I'm starting this log a bit late as I have completed chapter 5 but I can share some of my issues and successes getting this far.
Some background. I'm a 91 year old recently retired engineer. This is only the second plank on bulkhead model I have done--the first was an Amanti Vanguard 1:72, some rigging still required but mostly complete.
However I have been building models since I was 10 years old. In 1942, at the start of WWII I was able to buy a P. K. Guillows model for 10 cents. I would build a German or Japanese plane, light the tail, and throw it off of a second story balcony while making gun noises.
During the following decades I mostly built model airplanes. Free flight, U-control, gliders, and RC. In the 1980's a friend and I constructed a plans built 1:1 four-place airplane built from composite materials. My friend bought my share and it is still flying., I finally retired from flying the models to building high-end airplane kits, museum quality. That finally lead to building high-end ship models. I love the challenge of building a difficult model that looks really beautiful when completed.
OK, on to the Amerigo Vespucci. BTW, the real ship will be in LA next July 5th, my birthday. You can bet I'll be there!
This model is not for the faint hearted. Although the instructions are in 8 chapters, which leads you to believe that the instructions are complete and detailed, the truth is the instructions are in six languages and each language gets only a few sentences. In some instances, I have spent hours trying to figure out how to do some relatively minor task. In the end I always succeed. As a boy I lived for some years on a dairy farm with no running water or electricity. The uncle I lived with had a favorite saying: the difficult we do right away, the impossible takes a while longer. It's a guiding principle in my life and I really need it for this model.
I have dreamed of doing this model for years but could never afford it. Finally a store in London had it for an attractive price and I grabbed it. I'm not sure if the price reflects that my kit has many bags of parts but the bags are not labeled and I can spend a lot of time trying to make sure I have chosen the right part. I also am at a loss to know where I can purchase missing or replacement parts. Hopefully someone reading this will have the answer. Another issue is that most of the time there is an exact count of the needed part so if you lose or damage the part you are s... out of luck. In a couple of instances there were missing parts or the wrong number.
Finished first small boat, 10 to go! I'll be shifting to chap 7 for a while. The first one took some time but they should go faster as I gain more skill building them and know more what I'm doing.
Some background. I'm a 91 year old recently retired engineer. This is only the second plank on bulkhead model I have done--the first was an Amanti Vanguard 1:72, some rigging still required but mostly complete.
However I have been building models since I was 10 years old. In 1942, at the start of WWII I was able to buy a P. K. Guillows model for 10 cents. I would build a German or Japanese plane, light the tail, and throw it off of a second story balcony while making gun noises.
During the following decades I mostly built model airplanes. Free flight, U-control, gliders, and RC. In the 1980's a friend and I constructed a plans built 1:1 four-place airplane built from composite materials. My friend bought my share and it is still flying., I finally retired from flying the models to building high-end airplane kits, museum quality. That finally lead to building high-end ship models. I love the challenge of building a difficult model that looks really beautiful when completed.
OK, on to the Amerigo Vespucci. BTW, the real ship will be in LA next July 5th, my birthday. You can bet I'll be there!
This model is not for the faint hearted. Although the instructions are in 8 chapters, which leads you to believe that the instructions are complete and detailed, the truth is the instructions are in six languages and each language gets only a few sentences. In some instances, I have spent hours trying to figure out how to do some relatively minor task. In the end I always succeed. As a boy I lived for some years on a dairy farm with no running water or electricity. The uncle I lived with had a favorite saying: the difficult we do right away, the impossible takes a while longer. It's a guiding principle in my life and I really need it for this model.
I have dreamed of doing this model for years but could never afford it. Finally a store in London had it for an attractive price and I grabbed it. I'm not sure if the price reflects that my kit has many bags of parts but the bags are not labeled and I can spend a lot of time trying to make sure I have chosen the right part. I also am at a loss to know where I can purchase missing or replacement parts. Hopefully someone reading this will have the answer. Another issue is that most of the time there is an exact count of the needed part so if you lose or damage the part you are s... out of luck. In a couple of instances there were missing parts or the wrong number.
Finished first small boat, 10 to go! I'll be shifting to chap 7 for a while. The first one took some time but they should go faster as I gain more skill building them and know more what I'm doing.
Last edited:
