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Zeno

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Hi. I have wanted to try my hand at wooden models for a long time now, I guess I was a little intimidated by what looks like a pretty complex hobby. I built plenty of plastic models over the years (mostly aircraft) but it has been a while. I have decided now is the time, baby steps, start out slowly and hopefully take advantage of all the experts that are on this forum as I learn from building.

My hope is to eventually build a nice model of the USS Constitution, that ship has a special meaning to me. My father was among the crew that did her retrofit in the 70's, he died in 2018 and I got a large piece of Old Ironsides from his time on board on display in his memory as well as a nice picture to accompany it (once I figure out how to post pictures I will if anyone is interested). I'd love to add a nice model to display with it. I don't want to even attempt that build until I am experienced as well as confident that I can make a high quality model. I retire in less than 8 years (not that I am counting) and I figure that would be a good time to tackle that--give myself a good 8 years of practice and then when I have plenty of time in retirement giving that build the effort it deserves (and giving me a hobby/project that keeps me busy and off my wifes nerves).

My question to everyone here, what is a good beginner kit? What tools should I have on hand? I'd love to have tools that last so I am willing to spend more $$. Any good books for reference?

Thanks in advance.
 
Welcome to the SoS forums.

If you check the home page out for forums titles you will find one on help with posting messages and photos.

Under the General Help forum you may post a message asking about good first build kit, but to help you might say what size or style you are looking for.

When in doubt, post a question and other will normally be glad to answer and provide feedback on work topics.
 
Zeno said:
Hi. I have wanted to try my hand at wooden models for a long time now, I guess I was a little intimidated by what looks like a pretty complex hobby. I built plenty of plastic models over the years (mostly aircraft) but it has been a while. I have decided now is the time, baby steps, start out slowly and hopefully take advantage of all the experts that are on this forum as I learn from building.

My hope is to eventually build a nice model of the USS Constitution, that ship has a special meaning to me. My father was among the crew that did her retrofit in the 70's, he died in 2018 and I got a large piece of Old Ironsides from his time on board on display in his memory as well as a nice picture to accompany it (once I figure out how to post pictures I will if anyone is interested). I'd love to add a nice model to display with it. I don't want to even attempt that build until I am experienced as well as confident that I can make a high quality model. I retire in less than 8 years (not that I am counting) and I figure that would be a good time to tackle that--give myself a good 8 years of practice and then when I have plenty of time in retirement giving that build the effort it deserves (and giving me a hobby/project that keeps me busy and off my wifes nerves).

My question to everyone here, what is a good beginner kit? What tools should I have on hand? I'd love to have tools that last so I am willing to spend more $$. Any good books for reference?

Thanks in advance.
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Hallo and a warm welcome here on board of our forum.
We all will try our best to help and assist you in your project......
 
welcome indeed - I would say that you need to master planking, rigging and sail making as a start and so something like a single masted cutter would ease you into ship building. I personally would not start with something too small, because tiny fiddly bits can easily lead to frustration and abandonment! Obviously it also depends on what you can afford.
As for tools, you probably have what you need already - kit building (as opposed to scratch building) mostly involves trimming, shaping, sanding, clamping and glueing. Mind you, have a look at what Proxxon make for model makers and suddenly you need everything...
 
Welcome, I’m a beginner Still, I started in 1990. Lol. check Out Model Expo or Micro Mark, i loaded up from both. You can catch sales from both, where are you located?
 
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Welcome aboard SOS, Zeno. We are glad you find us!

Building the first model is always something special and important. It is very hard to suggest as we don't know your skills. In general, you have to decide what should your first model to be: a sailboat or motorboat, wood, or plastic as a material. This will give you a plethora to choose from. Build the ship model is a bit different than other modes, in fact. It will require lots of patience\time to complete. No matter what your decision will be, try a large scale at 1:24 or 1:48. Working with a larger part is somewhat easier ;)

Tools are my favorite part. I always invest in good tools, they are important to me because makes my tasks easier and more precise. Good tools cost more money...But that doesn't mean you have to spend thousands of dollars on your tools immediately. If you will like this hobby and build more and more models, you will acquire new tooling as necessary. As my colleagues already said, assemble the kits don't necessarily require a lot of tools and basic hobby tools should do it, but if you decide to 'bash' the kit, this is another story: you will build parts on your own (from scratch).

In any way, we will try to help you build your first model. This is why we are here, we are SOS! We learn from each other! Good Luck and welcome.
 
