Falconet's Leudo Venexiano appears to produce an excellent model and many have sung Falconet's praises, but the kit you've cited as an example is somewhat "the exception that proves the rule."
There's no mistaking that $160 for this model in pearwood is a real bargain in my book. There are many bargains to be had on ship model kits and if eBay and the various forums' "for sale" sections are any indication, "Only a fool would pay retail." Obviously, anybody who is interested in building a ship model is certainly no fool, so if one is so inclined, the amazingly high MSRPs of many models should be taken with a grain of salt and "shopping around" is in order.
Unfortunately, Falconet is a Russian company, and the present state of international affairs seriously limits the availability of their products and parts replacement availability in North America. While there appear to be some Falconet products "in the stream of commerce," presumably having been imported by U.S. and Canadian retailers prior to the present trade restrictions, it would appear that for those of us on the other side of the political divide, I'd consider Falconet "out of business" for the duration, for our purposes at least. (And North American retailers may be selling Falconet's kits at "clearance" prices to get rid of them before they become more difficult to market here.) Notably also, with overseas suppliers which are still doing business internationally, sourcing missing or broken kit parts will often involve exorbitant (IMHO) shipping costs and waits of weeks to for orders to arrive.
Falconet's product line contains a good representation of smaller vessels which are excellent subjects for modeling and that keeps the cost of those kits "accessible," in theory at least, given they will become increasingly difficult for non-Eastern Block modelers to source. Parenthetically, these type of craft (which I expect Howard I. Chapelle would deem "models which should be built,") are particularly suited to scratch building because they don't require a lot of fine metalwork and carving. On the other hand, Falconet offers other kits that are surprisingly expensive, such as a simple two-masted schooner with a list price of $1,250 at present exchange rates, to which, presumably, will be added significant shipping charges and, likely high tariff taxes, which will bring us back to the reality of initial kit expense. To greater or lesser degrees, depending upon the day of the week, or so it seems, the present instability of American tariff taxes must be expected to substantially increase the cost of any imported ship model kit and particularly those produced in China.
From what I understand, Falconet does not provide translations for their Russian language instructions, so that may be a consideration for those who must parse the meanings of various illustrations in their instructions in order to build the kit. To that extent, the novice builder will find himself doing "research" no differently in those respects than the scratch modeler! (And be a better modeler for it if they survive the frustration.) Also, Falconet's product line focuses on subjects of which their primary customer base would be expected to have an interest and, conversely, in which a North American customer base would be less interested. This perhaps touches on the issue of "availability" in a different way than previously discussed: the kit modeler's choices of subject matter are limited to what the applicable market demands, too often "over and over again," or, as Howard I. Chapelle called them, "models that should not be built." Unlike indisputable authorities such as Chapelle and Hahn, my opinion has no such weight, but, IMHO, I find your Leudo Venexiano far more interesting than another Victory or Constitution. The former offers new information that adds to my store of knowledge about watercraft, while the latter primarily only offer an expression of the kit builder's technical ability.
I do have to stress that there is nothing wrong at all with building kits. If that "floats your boat" and isn't broke, don't fix it. Just keep kit building and be happy. There are very few scratch builders who did not begin their ship modeling "careers" by building a kit. After finishing a kit or three, they moved on for any number of reasons. Some decided the cost of a kit was more than they needed to pay to build their next model. Some wanted to create a unique model, while others found that they had no choice but to scratch build their next model because nobody offered a kit of it. And, indeed, some found buying their next kit an attractive option. Six of one and half dozen of the other, as they say.
Now, in the spirit of full disclosure, I must say that there is an important difference between scratch building and kit building which in my experience following ship modeling forums online for as long as there's been an internet is very apparent but rarely fully discussed without walking on eggs for fear of raising hackles. A good ship model kit should enable a person who has a minimal familiarity with basic tools but knows little or nothing about vessels or their construction and operation, to build a credible model of one. The scratch build requires that the builder be fully familiar with the construction and operation of the prototype vessel they are building, together with all the knowledge of how to engineer a credible model of their subject. Scratch building requires a working knowledge of a lot of basic skills, including, but not limited to, academic researching, all the manual arts which are involved in the build (woodworking, metalworking, finishing, rigging mechanics, etc., etc.,) working vocabularies of drafting and lofting (a "language" in itself,) and nautical nomenclature (which is extensive and infinitely more so in the case of periods centuries ago,) and a library of reference books (and online access) which provide the information necessary to complete all the tasks required. Scratch building demands a "lifestyle commitment" to the subject which, in its more developed stages, requires the cumulative acquisition of knowledge driven by a consuming interest spanning decades. On the other hand, a good ship model kit, for a price, (hopefully) provides the knowledge to build that one kit alone. (This is why, in the days before kits were made, the stereotypical ship model builder was a mariner who'd "swallowed the anchor" and modeled ships in their retirement.)
There need be no qualitative comparisons between the two alternative approaches, nor, certainly, between their respective adherents. Their models should speak for themselves and in doing so, their most important audience is always their own builders.
In conclusion, I will offer a caution to kit builders which, if kept in mind, may save them grief in times to come. From a economic standpoint, despite, if not on account of, new technologies such as 3D printing and CNC laser cutting, and the price of materials and the marked increase in international freight costs, ship model kits appear to be a product which is even now only holding on by a thread. I am afraid making them is becoming a business model that just doesn't "pencil out." Just as we've seen the classic "neighborhood hobby shop" become critically endangered, if not yet extinct, so also has their reason for existence constricted, online retailing notwithstanding. We've become more of a society of "spectators" than of "players." Streaming television has driven the last nail in our society's post-war concept of "hobbies." A significant portion of the ship model kit market were once "point of sale" impulse purchases. The finished models in the hobby shop windows sold a lot of ship model kits bought on a whim and never built. I don't know the specifics of the industry, but as radically reduced online "sale prices" become increasingly common and we find ourselves musing about how to generate interest in our hobby, the unmistakable smell of death is in the air. It is difficult to know whether kits are intentionally overpriced with the expectation of dumping inventory just before inventory tax time, or the retailers are simply cutting their losses and unloading product that isn't moving, but we must assume they are astute businessmen and price trends indicate the marketability of their products isn't what it used to be. The relatively new marketing phenomena of "limited edition" kits and "kit upgrade bundles" further suggests manufacturers are pressed to raise prices and move product.
What I suspect may come to replace ship model kits entirely will be the marketing of plans and building practicums, possibly together with optional raw building stock and fittings sold separately online by a limited number of vendors. This really is how ship modeling worked in the days before kits existed. Everybody will, to some extent, have to become a scratch modeler if they want to build a ship model. Because the market niche is so small, there may be just enough meat on the bone to make a reasonable profit publishing practicums, modeling plans, and instructional materials. Even though, writing them will always probably be a "labor of love." Those who "build only kits" will have to adapt. Darwin was right: "Organisms which fail to adapt to changing environments go extinct."
, I'll bite:
) There are many "classic" books on ship modeling that serious modelers collect and rely upon as valued reference works. Building such a library, even if it's only a half dozen of the best basic books on technique, should begin before one begins unpacking a kit without being able to identify all the parts by sight. Studying such books will also give those without prior knowledge a good start at acquiring a working vocabulary of nautical terminology, which is nearly essential whether one is building a kit or building from scratch.
