Kit Review: Model Shipways “Become a Shipwright of Old” 3-boat kit

[Mark m]

I have come back to model-building after a 40-year hiatus, and was looking for a kit for my first model ship.  

After some research, including good advice in the Model Ship World forums, I picked the Model Shipways “Become a Shipwright of Old” kit.  Initially, I was going to get the Lowell Dory kit, but decided to get the 3-boat kit to develop my skills progressively.

 

This kit seems to have a few advantages for a beginner:

1.      It is a progressive series of builds.

2.      The instructions are geared to a beginner.  (Model Shipways has the instructions posted online, and I downloaded them before I purchased.)

3.      It’s relatively inexpensive ($169 for three boats, less on one of Model Expo’s frequent sales).

 

Others have reviewed this kit, so I am giving the impressions of a newbie, rather than a practiced eye.

 

The three-boat kit comes with most of the tools needed to build the first boat.  It also includes paint for all three boats.  This is not clear in their advertising, which initially made me think I only got paint for the first boat.  If you buy the kits separately, paint for the last two is not included.  There is a lower-priced kit for the first boat, which does not include tools or paint.

I ordered late on a Saturday night, and the kit was delivered from Florida to Georgia on Friday, quicker than I expected.

My initial impression of the kit is that it was well-packed in a sturdy box, and the box for the kit itself is sturdy too.  Opening the box, the individual boat parts are well-packaged.  Not being familiar with boat kits, I was surprised to find so much material in one box.  Somehow, I imagined that a kit took up more space.

I found no missing or damaged parts when I checked each of the three sets of parts for damage, and against the parts lists for completeness.  The individual wood-sheets are well-labeled and it should be easy to find parts as they’re needed.  One of the paints had leaked slightly, but the paints are well-packaged in a sealed bag and didn’t damage anything else.

 

The wood sheets all seem to be well-cut.  The tools seem reasonable, although some of the blades don’t fit the provided knife.  Looks like a good excuse to buy another tool!  The printed instructions seem reasonably detailed, and there is a nice section at the end of the book for each ship, listing and describing the tools needed.  They include a metric-imperial conversion sheet.  All instructions seem to be in imperial units, so I assume this is for the benefit of non-American users.

 

The pictures show the entire contents of the box immediately after I opened the box. 

 

I am happy with this kit, and consider it a good choice for someone such as myself.  I have started building the first boat.  I’ve taken pictures, and will start a build log soon.

[Mike Collier]

Yes, it is a very good kit. I started the same way. Got the first two models done without any problems. I started the lobster smack and right doing the instructions on first step I glued the parts for the keel and something didn’t seem right. I realize that there was a miss print in the directions, it gave you the wrong sheet number for the main part, but called it the right part in the directions. I should have read it more carefully. I email Model Expo and order the sheet numbers I needed. They said they would get the parts out. I’ve been waiting 3 weeks to hear that they have shipped the parts.

[Mike Collier]

I got a email yesterday from Model Expo and they said my parts are in the mail.

[modeller_masa]

I received it and had the same issue. The wood conditioner bottle leaked.

In addition, some contents are changed in the Jan 2023 production.

 

I am really satisfeid with David Antscherl's quality instructions and kit build.