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Beginner suggestion

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MJN

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Hi All,
I am wondering, can anyone suggest a ship model for a beginner into this venue? I've been plastic scale modeling for the past 15 yrs and want to explore wood ship building. I have mostly built WWII aircraft and war ships. I would like any suggestion on an inexpensive, (less than $100) to start with. I am looking for a quality set geared for a beginner. Any and all suggestions are appreciated.

Mark
 
a mistake many builders make is starting off with big projects

i would suggest the series by model expo starting with the Dory

Lowell Grand Banks Dory, First Ever Build

A few years into my retirement I have decided to attempt wooden ship model building. My first foray is the Model Expo Lowell Grand Banks Dory. I know my skill set would make the three-piece bottom fairly simple. However, as it is my first build I took the easy way out and chose the one-piece...
shipsofscale.com

Lowell Grand Banks Dory

I am new to modeling with wood any and all critiques are most welcme. I was excited to receive my kits from Model ShipWays I have to say they was very prompt and informative with thier ahipping of my kits. I am starting with the Dory as I want to make it enjoyable. When I was able to I opened...
shipsofscale.com

 
Hi Mark, and welcome aboard!

With 15 years of plastic scale modeling under your belt, especially in WWII aircraft and warships, you already bring valuable skills like precision, patience, and attention to detail to wooden ship modeling. That experience will translate very well as you make the transition.
For a beginner-friendly wooden ship kit under $100, I highly recommend the Model Shipways Lowell Grand Banks Dory, available through Model Expo. This Skill Level 1 kit is part of their Shipwright Learning Series and includes laser-cut plank-on-frame construction, detailed pictorial instructions, and even tools, paint, and glue in the combo version, providing everything you need to get started comfortably (in case you need some basic tools).

1753969008029.png

That kit is perfect if you want to experience true wooden ship modeling without getting overwhelmed. And once you’ve tried it, there are follow-up kits in the series (Level 2 pram and Level 3 lobster smack) that build your skills step by step.

Happy to help guide you further if you like!
Jim (aka Jimsky)
 
Thanks to all for the advise. I certainly will look into it.

Mark
 
Pepite 1/60 said:
Occre has some good candidates for starters, like this one:
occre.com

The Fishing boat Palamos | Wooden Ship Model - OcCre

Fishing wooden boat Palamos 1/45. Low-difficulty wooden kit⭐ 5 languages instructions. HD photos step by step. Video tutorials. 100% satisfaction or your money back. Lifetime guarantee with OcCre. +22,000 happy customers.
occre.com occre.com
Click to expand...
I agree with. They have an excellent TunaFish boat. , but many other beginning sets. But as we are around the world, it is difficult to suggest a manufacturer to another. Here in the EU there most of the main manufacturers are: Billing Boat in Denmark. OCCRE in Spain. you can download the models -even the instruction book -free of charge. The may be problems with prices in the future with extra tax for us buyers
el capi
 
Pepite 1/60 said:
Occre has some good candidates for starters, like this one:
occre.com

The Fishing boat Palamos | Wooden Ship Model - OcCre

Fishing wooden boat Palamos 1/45. Low-difficulty wooden kit⭐ 5 languages instructions. HD photos step by step. Video tutorials. 100% satisfaction or your money back. Lifetime guarantee with OcCre. +22,000 happy customers.
occre.com occre.com
Click to expand...
fully agree. I came live in Madrid not far away from the factory and most models were and are still sold by MODEL REYNA Madeid
 
If you can find any Midwest Productions early releases, those are great starter kits. Model Expo is currently producing their kits. I can’t speak to the quality of the new MWP kits, but ME’s own kits are much lower quality than they were 20-odd years ago
 
I also strongly advise you begin with the Model Shipways "beginners' series" of the three workboat models. Don't think of them as just three distinct model kits, but rather as a three-part apprenticeship guided by one of the world's most gifted modelers and most engaging instructors, David Anscherl.

