"Cheap" Amazon Black Pearl 1/50 Kit (***Don't Buy!***)

[ccleme11]

Hello All!

Definitely a newb here when it comes to building wooden ships (this is my first). I have built plenty of model car & airplane kits in the past, and decided I wanted a cool wooden ship, so why not start with the black pearl!?

I didn't want to spend the money on the ZHL version because if I messed up, then I could use the excuse of "It's my first wooden ship, mistakes happened". So I decided to go the "cheap" route and get the standard amazon kit. Little did I know, this kit wouldn't even have all the pieces and instructions that I need to complete it.

The metal/brass/photo etch parts that were supposed to come with the kit, are actually wood... last I checked, you cant bend wood in half...

I am not there yet, but I feel like I'm missing half of the rigging pieces...

No instructions for the masts and rigging (thank you to the members that sent me images of yours!)

Well, lesson learned and found the true meaning of you get what you pay for... I should have went with the ZHL kit.

Anyway, here is where I am at currently, and these are the only photos I have taken. I'll start to take some more at the end of each session and post them here, since I am starting to get stuck on a few things. I am only able to put about 3-6 hours in a week on this.

Does anyone know if I am able to purchase the missing parts online? I have tried looking and cant find them anywhere.



The kit didn't come with the parts that should go in the holes circled in Red... anyone know what they are called or where I can order them? By the looks of it, i am going to need a bunch.

 

[Roger Pellett]

These are called belaying pins. They are used to “belay” the various lines that handle the sails. You can buy them but they’re usually grossly over scale. Belaying pins were not yet invented when the ship that you are modeling was supposedly built. I’d just leave the holes as is and use them to thread the rigging lines thru when tying them off.

Roger

 

[ccleme11]

I see, thanks!

 

[Pepite 1/60]

Ai! That planking hurts! But you did come back pretty well, so, congrats! To hone your planking skills, you could buy a few ot these very cheap Chinese kits (Halcyon or so, they come in under 10 bucks apiece) and do your best to get a smooth finish without having to resort to that much putty. And yea, belaying pins. You can improvise them from toothpicks or so, about 10mm long. Rough and overscale, yes, but once the rigging lines belayed on them, you hardly see the difference. And keep going, you're doing fine.

 

[ccleme11]

Ai! That planking hurts! But you did come back pretty well, so, congrats! To hone your planking skills, you could buy a few ot these very cheap Chinese kits (Halcyon or so, they come in under 10 bucks apiece) and do your best to get a smooth finish without having to resort to that much putty. And yeat, belaying pins. You can improvise them from toothpicks or so, about 10mm long. Rough and overscale, yes, but once the rigging lines belayed on them, you hardly see the difference. And keep going, you're doing fine.

HAHA! Yeah, I wasn't impressed very much by my own work... From watching others build this ship, i thought it would be ok, since it was going to get covered up, however this version does not come with enough planks to cover the hull, only the decks... Maybe ill use the remaining on the hull just for practice!

 

[Bob Cleek]

Your accomplishments thus far are highly commendable, given what you've got to work with there. You can probably forget about buying the missing parts from the retailer. It seems that the "bargain" Chinese kit model retailers' business model is "sell it and forget it." Most report they've received no response to their inquiries regarding missing parts. You might consider that the "silver lining" may be your learning to make your own parts. Most parts can be made from readily available materials. Mast bands, for example, can be made from black paper and eye bolts made from bent wire. Masts, booms, and spars can be tapered using sandpaper on hardware store dowels chucked in an electric hand drill. You would probably find an "entry level" ship model scratch-building book or two helpful in this regard.

Notwithstanding the shortcomings of the kit you purchased, as an experienced plastic kit modeler, you should have no problem "kit bashing" the crappy Black Pearl you got stuck with into a quite nice decorative display model. The "bad news" is that Black Pearl is a movie prop and not an historic ship that ever existed and the "good news" is that fact frees you from any guild you might have felt by deviating from accurate historical detail. You can make it look like whatever you want it to look like because it's a fantasy ship. Start with the basic plans and take it from there and let your imagination run wild.

