The Black Pearl

Please focus your attention to the drawings Dave shows in Post #10 of this thread. These are original Adobe Illustrator drawings created by Mr Mellpapa, a Japanese model builder who became very interested in the Black Pearl after watching the movies. As a member of a local model club, Mr Mellpapa decided to create his own plans and scratch build an accurate model of the Black Pearl. He studied the movies scene-by-scene and researched as many articles as he could find for pictures and photos of the prop ship. He completed his first original blueprint drawings for a plank-on-bulkhead model in July 2007. This was years before any commercial kits of the model were ever produced. Those drawings are the ones shown in Daves Post #10 above. They have been continuously updated since 2007. Mr Mellpapa discovered the accuracy of the Black Pearl cannot be properly established like traditional historical tallships because it was a "fantasy vessel" that never existed. There are no true "plans" for the Black Pearl. As stated earlier, the Black Pearl movie prop was built on top of another vessel with many of the details omitted. For example, the movie prop only has masts up to the lower tops. CGI artists at Disney filled in the rest of the details. Mr Mellpapa further discovered that Disney CGI artists took great liberties in-fact changing various details and looks of the Black Pearl sometimes from scene to scene to suite the situation. Mr Mellpapa and his friends had debates regarding some of these details trying to decide how to depict them in the model.

Mr Mellpapa has built a few models of the Black Pearl. His first scratchbuilt model was in 1/60th scale and is on display in the Tamiya Model History Museum in Shizuoka Japan. After that he built a model of the Flying Dutchman. Once the 1/72 plastic Black Pearl kit was released from Russian manufacturer Zvezda, Mr Mellpapa reproduced a stractchbuilt model of that as it included some details he learned based on CGI elements taken from the movies. In November 2011, after the Hachette kit was released Mr Mellpapa purchased this kit and did a build log. Many errors were found with this kit that he corrected to include out of scale accessories, incorrect interior details (number of cages), incorrect shape of bow and stern, incorrect dimensions of masts and yards, incorrect rigging plan, etc. Since that time, Mr Mellpapa notes that many other models of the Black Pearl have appeared from China and elsewhere along with many toys and other likenesses. He encourages any people from all over the world to contribute any additional knowledge they have to make the Black Pearl better as there is no single perfect model!!

Here is his web site to include build logs, 140 pages of forum posts back to 2007, Hachette kit review, original drawings, tons of information, etc. All of this is free for anyone who wants to build a Black Pearl. No copyrights attached. The site is in Japanese but Google Translate will take care of that for you.

I have only very briefly touched on the wealth of information contained here. Go read for yourself. http://mellpapa.lolipop.jp/BP001.html
 
the time line is interesting seems the first attempts to create a model of the Black Pearl dates back to 2007 the first movie was 2003 and the Black Pearl was at that time built on the barge as a stage prop the second move was 2006 and the black Pearl was built on the OSV Sunset.
The second Black Pearl was not a stage set built by stage hands it was built in a shipyard by actual shipwrights. and those drawings were released. So Mr Mellpapa
would have had the released drawing to work from. The shipyard drawing does lack details but any shipyard and ship builders never did need construction drawings dating all the way through the history of ship building, they knew how to build a ship.
Mr Mellpapa's model in the Tamiya Model History Museum is the first reconstruction of a model of the Black Pearl. Since the first model appeared there have been many commercial models kits and products continuing to evolve not from a historical point of view because historical details applied to a fantasy ship is an oxymoron, however details were improved on to make an accurate "sailing ship" of the period.
We could credit Mr Mellpapa for establishing the general appearance of all the Black Pearl models now on the market.
A plastic Black Pearl kit was released from Russian manufacturer Zvezda and not knowing the exact date it was released it can not be fit into the evolutionary time line of the Black Pearl.
 
Since that time, Mr Mellpapa notes that many other models of the Black Pearl have appeared from China and elsewhere along with many toys and other likenesses. He encourages any people from all over the world to contribute any additional knowledge they have to make the Black Pearl better as there is no single perfect model!!


in keeping with Mr. Mellpapa the spirit and cooperation of everyone working to improve our hobby the one kit that stands out is the kit by ZHL who continues to improve and redesign making it better and better.
 
