Best kit for first time sailing ship builder?

My suggestion for first sailing ship kit in plastic.Would be Revell Santa Maria.A very simple kit well detailed.The fit is good.Easier to build than the Revell Mayflower.It will get the modelers feed wet into rigging without overwelming them.Its the first model I did when I got back into modeling in the eighties.Fact I still have it and almost twenty years since I build it.

Rod

A lot depends on what they might be interested in. I'd suggest either the Tamiya DD-445 Fletcher or Trumpeter DE-635 England in 1/350th for first time builders. Good kits, relatively inexpensive, subject matter can vary widely from simple to complex paint jobs. You can get the England and GMM photoetch for under $50

One kit I would look at would be the Hobbycraft Bluenose kit.  Never seen it myself but the subject should be appropriate.  The scale is listed as 1:120 so a reasonably large scale.  Two masts, schooner rigged.  I do remeber doing a Revell ghost ship as a kid.  As I remember it, the scale is reasonable and the size is manageable.  There should be some other Elizabethan ships that are pretty good.  My understanding is that the Revell Bounty has some potential. 

One question that has to be considered is the amount of modeling experience one has with other subjects.  Experience with other subject is a great deal of help, but it doesn't mean one will be comfortable tackling anything, just because one has built a lot of airplanes, tanks or cars.

The thing is, sailing ships have lots of rigging, and rigging is what makes a good model sail ship impressive.  Painting a hull and making it look good takes one type of skill, rigging is something totally different.  With a large scale model of a small ship, One could do the rigging once, cut it out and redo it with more skill later.  With the large and complex models, Heller's Victory, and Revell's Constituion as examples, these are projects lasting many hundreds of hours. 

One should advise very strongly against anyone attempting the big Revell kits( be scared) or the big Heller kits(be very scared) as first sail ship models.  If you are an experience modeler of other things you may not do them justice, or complete them.  If not experienced, you will likely find another hobby.

It's an excellent question, and a rather refreshing one.  I'm glad somebody is thinking in terms of something other than a Constitution or a Victory as a first project.

My general suggestion to folks thinking about breaking into sailing ship modeling is:  pick a relatively small ship on a relatively large scale.  Sailing ship modeling holds two potential terrors for newcomers:  delicacy and repetition.  Contrary to what some people seem to think, bigger sailing ship models are easier to build than smaller ones.  Take a look at the rigging on any of Donald McNarry's models (largest scale:  1/192) and you'll see what I mean.  And perhaps the biggest enemy of the hobbyist is repetition.  Rigging the lanyard for a pair of deadeyes is, if you haven't done it before, kind of tricky.  Doing it fifty or sixty times (as you have to do on a scale model of H.M.S. Victory) is downright depressing.  I always recommending starting with something other than a full-rigged ship.  My strong recommendation is to pick something with fewer than three masts, preferably with a schooner or sloop rig, on a scale of 1/96 or larger.

Far too many modelers insist on starting with big, elaborate projects, asserting that, because they've built other types of models, they won't have any trouble doing a Victory or a Cutty Sark.  Rarely, if ever, have I seen such a model built by a newcomer that satisfied even the modeler's own standards.  As anybody who's ever worked in a hobby shop knows, the vast majority of those big kits never get finished.  (A lot never even get started.)  If the "newbies" who buy them would just be willing to invest a few weeks of their time, and a few dollars of their money, on one or two smaller, less time-consuming models, they'd derive far more enjoyment and satisfaction from the hobby.  And in the process they'd acquire some beautiful models to put on their mantles.  (A ship model doesn't need to be big or elaborate to be beautiful.)

Unfortunately, that advice is easy to give but hard to follow.  The plastic sailing ship market, at the moment, is in horrible shape.  None of the big manufacturers has produced a genuinely new sailing ship kit in at least twenty years.  The few plastic sailing ship enthusiasts are getting by on kits that were first issued as long as 50 years ago.  One used to be able to find a dozen or so kits that fit my definition of good newcomer's projects; now there are scarcely any.

