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Hello I need help!
- Thread starter UssIntelagentFIsh
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If you choose to but one or more of the three Model Shipways beginner kits I would suggest only buying the basic hand tools necessary to build it: a metal ruler 12” or 6” ruler graduated in 16ths, a small square, a mechanical pencil or if a regular pencil a way to keep it sharp, Xacto knife with #11 blade, a set of Zona saws, and some small spring clamps. I would also buy a small bench vise.
As you move forward, buy the additional tools needed to solve whatever problems occur.
Roger
As you move forward, buy the additional tools needed to solve whatever problems occur.
Roger
I recommend starting with the model expo 3 ship shipwright series. They can be bought as individual kits, and come with or without a basic set of tools. You can download and look at the building instructions from the model expo site first if you want to get an idea of what each involves. there are also you tube videos and many build logs on this site of those kits to aid you. That is what I basically did and am glad I started there.
Model Shipways Shipwright 3 Kit Combo Series with Tools, Glue and Pain
Learn to build a fine wood boat and ship models. Start with an 1800's traditional fisherman's Dory at Skill Level 1. Included are 24 pages of instructions, tools, paint, and glue for your first build. Continue at Skill Level 2 with a fully planked historic Norwegian Pram. Finally, the Muscongus...www.modelexpo-online.com
DITTO to what Rob said above! Build this series of three small kits and you will have a very basic beginning understanding of the processes involved. Do the best job you can. Consider each section of the process a model in itself. Aim for perfection. They are actually nice display models if done well. Read books on the subject of ship modeling. Read every one you can find. Study them. Many are available online used for not a lot of money because a lot of people start out wanting to get into ship modeling, but only a small fraction are willing to tackle the learning curve.
Research is as much, if not more, important than building and it can often be even more enjoyable. (It makes less of a mess, for one thing.
) Pick a subject or period you are really interested in and dive deep into researching it. If you are interested in submarines, then try to become an authority on every submarine you can read about. Build submarine models. If you are interested in Napoleonic warships, which is a very complex subject, then read up on that and become an authority on that and build those. Realize that you can't build a decent model if you don't know what the real thing looks like. Not just a picture or a plan on paper. I'm talking about your being able to look a picture or a plan and actually "be there" on that vessel in your head.Your question raises delicate issues. Nobody wants to scare you off on the one hand, but on the other, nobody wants to blow smoke up your butt, either. We all want to welcome you, but you've got to realize you're looking to run with the big dogs now, so you've got to watch and learn. Despite what the advertisements say, you can't build a "museum quality" Napoleonic ship of the line out of a "paint by numbers" kit box.
I agree with Bob and Rob above. I didn't recommend them because it sounded from your initial post that you had decided what you were going to start with.
If you get the 3 kits as recommended, Model Expo even has a deal where they will give you credit for the cost of the first kit if you send them a picture of your completed first kit.
Here is a link to the thread where the manufacturer makes the statement :
lets-get-more-people-into-wooden-ship-building
Regardless, we are here to answer questions for you.
If you get the 3 kits as recommended, Model Expo even has a deal where they will give you credit for the cost of the first kit if you send them a picture of your completed first kit.
Here is a link to the thread where the manufacturer makes the statement :
lets-get-more-people-into-wooden-ship-building
Regardless, we are here to answer questions for you.
i'm starting to wonder if we are being trolled here. people are really trying to help you but it appears that you have little respect for that. i'm on my sixth build and struggling to get better. I have built 2 real boats and some furniture and I know that I don't have the skills to take on the project that you are focusing on. I also have a workshop full of tools. I like to see people interested in the hobby and would hate to see you give up
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Boxwood is NOT good for long, narrow applications, as it tends to "wander" as it ages. Longridge's "Victory" had many examples of this. Boxwood is very hard, and is best used for carvings ,blocks . etc.
In a perfect world you need the shop and space shown in the first two photos, with basic shop tools, such as a sander, a drill press, a bandsaw, a micro chopsaw, and a jigsaw. A micro table saw and planner are stretch goals. You can get by with the third photo for a simple kit build, but you need dedicated space, a model ship is a journey, not a destination.