Below is a selection of basic ship modeling books which most would consider "classics" worth having in any ship modeler's research library. I've just listed the first online listing for new or used copies without "shopping around" for the least expensive available. Some of these (and all of Davis's books) have been reprinted in quality paperbacks that sell used for much less than hardcover editions. Particularly, anything by Davis or Underhill are excellent. (The Underhill books listed are a two-volume set which sometimes sells for less as a set than as individual copies. You definitely will want both of those volumes. Underhill is the best of the bunch below.) There are other ship modeling books on the market, some good and some not so good. The below are what I would call "basic primers." Books that purport to teach how ship model kits are built are less instructive than those that purport to teach how ship models are built from scratch. The "kit" books too often don't go past assembling kits, while the "scratch" books give you what you need to build from scratch or from a kit, because "scratch skills" equip the builder to do both.

The Ship Model Builder's Assistant - paperback Davis, Charles G. 9780486255842| eBay

Condition Notes: Book is in good condition and may include underlining highlighting and minimal wear.

www.ebay.com

The Built-up Ship Model (Conway's Ship... book by Charles G. Davis

Ship Models: How to Build Them book by Charles G. Davis

Plank-on-Frame Models and Scale Masting & Rigging Volumes I & II: Underhill, Harold A.: Amazon.com: Books

Plank-on-Frame Models and Scale Masting & Rigging Volumes I & II [Underhill, Harold A.] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Plank-on-Frame Models and Scale Masting & Rigging Volumes I & II

www.amazon.com

Building model ships from scratch: Porter, Kent: 9780830679072: Amazon.com: Books

Building model ships from scratch [Porter, Kent] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Building model ships from scratch

www.amazon.com

Ship Model Building book by Gene Johnson

 

[pebbleworm]

It's cheap! I've been thinking of getting one to freelance into a generic "Spanish Galleon" more accurate than the 1950's table lamps. The "Nuestra Senora de la Agonista Eterna" heading back to the old world with a hold full of ill gotten gains. Your build looks pretty darn good, considering. Keep plugging away, there are a lot of detail parts that can be made or bought. And what's the fun in building an easy kit that looks great out of the box?

 

[AllanKP69]

Before attempting planking your next project you might benefit from studying the video posted yesterday in the Tricks of the Trade topic here at SoS on how to plank a model ship. It will save you a lot of frustration and yield great results.

Allan

 

[ccleme11]

Your accomplishments thus far are highly commendable, given what you've got to work with there. You can probably forget about buying the missing parts from the retailer. It seems that the "bargain" Chinese kit model retailers' business model is "sell it and forget it." Most report they've received no response to their inquiries regarding missing parts. You might consider that the "silver lining" may be your learning to make your own parts. Most parts can be made from readily available materials. Mast bands, for example, can be made from black paper and eye bolts made from bent wire. Masts, booms, and spars can be tapered using sandpaper on hardware store dowels chucked in an electric hand drill. You would probably find an "entry level" ship model scratch-building book or two helpful in this regard.

Notwithstanding the shortcomings of the kit you purchased, as an experienced plastic kit modeler, you should have no problem "kit bashing" the crappy Black Pearl you got stuck with into a quite nice decorative display model. The "bad news" is that Black Pearl is a movie prop and not an historic ship that ever existed and the "good news" is that fact frees you from any guild you might have felt by deviating from accurate historical detail. You can make it look like whatever you want it to look like because it's a fantasy ship. Start with the basic plans and take it from there and let your imagination run wild.

Below is a selection of basic ship modeling books which most would consider "classics" worth having in any ship modeler's research library. I've just listed the first online listing for new or used copies without "shopping around" for the least expensive available. Some of these (and all of Davis's books) have been reprinted in quality paperbacks that sell used for much less than hardcover editions. Particularly, anything by Davis or Underhill are excellent. (The Underhill books listed are a two-volume set which sometimes sells for less as a set than as individual copies. You definitely will want both of those volumes. Underhill is the best of the bunch below.) There are other ship modeling books on the market, some good and some not so good. The below are what I would call "basic primers." Books that purport to teach how ship model kits are built are less instructive than those that purport to teach how ship models are built from scratch. The "kit" books too often don't go past assembling kits, while the "scratch" books give you what you need to build from scratch or from a kit, because "scratch skills" equip the builder to do both.

