Info on this kit.......

[airborneswede]

Afternoon all, I am a new member on a quest. I have built models for years armor, aircraft and even naval..on occasion submarines. A friend brought me an OLD wooden ship her granddad had built back in the sixties. This ship, Fragata Espanola 1780, needs some help! The most major needs right now are replacing numerous lines and fiddly broken things. Basically, being wooden it has aged well but not so much for the plastic parts. I need to replace the blocks? and assorted pieces for the rigging as the little plastic pieces have failed. I've searched around and found excellent line for the rigging and numerous small parts. What would be of great help would be knowing what scale I am working with. Lots of pictures of the built kit but sorely lacking in necessary scale. If anyone has this info I would really appreciate getting it from this source. Even something to help putting the rigging where it needs to go. This is NOT a restoration as much as trying to give back what this looked like in the 60's. Thanks guys..........

[JacquesCousteau]

I think you'll have better luck getting helpful responses if you can share photos, and also the measurements of the model. Also, you mention photos of the finished kit--what company made the model? 

[ccoyle]

Have a look at this topic: 

 

30 minutes ago, airborneswede said:

This ship, Fragata Espanola 1780

 

This is not a good sign. Fregata Espanola simply means "Spanish Frigate" -- this is a generic label that was slapped on myriads of mass-produced decor models. I'm inclined to believe that your friend's recollection of the model's provenance is inaccurate. 

[airborneswede]

on the ID plaque it reads Frageta Espanola 1780

[airborneswede]

Its safe to assume you have no idea what I am dealing with.

[airborneswede]

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1251595780/model-ship-fragata-espanola-ano-1780?dd_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F

[airborneswede]

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1251595780/model-ship-fragata-espanola-ano-1780?dd_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F

 

It appears after studying other sites, I am looking for scale Holliards ?  for the lines running from the sails. The plastic ones have failed from age and I can find them but they are sized by MM.

[ccoyle]

2 hours ago, airborneswede said:

Its safe to assume you have no idea what I am dealing with.

 

That's an odd assumption to make. 

 

2 hours ago, airborneswede said:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1251595780/model-ship-fragata-espanola-ano-1780?dd_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F

 

That is a decor model. If that's what your friend's model looks like, then your friend has a decor model, not a scale model built from a kit. If you want to repair a decor model with scale fittings, that's your prerogative -- just be warned that whatever scale fittings you purchase will not be in the same 'scale' as your friend's model, because that model is not built to any scale.

[airborneswede]

A friend asked for help if I could. It belonged to her grandfather and is pretty well weather beat. Not a restoration! I am 76 and somewhat picky with what is available when I build for myself or competition. I needed basic info for a genre I don't work with. I hoped to reach someone that would have a working idea of a possible scale that some of these parts might be available. Trying to work with crumbling plastic pieces to make use of the 3D magic box was going too far. Appreciate all the great help. Have yourself just a great day....

[JacquesCousteau]

5 minutes ago, airborneswede said:

A friend asked for help if I could. It belonged to her grandfather and is pretty well weather beat. Not a restoration! I am 76 and somewhat picky with what is available when I build for myself or competition. I needed basic info for a genre I don't work with. I hoped to reach someone that would have a working idea of a possible scale that some of these parts might be available. Trying to work with crumbling plastic pieces to make use of the 3D magic box was going too far. Appreciate all the great help. Have yourself just a great day....

If it's not a restoration, then what is it? As mentioned above, it's basically impossible for anyone to help you on this without posting some photos or giving more specific information. Fregata Española is a generic term which, combined with the link you posted, suggests a generic decorator model. In which case, Chris is right that there really isn't any scale that would be accurate because the model itself isn't accurate. Maybe it actually is a more accurate model, but nobody here can know that without photos. If you need replacement parts and if it's a decorator model, you can just buy whatever seems like a reasonable size. A lot of vendors offer scale rope, blocks, etc in different sizes. If it's not a decorator model, you'll need something that's in scale, but again, nobody can offer any real help with the minimal information you've provided so far.

[Cathead]

On 9/11/2025 at 6:39 PM, airborneswede said:

Its safe to assume you have no idea what I am dealing with

With respect, this is a somewhat combative and unhelpful response. Please read the link Chris provided, as this community gets a lot of questions just like yours, unfortunately from people who are convinced they have something of great value just because it's old and/or has a family history. The folks here are extremely knowledgeable, and if they tell you something at odds with your hopes, it might be well to keep an open mind.

 

Of course we don't know what you're dealing with when you haven't provided any photos or clear information about your specific model. The link you posted is to what is, sadly, a laughably inaccurate toy-like "model" that bears the same resemblance to a real, scale model ship as a child's toy does to a scale model aircraft. Such items can be quite attractive and can have significant personal appeal/value if they have a family history, but they are no more "scale models" than a Black Forest nutcracker bought from a tourist shop is an accurate scale representation of an 18th century German hunter or a valuable work of art. 

 

On 9/11/2025 at 7:05 PM, airborneswede said:

It appears after studying other sites, I am looking for scale Holliards ?  for the lines running from the sails. The plastic ones have failed from age and I can find them but they are sized by MM.

I'm going to assume you mean halyards, the lines used to raise and lower sails? These are different from the braces, used to control the angle of the yards (spars) from which the sails are hung, and other rigging. The Etsy links you shared show models that have wildly simplified rigging that bears little resemblance to anything a real square-rigged ship would have had, essentially the equivalent of an armor model with a dowel poking out of the turret labelled "boomstick". The Etsy model appears to have a primitive form of braces (run from the tip of the yards), whereas halyards would primarily run parallel to the mast.

 

You can absolutely restore this model to look nice, and give your friend some piece of mind that a model associated with fond memories of her granddad can be displayed happily. What you can't do is turn it into a "scale" model in any meaningful way. If those Etsy photos are comparable to what you have, I'd suggest using those as a guide to restore the basic rigging to something similar, using whatever model rope source you like. Honestly, thread from a craft store would be just as effective and more budget-friendly. Rather than trying to do it to a non-existent scale, I suggest measuring the existing rigging or other parts, then simply purchasing the closest size you can find. The goal should be to restore the model to its prior appearance, not to make it "accurate". If sizes in metric are throwing you off, there are various online calculators that can help you with that.

 

Again, if you post photos, dimensions, and other specific information, and keep an open mind, people here will be very happy to guide you with suggestions on how best to repair/restore your model.