NEW and scratching head.

[Matey0143]

Hi all,  I’m new (doing my 1st build ever!)

any books y’all can recommend?  My first ship kit (see photo) came with a disc instead of instructions and hopefully there is a book/books that are considered “Bible” like for ship building. The kit I bought was not cheap and I really want to do it justice. Thank you. 

[ccoyle]

No real 'bibles' of ship modeling that I know about, but there's plenty of good books out there. I enjoyed Frank Mastini's Ship Modeling Simplified when I was a beginner -- it gives a food overview of the building process. Check your local library -- they often have a smattering of ship modeling books on hand.

[DBorgens]

Welcome aboard Matey,

You're in the right place. Look around the build logs and search for a San Francisco log. I have learned a great deal simply reading logs and looking at pictures. Don't be afraid to ask questions and pick our brains, at least those who still have some.

 

Dave B

[JeffT]

[catopower]

Welcome Matey0143!

 

I agree with Chris on the Mastini book.

 

Another book, while a lot of the company specific address references are dated, Ship Modeling from Stem to Stern by Milton Roth was an old classic, and much of the technique information applies, as do discussions on scale, rope sizing, and so on. It was actually the first ship modeling book in my library when I was starting out.

 

Of course, the fact that that was over 16 years ago indicates just how dated those the company references are (for paint suppliers, tool suppliers, etc).

 

Probably, the one book that I truly consider my ship modeling bible is the now-out-of-print Historic Ship Models by Wolfram zu Mondfeld. Not a how-to book, but a great reference for modelers, chock full of information.

 

Good luck with your build and enjoy!

 

[Keith Black]

Matey, welcome to MSW. I hope you'll start a build log for your San Francisco model.

[mtaylor]

[Ryland Craze]

Welcome to Model Ship World Matey.  The San Francisco Cross Section looks like a nice kit.  I hope you start a build log on this model so we can follow your progress.