Imai Santa Maria 1/60 (WIP)

Sprue shots please.

Imai is a manufacturer but also a re-boxer and in every case added value to their kits.

Now IF you wanted to do a little research about the Columbus expedition, you'll find a world of interesting details regarding the re-rigging of the ships in the Canary Islands, the actual names of the smaller two and the provenance of the various replicas and recreated drawings of each.

This is IMAI's own molds kit, not reboxing. Best Santa Maria in plastic, ie compared to Revell's Santa Maria 1/90, Heller's (later reboxed by Zvezda) Santa Maria 1/75.

The same IMAI kit is reboxed by Aoshima. Sprue shots:

www.wettringer-modellbauforum.de/.../thread.php

www.modellmarine.de/index.php

Interesting.

First, let me say that my kit box says ERTL in big letters, then Imai next to that...don 't know what that means in terms of re-boxing?

The sprues from your link for the Aoshima Santa Maria are identical to mine, with the one difference being molded sails.

Also, my kit has the same instruction book, except mine is in English...but the illustrations are the same, again except for the diagrams showing the molded sails.

Most notable is the Aoshima kit's instructions regarding rigging....it seems like there's an extra booklet included which shows various general techniques for rigging?  I saw detailed diagrams for stroping rigging blocks, tying lanyards, etc, my kit doesn't include that section.....although, I did buy mine already opened on eBay, so it's possible that those instructions may have been lost?  My kit is also missing the *Metal Shaft* part, which I think is just a support shaft for the lantern?  I'm sure I can find a suitable replacement part...

There is plenty of neat history around Columbus, and his fleet of ships...I recently learned that the Santa Maria was run aground on December 25, 1492 because everyone had fallen alseep after a night of drinking and partying, and the only person still awake to steer the ship was a cabin boy, who ran her aground off the coast of Haiti....and that was it for the Santa Maria!  They stripped her of usable parts, and left her there...

As far as deadeyes, I am wondering if, considering the period of the Santa Maria, if they used the round deadeyes or the older heart-shaped ones.

ERTL after IMAI went out of the business, issued some models from IMAI moulds: Santa Maria 1/60, Mayflower 1/70, Golden Hind 1/70, Chebec 1/80, Spanish galeon 1/100, Greek galley 1/80, Roman galley 1/80 and some small scale models. Aoshima has do the same with Cutty Sark 1/120, Golden Hind, Kaiwo maru 1/100 and 1/150, Le Napoleon 1/150, Nippon maru 1/100 and 1/150, Santa Maria, Spanish galeon, USS Constitution 1/120, USS Susquehanna 1/150. Monogram has issued last two by licence of IMAI from his moulds. Aoshima, Minicraft, Revell, Lee have issued full hull 1/350 models from IMAI molds, Revell not all of them and Lee (China) - have read, that they have made "own moulds" from IMAI sprues... Lee has issued Spanish galeon too, as and big ones Nippon and Kaiwo maru.

Don, my kit has triangular (heart-shaped) deadeyes...they have a little ring molded into the top to tie on the shroud.....I wonder if I should consider just using some wooden deadeyes instead?  Not that I'm planning to go crazy with the modifications and add-ons, but the little molded rings in the deadeyes might look corny.....just brainstorming....

According Xavier Pastor (he wrote perfect study of Columbus fleet and various reconstructions) deadeyes should look so:

By the way - book is:

Anatomy Of The Ship - Xavier Pastor - The Ships of Christopher Columbus - Santa Maria, Nina, Pinta

That would make a great companion book for this build.....but I looked on Amazon, and it's 75 bucks!  Sheesh!

I checked on Abebooks and they have one for $42.00.

42 is a much better deal that 75! lol  

I was fortunate enough to get the book for an even better price...it'll be interesting to read it, and it seems to be packed with good information!

Meanwhile, I figured I would put up a couple of pics of my kit, just as a starting off point:

The molded wood-grain looks great!  I have high hopes for this build!

I still haven't started any actual work on it...but I have airbrushed some basecoats on my *guinea pig* (the tiny Revell Caribbean Pirate Ship)...I'm going to experiment using artist oil paints on parts from that kit, and develop a technique that I like before I start in on the Santa Maria!  Using Model Master Acrylic, I sprayed one half of the hull with Wood, and the other with Earth Red....and I sprayed some deck parts and bulkheads with each color....this way, I can try out the two main tones (light and dark brown, essentially) with oils and washes over them...maybe I'll include some pics of my attempts with that, for anyone who's interested in trying it out.

