Amerigo Vespucci, Panart 1:84 scale

Ken i am thinking of building this ship. can you tell me if sails came with the kit.

thanks
Hi David, First I apologise for not answering you sooner, a lot on my mind. Yes my kit came with ready made sails, I didn’t use them though. My kit was quite an old one, better and more comprehensive than the newer ones that don't have the brass sheet as well as many other things etc, I think that they are now made to cost less to produce so I wouldn’t know about the sails being in the current kits you would need to check.
 
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Good morning Ken. I just been through your log. I started “ liking” your work and decided that rather you receive a hundred likes I would comment here. Great log BTW. Beautiful and well made Amerigo Vespucci. Congratulations.
 
Good morning Ken. I just been through your log. I started “ liking” your work and decided that rather you receive a hundred likes I would comment here. Great log BTW. Beautiful and well made Amerigo Vespucci. Congratulations.
Hi Grant, I'm pleased that you enjoyed my Vespucci log and thanks very much for your very kind and complimentry comments.
 
Hello again. I've been working on the running gear now that I have the complete set. I've almost finished one side and to my amazement it all functions. I say to my amazement because as I have come to expect from this kit the instructions were very confusing to say the least, it is a complicated set up and I found that the box art was sometimes more helpful, again a diagram would have been much better. There were a lot of cast pieces many were almost identical, perhaps just slight differences in the diameter of their holes and other than the photos there was no way to identify them, I was constantly having to remove and re build to get them right, a frustrating part of the build, a pity because the cast parts were excellent.

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Hi Ken,

hello to a fellow Wirralonian! I Just looked through your log of the Amarigo - fantastic job, very detailed work and finish. It would look quite at home in the Maritime Museum across the water!

I hope you do another model and I will look forward to following your log. I also like your steam loco, I have one to do myself, but it will be awhile before I will find time to start that as I have one ship on the go and another waiting in the wings ( I expect they will take me a long time to finish as I am not a fast builder!)
 
Ken
I picked up a second hand kit of the Amerigo Vespucci, 1:84 Panart. The previous owner had just started planking the sides (3 planks on one side). I am in the process of backing up his build to follow along with your build. I am missing sheets 3 & 4 of the instructions. Any chance you may have a picture of those sheets? I've really admired your build and hope I can come close to your example.

Thank you
Gary
 
Ken
I picked up a second hand kit of the Amerigo Vespucci, 1:84 Panart. The previous owner had just started planking the sides (3 planks on one side). I am in the process of backing up his build to follow along with your build. I am missing sheets 3 & 4 of the instructions. Any chance you may have a picture of those sheets? I've really admired your build and hope I can come close to your example.

Thank you
Gary
Hi Gary
I am in the process of building the Panart Amerigo Vespucci (see my build log)
However, I am not at home right now (vising my kids in the US) and don't have the instructions with me
I'll be back in France on Feb 21st and can send you the documentation you are looking for if you can't get it before that.
I also found a place (HERE) where the instructions are available. Not ideal in terms of reading but feasible though.
Let me know if this helps.
Will you create a build log? We are probably at the same stage in terms of progress (I have started the first 4-5 planks before leaving for the US)
Enjoy your build.
 
Gilbert
Thank you for the link and the information. I have been trying to link the instruction book and the drawing sheets (all in Italian)I have here. I will take you up on a picture of sheet 3 & 4 if I could. I have taken some pictures of work so far, but I'm not sure if my build would be of the quality for a build log.

Thanks once again
Gary
 
I would think that all ship models would be of "build" quality. Best way to find out what is right or wrong with a model. It helps people new to the hobby and all the old guys just love to give you the benefit of their experience. Please do post your model. Pete
 
Hello, This build is moving along quite quickly and it's really starting to take shape. I have recently added the upper decks and planked them. Around the upper edge of the hull will be metal plating, it's very hard brass/copper strips and will not be forgiving like wood so now was the time to ensure that the top of the hull was perfectly level and as per plan.

I planked the upper decks the same as the waist deck, I kept it simple because I just couldn't find the enthusiasm using the supplied wood to spend a lot of time on it, the colour really is awful. I sealed, sanded and varnished it when done.