That said, I don't have any trouble agreeing with any of the suggestions that have been offered earlier in this thread.  (I do have some reservations about the Revell Bounty; it's not a bad kit for its age, but it's on a pretty small scale, and it's a full-rigged ship requiring quite a bit of repetition.)  I think my first recommendations would be several of the old Pyro kits, which are now being sold under the Lindberg label.  (More correctly, they can be found in hobby shops with Lindberg labels.  As I understand it, Lindberg as a company is no longer manufacturing plastic kits; I hear the molds have been bought by a new company that plans to market the kits under the "Hawk" name.  But the Lindberg versions seem to be fairly common still.)  Lindberg is selling them under some silly names, but they're still the old Pyro kits from the early and mid-fifties.  The Morris-class revenue cutter is being sold under the name "Independence War Schooner."  The fishing schooner Gertrude L. Thebaud is labeled "America's Cup Defender."  (Yeah - a Cup defender with two stacks of fishing dories on her deck.  Right.)  And the steam/sail revenue cutter Harriet Lane is labeled "Civil War Blockade Runner."  (That one is more defensible.  The Harriet Lane got captured by the Confederacy, and did run the blockade a few times.)  Any of those would make a pretty good starter kit.  But those molds are more than fifty years old now.  I haven't looked inside any of those Lindberg boxes lately, but I suspect they have more than their share of problems with flash, poor fit, etc.

Here's a link to a Forum thread in which a newcomer tackled the old Pyro Thebaud.  In my opinion this is a fine example of how a "newbie," armed with a basically sound kit, some basic research, and a little encouragement via the web, can produce a first-rate, beautiful model of an important ship:  /forums/582090/ShowPost.aspx

One other kit hasn't been mentioned.  I hesitate to recommend it without having seen it in person, but the relatively new "Hansa Cog," by the Russian company Zvezda, strikes me as a near-ideal first sailing ship kit.  It's on a quite large scale (1/76), and, with its single square-rigged mast, offers the modeler the chance to learn all the basics of rigging with a bare minimum of repetition.  As I understand it, the kit suffers from one big goof:  the deck planks are laid lengthwise rather than athwartships.  That's the sort of thing the newcomer probably would be able to either ignore or fix.  The cog was an important vessel in the evolution of the ship, and a model of one would be extremely attractive.  (The various 1/76 wargaming figures on the market would make a fine, colorful crew for it.)  If I had to pick a starter kit for somebody wanting to break into the hobby, that probably would be it.

jtilley wrote:

One other kit hasn't been mentioned.  I hesitate to recommend it without having seen it in person, but the relatively new "Hansa Cog," by the Russian company Zvezda, strikes me as a near-ideal first sailing ship kit.  It's on a quite large scale (1/76), and, with its single square-rigged mast, offers the modeler the chance to learn all the basics of rigging with a bare minimum of repetition.  As I understand it, the kit suffers from one big goof:  the deck planks are laid lengthwise rather than athwartships.  That's the sort of thing the newcomer probably would be able to either ignore or fix.  The cog was an important vessel in the evolution of the ship, and a model of one would be extremely attractive.  (The various 1/76 wargaming figures on the market would make a fine, colorful crew for it.)  If I had to pick a starter kit for somebody wanting to break into the hobby, that probably would be it.

I've got the Cog in my queue and only the rationing of time to other projects has kept me from tackling it (I've got the 1/200th Sovremenny, 1/350 Admiral Kuznetsov and the Airfix Vasa taking up my workbench). It does look like a nice build, however (although the molded sail is destined to serve as a birdbath), and since actual cogs have been excavated, and recreated, there's some good reference material available on it. The Conway book Cogs, Caravels and Galleons might be hard to find, but well worth having. It does show the goof that Professor Tilley points out.

