MSW and Research Guild member - I want to buy a Mantua Sovereign kit

[md1400cs]

Hello Mates,

I would like to purchase an older Mantua example of their Sovereign of the Seas., NOT a newly released Sergal kit that included some updates such as pre printed complete deck. If you have one that you never started, and the kit is complete with no missing parts, including complete instructions,  please send me a PM and I can possibly take it off of your hands. I will pay through payPal. 

Regards,

 

[GrandpaPhil]

Have you thought about buying the Amati plans or Sergal plans from Cornwall or Age of Sails?  Both sets of plans should have templates for all of the laser/die cut parts.  It would be copy, cut and glue at that point.  The old Mantua kit had preprinted wood parts, that you would have to cut out anyway.  The hardest part would be making the carvings, and you can buy the carving set from Cornwall if you didn't feel like carving them yourself.

[marktiedens]

2 hours ago, GrandpaPhil said:

Have you thought about buying the Amati plans or Sergal plans from Cornwall or Age of Sails?  Both sets of plans should have templates for all of the laser/die cut parts.  It would be copy, cut and glue at that point.  The old Mantua kit had preprinted wood parts, that you would have to cut out anyway.  The hardest part would be making the carvings, and you can buy the carving set from Cornwall if you didn't feel like carving them yourself.

Sorry to differ with you,but I built the older Sergal SoS kit way back & there were no pre-printed parts to cut out - everything was laser cut.  I don`t recall any of Sergal`s kits having pre - printed parts.   I think some of Amati`s older kits may have the pre-printed parts,though.

 

 

Mark

[md1400cs]

GP,

 

Noted - thanks - your thoughts are beyond my skill set. I need to revisit the possibilities re: building the SOS. I have some ideas. 

PS: I did not know that Sergal sold the decorative bits separately. Also the Amati SOS is a diff. scale from the Sergal release, as you know...

And it seems as if the new Sergal SOS decorative bits (100s of them) are not as well "detailed" as in the earlier release of this kit. solid brass bits became white metal

sprayed with a "gold" spray covering....resulting in much less accurate details  --- Still working on solutions. TBD

I have the new McKay book - excellent addition - though one reviewer on Amazon killed it with 1 star - need to read why he hated the work so much - all other reviews were 5 stars.

Little is actually known empirically about this ship - so who knows. 

 

MJD

[mtdoramike]

I have learned from experience about Amazon reviews. If it were me, I would opt for the new SoS kit, take a Dremel tool to clean up the detailing's in the parts, brass or pot metal and then buy some gold leaf and apply gold leaf to the parts where applicable, which I have done on numerous kits.  

[md1400cs]

Yes - excellent idea - this has crossed mind mind as well per "one of my ideas" that I alluded to above. Though I have made a contact re: an old "new in box" earlier edition of SOS with all solid brass bits - The leafing is still a brilliant idea however. The images that I have seen of the earlier brass Sergal kits - DO - IMO make a big diff. with small details that really stand out - adding to the scaling correctness. 

 

TBD.  images of the  brass bits taken with a mobile phone from the connection that I made with a MSW member. These have been in a box for many years - need cleaning polishing and spray brass protection spray - that said - the details look to quite good indeed comparatively speaking....Lastly an example of a superb Sergal SOS from their all brass release bits. Don't know whom to credit for this amazing build.

 

[mtdoramike]

But boy howdy would those brass pieces really stand out with gold leaf, never have to worry about tarnishing, it would be eye popping. It would make one eye beat up the other eye just to get another look at it.😁

[marktiedens]

Not a big deal,but  those old Sergal castings are actually bronze,not brass.  Having worked with them,I can tell you they are much harder than brass.

 

Mark

[md1400cs]

Ah!! ---  ok thanks Mark. Bronze it is -

 

Someone who knew much about the two generations of this kit had mentioned brass - I would still image that those bits were much nicer than the current white metal bits that are dipped in a gold looking type of solution. The bronze images I posted appear, compared to what builder logs show today, to have much more detail and definition. 

Thanks for the update 

[ASAT]

Do you happen to know the timeframe of when Sergal switched from bronze to white metal ? What vintage of the kit has the more desirable fittings?