The SF II is a great starter kit. It is double planked which can be very forgiving. And the CD's that come with the kit offers a few video tutorials that help with the build.
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"Make it as easy as you can, but not further" (A. Einstein)
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The secret to any modelling, ship or otherwise, is to read the instructions, plans etc., then read them again. Measure twice, cut once. The best time to correct a mistake is before you make it, and practice and patience may not make perfect but certainly help!
Good luck,
Mike
Good luck,
Mike
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Obviously, many opinions, but also some common themes in the responses you're seeing. Just starting out, there are two things I would note.
First, don't underestimate your ability to deal with an entry level kit. Attention to detail and being able to read instructions are the big wins as you start out. You already have those skills from working on other models.
Second, avoid kits that have poor or little instructions when you start out. You'll just become frustrated and that will turn you off from pursuing the hobby further. Simply purchase a decent beginner kit as others have noted, because, at the end of process, you'll likely do a good enough job you're going to want to keep it. Then you'll not only have a feeling of accomplishment, but also be proud of what you've build, and more importantly... have the confidence to try a bigger kit for your second project.
Tools? A decent x-acto knife and sharp blades are your friend. Much of what you do won't require power tools of any soft. A small hand drill and micro bits will come in useful, and for other drilling work, a small sized rechargeable hand drill (think something in the line of a tool an inch or less in diameter and maybe five or six inches long). Small clamps. Lots of them. lol Although I haven't searched for it here, I suspect there's a thread that speaks to what a beginner's tool kit should consist of. Much of what you've learned building plastic kits will have practical value as you begin to work with wooden kits. The really big difference is that you'll be fabricating things from wood and metal, rather than having everything pre-formed on a spru.
Good luck with your first build. Be patient. Take your time. Thoroughly review the plans and read the instructions several times so you fully understand what you need to do. Envision what you're doing in your head first before you pick up a tool. Often, trying to work through a build step in your head first allows you to pick up on details that will be important, or clue you in to knowing you need to look at it more closely before proceeding.
First, don't underestimate your ability to deal with an entry level kit. Attention to detail and being able to read instructions are the big wins as you start out. You already have those skills from working on other models.
Second, avoid kits that have poor or little instructions when you start out. You'll just become frustrated and that will turn you off from pursuing the hobby further. Simply purchase a decent beginner kit as others have noted, because, at the end of process, you'll likely do a good enough job you're going to want to keep it. Then you'll not only have a feeling of accomplishment, but also be proud of what you've build, and more importantly... have the confidence to try a bigger kit for your second project.
Tools? A decent x-acto knife and sharp blades are your friend. Much of what you do won't require power tools of any soft. A small hand drill and micro bits will come in useful, and for other drilling work, a small sized rechargeable hand drill (think something in the line of a tool an inch or less in diameter and maybe five or six inches long). Small clamps. Lots of them. lol Although I haven't searched for it here, I suspect there's a thread that speaks to what a beginner's tool kit should consist of. Much of what you've learned building plastic kits will have practical value as you begin to work with wooden kits. The really big difference is that you'll be fabricating things from wood and metal, rather than having everything pre-formed on a spru.
Good luck with your first build. Be patient. Take your time. Thoroughly review the plans and read the instructions several times so you fully understand what you need to do. Envision what you're doing in your head first before you pick up a tool. Often, trying to work through a build step in your head first allows you to pick up on details that will be important, or clue you in to knowing you need to look at it more closely before proceeding.
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That kit costs less than $5. You can't learn proper kit building, the wood is too thin and poor quality. What you CAN do is buy it (Aliexpress) use the parts as templates to draw the shapes, copy it twice the size and you have a basic 1:50 plan for a scratch build!! Then for planking techniques etc come back to us! I used this method for the hull in the pic.
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I agree with Corsair for the most part--esp lousy instructions, assemble by pics, parts with no mention or show.
My first kit was the $10 Chinese dragger, because the planking caught my eye. I had no clue there were forums to learn from, nor did I know wood glue leaves ghosts when painting, so my 1st one I turned into a weathered mess with planking totally assymetrical. I decided to do another after finding "how to" plank articles online and in forums. Great way to practice planking for $10.
Next, I bought a bunch of really inexpensive "used" kits from Ebay to do repairs and learn some of those things, as well as buying a brand new kit of the same model to put in the queue. The "used" started kits were less than $15=$20 vs the usual retail of $49 or more! I learned a lot and built my confidence, figuring I would fall into some of these kinds of repairs myself when starting a kit from its beginning!
I started August of 2022 and now always have at least 2 boats/ships on the work tables, and some "instant gratification" 3D wooden models for "need a no-brainer break times!"