There are a number of other advantages provided by this progressive instructional kit series that are particularly beneficial to beginning modelers in the United States.

The kits are made in the U.S., and their instructions were originally written in English. Foreign-made kits may have problematic English translations, if they have any translation at all. Just as even within English, nomenclature can become confusing to the uninitiated, e.g., "driving"="motoring," "hood"="bonnet," "trunk"+"boot," etc., deciphering foreign language maritime nomenclature frequently requires a specialized nautical dictionary with a "translator index" just to translate English, French, and German nautical terms which often bear no rational relationship to each other when translated verbatim. Also, many foreign-made kit instruction manuals are notoriously deficient, even for experienced kit builders. Beware of buying any kit before you've had a chance to thoroughly review the instruction manual. The good kit manufacturers will provide their instructions online at no charge, usually in their catalog entry webpage. If they don't, walk the other way.

See: https://modelexpo-online.com/assets/images/Dory instructions final.pdf

https://modelexpo-online.com/assets/images/MS1471_Norwegian_Pram/MS1471 Norwegian Sailing Pram instructions rev 3-29-21.pdf

https://modelexpo-online.com/assets/images/Lobster_smack-instructionpdf.pdf

I'm sure some will say, "Well ABC makes great kits with good instructions in English, and they're made in England." or "XYZ makes kits in China that are indistinguishable from American and British kits and cost a lot less.." (... because some Chinese manufacturers have no regard for others' intellectual property rights!) They are correct on both counts, but the problems remain for the beginner. The top end British kits are among the best in the world, but these are not kits at all suitable for beginners, at least as far as I'm aware. These are very expensive, top of the line kits with materials of the highest quality and instructions that are book-length. They demand an experienced builder and often have build times that run into years. As for the Chinese kits, and to a lesser degree all foreign kits as of today's news (but, as they say, "the story is developing,) the U.S. modeler will be paying what in most instances will be a huge tariff tax on foreign products. In the case of Chinese kits, the tax is now 55% and that money isn't buying you any more model than it did before the President imposed this tax. In recent times, we've also seen high inflation of international shipping charges which in some, if not many, cases, render the total cost of doing business with an overseas vendor unjustifiable. It can be very frustrating to find it taking weeks, if not longer, to obtain a broken or missing part for a foreign kit, even when its available or that the cost of shipping a product to the U.S. is greater than the cost of the item itself!.
 
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If you allow me, I will express my opinion, which differs from many. The project should be chosen NOT simple and NOT complex. But only the one you like. So that the soul wants to build it. And I think the project should be original, which either no one or few have built by others. And don't be afraid of complexity. We Russians have a rule "the eyes are afraid, but the hands do it". Therefore, nothing is impossible, you only need desire.
When building, of course, you need good literature to understand what you are doing
Sincerely!
 
richie incident said:
If you allow me, I will express my opinion, which differs from many. The project should be chosen NOT simple and NOT complex. But only the one you like. So that the soul wants to build it. And I think the project should be original, which either no one or few have built by others. And don't be afraid of complexity. We Russians have a rule "the eyes are afraid, but the hands do it". Therefore, nothing is impossible, you only need desire.
When building, of course, you need good literature to understand what you are doing
Sincerely!
Click to expand...

Your advice is so very wise and true! If only it was the norm, rather than the rare exception here in North America. Unfortunately, here, I'm afraid the rule is "the eyes are overconfident, and the hands are all thumbs!" :D For at least the last two or three of generations, our school systems have abandoned the teaching of manual arts and trade skills, which used to be widely taught. Our younger people are wizards when it comes to computers and video games, but few have been exposed to basic manual arts skills. Sixty years ago, most boys carried their own pocketknives and had been taught how to sharpen them. Today, a kid caught with a pocketknife at school will be sent to the principal's office for serious disciplinary action! Model ship kit manufacturers are effusive in their "anyone can build it" advertising for 18th Century ships of the line kits that even a knowledgeable modeler should think twice about tackling. Knowledge of and experience with basic wooden shipbuilding practices is had only by a very few beginning ship modelers and building laser-cut plank on bulkhead models teaches them little except how to build their next kit. It is not surprising, then, that experienced ship modelers here urge beginners to moderate their expectations and begin by building very basic model kits before attempting to replicate a "museum quality" man of war.
 
