco

Current builds: Brigantine Phoenix, Hawker Hurricane

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Welcome!  

 

That kit looks like fun!

Building: 1:64 HMS Revenge (Victory Models plans)

1:64 Cat Esther (17th Century Dutch Merchant Ships)
 

On the building slip: 1:72 French Ironclad Magenta (original shipyard plans)

 

On hold: 1:98 Mantua HMS Victory (kit bash), 1:96 Shipyard HMS Mercury

 

Favorite finished builds:  1:60 Sampang Good Fortune (Amati plans), 1:200 Orel Ironclad Solferino, 1:72 Schooner Hannah (Hahn plans), 1:72 Privateer Prince de Neufchatel (Chapelle plans), Model Shipways Sultana, Heller La Reale, Encore USS Olympia

 

Goal: Become better than I was yesterday

 

"The hardest part is deciding to try." - me

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22 hours ago, PopDavid said:

 I never did figured out whether to finish to the line, middle of the line or all the line.  Any other opinions out here?   

I read somewhere (maybe a woodworking page) that either or but be consistent. 

Mark
"The shipwright is slow, but the wood is patient." - me

Current Build:                                                                                             
Past Builds:
 La Belle Poule 1765 - French Frigate from ANCRE plans - ON HOLD           Triton Cross-Section   

 NRG Hallf Hull Planking Kit                                                                            HMS Sphinx 1775 - Vanguard Models - 1:64               

 

Non-Ship Model:                                                                                         On hold, maybe forever:           

CH-53 Sikorsky - 1:48 - Revell - Completed                                                   Licorne - 1755 from Hahn Plans (Scratch) Version 2.0 (Abandoned)         

         

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

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  • 2 weeks later...

If I can add a bit of advise, one newbie to another here.

The first ship kit I intended to make was an early kit, that, like yours was printed on the wood and not laser cut.

I found it incredibly frustrating to build with many of the smaller parts breaking and also very very time consuming.

In the end I managed to get the hull planked and that’s where I left it. It was a poor kit with poor instructions and it would involve a lot of ‘kit bashing’ (making bits from scratch) to make it a presentable model.

Like you, I was no stranger to model making, and I am a carpenter by trade (with a vast array of tools) but I still found it a steep learning curve.

 

So, here is my advise. Put this kit to one side for now and start with something newer and more modern. Build your skills and then once you have a kit or two under your belt come back to this.

That way you will be able to do your Grandfathers kit justice and build it into a great model.

 

Just my $0.02

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