ZHL San Felipe value for money?

[WilliamM]

I’m replacing the guns on the Felipe with ones of various size also. Kit simplifications like that beg to be fixed. You might as well change it to Real Felipe. It is my understanding that information on the details of of Spanish ships of that period is very slim, making bashing almost completely guesswork. Please post pics of your build!

I haven't started the kit yet. I have been planning how I want to go about it, but I have ordered the name plate for the stand. It reads "Real Felipe as depicted in several paintings". I have also spent too much time suffering from numerous injuries.

It's surprising that the documentation of early Spanish three-deckers is so scant given that the documentation of the earlier Galleons is so rich. Oh, well. There has to be documentation somewhere.

 

[DARIVS ARCHITECTVS]

I haven't started the kit yet. I have been planning how I want to go about it, but I have ordered the name plate for the stand. It reads "Real Felipe as depicted in several paintings". I have also spent too much time suffering from numerous injuries.

It's surprising that the documentation of early Spanish three-deckers is so scant given that the documentation of the earlier Galleons is so rich. Oh, well. There has to be documentation somewhere.

Not really. History is very inconsistent when it comes to conservation of records. Sometimes lots of information is preserved, others, nothing.

 

[WilliamM]

Not really. History is very inconsistent when it comes to conservation of records. Sometimes lots of information is preserved, others, nothing.

Kurt,

I agree with you. I am very aware of the problem of documentation of historical records over time. My comment is that Spain was a highly developed nation that documented its Galleon era well but not its later, early 17th century periods. Usually, the lack of records stems directly from some cataclysmic event such as war or rampant diseases. My second career, the career following my naval service, was teaching both High School and University History. To the best of my knowledge, there was no such cataclysmic event that would interfere with documentation. Granted. Hapsburg Spain was involved in important wars between the middle of the 16th to mid-17th centuries, but these did not destroy the record-keeping abilities of shipyard officials. Hence my surprise.

 

[DARIVS ARCHITECTVS]

Kurt,

I agree with you. I am very aware of the problem of documentation of historical records over time. My comment is that Spain was a highly developed nation that documented its Galleon era well but not its later, early 17th century periods. Usually, the lack of records stems directly from some cataclysmic event such as war or rampant diseases. My second career, the career following my naval service, was teaching both High School and University History. To the best of my knowledge, there was no such cataclysmic event that would interfere with documentation. Hence, my surprise.

Information doesn't always disappear because of a cataclysm. In most cases, it was because it was never saved in the first place. Huge hoards of ship design information like the Royal Museums Greenwich are scarce. The Polynesians traveled in boats over the entire Pacific basin and beyond, exploring much of the Earth before Europeans even thought of crossing an ocean. Ask them where their boat building library is...
Information is where you find it.

 

[WilliamM]

Information doesn't always disappear because of a cataclysm. In most cases, it was because it was never saved in the first place. Huge hoards of ship design information like the Royal Museums Greenwich are scarce. The Polynesians traveled in boats over the entire Pacific basin and beyond, exploring much of the Earth before Europeans even thought of crossing an ocean. Ask them where their boat building library is...
Information is where you find it.

The Polynesians did not keep the records that the Spaniards did. Whereas they traveled the Pacific and beyond, the Spaniards (and Europeans as a rule) kept records of their Maritime and Naval developments. Don't forget that while the Polynesians traveled in boats, the Galleons of Spain dominated them in the 16th and 17th centuries, with Portugese and English Galleons following soon thereafter. I don't mean to detract from the obvious nautical skills possessed by the Polynesians, but the European record-keeping were more advanced.