A suggestion that I am sure will not be appreciated by many of the admirable, experienced modelers here. But this is to address bringing new (younger) people into the hobby.
The manufacturers need to produce more ambitious kits (ships of line, etc.) with solid, preformed hulls, requiring only sanding. An option (certainly recommended) could be to include instructions or templates to produce visually appealing seams in the "planking" by scoring the hull appropriately.
With modern manufacturing methods, rough preformed hulls (solid or hollow) can be fabricated fairly easily.
PLANKING IS THE CRUX OF THIS HOBBY that deters or discourages many new modelers. After completing a solid hull model satisfactorily, the next ambition is likely to be a POB and then a POF model kit. That is what this community presumably wants. Most novice modelers long to create the upper decks, furniture, spars, rigging, and detail. The planked hull process discourages the most people. This is evident in that there is neither a singe method, or opinion, about how to plank hulls. Even my Mamoli plans caution that "irretrievable mistakes can be made" without sufficient adherence to plan steps and patience. The technical detail of what constitutes 'patience required' is NEVER provided.
As a 66 year old I can state that very few young modelers simply no longer have the attributes needed to undertake ship modeling (and its failures) in the same way that us 50+ year olds do. Those few youngsters who do will eventually join the ranks of the experts here, and really, do we 'need' more? That is another question. However, if the intention is to "grow" the hobby, the kits will need to provide good subjects with solid hulls, or pre-cut planks.
Just my opinion.
 
of the 10 models scratch built or building over the years, all but one are “solid” hull. The other is a POF admiralty style model. I personally enjoy sculpting a hull. Planking a hull makes even less sense when one is building a steel hull vessel. It’s then necessary to hide the planking while hoping that it won’t reappear years down the road.

Roger
 
Bob Cleek said:
For at least the last two or three of generations, our school systems have abandoned the teaching of manual arts and trade skills, which used to be widely taught.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately, this is a trend all over the world.
Today, mostly adults come to modeling. Children who were involved in this, on the contrary, abandon this activity as they grow up.
I built sailing ships for more than 25 years, and today I am re-mastering the technology of “iron” ships, as if for the first time.
BarnegatBay said:
The manufacturers need to produce more ambitious kits (ships of line, etc.) with solid, preformed hulls, requiring only sanding. An option (certainly recommended) could be to include instructions or templates to produce visually appealing seams in the "planking" by scoring the hull appropriately.
With modern manufacturing methods, rough preformed hulls (solid or hollow) can be fabricated fairly easily.
Click to expand...
We can't take the "easy way". Otherwise, ship modeling will die. For many centuries, our hobby was considered unique because it was done by hand with precision. (There is even a joke: "ship modeling is the highest form of art" :))
If people are scared away from modeling by something, then it is not their job.

I think one more thing. The development of modeling depends on high-quality drawings and accessibility to them in general.
Please note that even here on the forum (as well as everywhere in the world) the majority of modelers build according to ANKRE drawings. That says a lot. However, in recent times, museum archives around the world have also made a big step forward for the hobby of modeling by digitizing historical drawings.
Which is very helpful for experienced modelers. This means the future of our hobby has a bright path.
 
