kit review 1:48 San Bartolome by Pavel Nikitin

[James H]

1:48 San Bartolome 
Catalogue # GSB005
Ships of Pavel Nikitin
Available directly for €564.68

 

 

This San Bartolome was supposedly a part of the ‘invincible’ Spanish Armada led by Alonso Perez de Guzman, 7th Duke of Medina Sidonia, from May to September of 1588. The Armada was battered in multiple skirmishes with the Anglo-Dutch naval fleet, composed of light and manoeuvrable ships led by Charles Howard. This clash is known as the Battle of Gravelines. Elizabethan Pirates excelled in that battle, especially the notorious Francis Drake. The confrontation between Spanish and Anglo-Dutch fleets lasted for two weeks. The Armada could not regroup and, refusing to invade England, headed North. The English fleet followed the Armada along the East coast of the British Islands. The Armada’s return was very challenging, having to go through the north side of the Atlantic Ocean, along the West coast of Ireland. Due to strong storms, the Armada’s ships were taken to the far North and West shores of Ireland. During this expedition, the Armada lost more than 60 ships, of which only 7 of them were lost in battle.

 

The kit

When this one landed on my doorstep, I certainly wasn’t expecting the sheer weight of the package! San Bartolome is spread over not one, but THREE heavy boxes which weigh 14kg in total. What made this more immense were the extra associated sets that were also included, pushing the package to a back-breaking 19kg. The whole lot was encased in a shipping box built from sheets of MDF, then heavily wrapped in cellophane and black plastic sheet. The package arrived safely and intact from Ukraine in a little over 10 days, with a small hold up in Kiev due to the war. 

 

First of all, you need to understand something about the style of San Bartolome. Despite many modern design innovations, the finished model is designed to look like an old, antiqued ship, built in years gone by. Pavel Nikitin describes the finish as ‘retro’, Now, let’s take a look. To give you an idea about the finished size of this galleon, here are the dimensions:

 

• Length: 980mm
• Width: 540mm
• Height: 1030mm

 

The box lids of all three San Bartolome packs, are adorned with a large, shiny label which depict the ship from the stern quarter, with the lighting highlighting the intentional retro style of the vessel. The label also states that the whole kit has a total of 3876 wooden parts. That should keep you occupied for a while. 

 

Box 1

Opening the lid shows that the first box, like the others, is crammed full of parts. In fact, it took me a long time to actually get everything back in the box after I’d done the photos. All sheets inside are grouped and wrapped, with a slip of paper to identify which group they belong to, making it easier to locate the said part. That’s quite handy when you consider that there are around SIXTY sheets of parts in this kit. Instead of shelf-standard plastic containers for fittings, a series of custom-made MDF boxes are included, with a Perspex lid that has engraved numbers to identify what’s in each compartment.

 

The kit comprises of parts sheets that are cut from walnut, cherry, alder and beech. All of them are very neatly laser cut with parts that include bevel lines, where appropriate. The parts you see here with bevel lines, will form composite blocks which fill the bow area, creating almost solid area onto which to plank. You’ll also see that these sheets are in two different wood types, with the cheaper timber forming the parts what create the underlying structure that will be covered over.

 

 

 These unusual parts are actually to build up the various ports and openings for the side of the hull.

 

Many sheets are as yet unidentified. The instruction booklet supplied with the kit is Part 1 & 2, and these may be from the forthcoming Parts 3 & 4. The cutting is very nice and lots of scarph joints to be seen.

 

These sheets contain parts for various planked deck sections and panels which fit into the hull sides prior to hull planks. These define the positions for the gun ports etc. Various decorative elements are seen here, such as those for the bow.

 

 

We are now onto some very large ply sheets. The bulkheads for this model are quite large and are also engraved with bevel lines. You can see cut outs for various stringers and the aforementioned built-up port that fit into the cut-out position parts you can see in a previous photo. Also here is a section of the false keel. The hull comprises a fore and aft half, and is actually make up from three laminates of ply. Pegs help to align the parts. Also present in the bulkheads are positions for bulkhead spacers to fit, keeping the bulkheads equally spaced from each other. 

 

More ply, this time to create various structures either within the hull design, or for building skeletons on deck structures.

 

This kit is the ‘V2’ of San Bartolome, with the original having laser-engraved carvings. This version has 3D-printed parts for various external ornamentation. It’s quite difficult to see the quality in these pictures, but to my eye they look perfectly good and smooth. You may need to paint these to replicate the antiqued colour of the wood that the designers set out to be used. These parts are presented in another MDF box, covered in cellophane.

 

These are the boxes of standalone components, with shaped timberheads, brass cannon, pillar, belaying pins, cleats, rigging blocks and multipart closed heart blocks etc.