WELCOME TO SOS I SECOND WHAT ALL ABOVE HAVE SAID, I CUT MY TEETH ON MODELELS MAYBE ABOUT 30 YEARS AGO HAD A VERY LONG LAY OFF DUE TO CAREING FOR MY LATE DEAR WIFE OF 45PLUS YEARS AND STARTED AGAIN MAYBE LIKE 11 YEARS AGO, MY FIRST MODELS WERE MID WEST BUILDS THEY LIST ALL SKILL LEVELS, the plans and instructions are top notch for novices can not stress enough the instructions ar GREAT, UNFORTUNATLY THE STOPPED PRODUCING THE KITS BUT MANY, MANY AVAILABLE ON EBAY NOT THAT EXPENSIVE AND AS THE OTHERS HAVE SAID TOOL A REQUIRED ARE JUST HOBBY TOOLS, this is just my opion you can check out the ebay offerings under wooden ships, hope this helps. GOD BLESS STAY SAFE Don
 
Welcome aboard. As far as tools go - don't go overboard at first. Simple hobby tools are usually enough to get you started. X-acto type knives are a must, saws - small ones of course, files of all sorts and sizes, clamps - can never have enough, glue and patience are the most important ones. As for books there are several that should be in every ship-modelers library. "Ship Modeling from stem to Stern" by Milton Roth will give you the basics - not too technical. There are just too many to list. A quick google search for model ship building will give you a pretty good idea of what's out there, and the above mentioned book has a great list of references. A lot of the better books are out of print but can be found if you search for them. Abe Books and Thrift Books - both on line - usually have some of them, but you may have to wait for others to show up on those sites. Of course E-bay is also a source for books. Dover Books also have several older titles that are good to have, even if somewhat dated. The most important thing is to have fun. This is quite an enjoyable hobby. And if you get stuck in the middle of a project you have this vast resource of knowledge called SOS. So again Welcome Aboard.
 
Awesome! Welcome to the hobby! Please do not get intimidated by the advanced modeling skills you will see in the forums...start slow and have patience. One idea to help get started is to purchase a practicum in building a ship model. There are several sources. For example, Lauckstreetshipyard.com has practicums for beginners. A practicum guides you through each and every step with explanations and photos. So again, welcome aboard! Oh...Lauckstreetshipyard also has a practicum for the Constitution.
 
Welcome here to this forum. It was not a long ago and also I was new in wooden models builds. I also had similar questions as you have. Do not worry, folks here are very friendly and helpfull.
I can only recommend the same model as I am building right now. Armed Virginia Sloop. It has good plans and everyting which is missing directly in manual you can find online. Even here Zoly already build this ship. For the tools you will need, glue (CA and PVA), sand paper (diferent grit), some modeler scalpel knife, ruler, different clamps, model holder is very helpful - you can scratch build one as I did, small saw, wooden putty. Basically you will see what you need when you will need it :D. A lot of things can be done by hand, but it will cost you the accurancy and time. You will learn a lot. Do not be afraid to make mistakes. Wood is very nice material and a lot of mistakes can be repaired with ease.

If you have any other questions just ask and help will come.

Looking forward for your choise.
 
Welcome, having been to Boston a few times, I did the tour of Old Iron Sides a more than once, it’s always amazing To walk the decks of these ships, a buddy at work who got me into this hobby, his first was the bluenose, I believe it’s a solid hill. he suggested to me to get it, to start out easy, no, I had to get a intermediate kit, lol
 
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Welcome to SOS !!! A couple of starter wooden kits come to mind. One is the Bluenose schooner. The other is the America yacht. Both kits will give you the experience in framing and planking a ship. They also introduce one to some basic rigging and sails. They are very nice looking models without going in over your head. Best to you on whatever project you decide on. Smooth sailing!
Ship-1
 
Zeno said:
Hi. I have wanted to try my hand at wooden models for a long time now, I guess I was a little intimidated by what looks like a pretty complex hobby. I built plenty of plastic models over the years (mostly aircraft) but it has been a while. I have decided now is the time, baby steps, start out slowly and hopefully take advantage of all the experts that are on this forum as I learn from building.

My hope is to eventually build a nice model of the USS Constitution, that ship has a special meaning to me. My father was among the crew that did her retrofit in the 70's, he died in 2018 and I got a large piece of Old Ironsides from his time on board on display in his memory as well as a nice picture to accompany it (once I figure out how to post pictures I will if anyone is interested). I'd love to add a nice model to display with it. I don't want to even attempt that build until I am experienced as well as confident that I can make a high quality model. I retire in less than 8 years (not that I am counting) and I figure that would be a good time to tackle that--give myself a good 8 years of practice and then when I have plenty of time in retirement giving that build the effort it deserves (and giving me a hobby/project that keeps me busy and off my wifes nerves).

My question to everyone here, what is a good beginner kit? What tools should I have on hand? I'd love to have tools that last so I am willing to spend more $$. Any good books for reference?

Thanks in advance.
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Hallo @Zeno ,
we wish you all the BEST and a HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Birthday-Cake
 
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