best SECOND model ship kit recommendations

[palmerit]

I'm currently building the Vanguard Sherbourne and it's been a great experience. Since I find that there are often times when I'm waiting for glue or paint to dry (like I am now), I'm thinking that I might start another model in parallel. Especially during football season, I'm finding it enjoyable to work on models while watching the games on Sundays.

 

I love my Vanguard Model. And I'm certainly going to buy another one (and another after that) when my Sherbourne is done. The Harpy looks cool. That might be a stretch, so maybe that can be a third or fourth model, but I really like what I've seen on the prototype build. I'm certainly considering another Vanguard Model for my second (parallel) build. Some of the non-armed working boats with sails from Vanguard seem quite different from the Sherbourne, at least in looks. If anyone has recommendations, please share. 

 

I'm also considering a different model manufacturer for my second (parallel) model that might require me to exercise some other model muscles and build on what I've been learning with the Sherbourne. I've seen Occre, Caldercraft, Model Shipways, the Amati models that Chris Watton designed as ones that recommended. Quality (over cost) - in material, in instructions - is way more important to me (which is why I picked a Vanguard model as my first one). I don't want to deal with wood that splits or is the wrong dimensions. Certainly having descent instructions is a must for a second build I think, even if supplementing with checking out the logs of others. 

 

Recommendations on a good "second ship" that would be a small step past the Sherbourne, but not overwhelming for someone who is still a beginner? I've seen the index to builds (and I'll pick one where I can find lots of help), but I'd like pointers to a few I should check out for my second model. 

 

I did see these recommended on a pinned post from six years ago. So I'll check these out. But wanted to see what else that's newer might be recommended. For example, they don't list Occre because I think that's a new company.

 

No experience 
Any Artesania Latina Weekend Kit (Viking longboat etc) 
Artesania Latina's Mare Nostrum, Bremen, Jolie Brise
Models with preformed hulls made from compressed fibre (again, AL produce a variety of these)
Midwest Products Level 1 or 2 (e.g. skiff, Chesapeake Bay flattie) (these kits are now made and sold through Model Expo)
Beginner kits from BlueJacket Shipcrafters (e.g. Optimist dinghy, Yankee Hero)
Model Shipways' Willie Bennett, Armed Longboat, Shipwright Series (dory, pram, lobster smack)

Vanguard Models working boats (e.g., Saucy Jack, Erycina)
 

Some experience, or experience of other model disciplines 
Mantua's Model kits of President, Golden Star
Artesania Latina's San Francisco(II), Santa Maria, Independence, Harvey, HMS Supply, Mayflower, Scottish Maid, Virginia, Swift 
Amati's Santa Maria, Elizabethan Galleon, Lady Nelson, Chinese Junk 
Caldercraft's HM Schooner Ballahoo, HM Cutter Sherbourne, HM Brig Supply 
Model Shipways' Bluenose 
Corel's Shenadoah, Chesapeake Sloop, Scotland Baltic Ketch, Leida 
Mamoli's Constitution Cross Section 

Vanguard Models' Sherbourne Trial, Alert
 

I haven't seen a more recent cataloging of recommended beginner/novice models like this, but maybe I've used the wrong search terms.

 

Any recommendations for a good second model, and for another model manufacturer to take a look at or to stay away from? Or what I should look for (or look out for) when picking a second model. After seeing how challenging even a novice model is (with great materials and fantastic instructions) I certainly don't want to get over my head. But I'd like to take a step and expand my skills too.

[Melissa T.]

See my general (not specific) thoughts on this topic at:

 

[Ryland Craze]

I would go with a kit that was designed within the last three to five years.  Both Vanguard and OcCre have highly detailed build instructions, whereas some of the older kits from the established manufacturers have instructions that are decades old.  The highly detailed instructions are definitely a help to the novice builder and will help the builder to achieve a finished model.

[brunnels]

Personally I think anything other than Vanguard would be a step down as far as entry/mid level kits go.  Also I think a lot of the time harder rated kits aren't necessarily harder skill wise than what you will have experienced with the Sherbourne, they just require more time to complete.  I think a good step up would be some of the two masted vessels from Vanguard like the Adder, Speedy/Flirt, or even the Dutchess of Kingston.  

[palmerit]

On 9/25/2024 at 10:33 AM, brunnels said:

or even the Dutchess of Kingston.  

So Duchess of Kingston wouldn't be completely out of my league then (just bigger and more complex)? I've read a number of build logs on it (and watched some YouTube videos on a build from the guy from the Midwest Model Shop). It's a beautiful ship and a lot different from the Sherbourne.