I tried the Model shipways beginner kit Norwegian Pram and didnt liked it.
I think you should build a kit of a ship you like, if you like dories you could go with Model shipways starting series, but I find Bluejackets dories are better kits.
I think that Model shipways beginnerkits are old kits with bad passform. They are small and I dont think they are the right thing if you have big hands and want something that dont break when you touch it.
You could look at Occre Polaris.
If you compare Occre and Modelshipways its two completely different ideas when it comes to instructions.
Occre has a lot of good pictures and videos, not so much written instructions. But the way they suggest to plank the ship is not good,
If you should build Polaris or any other kit so ask here for suggestions of good build logs.
Model shipways Norwegian Pram instructions are completely different, a lot of written instructions and very small pictures, no building video.
You could check yourself, both could be downloaded.
 
Bob Cleek said:
I also strongly advise you begin with the Model Shipways "beginners' series" of the three workboat models. Don't think of them as just three distinct model kits, but rather as a three-part apprenticeship guided by one of the world's most gifted modelers and most engaging instructors, David Anscherl.

There are a number of other advantages provided by this progressive instructional kit series that are particularly beneficial to beginning modelers in the United States.

The kits are made in the U.S., and their instructions were originally written in English. Foreign-made kits may have problematic English translations, if they have any translation at all. Just as even within English, nomenclature can become confusing to the uninitiated, e.g., "driving"="motoring," "hood"="bonnet," "trunk"+"boot," etc., deciphering foreign language maritime nomenclature frequently requires a specialized nautical dictionary with a "translator index" just to translate English, French, and German nautical terms which often bear no rational relationship to each other when translated verbatim. Also, many foreign-made kit instruction manuals are notoriously deficient, even for experienced kit builders. Beware of buying any kit before you've had a chance to thoroughly review the instruction manual. The good kit manufacturers will provide their instructions online at no charge, usually in their catalog entry webpage. If they don't, walk the other way.

See: https://modelexpo-online.com/assets/images/Dory instructions final.pdf

https://modelexpo-online.com/assets/images/MS1471_Norwegian_Pram/MS1471 Norwegian Sailing Pram instructions rev 3-29-21.pdf

https://modelexpo-online.com/assets/images/Lobster_smack-instructionpdf.pdf

I'm sure some will say, "Well ABC makes great kits with good instructions in English, and they're made in England." or "XYZ makes kits in China that are indistinguishable from American and British kits and cost a lot less.." (... because some Chinese manufacturers have no regard for others' intellectual property rights!) They are correct on both counts, but the problems remain for the beginner. The top end British kits are among the best in the world, but these are not kits at all suitable for beginners, at least as far as I'm aware. These are very expensive, top of the line kits with materials of the highest quality and instructions that are book-length. They demand an experienced builder and often have build times that run into years. As for the Chinese kits, and to a lesser degree all foreign kits as of today's news (but, as they say, "the story is developing,) the U.S. modeler will be paying what in most instances will be a huge tariff tax on foreign products. In the case of Chinese kits, the tax is now 55% and that money isn't buying you any more model than it did before the President imposed this tax. In recent times, we've also seen high inflation of international shipping charges which in some, if not many, cases, render the total cost of doing business with an overseas vendor unjustifiable. It can be very frustrating to find it taking weeks, if not longer, to obtain a broken or missing part for a foreign kit, even when its available or that the cost of shipping a product to the U.S. is greater than the cost of the item itself!.
Click to expand...
There are also many you tube videos showing builds of these kits. They are helpful.

Rob
 
Watercraft have been built since the cave man tried to cross the river on his log. In fact they were probably the very first object that had to be “built” to transport people. This means that are innumerable ships and boats that could be modeled.

It’s, therefore, a shame that whenever someone thinks of building a ship model they limit their interests to sailing warships in the 200 year period early 1600’s to early 1800’s. While I realize that these vessels make impressive models, and for many evoke images from romantic fiction, they might actually hinder beginners from building these simple models that allow them to learn the skills necessary to eventually build their masterpiece. “What, no cannons? Why waste time and money on this?

