model shipways

Hi Folks, this is my first "big" build and log. Starting off oddly as I'm well into the journey but a ton of work still lies ahead with many challenges to conquer. For my own good (and perhaps other rookies like me) I'll soon post a summary of lessons learned and positives that have quickly...

This is a rebuild of build log from Model Ship World. The log, pictures only, will take you through painting of the hull. At this time she is on the shelf, hesitating to take on masting and rigging, perhaps will follow through to mast stubs. Looking at the pics, funny how I don’t remember...

I, too, am one of those folks that had an ongoing build log on Model Ship World before its demise. The USS Constitution is my 6th ship since my retirement in 2020, so… I guess that works out to an average of about one a year, so far? This Constitution will take longer than that. When I began my...

Chapter One Assembling the bulkhead former, keel and stem I purchased the USF Confederacy kit nearly four years ago. Now that I've gotten a few projects off my desk, I decided it was time to get started. If you've read through any Confederacy build logs, you'll find my comments on the kit...

On May 2, 2026 the members of the Model Ship World were informed that the site was hacked and was wiped clean of all data. They stated:

Hi all, I've been a member here for a couple of years, but have simply used MSW to post my build logs. Like many others, all that info is now likely lost. My dory and pram logs were quite detailed, and I plan to repost the pictures, but I likely won't bother adding much text. I never planned...

I'm one of the current refugees from ModelShipWorld.com. I'm about three years into the build, and while my build log from the now hosed site is likewise hosed, I have been keeping my own personal build log on my desktop PC. I'm trying to decide if I post my build log here going forward. And...

I am in the middle of building the lobster smack, my 3rd model. I was posting a build log on Model Ship World, now tragically gone. But you can't let the bastards win, so I continue here. I am at the point where I have started the process for priming and painting the hull. I started out by...

I have 3 kits on the shelf to build. Hayling Hoy 1760 1:48 Pearwood version. Waiting for missing parts from manufacturer Hayling Hoy Model Shipways Fair American 14 Gun Privater 1:48 Fair American Pavel's San Bartolome 1:48 San Bartolome Just completed Pavel's Santa Maria. Great kit. Santa...

Before I delve into building the Black Swan, I thought I would do a small kit to unwind a bit. Model Expo has the Chesapeake Double Kayak on sale for $35 (one of their seemingly forever sales) so I thought I would get it. A large box arrived quickly and in another was the kit. Inside it...

Trying log again. I bought some dowels for masts and spars, laid them on the spar holder, held them steady with tape and ran a pencil atop the dowels. This gave me a nice straight line for attachments. Rolling the dowel over, centering the drawn line on the V of the spar holder and drawing a...

Hello. I've begun building the Lobster Smack (Model Shipways) after completing the Lowell Dory and the Norwegian Sailing Pram. I learned a lot in those builds and am trying to apply that knowledge to the current build. I'm starting this Log a bit late and have already built the spine, the...

Introduction Good day to you all! Today I broke the seals on this box of delights. It’s been in a cupboard for a couple of years but recently was moved onto a vacant bookshelf, just to fill the space left by a cull of my library (40% dumped. Yay!). Of course, once it was in plain sight, it...

I'm back at my bench after some down time recovering from shoulder surgery. This is the second of three in the Shipwright series. The first challenge was finding images of the parts sheets with labels, since mine came with none. Some of them were obvious but right off the bat I wasn't sure which...

Initially I did not intend to do a build log for my latest project, Model Expo’s Revolutionary War Brig Fair American, for several reasons. The first is that my skills are not developed to a point as to attract much interest. The second is that this is a pretty ubiquitous kit that has been...

After about a month I'm well into this model. I want this to be a relaxing build and so I'm just following the directions and not modifying anything. I'm sure you, my fellow tars, may want to just put your feet up, cross your arms and tsk tsk this build. Don't blame you.

Ok, this is my first build log ever and I started with the USS Constitution (MS2040 1/76, 48 inches, Model Expo). It was definitely an ambitious move to undertake after realizing that this is one of the more challenging builds. As I promised in my intro, I am adding pictures of what I've done...

I am starting a build log on the USS Constitution Cross Section. I bought this about a year ago when Model Expo had a sale, but I knew from downloading and reviewing the instructions that I needed to so some simpler kits first. After gaining some experience I decided to try to tackle this. As...

Welcome aboard my build log of the USS Constition. I welcome comments and glad to have you on board. It is the hardest build I have ever done. I would even call this a scratch build because of the amount of construction that there is to do. I know that there are several build logs of the...

Well, I guess I can be added to the list of those that have built the Conny either this Model Expo version or another. I have had this on my list for many years - so, I guess it is time. I also bought Bob Hunts Practicum to go along and it seems exceptionally well written - so thumbs up to...