The Ship Model Builder's Assistant - paperback Davis, Charles G. 9780486255842| eBay

Condition Notes: Book is in good condition and may include underlining highlighting and minimal wear.

www.ebay.com

The Built-up Ship Model (Conway's Ship... book by Charles G. Davis

Ship Models: How to Build Them book by Charles G. Davis

Plank-on-Frame Models and Scale Masting & Rigging Volumes I & II: Underhill, Harold A.: Amazon.com: Books

Plank-on-Frame Models and Scale Masting & Rigging Volumes I & II [Underhill, Harold A.] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Plank-on-Frame Models and Scale Masting & Rigging Volumes I & II

www.amazon.com

Building model ships from scratch: Porter, Kent: 9780830679072: Amazon.com: Books

Building model ships from scratch [Porter, Kent] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Building model ships from scratch

www.amazon.com

Ship Model Building book by Gene Johnson

Thanks Bob, i didnt think of it like that! I'm so used to having all the parts at my fingertips, I didnt think about the uniqueness/challenge of building my own parts to make something work.

I will check out the links, thanks again!

 

[ccleme11]

It's cheap! I've been thinking of getting one to freelance into a generic "Spanish Galleon" more accurate than the 1950's table lamps. The "Nuestra Senora de la Agonista Eterna" heading back to the old world with a hold full of ill gotten gains. Your build looks pretty darn good, considering. Keep plugging away, there are a lot of detail parts that can be made or bought. And what's the fun in building an easy kit that looks great out of the box?

Good point!

 

[ccleme11]

Before attempting planking your next project you might benefit from studying the video posted yesterday in the Tricks of the Trade topic here at SoS on how to plank a model ship. It will save you a lot of frustration and yield great results.

Allan

Thanks Alan, ill take a look!

 

[Modelstation]

It’s not bad, yeah, the planking hurts my eyes, but hey, it’s your first. Just watch a lot of planking video’s on Youtube. You’ll get it. Just keep building and enjoy youself, that’s the main thing.

 

[Aantaug]

Hello All!

Definitely a newb here when it comes to building wooden ships (this is my first). I have built plenty of model car & airplane kits in the past, and decided I wanted a cool wooden ship, so why not start with the black pearl!?

I didn't want to spend the money on the ZHL version because if I messed up, then I could use the excuse of "It's my first wooden ship, mistakes happened". So I decided to go the "cheap" route and get the standard amazon kit. Little did I know, this kit wouldn't even have all the pieces and instructions that I need to complete it.

The metal/brass/photo etch parts that were supposed to come with the kit, are actually wood... last I checked, you cant bend wood in half...

I am not there yet, but I feel like I'm missing half of the rigging pieces...

No instructions for the masts and rigging (thank you to the members that sent me images of yours!)

Well, lesson learned and found the true meaning of you get what you pay for... I should have went with the ZHL kit.

Anyway, here is where I am at currently, and these are the only photos I have taken. I'll start to take some more at the end of each session and post them here, since I am starting to get stuck on a few things. I am only able to put about 3-6 hours in a week on this.

Does anyone know if I am able to purchase the missing parts online? I have tried looking and cant find them anywhere.

View attachment 570054View attachment 570055View attachment 570056View attachment 570057View attachment 570058View attachment 570059View attachment 570060View attachment 570061View attachment 570063View attachment 570074View attachment 570075View attachment 570076View attachment 570077View attachment 570078View attachment 570079

The kit didn't come with the parts that should go in the holes circled in Red... anyone know what they are called or where I can order them? By the looks of it, i am going to need a bunch.