However, upon looking at Landstrom's History of the Ship, it appears that the Zvezda kit might not be off. Maybe Zvezda used Landstrom's illustrations when designing the kit? But this book was published back in the early 1960's, so it doesn't incorporate the significant amount of research that has occurred since that time. Is this definitive enough to warrant the effort to make the change or do we go with Landstrom's view and a bit of "modeler's judgement" -  not exactly a stretch considering that these ships were built without plans in many places over a long period of time? I probably won't decide until I actually put the deck in place.   

I'm certainly no expert on the subject of cogs.  As I understand it, the extant examples have their deck planking laid athwartships.  On the other hand, one of the biggest dangers in archaeological research is to assume that one or two examples "speak" for an entire class of artifacts.  Given the number of cogs that apparently existed, the few that have survived, the paucity of other detailed evidence, and the lack of any governing body to oversee the construction of such ships, it wouldn't surprise me in the least to find out that some cogs' decks were planked the way Zvezda indicates.

I feel obligated to emphasize, though, that I don't really know much about this topic.  Maybe somebody with some formal training in medieval shipbuilding (Jorit Wintjes, are you out there?) can correct me.

I wish someone would have started this thread a few months ago.  I've been modeling on and off since about 1964, building mainly cars/trucks and aircraft, and decided to take a crack at building a sailing ship.  We had just remodeled our front room and there's a shelf that's just begging for a ship display...lol

For my first attempt I picked up a Revell 1/196 scale Constitution.  To make a long story short, I'm a bit disappointed.  Maybe most sailing ship kits are this way (being my first kit I really wouldn't know) but many of the parts didn't fit well, requiring some degree of "modification" (more than I'm accustomed to with cars, etc...) and some pieces simply were impossible to fit in their correct locations.  What started out in my mind to be a precise as possible recreation has now become more of a "general representation".  Very little about this build has any real accuracy to it, and I've reached the point that I just want to finish it and be done with it.  I'm currently doing the rigging, and I doubt that it will be very accurate to the original either.

I guess the bottom line is that this is my first, and my last sailing ship.  I can't really believe that I would attempt another at this point.  Just my personal taste, I suppose, but I think I'm better off sticking with what I know.  Certainly not to take away from the beautiful work I've seen others do.  Some of you guys do truly incredible work with these ships, and I'm quite envious.

Just thought I'd share my experience on this topic...

A large part of the trouble Buildit experienced probably had to do with the age of the kit - and lack of quality control on the part of the manufacturer. The Revell 1/96 Constitution is a first-rate kit - or was when it was new. I built it several times when I was much younger, and was always impressed with it (though the three-part decks always did create nearly-insoluble joint-filling problems).

Buildit's post is just the latest of many horror stories I've read in this Forum regarding recently-molded Revell sailing ship kits: lots of flash, warped parts, broken parts, low-quality plastic, etc., etc. I recently downloaded the instruction book for the Revell C.S.S. Alabama (original release date: 1961) from Revell Germany's website. That document, compared with the booklet that was in the kit's original incarnation, is an appalling mess. It starts with a photo of a finished model built by somebody who couldn't figure out where the vac-formed "sails" were supposed to go - and things go downhill from there. I have trouble imagining a more miserable way to introduce somebody to a hobby.

Heller kits, as I understand it, are showing similar symptoms these days. Those who've bought the Heller/Airfix Victory recently report awful problems with brittle plastic, warped parts, etc. (In this case the instructions aren't much of an issue. The ones in the kit I was sent for review, back in the late seventies, were scandalously awful - and the years haven't improved them any.)

The unpleasant message that comes through loud and clear is that the manufacturers just plain don't care about encouraging people to take up plastic sailing ship kits as a hobby.