I was hoping that the amount of stuff on the decks would detract from noticing the colour/texture and that I would be able come to terms with it, but after coming back to it the next day I knew that I would never be happy and in years to come I'd regret it being done like this and just leaving it, so I've decided to bite the bullet and do something about it, however drastic. One good thing about wooden models is that you can re-make anything if you've a mind to, it just takes time. I'm not sure exactly what I'm going to do yet, I'll have a think, so watch this space.

ken

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Hello Ken! and Hello SOS modelers! Your hull cladding is WOW! It turns out to be a very beautiful and very neatly made model! with best wishes Egor!
 
Hi, Thanks for the many likes on my build.

I’m making good progress on the hull at the moment and all is going along quite well. I’ve not been keeping the log exactly up to date but here is a catch up.



I’ve put the capping on the edge of the decks, the instructions suggested the fore and aft curves should be done in small sections from the strip provided, I didn’t think that this would look too good. I had a small piece of walnut in my stash, not enough to do all of capping but if careful, enough for the curves. I made up a cardboard template first as I only had enough for one shot at it. I put the curved sections on then added strips along the straight part.



The brass platings along the upper part of the hull were then cut to shape, drilled where the portholes were needed and glued into place. I drilled holes for the riveting and used brass nails for them, I then put the wooden 2x2 strip bellow. I gave the brass a good polish to finish it off.



The two raised strips like wales were added next, these were made up of 4 x .5x 3mm walnut strips. It was quite time consuming getting the curves at the stern to sit flat, the picture of the plan shows this. The newer kits supply these wales as pre cut ply with the ports cut out, I believe that this version just does not work as they won’t curve and stay flat against the stern, most builders just leave them off and just paint the stripes on.



Ken

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Hello again Ken! And Hello modelers, SOS readers! Question about the metal parts of the sides. You made them yourself: rivets, round portholes! Or was it like that in the set of parts? I really liked how it looked on the model, WOW!
 
Hi Jeff. Thanks for the compliment on my pictures. I don’t think that I do anything special but I do process all of them in a set sequence. Photography is a vast subject so without going into too much detail I’ll try to explain what I do.



I use quite an old Canon SLR with just the one versatile lens, a 24-105 which covers just about everything I need and I always hand hold. For my models I don’t use area focusing but am careful where I select my focus point, I then have a good idea what the depth of field will show. For my indoor shots I use 1200 or above ISO, that gives me a useable speed option, for outside 200-400 is perfect. I don’t use any in camera enhancements.



I process using only basic functions of Photoshop so I think most programs of this type would do.



  1. After downloading I select what it is that I want to show then crop.
  2. I then select IMAGE SIZE, my screen is 1600 pixels so I size to that for on screen viewing, you need more for printing.
  3. I select LEVELS, I set manually but auto would probably be ok. Correct levels is probably the most important process for good contrast.
  4. I then select CURVES, adding a slight S curve will enhance the contrast, if you’re not familiar with curves try the dodge and burn tools on a very low setting, 3 – 4% to lighten or darken where you think it’s needed.
  5. Check that these haven’t altered any of your colours, I find they affect my reds, use SATURATION and bring the colours back to there correct value, again if your not sure try AUTO COLOURS that would probably work.
  6. I then use SHARPEN. This is now a variable, it depends on the pixel size of your image, larger files for printing will need much bigger values than smaller on-screen files. The most widely used is Unsharp Mask but in Photoshop I much prefer Lens Blur, you only need two parameters and it’s easier to get right I also think that the effect is better. Don’t overdo the sharpening as it can look unnatural, I use between 1 – 1.5 pixels at a level of 100 – 150%.
  7. Now show off your pictures to us all.


I’ve included a couple of my local photos to give this post some colour, who doesn’t like lighthouses. These are the same lighthouse on different days.



Ken





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It turns out that you are an Artist!
 
Hello again Ken! And Hello modelers, SOS readers! Question about the metal parts of the sides. You made them yourself: rivets, round portholes! Or was it like that in the set of parts? I really liked how it looked on the model, WOW!
Hi, The brass came as a sheet which you cut out, the rivets are round head brass pins and the ports were supplied, however this was an old version, the newer kits only have ply sides, and much fewer brass parts, they have saved on the cost but the newer kits are much lower quality and detail
 
Thank you Ken,
Unfortunately, I can no longer convey the compliments, my mother past away a few years ago, but she would have greatly appreciated these compliments from England.
Regards, Peter
I really sympathize with you! The loss of such a loved one is a very deep wound for a person! And it doesn't matter how much time has passed. My most sincere regrets...
 
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