[palmerit]

I was also looking at the Model Shipways' Bluenose - it's very different from the Sherbourne or any of the other Vanguard Models. But following some build logs and watching some YouTube videos it looks like it's single plank (unless I'm missing something) and the instructions can be confusing and some of the parts are wrong and need to be handcrafted.

[palmerit]

After looking at builds some more I guess I'm waiting for someone to convince me that Duchess of Kingston is a crazy second built to try (well, really a parallel with my ongoing Sherbourne). 

[Ryland Craze]

You will not go wrong on building the Duchess of Kingston.  It builds into a beautiful model, plus the designer and manufacturer of this kit is on this site if you should have any questions.

[palmerit]

To close this thread - I ended up purchasing the Vanguard Duchess of Kingston. Waiting for it to arrive from Ages of Sail (who sells Vanguard Models in the US).

[Knocklouder]

Better get busy on your Sherbourne,  because once the Duchess of Kingston gets to your shipyard it becomes all about her. Lol.  It took Covid to stop me lol but I am on the meand,  feel free to look at my log it will show you what to avoid, I have made mistakes. But even with those she is a beautiful ship. And the kit  fantastic,  you'll be very happy I am sure.

Bob  M.

Edited October 1, 2024 by Knocklouder
More info

[Olli Sukunimisson]

The Speelyacht from Kolderstok is obviously the best choice! (partly joking) Or maybe the Duyfken! (partly joking) Or the Barentsz ship (partly joking) — it looks much better in real life than in photos.

You asked a great question, and of course, everyone has their own answer. For me, the second model serves as:

a) A test to see if I truly learned anything from my first build. Maybe it was just luck, with a series of chaotic mistakes where one error happened to fix the previous one.

b) Now that I have my first real ship under my belt, I want to build something special — something that excites me more than just another slightly different ship.

So, I try .to understand what feels special to me. In my case, it’s the ships of the Dutch Golden Age, which is why I'm building the Duyfken. Now, I’m taking my time, lovingly placing each plank one by one. That brings a completely different kind of happiness compared to the quick build of my beautiful Lady Nelson.

[Jim M]

I think this is a very good question. Currently I am on my second ship. I started with the the Model Shipways Shipwright series Dory, which I learned a lot from. I am a novice at models, and wood working, so I wanted something that was easier but I can learn from. Then for my second ship, I picked up the Midwest Grand Banks Dory. This is an extension on the basics from the Model Shipways, and in retrospect I should have done it first, partially because it is larger, and easier to see. These two model have taught me a lot so far. Primary how to manipulate wood, and basic techniques, and some painting techniques with my air brushes.

 

For my third ship, I am actually going to do the Planking project instead of doing the second ship in the Shipwright  series, as I wanted something that can teach me more about shaping and joinery. I need to learn how to control my glue application better, and get a much better finish. I am hoping to end up with learning how to French polish for this half hull project along with learning how to apply plank on bulkhead.

 

I must admit I am getting itchy to start a more detailed model, but I realized my skill set is still very amateur and I am looking at baby steps to improve.

 

I realize this really does not answer the question, but I think it summarizes we are all on a journey. I have a model that I really want to build that I purchased but it will be at least a year before I will even attempt it as the instructions are questionable at most. I think when I finally get ready for a more detailed ship, I am hoping to do the Terror by Occre mid next year. Partially I am ex pat Canadian, and I remember when the Terror was found.

 

Cheers 

 

jim

[bigcreekdad]

I think Vanguard models are of very nice quality and instructions. However, unless you get their larger (and more expensive) kits you are dealing with very small parts. I'm just not crazy about these, especially the etched brass fittings.

[mtaylor]

I think this basically boils down to "builder's choice".   Some manufacurers specialize is 1:48 which makes a large model of a frigate or bigger. while some go for the 164. Both those seem to be "standard" scales but there are others makers who got into things like 1:72,, 1:82, etc.  Look for your comfort zone in build size as that's important not just for building but also displaying.

[vossiewulf]

On 10/10/2024 at 7:44 AM, Jim M said:

For my third ship, I am actually going to do the Planking project instead of doing the second ship in the Shipwright  series, as I wanted something that can teach me more about shaping and joinery. I need to learn how to control my glue application better, and get a much better finish. I am hoping to end up with learning how to French polish for this half hull project along with learning how to apply plank on bulkhead.

One of the primary rules is the less glue you use, the better. And very little is needed if you're using CA or titebond-like glues that are designed to hold joints together on full-size furniture. Try it, the number of headaches you have will instantly drop.