Dave

Im looking forward for the pictures of "Guinea pig" washed with oils :-)

Of course, for Santa Maria build pictures too.

Looks good Dave!  If I might interject a bit, you might want to try Tamiya Wooden Deck Tan (spray) for the decks or even something lighter.  I was thinking of using a Paynes Grey as an oil wash on my decks.  I'll let you know how it comes out.  

By the where did you get your Columbus book for a better price than $45?!  Do tell!

Steve

Please feel free to interject all you want!  I'm still a novice when it comes to ships, and I very much appreciate any advice/tips!  I'll look into the Tamiya color you suggested!  I still have no specific idea for how to apply the oils...from what I understand, you said your method was to brush it on full strength, and then wipe off excesses with a cloth?  There must be more to it than that!  haha!  Rod Millard gave me a little advice, too...  I'll be trying some experimental procedures, see what I can come up with...

I get the feeling this project will be a huge learning experience for me, and I hope I can produce some good results!

Also, the Pastor book on Columbus' Ships was a gift....a very generous gift!

:)

Kinda wish I had some time to work on the *guinea pig* tonight, but it's date night with the Lady, so I guess it'll have to wait!!!

Thanks again!

Dave

hi Dave;

Love this thread. I happen to live in Columbus Ohio ( not so lucky with it being the must have state by both parties to win the election). and as luck would have it there is a full size replica of the Santa Maria sitting here on the Scitoto river. It was made for the 1992 celebration of Columbus' discovery. I don't know if it is "correct" or not but I do know some extensive research was done on her and was built in Buffalo N.Y. of all places. Here are few photos that you might like to see. They were taken over a course of 3 years and the latest one shows part of her hull painted. Please tell me if you want more photos as I can get you more.shots if needed ( there was a pirate reenactment taking place when I first photographed her.

Mayflower is NOT the same thing, as Santa Maria...

Two different construction ships from two different timelines and two different traces in history - Santa Maria voyage was in 1492, Mayflower voyage was in 1620.

Thanks you. You are so correct. It was a typo by my it is photos of the replica of the Santa Maria.

Another photo from the Santa Maria full size replica in Columbus Ohio taken 3 years ago.

OK, it seems that this is not sailing replica In Ohio.

It is the same replica, which was build in 1992 by the Scarano Brothers Boat Building Company in Albany, USA? She was build with power tools and only hull shape was accurate.

The most authentic replica at the moment is replica build by Jose Maria Martinez-Hidalgo project (1964 and 1991) in 1991-1992 by the Astilleros Viudes in Barcelona, Spain.

thanks for jogging my memory, it was from the Scarano Brothers from Albany N. Y.

Dickeywood, I'd love to see a few more pics of the ship, if you have some!

One thing that interests me is the wrapping of the deadeye lanyards...was it common for deadeyes to be wrapped like that?

David: Here's another shot of the Santa Maria in Columbus, OH.

The 1992 replica was built by the Scarano Brothers Boat Building Company in Albany who later cut the ship in half with a chainsaw and transported it by semi truck to the Scioto River in Columbus, OH who paid for the replica in 1990. The replica cost about 1.2 million dollars. The ship was constructed out of white cedar wood as opposed to an oak wood used on the original to give the ship a long life in the Scioto River and to save on cost. The main mast was carved out of a single douglas fir tree like the original and was equipped with a top sail (since removed). The ship was about 15 ft wide, 89 ft high, 98 ft long, and built using power tools. The replica was argued by Jose Maria Martinez-Hidalgo, an internationally recognized figure on the historicty of Columbus, to be the most authentic replica of the Santa Maria in the world during the ships corronation on October 12, 1991:

"I have studied Chirstopher Columbus for nearly fifty years. I can state that this Santa Maria has been perfectly rebuilt. Many compliments to the builders. I can think of only one real difference between this replica and the real Santa Maria. One was built in Europe, this one was built in America."

The mayor of Columbus, Dana Rinehart later christened the ship as part of the 500 year anniversary of Columbus sailing to the New World. It was rumoured that during the first christening of the ship, that the bottle did not break which is seen as bad luck. The replica has been a sight for tourism ever since. {source: Wikipedia}

I grew up in Columbus.  The Santa Maria replica was built quite a few years after I moved out, and I've never been on board it (though I've driven by).  All I can say is that it looks good to me.  And I recall some of the publicity around it.  The people responsible claimed it was the most accurate full-scale reconstruction of the Santa Maria in existence.  That seems like advertising hype, but they made the valid point that, because this thing is never going to go to see, it was exempt from the Coast Guard safety regulations that apply to most sailing ship replicas.  If Sr. Martinez-Hidalgo has endorsed it, that's enough for me.