Dave Stevens (Lumberyard) said:
my research turned up more Black Pearl products out there than you can shake a stick at ( i don't know where that saying came from or exactly what it means)
Click to expand...

ok to answer myself I guess is like talking to yourself

I found no definitive origins just a bunch of maybes:

: Your phrase is fairly old. Its first (??) recorded appearance is found in The Lancaster (Pennsylvania) Journal in 1818: "We have in Lancaster as many Taverns as you can shake a stick at." The sense then, as now, was "a lot" or "too many to count."
:
: Shaking a stick at someone has long been considered, for good reason, a threatening gesture. There is a possibility that "more than you can shake a stick at" first arose in the context of warfare or smaller-scale hostilities, perhaps describing an overwhelmingly superior opposing force (e.g., "More Redcoats than you could shake a stick at.").

: Another possibility is the stick in question was shaken in the process of counting great numbers of something, perhaps used as a pointer while doing a head count of a herd of sheep or cattle. Thus, "more than you can shake a stick at" would simply mean, figuratively, "you could wave your counting stick until your arm falls off, and you still wouldn't reach the end."

TO SHAKE A STICK AT - "Although this does have a literal meaning, to threaten with a stick, we in the United States give it much more fanciful interpretation. If we say, 'There are more filling stations in town than one can shake a stick at,' we mean nothing more than that the town contains an abundance of places at which one may purchase gasoline for one's motorcar. That American usage dates from early in the nineteenth century. One may speculate that it arose from the play at warfare by small boys - George Washington Jones flourishing a triumphant wooden sword over the considerable number of British soldiers who surrendered at Yorktown, more, in fact, than he could wave his 'stick' at. Then, too, we use the expression to indicate a comparative that may express derogation, and have done so for well over a hundred years. David Crockett, in his "Tour to North and Down East" , wrote of one place at which he stayed, 'This was a temperance house, and there was nothing to treat a friend to that was worth shaking a stick at." From "Heavens to Betsy" (1955, Harper & Row) by Charles Earle Funk.


there is so much more to the Black Pearl story than you can shake a stick at
 
Outside of LA, California is a small model company Model Ship Master. Comprised of 10 - 15 professional artisans, they build museum quality models of many genres. This is seriously high-end nautical art. The company prides themselves on using traditional plank-on-bulkhead/plank-on-frame construction methods, designing their own metal hardware, including even the smallest details to ensure the most authentic models possible. They have a massive resume with works being completed for the Smithsonian Museum, Mariners' Museum, Museum of Science and Industry, multiple cruise ship companies and more.

Model Ship Master claims to build the most detailed version of the Black Pearl model in the world. And they also sell it to the public.

In Feb 2012, Model Ship Master completed a 10 foot long model of the Black Pearl with a fantastic hand-carved figurehead. The model was delivered to Mr Charlie Bailey who was the original set construction supervisor for the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.

Model Ship Master went on to build an even larger model of the Black Pearl that is hanging from the ceiling of a tourist attraction in Minnesota. This model was completed in September 2017 and is said to be the largest Black Pearl model in the world.

Model Ship Master sells many prebuilt models. All of them using traditional POF/POB methods. Their model of the Black Pearl is 36" long and costs $2500. If you want LED lighting included it is an additional $200. 5 - 6 months lead time is needed to build the model.

All Model Ship Master plans are drawn in-house by their own maritime architect. Plans of a particular ship (including the Black Pearl) can be purchased for $400.

You can read all about Model Ship Master and see pictures of all their Black Pearl Models here: http://www.modelshipmaster.com/products/pirate/black_pearl.htm

Remember... This is an American company, operating in the USA, selling a $2500 model of the Black Pearl.
 
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I too am finding a community of Black Pearl enthusiasts building and selling Black Pearl merchandise all over the world.

