Reti V by SaturnV - Artesania Latina - 1/80th Scale - from the King of the Mississippi kit

[SaturnV]

At the beginning of the Pandemic it looked as though Art Lat might go out of business. Most of their models available in the US were sold out and the ones left were disappearing quickly.

Having wanted to build this model for a long time I decided to buy one before they all disappeared. For Art Lat though, there are always missing parts, insufficient quantities of parts, or poorly cast parts. So, to combat this I bought two kits. It turned out to be a smart move.

To this end, below are some pictures of the progress. There are many inaccuracies in this kit, things that are not scale, or just would not work when you try to fix the problems. So I am scratch building items as I go along. Additionally I did not like the spiral stairs so I changed them out to a more traditional staircase. Its worth noting that I built the stairs three different times to get them right. That alone took 2-1/2 weeks to get where I am now.

The top deck, its roof, and the upper white railings are not glued in place yet but were placed there for pictures. Lots of sanding to do still.

BTW, I purchased new windows and doors for the upper deck as the cast ones are not well done in my opinion.

The white color I feel is more accurate. I used a white wash pickling stain from the hardware store to get the effect. It takes at least 7 coats on each piece you make to get this depth of color. I kept the red and brown colors for the doors and windows. I know that is inaccurate but it needed some color to match the lettering of the name.

All in all it is a fun model to build and worth the effort.

Oh, and the name of the ship is my wife's name "The Reti V." (pronounced Reetee) She was all flattered by it when I showed her what I had done.

 

SaturnV

[Smokey030]

Looks great.  Looking forward to seeing more of your progress.

[SaturnV]

Got the second deck built. Sanding and touch up painting to come.

I used xtra wood from the second kit to build the railings and the bulkheads at the stern. I think it looks more accurate than the kit plans now. To get the railings to be vertical instead of tilted inwards, like kit plans show, I had to add material to the width of the third deck. 

Third deck rail is doll house trim off of eBay. 

SaturnV
 

Edited December 5, 2023 by SaturnV

[SaturnV]

Hi folks,

I have this model almost completed and will post pics soon.

Because I purchased two kits of this model I have a lot of cast metal items, eyebolts, nails, and some laser cut items left over. I will say I don't have any of the curved sections at the ends of each deck because mine broke just like everyone else's did. 🙂

If in the future someone breaks a part or did not get something in the kit it may be faster to PM me and I will send you replacements if I have what you need, rather than trying to get them from Art Lat.

 

SaturnV

[SaturnV]

 

 Completed. Below are some pics.

The kit was good. If made like the manufacturer intended, it is a nice decorative piece to display.

I always want my models to look like the real thing as much as my skills will allow and buying two of the kits provided adequate material to do so. For those who have made this kit before you will notice parts meant for other areas being used for adding detail such as the flag pole base at the bow and the arch over the stairs.

My only regret is that I did not realize until too late that the deck floors need to be widened by probably 1-1/2" (3/4" on each side) to make it more realistic. In doing that I would have probably added a 5th wheel to the paddle as well.

I hope my model inspires others to work towards realism by building beyond what the kit instructions call out. Scratch building is not as hard as it sounds and you don't have to be perfect to make a good looking model. Mine is certainly not perfect but I accomplished what I set out to build.

Happy sailing, 

SaturnV