As I've taken part in this Forum over the past three years or so, I've been pleasantly surprised at the number of folks who DO seem interested in plastic sailing ships. But this phase of the model building hobby is almost dead. In the next few years it may disappear completely. If that happens, don't throw all the blame at the hobbiests. Save a big percentage of it for the manufacturers.

buildit wrote:

For my first attempt I picked up a Revell 1/196 scale Constitution.  To make a long story short, I'm a bit disappointed.  Maybe most sailing ship kits are this way (being my first kit I really wouldn't know) but many of the parts didn't fit well, requiring some degree of "modification" (more than I'm accustomed to with cars, etc...) and some pieces simply were impossible to fit in their correct locations.  What started out in my mind to be a precise as possible recreation has now become more of a "general representation".  Very little about this build has any real accuracy to it, and I've reached the point that I just want to finish it and be done with it.  I'm currently doing the rigging, and I doubt that it will be very accurate to the original either. I guess the bottom line is that this is my first, and my last sailing ship.  I can't really believe that I would attempt another at this point.  Just my personal taste, I suppose, but I think I'm better off sticking with what I know.  Certainly not to take away from the beautiful work I've seen others do.  Some of you guys do truly incredible work with these ships, and I'm quite envious.

I was in the same position and built the big 1:96 Constitution as a first sailing ship.  I had built hundreds of planes and vehicles, but this was by far the most challenging modeling project that I had ever attempted.  Not just big, but very very very difficult.  That said, I found that the moulding and fit of that kit workable.  There was considerable flash and the parts did require very careful attention. but the parts did fit.  I found that this kit was an extreme challenge that took a lot of patience and work to sucessfully complete.  From what I have seen some have done a good job with the smaller model, but most of the impressive builds have been the larger scale one I did.  My results, I am happy with it but there are many things that are far from perfect.

My understanding is that the 1:196 model dates from the mid 1950s and it is very old.  The 1:96 dates from the 60s and is a much better model.  good luck with the rigging.  The rigging is really what shows off these sail models.  The key is care and patience. 

My experience is that these kits require exceptional care to do the rigging well.  Carefull attention to part fit, tension and placement.  Considerable scratch building of details.  Carefull research.  Extensive planning.  All using new and different techniques and materials based on very old and worn plastic model kits.  The plastic hull becomes incidental long before the project is done. Even 'beginner' kits take considerable skill to make them look good. 

Doing large scale models of simpler rigged boats is the better way to learn.  Trying to do a good job with a kit like the one you attempted is like trying to do a contest winner with a 50 year old kit, do-able but not necessarily fun. 

Thanks to all for the replies so far.  In general, the responses to my original post are what I feared I'd get.  (With the exception of the one response about the Tamiya Fletcher- which, no matter how well molded, is NOT a good first sailing ship kit!)

There are good subjects for first time builders, but not good kits.  If you want a good subject, you'll have to put up with lots of flash and marginal parts fit.    That, I think, is a sad commentary on the state of our hobby. 

Imagine how great for the hobby it would be if someone like Tamiya or Revell Germany tooled an all new kit of a suitable subject- then I wouldn't  have to tell people that they should go look for 1960s-era kits.  (Hey, I can dream, can't I?)

 

 

 

jtilley wrote:

Buildit's post is just the latest of many horror stories I've read in this Forum regarding recently-molded Revell sailing ship kits: lots of flash, warped parts, broken parts, low-quality plastic, etc., etc. I recently downloaded the instruction book for the Revell C.S.S. Alabama (original release date: 1961) from Revell Germany's website. That document, compared with the booklet that was in the kit's original incarnation, is an appalling mess. It starts with a photo of a finished model built by somebody who couldn't figure out where the vac-formed "sails" were supposed to go - and things go downhill from there. I have trouble imagining a more miserable way to introduce somebody to a hobby.

Yes The C.S.S Alabama this was my first real sailing ship the only other sailing ship that i have built was the jolly roger from lindberg and yes the c.s.s alabama is a vary confusing kit alot of flash parts dont fit right and some parts have the align ment pins molded on the wrong side lets say this was not a good kit to start out with and i have yet to finish it and probubly wont,. My biggest mistake was what jtilly said  i though bigger would be better and that was my mistake. As for the jolly roger that was a pretty decent kit and i built that when i first got back into modeling.

