Can I offer a few thoughts, Odd Job? Like yourself, I’m a relative newbie to the world of ship building- and have spent time over the years working with wood (mostly cabinet making.) I found that those woodworking skills didn’t help me at all with my first ship. I needed all-new skills, which were a lot of fun to learn. Thanks are due to all those on SOS who provide help and guides to those skills (eg planking, rigging.)
I was also seduced by the ZHL San Felipe, and have it put aside in my stash for a future build. However, I feel very much it’s a kit for builders with a bit more experience than myself at the moment. Out of the box, with no further additions to materials, it has huge potential, as can be seen from the current build logs from Phillipsart and Etwas_63. Much as upgrades are possible, for example in the timber used for the hull, Bob is incorrect in saying that you’d need to buy the hinges for the cannons (a sheet of brass photoetch for those is supplied) and he is also incorrect in saying that you’d need to spend more money on the carvings. The resin mouldings supplied are already in a different league to any of the clunky metal fixtures supplied for model ships by European manufacturers- and as it stands, the ZHL San Felipe is extraordinary value for money compared to other kits. The potential is to upgrade to the CNC machined carvings, but these are not necessary for a spectacular build, as Phillipsart has shown in his build log.
The problems, I feel, are that the instructions aren’t good enough for a novice such as myself. Without detailed guidance (or a lot more experience!) on the more difficult bits such as planking and rigging, I think we would both be struggling on this build- and that’s before we address the problem that many of the instructions are simply misleading and incorrect.
Personally, my next step, for a second build, is to work on one of the ships from Vanguard models in the Uk… these kits have very, very detailed instructions, and as such, I feel they provide a complete course in advanced model ship building, in a box.
My first build was Occre’s Beagle, so I think it’s an excellent choice, although it’s not without problems- the instructions start Ok, but the further you go, the worse they get, to the point that the written instructions contradict the video instructions and then the picture on the box shows a 3rd, contradictory, way of building it. And I know I'm not the only one round here who feels the same way... there will be more than one of us willing to offer any pointers that you might need.
Once I know more about how to build a rig a large model- only then will I tackle the San Felipe. Even then, I know I will be relying on the build logs here, particularly those from Etwas_63, who has explained many of the errors in the instructions- so all credit to him.
It’s a shame that some people on the forum here are so condescending and enjoy sneering at those of us who get great pleasure in buildings kits out of the box (as they put it, “just doing paint by numbers”). There are some here who believe that unless we’re building every model to the very highest levels of historical authenticity, and that unless we spend our time finding fault in every details of the kit’s design, then we’re just building a child’s toy. I guess that some people’s lives are such that they try to make themselves feel bigger by making others feel smaller.
Isn’t there room for just enjoying the hobby without obsessing over it? Personally, I just enjoy model making for the sheer pleasure of the hours working on my project, crafting something that I can be proud of, knowing that it might not be historically authentic in every detail- but then also knowing that it won’t be going in a museum, or that “experts" will be scornfully examining my work. The exact same reason that people like myself don’t bother posting build logs on this forum.