Builders and designers, museums, tourist attractions, business venues everyone is on board

Even this topic is going viral and being copied, quoted and screen shots appearing in the most unlikely places. The word is spreading like a wild fire It looks like even Ships of Scale has become part of Mr Mellpapa Black Pearl information sharing community.
 
BLACK PEARL
pirate ship model

A picture is worth a thousand words. We post large, high resolution photos.​

Not all models are equal. Compare carefully to see the vast difference between cheap toys and a nautical art piece.​



Black Pearl pirate ship model

High end, authentic model of the Black Pearl pirate ship featured in the movie Pirates of the Caribbean.
www.modelshipmaster.com


could not have said it any better
 
"No commercial entities on earth can match our ability to make extraordinary beautiful three-dimension nautical art." This is a laughably bold claim. Interesting. Too bad Captain Hook's ship never saw so much attention!
 
the more we uncover the more interesting the story becomes and the more we spread as a viral topic reaching far and wide across the world.

coming up are reviews of the scale model kits and of the toys now available. Yes there is a very hard line between what is a toy and what is actually a scale model.

stay tuned lots more to come your way
 
as I look into different kits it noticed 2 kits by Zvezda and 2 different box art and 2 different prices

i need to find out what is going on here

one thing that does stand out one used Jack Sparrow ship pirates Caribbean and it states "scale" the other just says Black Pearl


zve.JPG
 
Let's take a look at plastic model kits of the Black Pearl. The first Pirates of the Caribbean movie came out in 2003.

In 2006, Revell released a 1:72 scale kit of it's Carribbean Pirate Ship. This kit really was not a Black Pearl at all. It was actually a reboxing of Revell's old Jolly Roger pirate ship model from 1972. A 1972 mold reboxed and sold with a suggestive title. I am sure some people bought this kit thinking it may have been the Black Pearl.

In 2007, Revell released a 1:72 scale kit of it's Ghost Pirate Ship. This kit also was not the Black Pearl. It was a reboxing of the same 1972 Jolly Roger mold except that it used glow in the dark plastic.

In 2011, Russian model maker Zvezda released it's first 1:72 scale kit of the Black Pearl called "Captain Jack Sparrow's Ship". The box included Disney logo and was marketed in Russia as part of the Pirates of the Caribbean On Stranger Tides motion picture release. The model has 895 parts, builds out to 50cm long and 40cm tall. It is fairly well detailed and includes plastic sails and rigging. Not bad for a plastic sailing ship model.

In 2016, Zvezda released a smaller 1:350 scale version of it's Black Pearl model.

In 2017, Revell released a 1:72 scale kit of the Black Pearl in Europe and other markets, with the Disney logo as part of the Salazar's Revenge motion picture release. This model was actually a rebox of the Zvezda model sold by Revell under license from Zvezda. Same exact model, same details, different box.

In 2017, Revell also released a 1:150 scale version of the Black Pearl as part of the Salazar's Revenge motion picture release. This model was a snap-loc style kit aimed at children.

If you are looking for the best representation of the Black Pearl for a plastic model, you should shop for either the Zvezda or Revell 1:72 kits. They are both identical inside the box. Purchase whichever one you can get the best price. My understanding from the build logs I have seen is this kit is fairly accurate and detailed with the exception of the sails and over-scale rigging parts.
 
In 2006, Revell released a 1:72 scale kit of it's Carribbean Pirate Ship. This kit really was not a Black Pearl at all. It was actually a reboxing of Revell's old Jolly Roger pirate ship model from 1972. A 1972 mold reboxed and sold with a suggestive title. I am sure some people bought this kit thinking it may have been the Black Pearl.

In 2007, Revell released a 1:72 scale kit of it's Ghost Pirate Ship. This kit also was not the Black Pearl. It was a reboxing of the same 1972 Jolly Roger mold except that it used glow in the dark plastic.

so these 2 kits were only a suggestion of a pirate ship and a redo of older kit. so these had no Disney logo or license nor did they need one.


Zvezda and Revell's later kits were in direct reference to Disney and Disney imagery thus the use of the logo.
 
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