View attachment 570080

Belaying pins

 

[Aantaug]

I built the ZHL Black Pearl. I have been spoiled! It was by FAR the best quality ship I have ever built and I've been doing it for over 40 years. No other brand comes close when it comes to design, quality of materials and understandable instruction. The ZHL Black Pearl was going to be my final build ever. Instead, it opened a can of worms and re-lit the flame of the craft. I've tripled the size of my shipyard workshop and added all kinds of tools.
Since ZHL is now hard to come by due to tariffs, I am buying more accessible models. The problem with that is I have to replace many materials with better quality wood. I mill most of the planks out of walnut, birch and maple.
Perhaps a 3D printer is in my future to create fittings and other parts although I don't like the idea of using plastics of any kind on a wooden ship model.
I see a scratch build in my near future.

 

[Twokidsnosleep]

You can easily make the belaying pins.
I have the plastic 1/72 Pearl and have made many custom details for her. The styrene pins are too weak to hold scale rope I am using so have made mine in brass and resin spun in a battery Dremel

 

[CaptainJ]

I built the ZHL Black Pearl. I have been spoiled! It was by FAR the best quality ship I have ever built and I've been doing it for over 40 years. No other brand comes close when it comes to design, quality of materials and understandable instruction. The ZHL Black Pearl was going to be my final build ever. Instead, it opened a can of worms and re-lit the flame of the craft. I've tripled the size of my shipyard workshop and added all kinds of tools.
Since ZHL is now hard to come by due to tariffs, I am buying more accessible models. The problem with that is I have to replace many materials with better quality wood. I mill most of the planks out of walnut, birch and maple.
Perhaps a 3D printer is in my future to create fittings and other parts although I don't like the idea of using plastics of any kind on a wooden ship model.
I see a scratch build in my

 

[CaptainJ]

Here is my version. Captain J here.

 

[KAYAK GIRL]

Ai! That planking hurts! But you did come back pretty well, so, congrats! To hone your planking skills, you could buy a few ot these very cheap Chinese kits (Halcyon or so, they come in under 10 bucks apiece) and do your best to get a smooth finish without having to resort to that much putty. And yea, belaying pins. You can improvise them from toothpicks or so, about 10mm long. Rough and overscale, yes, but once the rigging lines belayed on them, you hardly see the difference. And keep going, you're doing fine.

I agree with the Chinese, inexpensive, kits. I started with a couple mostly for the planking, after watching "Boiler Dan" on YouTube. The other thing I did, when I first started was buy kits someone else had already started for really cheap, to learn how to unglue to fix things or fix issues, to learn before I thought these to be things I may have to do on kits I built. For example: I paid $9 for a Midwest Sakkonnet that had wide sheets of planking with a strange bend. That is one I recall instantly, but did buy several others with different problems to fix! Thankfully, wood is more forgiving than plastic, but have been doing both since Sept 2022. In 2023, I built 52 models, mostly plastic, building blocks, metal, and about 25-30% wood for a local military museum.

I started with 2 workbenches, so I could be working on multiple projects at a time-e.g wood kit on one and plastic on the other, to be able to keep moving, if I needed a break from one or the other, or I wanted to do more research when I got "roadblocked," etc. I now have a 3rd set up with better lighting, with duplicate tools to the main bench downstairs, to be able to easily use when not rigging. The 2nd bench downstairs is just to hold parts waiting to have the paint or glue dry.

Your deck is gorgeous! I am presently procrastinating with planking a kit with 5mmx2mm strips for an Ocre kit, that looks like they will be awkward to bend, but it will be double-planked, so again, good practice! After all the Midwest wooden ships a few brand new Bluejacket kits found for inexpensive on Ebay, the Ocre is my first full price gamble--LOL!

Blessings,
JJ

 

[tinyellie]

Hi.

I've done exactly the same as you. I bought this kit about 2 weeks ago so I'm about a month so behind you. So I'll be watching your work with very keen interest.

I started work on the HMS Victory but very quickly realised I was in waaaay over my head. My thought was that if I bought a cheapish model then I could use it to practice on before continuing with the HMS Victory. And the Black Pearl is a pirate ship, it's not meant to be pristine or pretty, and if I really mess up the hull planking then I'll turn it into a canon ball hole .

The work you've done so far looks brill