Pics: the 1st 2 on the left are my 1st experience with planking, not knowing anything, and staining which left ghosts, so I decided to finish as an old-weathered boat. Then the 2nd one after watching and reading "how to plank." My most recent
is the MS Model Shipways Lowell Grand Banks dory, using the classic colors. At the same time, after working on several "used-partly started" Midwest Skiffs and having to repair broken frames, frames on crooked (how to soften super glue experience, etc), I completed one from "New."
I have gained much confidence from the approach I took; I still consider myself a quite total "Newbie."
I also, definitely agree with Model Shipway kits as they are excellent for replacing parts that you may need to replace.
I am a 70-year-old female with RA. I do many different hand work projects, now including models, to avoid RX for RA! Despite feeling like I was in a spider's web of a cat's cradle rigging the Revell USS Constitution, I did it by consolidating instructions from several USS Constitution instruction sheets! I grew up 32 ft from high water, so ocean is in my blood and LOVE anything nautical!
Once I started with repairing wooden models and building wooden models I was "hooked," and have a really long ways to go!
Good Luck and Blessings to your endeavors learning to build models!
JJ
My first kit was the $10 Chinese dragger, because the planking caught my eye. I had no clue there were forums to learn from, nor did I know wood glue leaves ghosts when painting, so my 1st one I turned into a weathered mess with planking totally assymetrical. I decided to do another after finding "how to" plank articles online and in forums. Great way to practice planking for $10.
Next, I bought a bunch of really inexpensive "used" kits from Ebay to do repairs and learn some of those things, as well as buying a brand new kit of the same model to put in the queue. The "used" started kits were less than $15=$20 vs the usual retail of $49 or more! I learned a lot and built my confidence, figuring I would fall into some of these kinds of repairs myself when starting a kit from its beginning!
I started August of 2022 and now always have at least 2 boats/ships on the work tables, and some "instant gratification" 3D wooden models for "need a no-brainer break times!"
Pics: the 1st 2 on the left are my 1st experience with planking, not knowing anything, and staining which left ghosts, so I decided to finish as an old-weathered boat. Then the 2nd one after watching and reading "how to plank." My most recent
is the MS Model Shipways Lowell Grand Banks dory, using the classic colors. At the same time, after working on several "used-partly started" Midwest Skiffs and having to repair broken frames, frames on crooked (how to soften super glue experience, etc), I completed one from "New."
I have gained much confidence from the approach I took; I still consider myself a quite total "Newbie."
I also, definitely agree with Model Shipway kits as they are excellent for replacing parts that you may need to replace.
I am a 70-year-old female with RA. I do many different hand work projects, now including models, to avoid RX for RA! Despite feeling like I was in a spider's web of a cat's cradle rigging the Revell USS Constitution, I did it by consolidating instructions from several USS Constitution instruction sheets! I grew up 32 ft from high water, so ocean is in my blood and LOVE anything nautical!
Once I started with repairing wooden models and building wooden models I was "hooked," and have a really long ways to go!
Good Luck and Blessings to your endeavors learning to build models!
JJ
i was in the same position as you about a year ago, i wanted to try planking a hull. I looked around on the web for easy planking models. I found Kolderstok in Netherlands and saw some models there. I bought the Willem Barentsz set. One year later I have the hull planked and have the gun ports openings made. For me it is a slow process, no electric plank bender but just soaked the walnut strips in hot water for abt 25-30 min, place it on the model with clamps, let it dry for a day then glue it. it took me that long but for me it was worth it to do it slow. The instructions are good and easy to read. https://kolderstok.com/en/collections/het-expeditieschip-van-willem-barentsz
My suggestion is 1. Look at basic videos. 2. Books. 3. Try simple kit like Dory…4. Paint samples. 5. Go to a convention and see models / people at work… step by step… find a model you want to make but it must be simple… building HMS Victory as your 1st ship is 99% impossible. There are gifted / odd person who can. 17$ kit, build it, then review.. I started with paper, card, plastic kits then wood etc…
Welcome aboard! Looking forward to seeing your work and progress. Look at the Build Log section of this forum to get ideas on building ships!
Have to agree. Chinese kit I bought had rudimentary instructions…in Chinese. Materials were so thin, as to be unusable. Another vote for a decent kit, also one in a larger scale. Larger scale, larger details. Kinda like working on a 1:144 model aircraft, vs a larger scale.
Начинать конечно лучше с набора, но сомневаюсь что набор за 17 американских тугриков это то что нужно. Приобретите лучше качественный набор, например от Мастер Корабел- не сложная сборка, понятная инструкция, хорошее качаство материалов, и элементов, отличные резанные лазером блоки " как настоящие" ,очень качественная тонкая ткань для парусов, только нити под замену на самодельные. Вобщем очень рекомендую как первую модель .