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The only plan I know is referenced at the NMM stated above. Unless it really has to be this ship Le Salamandre is visually similar, it may be of interest. If you would consider kits there are a number of plank on frame kits available, I think all are Chinese. Dry Dock do a 1:96, for me too small, eyesight considered. This you can get for around 150$. Alternatively a 1:48 at 1390$ on Chinese market sites, Ali-etc.. Plank on frame can be pricey. These would certainly give you the practice to go on to scratch.
If you're building deck framework basswood will not do at all, you were correct first time, boxwood or pear. All the tenons that will need chiselling out require a good solid timber. Basswood and walnut are offered by kit manufacturers because they're cheap and cheerful. They won't do for what you intend.
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no I'm just lost and a beginner
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With due respect to Dr Wentling the in-shop lounge and big screen TV are probably unnecessary. Haha!
Roger
Roger
build the dory modelno I'm just lost and a beginner
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- Aug 27, 2025
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Thank you
Look up the thread by Norgale of the Great Republic in 1:48 scale. I found a lot of information on how to build the GR in William Crothers book The American BUilt Clipper Ship. I know you're not building a clipper ship but the pictures, diagrams and text will give you everything you need to know about building a model sailing ship. Basic construction of ships has been pretty much the same for centuries, just apply the new info to the ship your building and it will be ok. Just don't try to make everything complicated or you'll end up in the shallows or wrecked on a rock.
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Thank you for the help, I'll look into it.
Model expo has a 3 part learners series that would be a better start, it's a three series beginners model series.
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- Aug 27, 2025
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Thank you for responding to my post I did look into Model exp's 3 part learners series. But I got basswood a while back and am wondering If I should make a scratch build the only hard part has been researching something to make. I've found the Royal museum of Greenwich https://www.rmg.co.uk/collections/ to be an good site for Information and one to one examples of every thing ships. I recently got more supplies like a zona saw and some clips but I have most of the other supplies except any thing fancy like a bandsaw.
And Go Red sox!
IF you go this route, consider small rather than large. A longboat, launch, pinnace or cutter are good choices and there are a lot of contemporary drawings on the RMG site in low resolution, and many of those are on the Wiki Commons site in high resolution for free. Some have more detail than others so study as many as you can. One of my personal favorites in high resolution is the pinnace below even though it does not show the footwaling or keelson. It shows the tholes for a single banked boat which is missed by most of the kit companies like Vanguard and others. It also has her scantlings, including for the footwaling and keelson, so you will have all the necessary dimensional information. There are build logs of scratch built boats here at SoS that should be helpful. Good luck with whatever you choose!!!
Allan
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If this is the decision point, I think that it is a very weak reed to stand on.
There are many here who like and use Basswood. I am decidedly not one of them.
What you probably bought was probably stock intended for temporary architect's display models and such.
The wood is in the Tilia family but Basswood got started by riding on the coattails of it European cousin Linden. Linden is twice as dense and plays much nicer.
That said, it offers nothing so special that it would be worth the expense to import it.
We have Yellow Poplar - Tulip tree wood. It is what Basswood wishes it was. Except that the heartwood is olive drab - that ages to brown. The sapwood is an excellent yellow.
Scratch is a serious undertaking. Knowledge, background, a wide variety of skills. There is probably no other type of model building that requires anything like the broad range of skills needed for this. There are exceptions, but in general scratch tends to get tool heavy. It is possible to get neck deep in tool and material expenses. It would be unfortunate to have spent significant sums of money on something that is abandoned. Nothing about this is anything like an investment.
It is wise to consider anything spent as sunk cost. It is prudent to go in slowly, in small increments, Lots of reading.
You speak the truth Dean about both tools and the wood. I learned about basswood from an old lifetime duck decoy carver and it turns out it is great for carving the decoys, (another fun hobby). It is also nice for fillers between bulkheads on a POB frame but poplar better for ship models, readily available and RELATIVELY cheap.
Allan