I have a friend who has built from scratch a beautiful model of the American Brig warship Syren. He told me that if he had known that Model Shipways would offer a kit for the vessel, he would picked a different subject. Like him, I try to choose subjects that are unique.

To Richie: sorry, but building solid hull models is not “the easy way out.” It is a different way of producing a durable, accurately shaped ship model hull. In fact, with the hype about building “museum quality” models, it is actually the method preferred by museums. I fully understand and appreciate the fully framed models displayed on the European ship model contest circuit. But some modeling subjects don’t feature planked hulls.

Roger
 
Lest we forget, forty or fifty years ago, machine-carved solid hull blanks were the only kind of kit that was available, the Model Shipways "Yellow Box" models being the prime example. I can't be certain, but I strongly suspect that the subsequent proliferation of plank on bulkhead and plank on frame ship model kits was the result of the manufacturer's desire to reduce materials, production, warehousing, and shipping costs by producing a "flat box, knocked down" IKEA-type kit that did not require machining by the manufacturer, but rather only the provision of sheet stock with "cut out" lines printed on it, or later, cut by laser. This also allowed smaller boxes, less material, and less weight with consequent lower storage and shipping costs. This production change was sold to beginning modelers, many of whom were never to finish building the kits they bought, as "building a model the same way the real ships were built," which was a completely false assertion.

I believe, there are still a few solid hull kits being produced, holdovers from previous times, although they probably lack some of the features of the better present-day kits. The "bread and butter" or "lift method" of accurately creating a hollowed solid hull shape remains the fastest and most reliable method of hull-making there is and, in fact, the method that most world-class maritime museums require for their modernly made ship model acquisitions other than open-hull fully-framed presentations.

richie incident said:
We can't take the "easy way". Otherwise, ship modeling will die. For many centuries, our hobby was considered unique because it was done by hand with precision. (There is even a joke: "ship modeling is the highest form of art" :))
If people are scared away from modeling by something, then it is not their job.
Click to expand...

Very true! It is interesting that the very existence of ship model kits is predicated upon the contradiction of one of the most basic of general assumptions made about ship models, to wit: Ship models take great knowledge, skill, patience and devoted attention to detail to complete. A kit is nothing other than more than half the job already done in a box, bought by the assembler who will later claim to have "built" the resulting ship model. To a lesser degree, the same is true of models built to the well-done practicums now available and to the 3D printed models and parts presently coming onto the market.

This inherent misrepresentation causes every completed ship model kit (or practicum build) to contribute incrementally to the overall devaluation of the ship model as a form of academically respected historical research expressed in the form of a unique work of fine art. This indisputable fact, perhaps first alluded to decades ago by Howard I. Chapelle in his classic commentary articles Ship Models That Ought to be Built (https://thenrg.org/resource/articles/ship-models-that-ought-to-be-buillt) and Ship Models That Should Not be Built (https://thenrg.org/resource/articles/ship-models-that-should-not-be-built) frequently triggers howls of protest from kit assemblers who argue that the perspective is "elitist" and "exclusionary," and that building ship models "is only a hobby" that they pursue for their own satisfaction. I don't dispute that for many, if not most, ship modelers, it is "only a hobby." It is also a hobby for me, but a hobby the essence of which is the pursuit of perfection, while being my own harshest critic. It is a fine art which I aspire to do as well as I can in all of its aspects. The goal of any fine artist is to do the common thing uncommonly well rather than simply "good enough." Encouraging those who are willing to make the commitment to learn the not inconsiderable curriculum required to create a unique ship model from start to finish is surely a worthwhile endeavor, but I don't see the point in trying to simply increase the number of people building kit models for the sake of the crowd per se. Such numbers are relevant to running internet forums, I suppose, but not to the fine art of ship modeling itself. There's no more point in increasing the number of ship model kits built than there would be in increasing the number of paint-by-number copies of the Mona Lisa or The Last Supper. This isn't to say people should be aggressively discouraged from pursuing ship modeling at all, but only that those who do not make the commitment to become fine artists should not expect to be afforded the same status as those who have committed themselves to creating original works of fine art. Rather, those who have made the commitment to become artists, should encourage kit builders "bitten by the bug" to aspire to levels of artistic achievement beyond the purchase of their next kit.

