- Joined
- Jul 3, 2020
- Messages
- 32
- Points
- 78
Well, it’s time to start my next high seas adventure in model shipbuilding.
After finishing my last ship (HMS Victory, kit by Artesania Latina, completed in June 2024, Ships of Scale build log can be found here), I had pretty much convinced myself that I would likely not build another ship model. At least one the size of Victory (51” long, 40” tall). With my kids grown and moved out, my wife and I are thinking of downsizing. I didn’t know where I’d eventually keep the finished models or if I’d have the workarea space. I knew I’d still do some modeling, but maybe scratch builds on something much smaller.
So, I actually put Victory up for sale on Facebook Marketplace. Asking price: $5000. Over 4 months, a few people reached out saying they loved the final result, but no one was ready to purchase. I knew it would require the right person to come along, and I didn’t really think it would happen. I was thinking that if I didn’t sell it somewhat soon, I would like to find someplace to donate it to – maybe a local library. Somewhere that a lot of people could see and enjoy it.
All that changed when Father Mark contacted me in May 2025.
Mark's first post to Ships of Scale was in September 2023 (see here). He had purchased a vintage Sovereign of the Seas kit by Sergal. He had planned to build the kit himself, but he had not built a model ship like this before. He got the book by John McKay to help, but I think he realized he didn’t have the experience or the time to devote to this project.
There’s a much bigger back story to all of this, but let me give a brief summary. “Father Mark” is his login name on this forum. Mark is an ordained minister but isn’t a pastor. But he’s building a ministry and there's a lot of nautical inspiration to this ministry. He was actually looking at buying a finished version of Sovereign of the Seas. And that’s when he came across my Facebook Marketplace posting.
He contacted me about if he could come see Victory. I knew nothing of his background, and I wasn’t interested in just showing someone Victory unless they were serious about purchasing. But something resonated with me about Mark. He came by with his wife Sandy. After viewing the ship for a bit, Mark started telling me about his ministry.
He didn’t know that I too am a born again follower of Jesus and devout Christian. Our meeting was a divine encounter!!! There’s no such thing as coincidence. By the time we finished talking, I was overjoyed to donate Victory to Mark as a centerpiece for his ministry. He in turn was thrilled to have found someone that he could commission to build Sovereign of the Seas for him.
So, here I am. Starting to build another ship. What’s crazy is that before I decided to build Victory, I had narrowed down my choices to either Victory, Sovereign of the Seas, or Amerigo Vespucci.
The vintage Sovereign kit that Mark bought is the “black box” version. The 9 sheets of plans are dated 1974. There’s a couple of very minimal instruction manuals. But I have McKay’s book, and of course, all of my fellow SOS (Ships of Scale + Sovereign of the Seas) builders to help provide guidance.
My goal is to just use the kit that I have. However, I’m going to keep my eyes out for a newer version of SOS from Sergal that I might be able to get at a pretty good price. That would give me better instructions and have a 2nd set of material and ornamentation in case the vintage kit is missing anything. I haven’t tried going through the entire kit to verify everything is there. It looked pretty intact. I’m just moving forward and trusting that everything I need is there or that I can figure out a way to get what I need. I know the user Woodpecker on this forum already posted to contact him for any extra parts as he has a 2nd kit of Sovereign as well.
Some of the customizations I plan to integrate at Mark’s request:
> using blue instead of black as the 2ndary color
> lights through the decks and especially the stern
> perhaps leaving one side of the hull unpainted to showcase the natural wood (as I did with Victory)
> rigging with full sails
> making my own rope
> present the final model on the open sea - where the ocean is made with resin
After finishing my last ship (HMS Victory, kit by Artesania Latina, completed in June 2024, Ships of Scale build log can be found here), I had pretty much convinced myself that I would likely not build another ship model. At least one the size of Victory (51” long, 40” tall). With my kids grown and moved out, my wife and I are thinking of downsizing. I didn’t know where I’d eventually keep the finished models or if I’d have the workarea space. I knew I’d still do some modeling, but maybe scratch builds on something much smaller.
So, I actually put Victory up for sale on Facebook Marketplace. Asking price: $5000. Over 4 months, a few people reached out saying they loved the final result, but no one was ready to purchase. I knew it would require the right person to come along, and I didn’t really think it would happen. I was thinking that if I didn’t sell it somewhat soon, I would like to find someplace to donate it to – maybe a local library. Somewhere that a lot of people could see and enjoy it.
All that changed when Father Mark contacted me in May 2025.
Mark's first post to Ships of Scale was in September 2023 (see here). He had purchased a vintage Sovereign of the Seas kit by Sergal. He had planned to build the kit himself, but he had not built a model ship like this before. He got the book by John McKay to help, but I think he realized he didn’t have the experience or the time to devote to this project.
There’s a much bigger back story to all of this, but let me give a brief summary. “Father Mark” is his login name on this forum. Mark is an ordained minister but isn’t a pastor. But he’s building a ministry and there's a lot of nautical inspiration to this ministry. He was actually looking at buying a finished version of Sovereign of the Seas. And that’s when he came across my Facebook Marketplace posting.
He contacted me about if he could come see Victory. I knew nothing of his background, and I wasn’t interested in just showing someone Victory unless they were serious about purchasing. But something resonated with me about Mark. He came by with his wife Sandy. After viewing the ship for a bit, Mark started telling me about his ministry.
He didn’t know that I too am a born again follower of Jesus and devout Christian. Our meeting was a divine encounter!!! There’s no such thing as coincidence. By the time we finished talking, I was overjoyed to donate Victory to Mark as a centerpiece for his ministry. He in turn was thrilled to have found someone that he could commission to build Sovereign of the Seas for him.
So, here I am. Starting to build another ship. What’s crazy is that before I decided to build Victory, I had narrowed down my choices to either Victory, Sovereign of the Seas, or Amerigo Vespucci.
The vintage Sovereign kit that Mark bought is the “black box” version. The 9 sheets of plans are dated 1974. There’s a couple of very minimal instruction manuals. But I have McKay’s book, and of course, all of my fellow SOS (Ships of Scale + Sovereign of the Seas) builders to help provide guidance.
My goal is to just use the kit that I have. However, I’m going to keep my eyes out for a newer version of SOS from Sergal that I might be able to get at a pretty good price. That would give me better instructions and have a 2nd set of material and ornamentation in case the vintage kit is missing anything. I haven’t tried going through the entire kit to verify everything is there. It looked pretty intact. I’m just moving forward and trusting that everything I need is there or that I can figure out a way to get what I need. I know the user Woodpecker on this forum already posted to contact him for any extra parts as he has a 2nd kit of Sovereign as well.
Some of the customizations I plan to integrate at Mark’s request:
> using blue instead of black as the 2ndary color
> lights through the decks and especially the stern
> perhaps leaving one side of the hull unpainted to showcase the natural wood (as I did with Victory)
> rigging with full sails
> making my own rope
> present the final model on the open sea - where the ocean is made with resin