The large Revell kits seem to have a pretty good success rate among 1st time modelers.  I know a few people who had pretty good results from these kits.  From my experience, the Constitituion, Spanish Galleon, and Alabama/Kearsarge all have some really bad fit problems with the stern assemblies and deck joints and the Cuttysark/Thermopoylae deck houses can give a modeler a challenge.  But these are large kits, and the size seems to make it easier for large hands and poor eyes and provide the modeler some flexibility to correct mistakes.

 I know I can build one of these kits and really enjoy them over the smaller Heller, Lindberg, and even Airfix kits anyday.

Scott 

It has been a while, and I have to apologize for digging up this thread, but I find it an interesting and particularly worthwhile one; I'm every now and then asked this same question.

Personally I generally agree with what John Tilley has said about the old Pyro kit or the Zvezda cog, though I'm less than happy about certain aspects of the latter's construction; in order to give an waterline option the hull effectively has three pieces, and I have heard that getting it all to fit precisely isn't an easy exercise. Also, the plastic sails integrally moulded to the yards are not exactly to my liking.

Two other types of kits come to my mind when talking about a good starting point for a prospective sailing ship modeller: Viking ships and fishing boats. Currently Viking ships again seem to be somewhat en vogue, with RoG reissuing what I hope is their nice rendition of the Gokstad ship (though they claim it to be 1/50) and Emhar having announced another one for this year in 1/72, together with a set of rowers/crew figures.

As for fishing boats, Heller had a number of nice models in their range (I'm particularly thinking of a thuna boat in 1/125 and a Sinagot in 1/60 to 1/70) which make inexpensive and interesting models as well. At least on my side of the great fish pond these Heller kits still regularly surface on that auction site for knock-down prices, and - this is particularly true for the Sinagot - as quite a number of these vessels are still around, there is plenty of photographic reference readily available. 

One final remark - personally I find either for a beginner or for a relaxing build something fairly small in the region of 1/72 much easier than a larger ship in a smaller scale. It may just me being ham-fisted, but somehow I find, for example, the Imai 1/350 ships much more challenging than a 1/72 ship with a fairly simple rig.

Jorit

I agree with jwintjes a hundred percent.  For many years I've been advising newcomers, "start with a relatively small ship - or boat - in a relatively large scale."

I do hope the "new" Revell Viking ship is indeed the one Revell originally released in 1977 (the last genuinely new sailing ship the company has produced).  I have to say I'm a little worried, though.  Revell Germany has released quite a few old Heller kits, and a few Aurora ones (e.g., the ancient Aurora Chinese junk).  I do hope this "new" kit isn't a reissue of the Heller "Drakkar Oseberg" (mis-proportioned, miserably detailed garbage) or the almost-prehistoric Aurora "Viking Ship" (a great project for school children in the 1950s, but in no way a scale model of a Norse vessel).  The people running Revell Germany give the impression that they have no idea what these old ship kits actually are.  Let's hope for the best.

jwintjes wrote:

As for fishing boats, Heller had a number of nice models in their range (I'm particularly thinking of a thuna boat in 1/125 and a Sinagot in 1/60 to 1/70) which make inexpensive and interesting models as well. At least on my side of the great fish pond these Heller kits still regularly surface on that auction site for knock-down prices, and - this is particularly true for the Sinagot - as quite a number of these vessels are still around, there is plenty of photographic reference readily available.  Jorit

I saw both of these Heller kits this past weekend in the  local shop.  The Tuna fishing boat (forget the name) was  marked as 1/125 scale, and carried two masts.   The kit box did not give the model length, but listed the prototype at about 20 meteres, IIRC.   That's a little over 6.2 inches, if my math is right.   

They also had the Sinagot, a single masted vessel.  Box said 1/60 scale, with a prototype length of just under 10m.  That yields a model about  6.5 inches long. 