Note that I am well aware that the perspective expressed above is not well received by kit builders with going no further than assembling kits. There is not much value in wasting bandwidth reminding me of what I already know, but sharing factually based alternate points of view is, of course, always welcome.

BarnegatBay said:
The manufacturers need to produce more ambitious kits (ships of line, etc.) with solid, preformed hulls, requiring only sanding. An option (certainly recommended) could be to include instructions or templates to produce visually appealing seams in the "planking" by scoring the hull appropriately.
Click to expand...

While solid hulls certainly have much to recommend them, I see little point to increasing the number of "more ambitious kits" nor, certainly, the number of "more ambitious" kit builders. "Ambition" is the province of the scratch builder. The challenge of learning how to spile and hang plank is one of the most elemental requisite skills of modeling small craft, particularly in larger scales. A modeler who defers learning the techniques required only prolongs a significant limitation of their skill and the scope of subjects they are able to build. Everything one needs to know about planking has been printed in books many times over. As mentioned previously in this thread, if they consider it too much of a challenge, ship modeling is probably not for them.

The "stumbling block of planking" is simply the consequence of a modeler's deficient skill set, easily overcome by acquiring the requisite instructions and following them. Furthermore, in any scale smaller than about 1:48, there is no justification, let alone need, to depict hull plank seams. The knowledgeable modeler recognizes that at scale viewing distance hull plank seams, copper sheathing "rivets," trunnels and other faddish out-of-scale affectations are imperceptible from a hundred feet away. Unfortunately, kit manufacturers believe uninformed kit buyers are more inclined to buy kits with a higher number of parts and allegedly "greater detail." Consequently, they promote the depiction of grossly over-scale detail that cause models viewed from two feet away to look like toys viewed from two feet away, instead of real ships viewed from one hundred feet away. In an object which is intended to create a compelling impression of a full-scale prototype in miniature, the "visually appealing" representation is the one which is the most realistic, rather than the one which is most favorable to a mass marketer's bottom line, or even to a kit builder's personal taste. The presentation of scale inaccuracies destroys the compelling impression of reality in miniature that is the point of the entire exercise.

Some contemporary masterworks were presented partially planked to expose internal details and finished bright in whole or part with shellac or varnish and some turn of the last century boardroom builder's models were similarly finished with polished metal fittings, some even gold-plated. There is nothing wrong such contemporary stylistic presentations, of course, because these models were not intended to present an impression of reality, but rather to present a highly accurate model in and of itself. The creation of such a presentation is, however, extremely demanding and can be done well only by the most talented and accomplished master modelers. Merely copying one of such contemporary models, as seems somewhat fashionable among some top end kit manufacturers and practicum authors today, does serve to provide an opportunity for the modeler to showcase their skills which may be of some satisfaction to the modeler and, if done well, does produce a thing of beauty. It is not, however, fine art as that term is generally understood, however much it may be fine craftsmanship, since they are only copies of existing models and not originally researched unique works of art. Herein lies the distinction between craftsmanship and fine art.
 
BarnegatBay said:
PLANKING IS THE CRUX OF THIS HOBBY that deters or discourages many new modelers. After completing a solid hull model satisfactorily, the next ambition is likely to be a POB and then a POF model kit.
Click to expand...
This is an interesting thought. Unfortunately, as long as most kits makers have no concept as to how a ship was planked, or worse, they know but ignore it, it would not matter if we start off with solid hull or not. The good news, based on some of the build logs we see, is that it looks like a couple kit manufacturers have taken advantage of today's technology and include spiled planks in their kits.
Allan
 
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