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King of the Mississippi - Artesania Latina

William Gibson

William Gibson

Joined
May 23, 2026
Messages
10
Points
48

Location
NW Montana
Starting a thread to post some images and thoughts from my build of the Artesania Latina King of the Mississippi. I received it for Christmas in 2024 as my first wood model. I don't have a lot of pictures of the progress so far, but will start taking more and posting them. I am currently. Starting deck 3.

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Here is current state. Working on the trim for deck 3. So far, the most frustrating thing for me is bending wood. For my first attempt at the stern, I tried to form the trim inside of the cutout from the sheet. That worked reasonably well for the front, but I was unhappy with the back. I'll be reusing the wood from that failed effort. My next idea is to firmly secure the wood to the back and then heat it in place as I bend it around the sharp curve. We'll see how that goes.
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Four years ago, I completed the 1980 version of this kit which I had started in 1985 and then life happened and I finished it when I retired in 2021. This version is so much better. Great job!!
 
A great start... and I'm following as you progress as it's a kit I've often considered doing myself. Here's a tip you may find useful. I use painters tape quite a bit. It's great for securely holding things like curved wood strips in place till the glue sets, and unlike elastic bands, there's no "give" to it. It will hold on tight. In some cases you can also use those black paper binding clips. Some brands are known as "bulldog clips". They have their uses, but be cautious with them as they can put too much pressure on the wood and leave indentations behind. My way of dealing with that is to use scrap plank material and use it as a sacrificial barrier between the wood I'm clamping and the metal clips. That way everything holds really tight, but the indentations are absorbed by the scrap wood material and the model itself is left unharmed.

Welcome to the group, and I'll repeat myself by saying that you're off to a great start. Well done!
 
William Gibson said:
Here is current state. Working on the trim for deck 3. So far, the most frustrating thing for me is bending wood. For my first attempt at the stern, I tried to form the trim inside of the cutout from the sheet. That worked reasonably well for the front, but I was unhappy with the back. I'll be reusing the wood from that failed effort. My next idea is to firmly secure the wood to the back and then heat it in place as I bend it around the sharp curve. We'll see how that goes.
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Nice job
 
For the bending, I recommend an electric plank bender. I got mine a couple of years ago from Model Expo. It came with a wood form with a few curves in it. I soak the wood for 24 hours in a plastic tray of water, use a cloth to get the excess water off and then slowly and repeatedly move the bender over the wood in the form. If the wood becomes dry, I soak it again for 30 minutes and then repeat. Hope this helps.
 
HenryC said:
For the bending, I recommend an electric plank bender. I got mine a couple of years ago from Model Expo. It came with a wood form with a few curves in it. I soak the wood for 24 hours in a plastic tray of water, use a cloth to get the excess water off and then slowly and repeatedly move the bender over the wood in the form. If the wood becomes dry, I soak it again for 30 minutes and then repeat. Hope this helps.
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A plank bender is definitely on the wish list before doing a ship with more planking to it.
 
William Gibson said:
Here is current state. Working on the trim for deck 3. So far, the most frustrating thing for me is bending wood. For my first attempt at the stern, I tried to form the trim inside of the cutout from the sheet. That worked reasonably well for the front, but I was unhappy with the back. I'll be reusing the wood from that failed effort. My next idea is to firmly secure the wood to the back and then heat it in place as I bend it around the sharp curve. We'll see how that goes.
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I got hold of a wood bender on ebay. Looks like a pair of pliers and works well if you damp the wood and take it easy.
 
Jnewey said:
One tip . Make sure the larger holes in the second and third decks are rounded out to over 4mm, and clear of any obstruction, otherwise you will have a devil of a job to get the 4mm dowels into position. See section 25 of the instructions.
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Don't understand your tip about the 4mm dowels and section 25 of the instructions
 
Do you have the instructions for the kit? There are 6 spars on the finished boat that protrude from the edges of the second deck. 4 are angled and 2 central ones are vertical. These slot through the second deck, through the first deck, and down to the main deck.
The slots must be clear of any obstructions and reamed out to greater than 4mm dowels that the kit specifies. I actually used 3mm because I found that there was no chance I could get the dowels through the slots once the railings were in place. My rubbish building probably.
Sorry if I confused you. The instructions will show what I'm on about. I think it's page 191.
 
Jnewey said:
Do you have the instructions for the kit? There are 6 spars on the finished boat that protrude from the edges of the second deck. 4 are angled and 2 central ones are vertical. These slot through the second deck, through the first deck, and down to the main deck.
The slots must be clear of any obstructions and reamed out to greater than 4mm dowels that the kit specifies. I actually used 3mm because I found that there was no chance I could get the dowels through the slots once the railings were in place. My rubbish building probably.
Sorry if I confused you. The instructions will show what I'm on about. I think it's page 191.
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I think there is a misunderstanding; I am building the Santísima Trinidad by Occre. Which ship are you talking about?
 
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