Both of these are a little on the small side for my tastes, but the idea did intrigue me.  Given that Heller kits can be real hits or misses in terms of quality (and getting back to the original point of this thread) how good are these kits, quality of moldings/fit/detail- wise?

 

It is true that both kits are on the small side, but they are well researched, very detailed, fit well and look great. Actually they among the best plastic ship model that I know of, they just tend to go unnoticed by most modelers due to their sheer size.

The Tuna ship "Armor" (might have different names according to the release date) is a typical Dundee tuna ship and you can see quite some of them in the harbours and museums in Brittany today. They basically all look the same up to the smallest equipment details and as far as I see the Heller ship is spot from hull shape to the anchor gear. If you compare the model to much bigger, plank on bulkhead models (i.e. "Marie Jeanne" - Billing Boats, "Kerz Atao"-Canav and there are even more around, you will not see any differences to the bigger ones - except for the rigging, of course, which is over-simplified as with most of Heller´s offerings. The basics are OK but a closer look at some photos of an original or a well-built model might encourage you to make some detail refinements. 

Same goes for "Sinagot" (but it should actually have two masts afaik) - traditional design that is still around today (albeit as pleasure boats) - just google the name (this is actually the ship type) and you will find quite some useful pics. Those Sinagots seem to obey something like a "colour standard" - they are all basically black on the outside, light blue to a varying extent on the inside and they all feature red sails. Again, Heller is spot on here and due to the small size of the craft there is not much rigging to be added - not much rigging at all in fact!

Both ships are well worth building, and if you don´t mind their small size you will get very colourful and detailed models that make a welcome contrast to the usual Constitutions or Victorys.

Other ships in Heller´s line of very well done "small fries" are the "Tartane" aka "Corsair" (Tartane is the ship type, looks like a very small Chebec with one and a half masts and sans rows) in 1/150, the rare "Sardane" (1/50) which seems to depict one of the boats carried by a big ship of the line (with full two mast rigging), and the more modern, ocean-going Yacht "Kurun" (1/60). These models show Heller at its best - actually I think they were their last sailing ship releases (around 1979/80) if you don´t count the fancy "Playstation" catamaran - too bad, they seemed to have just found out how to make really good, well researched models and then.. stopped.   

 

If we're looking for first-time kits for at least a semi-experienced builder I'll throw my vote in for the 1/196 Revell Constitution. 

Rationale:

• It's a well-known subject.  Sorry, but if you've been used to building F-14's, then obscure tuna boats that you didn't know existed before you bought the kit don't hold much allure.
• It's a nice finished size, unlike its 1/96 big brother, it will fit on a reasonably-sized shelf.  You won't have to build an addition to the family room to display it.
• The molded ratlines, while perhaps repulsive to the experience ship modeler, allow the first-time builder to easily complete something that looks representative in a reasonable period of time.
• In it's current issue, the instructions offer both simpified and detailed rigging instruction (granted, even the detailed plans are way simplified...)
• The current release also has one-piece masts, making it a little easier to assemble and align.

I have to admit that I have some bias, in that it was the first sailing ship model I built way back in the late 60's, so I've got some fond memories. 

While it can be completed in simplified form and be recognizable, it also provides the basic shapes to apply additional modeling skills.  Some forty years later I'm currently building my second one, hopefully to a higher standard: cut out the mainhatch, built a partial gun deck, rigging all the spar deck guns, adding hammock netting, rigging individual shrouds & ratlines, adding futtock/bentinck shrouds, lanyards, clew lines, etc.

Mark 

If I find the time, I'll make a few pictures of the Heller Sinagot on the weekend. In the not-too-distant future I plan to build one as a distraction from those long projects dragging on endlessly...

One positive thing about the Sinagot is the great possibilities for conversion the kit has. As honneamise has pointed out, the original Sinagots were largely black with red sails. However, as these vessels made their way into private hands, they became - and still are - really colourful.