Jack Sparrow, have you seen the real Bluenose in person? A lot of decades ago I was in Halifax, Nova Scotia and had the opportunity to see, to visit the Bluenose. It’s so long ago that I can’t say for certain but I think I even had a short ride on it. (This was in the mid ‘70’s and my memory of that time is like “Fawlty Towers”)
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Привет! Ваши модели такие живые, они прекрасны.. Мне очень понравились ваши корабли. Егор
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I have, yes. I went aboard too. It's a nice looking boat
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Darivs & Corsair are right. You can't go wrong with Model Shipways from ModelExpo. But whatever you decide, welcome to the Club!
Rick 1011
Rick 1011
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Apologies in advance for taking the thread briefly off on a tangent...
FWIW, I don't think either of you was on the Bluenose. I'm not trying to be confrontational, I merely want to clarify what can now be seen for those not familiar with the history of the ship.
Launched in 1921, the Bluenose was famous in her 17 year run as the undefeated champion of the Fisherman Run. Sadly, it struck a reef off Haiti and capsized back in 1946. What we've been on is the Bluenose II. Sponsored by Oland Breweries to promote it's Schooner beer brand, and built by the same shipyard in Lunenburg that built the original... Smith & Rhuland Shipyard. Many of the shipbuilders who worked on the original also worked on the second, and even the original captain of the ship provided guidance during the build. The Bluenose II was launched in 1963, and used as a private yacht by the owners of Oland till they sold it to the province of Nova Scotia in 1971. The price of that transaction? $1 CAD. A pretty good deal!
Though I've never been on her in open water, I felt fortunate to have had the opportunity to board her and examine her in detail while she was docked in Lunenburg harbour. Having been born a "herring choker" (if you're from the Maritimes you know what that means), I consider being on her one of my personal treasured experiences. But since I moved to land-locked Calgary back in 1980, I now have to get my fix of nautical exposure and ship wanderlust while travelling. Along with the Bluenose II, I've also had the privelge to visit the USS Constitution, HMS Victory, and Cutty Sark While at Portsmouth visting the Victory, I also got to see the work being performed on the Mary Rose. On a visit to Australia, I partook of an evening dinner cruise on the recreation of the HMS Bounty that used to run the harbour waters in Sydney. I've had the opportunity to visit quite a few more modern steel ships as well, and though interesting in their own ways, it's always the wooden sailing ships that make my heart beat with passion.
FWIW, I don't think either of you was on the Bluenose. I'm not trying to be confrontational, I merely want to clarify what can now be seen for those not familiar with the history of the ship.
Launched in 1921, the Bluenose was famous in her 17 year run as the undefeated champion of the Fisherman Run. Sadly, it struck a reef off Haiti and capsized back in 1946. What we've been on is the Bluenose II. Sponsored by Oland Breweries to promote it's Schooner beer brand, and built by the same shipyard in Lunenburg that built the original... Smith & Rhuland Shipyard. Many of the shipbuilders who worked on the original also worked on the second, and even the original captain of the ship provided guidance during the build. The Bluenose II was launched in 1963, and used as a private yacht by the owners of Oland till they sold it to the province of Nova Scotia in 1971. The price of that transaction? $1 CAD. A pretty good deal!
Though I've never been on her in open water, I felt fortunate to have had the opportunity to board her and examine her in detail while she was docked in Lunenburg harbour. Having been born a "herring choker" (if you're from the Maritimes you know what that means), I consider being on her one of my personal treasured experiences. But since I moved to land-locked Calgary back in 1980, I now have to get my fix of nautical exposure and ship wanderlust while travelling. Along with the Bluenose II, I've also had the privelge to visit the USS Constitution, HMS Victory, and Cutty Sark While at Portsmouth visting the Victory, I also got to see the work being performed on the Mary Rose. On a visit to Australia, I partook of an evening dinner cruise on the recreation of the HMS Bounty that used to run the harbour waters in Sydney. I've had the opportunity to visit quite a few more modern steel ships as well, and though interesting in their own ways, it's always the wooden sailing ships that make my heart beat with passion.
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I saw the Bluenose II a few years ago during the tall ships event in Halifax. I don't remember the year. Not sure why you would be confrontational about this without even knowing me. She was docked and I think people could go for a sail on her, but I didn't.
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Since you chose to be offended rather than read what I wrote, you missed this important bit in the second line... and I wrote that specifically to avoid this type of reaction "I'm not trying to be confrontational, I merely want to clarify what can now be seen for those not familiar with the history of the ship."
I’m currently working on a Scientific Models Constitution. It has all the rigging but no planking. It’s a solid hull ship. You can pick one up for around $30 online. It’s my 6th ship/boat so I have a little experience. It’s still fun but it is a challenge because of the size (1:175) and the solid hull. I’d go with a name brand that’s been previously owned and not built.
One more thought…remember one part at a time! Concentrate on the part in hand, perfect it, place it, and move to the next part. Don’t get overwhelmed by all those pieces parts still in the box! Whether large or small every build is still…one part at a time!