 

.....continued.

[James H]

Box 2

The parts on these sheets tend be quite identifiable. Here you see the combs for the deck gratings, rigging bitts, stairway sides etc.

 

At the current moment, these parts are generally unidentified, except for that I think may be spars that need to be rounded off. More bitts to be seen here and also.

 

Not all gratings are self-assemble. Here you see ones for the bow area, complete with the frame into which they fit.

 

Some of the thicker timber here, showing parts for the keel, rudder and prow etc.

 

Yes, a kit within a kit! This little box contains the ship’s’ boat which is a project in itself and I believe is also now available separately on their website. 

 

The model looks quite simple to build, yet I a fully-formed (when built!) clinker hull vessel. Bevel lines are on the bulkheads and the gunwales are pre-cut too. 

 

All the planks on this model are also laser cut. Not too sure if I like the part numbers being on the actual parts. They’d look better adjacent to the part and won’t need to be hidden when being built.

 

Here you see the display stand (for if you want to display the boat separately), deck boarding, oars, keel etc.

 

An MDF jig is supplied for building this lovely little boat.

 

The instructions are simple enough, and I think more than adequate for this little model.

 

We are now back onto the main ship parts. As yet unidentified. 

 

The main deck areas on San Bartolome are supplied as individual laser-cut planks. The order and position of these must be precise to coincide with various hull structures. If you use the optional paint set, it’s important to figure in the painting and antique weathering as you proceed with your build.

 

From here, we’ll take a more of the timber sheets in this kit release.

 

This is a good photo of the keel sections in this kit. You can clearly see the section of the laminated keel, and that the laminated parts are staggered, to create strength in the hull. Each slot is also numbered for the correct bulkhead. 

 

There are another three boxes of fittings in this carton, again with a number-engraved acrylic lid to hold everything in. These boxes contain gold paint for ornamentation, 3D printed lanterns, nails for the finished hull plank, brass wire, and very nice quality rigging rope. A very unusual feature of this kit are some laser-cut and pre-assembled hull sections that just need sanding to shape. I really do like this sort of feature.

 

...continued.

 

 

[James H]

Box 3

This is a smaller box than the other two, but nonetheless full of many, many parts. The first sheets here show parts for the mast tops which are very indicative of that period of history. Here’s a preview of the remaining timber sheets in this kit, including some square section rod. As we currently have only half of the instructions, it’s quite difficult at the moment to be able to identify many parts, especially if they pertain to anything more than basic construction, minus masting. You’ll also see that we have been sent kit # 00041 too. Quite a low number, indicating the newness of this release.

 

 

Like most kit releases these days, there are a number of photo-etch parts. This box contains three frets of PE brass for eyelets, hinges etc.

 

Flags are supplied with this release, nicely printed onto an antiqued cloth material. Sails are also included, and the builder will need to cut thee out and add boltropes etc. If you don’t want to make the sails but still want to fit them, then you can buy pre-made ones from the website, and even ones that have been totally finished/antiqued too.

[James H]

Instructions
As previously indicated, this kit contains parts 1 & 2, bound as a single volume. We will receive the remaining two volumes as soon as they are available. As I want you to get a feel for the construction of this model, I’ve presented a good selection of images from the manual, to better acquaint you with the construction of this unique model kit.

 

 

 

Conclusion
In the right, competent hands, this kit will most certainly build up into a beautiful olde worlde Galleon representation. How you paint/finish the model will be more of an individual choice, but if you’re willing to have a go, then the set of paints specifically for this kit, would be a perfect choice. This model will require a keen eye and exacting nature, to be able to complete as per the box art, so you should take your time at every stage and carefully plan ahead to make sure you don’t mis-fit parts anywhere. You definitely get a lot of kit for your money here too. Make sure you have space enough to store those three boxes as well as build this very large model. 

 

What do I think of San Bartolome? Well, she’s a very impressive depiction of a 16^th Century Spanish galleon, and her shape reminds me of the San Francisco kit from Artesania Latina, as that was the first wooden ship model I ever built. This is a wonderful kit and one that I’d love to see our members build here on MSW. 

 

I will post a review of the associated sets for this in a separate article. 

 

My sincere thanks to Pavel Nikitin for the review kit seen here on MSW. To order, click the link at the top of this article.

 

 

 

[James H]

[JeffT]

Looks to be an impressive kit.

[vossy]

So James, are all hull and deck planks pre-cut and shaped for this kit?

 

Chris

 

[Bill Jackson]

I just discovered this model last night. My question is, is it authentic or just a fancy model?

Bill

[RolBerg]

Was this a real ship? Looks a little cartoonish but very beautiful.

[Macika]

An absolutely stunning kit and model! 😲