 

Also, French polish is a very specialized finishing technique primarily designed for making very level finishes on flat surfaces. It's not something you want to be doing on boats. Be simple, and for now use wipe-on-poly, you can get it anywhere. Application is easy and it's hard to have a disaster. Don't get me wrong I think there are much better options if you can spray a finish on, but wipe on poly will give you a perfectly acceptable finish.

[Jim M]

13 hours ago, vossiewulf said:

One of the primary rules is the less glue you use, the better. And very little is needed if you're using CA or titebond-like glues that are designed to hold joints together on full-size furniture. Try it, the number of headaches you have will instantly drop.

 

Also, French polish is a very specialized finishing technique primarily designed for making very level finishes on flat surfaces. It's not something you want to be doing on boats. Be simple, and for now use wipe-on-poly, you can get it anywhere. Application is easy and it's hard to have a disaster. Don't get me wrong I think there are much better options if you can spray a finish on, but wipe on poly will give you a perfectly acceptable finish.

i use titebond for gluing and i avoid ca as

much as possible.

 

i will give wipe on polly a try.  i however do have a collection of airbrushes so what do you recommend for spraying?

[vossiewulf]

You shouldn't avoid CA, it is an excellent glue and in fact I have used CA for everything in my LN. I only use aliphatic resin glue when I have some part that needs lots of fiddling before clamping.

 

As for finishes I prefer lacquers from luthier supply companies. The lacquers are very very clear and we're never spraying enough that high VOC lacquer spraying is a problem, I just use a mask when actively spraying.

[SaltyScot]

This is a great thread because I am at a point where I am deciding on what to build next. I have ordered the HMS Endurance from OcCre but she will probably be the third or fourth build on my table. I am a woodworker and have been for some time so working with that material and its foibles is not foreign to me. I am looking for a second build that pushes the boat out a little more (pun intended  ) and stretches those budding boat building muscles. This thread has given me some ideas (no, the Duchess of Kinston is not on my particular list), but the search goes on....... Like mtaylor said, it is really down to the builder and their tastes at the end of the day.

[Knocklouder]

There are just too many to list, but one that gave me a lot of enjoyment and how to bend wood was The Sea of Galilee Boat  by Scott Miller  . Check out those logs  , just maybe what your looking for. But the Duchess gets my vote every time  lol

BobM.

King of the Mississippi   ✅️ 

Edited February 3 by Knocklouder

[palmerit]

On 2/1/2025 at 7:25 AM, SaltyScot said:

the Duchess of Kinston is not on my particular list), but the search goes on

I ended up putting the Duchess of Kingston on the shelf for a while. I ended up doing the Shipwright Series models (finished the Dory, waiting for a part from Model Expo to finish the Pram, working on the Smack) and to get some more planking experience I finished the NRG Half Hull. I guess the Dory was my second, but my first to complete. The Half Hull was my third. The Pram and Smack my fourth and fifth. I guess the Lego Endurance is my sixth.  I've been waiting to complete my Sherbourne because I wanted to get practice on some rigging with the Shipwright boats before trying it on the Sherbourne. So once that's done, the Sherbourne will probably be both my first and seventh model, unless I sneak another small model in the queue (I did buy the Maine Peapod).

 

The Shipwright Series has been a good experience. They make for a good experience, if in part because they’re a lot different from Vanguard Models. Being small, there’s also less at stake if you make a mistake or are unhappy with a decision. I’m glad my first stab at rigging was on the Pram rather than my Sherbourne. There is an elevated frustration experience with them (inferior materials, confusing instructions in places, few photos, wrong parts, mismatch between parts and instructions/plans, drawings that are supposed to be 1:1 are not). From what I’ve read, all of that is fairly common to varying degrees in all but Vanguard’s kits. 

 

A challenge in deciding on a second model is that you don't really have "tastes" until you have a few builds behind you. It is hard for someone else to answer the "best second model build" question, but it's also not possible for someone who hasn't built a second model (or third or fourth) to know their taste or really know what the options are. 
 

I now kind of like the smaller models because they more quickly let me exercise different modeling muscles. But I do look forward to also trying a bigger build once I’m no longer second-guessing every step I make, worrying I’m going to ruin the model. That’s not what I thought when I first posted this question. I assumed I’d just keep getting bigger and bigger models. 

 

This recent video by YouTuber Tagliamare makes a strong case for smaller ships and now I understand why:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9ZuWYPdmcs 

He also make an appeal to model manufacturers to put more creative energy into this smaller model space (like Vanguard has). And I could maybe even see manufacturers creating a few more “intermediate” or “advanced” models that are smaller. 