Well, I have to start somewhere.

I washed the sprues tonight, to remove any residue left during the mold process...looking at the parts, drying on a towel in the spare bedroom, it occurs to me that, compared to my last build (Black Swan), this kit has very few parts! 

200+ for the Santa Maria, around 1,000 on the Swan...

Upon closer inspection of things, I noticed the deck parts are a bit warped (they DO have camber, but also some fore-to-aft bowing, which I'm not sure is supposed to be there!), should make it fun while trying to line everything up between the hull halves!   Aside from that , the parts are all in terrific shape, with almost no flash...yayyy!  Plus, there's even molded nail-holes in the deck plank ends..pretty cool!

I love the detail, and the *wood-grain* looks great!  I've made a couple of attempts with using artists oil paints on a practice kit, and I think I get the idea...no better way to learn than to jump right in! I'm still deciding on my color scheme, but I think the deck and hull will basically be basecoated in a couple of similar, lighter-toned colors, with oils and washes on each to bring them to the desired finish, with the deck being quite lighter than the hull.  That's the plan, anyway...we'll see how it plays out in reality!

I seem to have less time on my hands right now, but I'll keep the updates coming as events warrant!

Feel free to chime in on anything that stirs you!

Dave

ps-sorry about the crummy pic...my camera went kaput, and all I have for now is my phone!

The fore-aft curve of the deck when seen from the side is the "sweep". All wooden ships have it, or most of them. As long as it's higher at the ends, you are OK.

IMO part count is not too important. Once you get to resin kits, and you will, some of those have a very small count, but each has a lot of detail.

I've never seen that model before but it looks nice, too.

Ah, the sweep.  Got it.  Tried some dry-fitting...it'll take some finagling, but I shouldn't have too much trouble getting the parts lined up...

As for part count...I don't mind one bit that the SM has fewer parts...the Swan had 225 parts just for the cannons (and a capstan on the mast!), and I'd had enough of cannon parts by the time I got them all built! The way I see it, it'll be a luxury to have so few pieces to assemble...and this kit has great detail, at any rate!  I specifically searched for it on eBay (thanks to a recommendation) based on Imai's reputation as (former) producers of great-quality kits...and it doesn't disappoint!  Can't wait to see how she turns out!

I've also been doing some reading on Columbus' ships, and from what I can tell, it's hard to dispute that she was in fact a Nao, and not a Caravel.  It seems that Sr. Martinez-Hidalgo had the best info regarding the SM's styling.  Part of me wants to try making a few departures from the kit, but I don't know if I have it in me to construct a forecastle from scratch!  

Hmmm...I haven't heard of resin kits for old sail ships....have to look into that!

The large 1/60 Imai Santa Maria (as well as both of the ones by Heller, 1/75th and 1/270th, and the 1/90 Revell model) are all based upon the work of Julio F. Guillen y Tato, who considered the ship to be a caravel. In that regard, the Imai model is a great model... of that version.

In the 1950's, another Guillen Santa Maria was built (the first sank in the 1940's). When Martinez-Hidalgo began work on his interpretation of Columbus' ships, he worked with Guillen y Tato, and the two men came to an agreement. The second Guillen Santa Maria was modified to resemble the work of Martinez-Hidalgo, with the addition of a focs'l and great arch, as well as modifying the sail plan. I believe that the fender cleats were not changed to the vertical ones of the M-H plan. This ship was still afloat a few years ago.

Interesting little side note. The only plastic model of the Santa Maria as a nao  is the small scale Imai Santa Maria, and that one is based upon Bjorn Landstrom's version found in "The Ship".

Looking forward to following this build.

Cheers,

Rob

I'd be interested to see the kit of the *nao* Santa Maria....for comparison to mine, at least.

Well, figuring the temps are only going to get colder, I took the opportunity this weekend to airbrush all the basecoats on the parts.  It was cold in the workshop (probably 50F), but I took my chances...with luck!  Everything came out looking good...as I get some detail-painting done, I'll post a few pics.

Dave

Funny thing... came right up in a web search, next to Landstrom.

David, you should buy this book...

www.amazon.com/.../ref=dp_olp_all_mbc

Just make sure it has a decent dustcover.

Dang!  That thing IS tiny!  Neat-looking, but tiny!  And I see the forecastle...

I ordered a used copy of The Ship Illustrated, by Bjorn Landstrom from Amazon....it's an ex-library copy, hardcover....and it was only $5...good deal.