At the danger of turning this thread into a Heller Sinagot one here are three different examples:

1. "Classic" Sinagot with nice blue trim:

2. One-masted Sinagot:

3. Another one-masted Sinagot:

 

Colour variations with blue and white are abound, but I remember seeing green hulls as well. I guess one can safely choose any colour one likes, particularly with a one-masted variant.

As for the 1/196 Constitution, I agree in principle with Mark in that a well-known subject is probably likely to have a certain attraction (I guess that is the reason why there are Tigers and Messerschmitts galore...). I must admit, however, that I already find just building the ship with a simplified rig fairly challenging - I well remember trying it when I was young and miserably failing in getting rig and sails look acceptable. I still think a one-masted - or small two-masted - ship would be a better start. 

Jorit 

 

Hi all

My father offered me some time ago a Heller SINAGOT (Item Nr. 80605) after a trip to Paris, but when I opened the box, the instructions that where present where not for that kit but for the ECURUEIL helicopter.

I've already contacted Heller and I'm still waiting for a reply, but since the kit is an old one, I thought of asking for your help too.
Does anyone out there have a copy of the instructions for the SINAGOT that he can scan and send via email to me?
I can be contacted by email at jrmodels@netcabo.pt

Many thanks
JR

Hi - since you commented on the Kurun kit, maybe you can help me.  Yes, I realize your post is four years old, but I'm not having much luck in other places.  Do you have any suggestions on where I might go to find the instructions for assembling this kit?  thanks, Mike

Try a new thread asking for the Kurun instructions. I'm sure there are copies out there, but the people who have them might not read this thread. With Kurun in the title you should get some help.

I will probably be shot at sunrise by my fellow modelers , but , here,s my suggestion . The model company "MIRAGE" has a nice little sailing sloop called "The sailing yacht "OPTY" ,it is straight forward , singlemasted and simple , but , attractive when done . You also try one of LINDBERG,S sailing ship kits. They,re a little more fiddley , but , for the most part they look decent with very little running rigging and the minimum of standing rigging . Running rigging is for sail handling and standing rigging is that which holds it all vertical and ready to take sails .  You could try to find PYRO/LIFELIKE/LINDBERG- OYSTER BOAT kit , again a single masted vessel . If you insist on more than one mast , definitely give PYRO/LIFELIKE /LINDBERG BLUENOSE fishing schooner a chance .  I hope this helps you . AURORA years ago used to have a Two masted yacht and it was nice I saw one on yuk-bay and fuggedaboud it . WAY to expensive .     There was a large model of a twin masted yacht put out by a company I haven,t seen in a while (so much so , I forgot their name) But they did one called MINOTS LIGHT and another called the PALAWAN . If you can find one the instructions are clear and concise and rigging is simple . Good luck        tankerbuilder

Definitely no shots coming your way from me. They are all good suggestions and follow JTilleys maxim of a small ship on a large scale. I would add either of Revells or Emhars viking ships to your list. My first was Revells small Constitution. Somewhat challenging, but easy enough I turned out something I was happy with.

Her's a dirty word for you. Wood.

Rich

Her's a dirty word for you. Wood.

You have a point.  Midwest makes some excellent small craft that are excellent for novices, including a couple of sailing vessels.  They provide die-cut planks, and the hard-chined vessels have only a few planks on the hull, so the difficulty of planking a large ship hull is eliminated.

The instruction books are excellent, with lots of photos and lots of detailed explanations.  I would second any of those Midwest small sailing vessels.

My 2-cents as I just fell into this fix myself; find a subject ship you are truly interested in, else you will lose any desire to proceed when the going gets tough. Preferably the bigger the scale, the better - at least for me with aging eyes and too fat fingertips for knot-tying. AFAIK, the Revell Golden Hind is one of several in that "big scale" category.

Me, I used to build those old Pyro kits you would find for 50-cents at the drugstore, eons ago. They were my last sailing kits.