 

I have some of Vanguard's fishing boats in the queue. These are small and should be fun builds. I was going to buy one, but ended up buying three during a Black Friday sale: Erycina, Lady Isabella, and Ranger (these are the larger ships, with each having a smaller sister boat in the Vanguard line). I also bought the Occre Endurance, which is in the growing queue, also during the Black Friday sale. And my boys bought me the Model Shipways Syren for Christmas. And there's the Peapod. Oh, and I also bought the Model Shipways Nonsuch (the fourth model in the Model Shipwright series). Oh, shoot, and I forgot that I also bought the Midwest Grand Banks Dory to see what a different Dory build would be like. And I just remembered that I bought the Model Shipways Benjamin Latham too. So I think I have about 20 years of models to work on, unless I decide to retire early. I was too embarrassed to put all of the models in my queue in my signature line. I need to stop!

 

I actually like having a few models in the works. When I have time to model - which isn't often - there's often time waiting for glue or paint to dry. Sometimes I only have 30 minutes, and maybe one model has a next step that will really take some time, and another model has a couple quick things I can work on. Sometimes I'll work on a model in the evening and I don't want to do something that's really tedious, leaving that for a couple hours I might have over the weekend. If I had only one model going, I wouldn't have that choice. I know some people would go nuts trying to keep track of more than one model, but for me it works. It also helps that my youngest is in college and I'm using his bedroom as a workspace for all these different models (at least until he's back from break).

Edited February 3 by palmerit

[SaltyScot]

8 hours ago, palmerit said:

A challenge is that you don't really have "tastes" until you have a few builds behind you. It is hard to answer the "best second model build" question, but it's also not possible for someone who hasn't built a second model (or third or fourth) to know their taste. I kind of like the smaller models because they more quickly let me exercise different modeling muscles.

This is so true! For my second build I chose the Lynx, a Baltimore Clipper Schooner (per the title) from Manuta (see image below). It will give me a little more of a rigging challenge and there are cannons to deal with on this one too. We will see. I have the Endurance from OcCre coming and an old friend told me yesterday he has an unfinished Corel model of HMS Victory he wants to part with. I am still trying to decide what to do with that decision.....

 

Edited February 3 by SaltyScot
Image added

[wefalck]

The best thing would be to develop before an interest in a certain subject area (or a particular ship) and then pick a kit, if it has to be that. That background interest keeps one going even through difficult times and also leads to improvements on the kit.

[palmerit]

6 hours ago, wefalck said:

The best thing would be to develop before an interest in a certain subject area (or a particular ship) and then pick a kit, if it has to be that. That background interest keeps one going even through difficult times and also leads to improvements on the kit.

I guess it depends on how people get drawn into this hobby. I didn't grow up by the sea or have any particular interest in naval history or have some family connection. I suppose if someone did, that would draw them to a particular subject. I did discover that a distant uncle died in the sinking of a ship of the line that was a sister ship of the Victory - and in fact entertained the idea years ago of trying to model that ship - but that was just passing interest before I ever bought my first model kit. I had no interest in any particular ship, or time period, so that wouldn't answer the question for me. So starting with that would have not led me to a model ship.

 

For me it was just wanting a hobby after my younger son went away to college. I hadn't realized how much time I had spent with him, going to his soccer and hockey games, taking him places for sports and other activities on weekends. My wife is also a university professor and she has been able to quilt as a hobby for nearly as long as we've been together. I just never really had a hobby outside of cooking (which is dual use) and a bit of genealogy over the years (the next steps of which require full-time research since I've exhausted what's available on ancestry and other online sources). I ended up deciding to buy a model ship after stopping at Bluejacket on a vacation to Maine. I thought, why not. I also got a plastic model tank (which is almost done) and a plastic model ship (which I haven't started). I didn't necessarily think the wooden ship would really capture my interest. I was always drawn to model ships (and dioramas and things of that sort more generally) when I saw them in museum, but I didn't necessarily think I'd end up building one. Given the stash I've accumulated, I sure hope the interest keeps going.

[Thukydides]

On 2/4/2025 at 12:15 AM, palmerit said:

I didn't grow up by the sea or have any particular interest in naval history or have some family connection. I suppose if someone did, that would draw them to a particular subject.

I would then suggest picking something that looks cool and do some research on the ship. I have found just reading about the ship and the people who served on it makes the subject far more interesting than it originally was to me. My current project Perseus was picked simply because I wanted to do a small 6th rate and I like Greek mythology so the name sounded cool to me. However, my interest in her has subsequently grown to be much more than "her name sounds cool."

[SaltyScot]

4 hours ago, Thukydides said:

I have found just reading about the ship and the people who served on it makes the subject far more interesting than it originally was to me.

 

I could not agree more. Getting a feel for the ship/boat or whatever it is puts me in a whole different mindset when it comes to tackling the model. It's kind of personal if that makes sense.