Recently found a steal of a deal on a 70's boxing of the Revell 1/96th Constitution and rekindled the sailing ship bug - especially since it is a multi-gun "combat ship" and not a tuna boat.

It looks to be a fine kit and with a good reputation - but waaaaaay over me.

I have since snagged one of the current Chicom-molded 1955-vintage Revell 1/196th Constitution kits you find in HobbyLobbys to help train for the big fight to come. This new-old Revell kit is apparently way nicer than the Lindberg ex-Pyro Connie in 1/2xx scale, and I am still building the Connie.

If the incredible history and lore of Old Ironsides isn't enough to keep me interested, well at least I learned on the smaller, easier to display kit.   

And yes, it is a pity-shame that Revell hasn't spent a penny on a re-tool of these old classics (or ANY of their old kits for that matter) - something that Trumpeter and DML routinely do in their lineups.

I'd bet if Trumpeter or DML did a proper big-scale Connie it would be a world beater.

Don Stauffer

Rich:

Her's a dirty word for you. Wood.

 

You have a point.  Midwest makes some excellent small craft that are excellent for novices, including a couple of sailing vessels.  They provide die-cut planks, and the hard-chined vessels have only a few planks on the hull, so the difficulty of planking a large ship hull is eliminated.

The instruction books are excellent, with lots of photos and lots of detailed explanations.  I would second any of those Midwest small sailing vessels.

Don, Midwest was exactly what I was thinking about when I posted. Great minds think alike! 

I'll have to throw my 2 cents in for the Lindberg Jolly Roger / La Flore kit, I'm building it (not "converting" it) to a Revolutionary War frigate just for the fun of it and I think it's a great kit.

The scale is large enough at 1/130 for all the detail that I want to include (Stirrups & foot-ropes and a bit different rigging scheme) but it's not large enough to be overwhelming like the 1/96 Revell Constitution. I have a Revell 1/96 Connie that I started many years ago & never did finish.  I bought a second 1/96 kit recently to repair & finish up my kit when I can get to it.  It's a great kit but like it has been said, it's complicated and can get the best of you.

One thing I really like about the Lindberg JR is that it has a full gun deck and individual 2 piece cannons.  The fit is a bit tricky mounting the two decks to the hull but it's not too bad.  With a hull length of 13" not counting the bowsprit, it is building up into a pretty impressive little ship.

Another kit I would recommend is also another Lindberg kit, the 'Armed Schooner Sandpiper'. It is an absolutely delightful little kit that I can't wait to get to once I finish up the Jolly Roger.  I believe this kit is a Baltimore Clipper or Revenue Cutter (Roger B. Taney perhaps?).

Both the Jolly Roger & Sandpiper are fairly easy to find, I saw a Jolly Roger at Hobby Lobby for 19.99 a month or so ago and I see the JR & (occasionally the Sandpiper) pop up on ebay quite often for even less.

FWIW, those are my suggestions, I'm not really a beginner modeler, or even new to ships having built a few years ago.  But, I'm new to 'returning' to ship modeling and far from a good modeler, so it gives me a pretty good perspective I guess.

 

Adrian

i agree with you, it is a very nice kit, which considering its linberg is a mild surprise to say the least,i also modeled mine to represent the continental navy ship alliance and im quite happy with it, 100% accurate or not, makes a great companion kit to my bon homme richard, which i have finished but i do not know how to post a photo of it on here.scale is very close.  we have to make do with the kits available(plastic) i myself have no interest in wood kits, i would love to see someone do some new sailing ship kits in plastic, espesially early american warships, revolutionary war, war of 1812 etc, i know im not alone on this subject, getting to the topic of this thread i think a great first time kit would be one of the 4 kits being sold by linberg as pirate ships, there cheap, the only thing you need to add are some flags, easily found on the web and copy them to size, you can build them with as simplified rigging as you want, just my 2 cents