Which San Felipe?

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Hi all, i have always wanted to build a San Felipe and in comparing the two kits - 1/75 Panart and 1/50 ZHL or yan quin or whoever kits it, it seems that there are plus and minus for both..... the 1/50 is bordering on too big (for me), the plastic “castings” are pretty terrible, there are reports of not enough strip wood and wood not provided to build the model as it is depicted and advertised and overall, when you compare Donnie’s build to the two ZHL builds on here you can tell that the ZHL kit is just not as impressive (overall appearance) as the Panart- mostly the quality of the fittings and decorations (I realize some of that is Donnies skill with a camera) and they both appear to have the same problems with deck,gunport,etc alignment issues. I would replace most (all) of the planking wood on either kit I get, (use pear, boxwood, holly, etc) not use the pre planked ply sheets of the Panart kit, and upgrade the rigging and blocks, etc. on either kit. I have zero experience carving or casting so I would probably use the decorative stuff in either kit..... do you guys think it’s possible to make the plastic decorations of the ZHL kit look “great”? Or is there another solution? I think the larger scale of the ZHL would afford more chance for detail and it is less $$$ - how hard is the learning curve to improve on the ZHL castings and decorations? The Panart kit from Cornwall MB is around $200 more than the ZHL shipped from China is it worth the difference? Thanks for any and all opinions - and I’m open to suggestions as well....
 
Hallo and a warm welcome here on board.
Our member @Pat71 has the ZHL kit, maybe you can communicate with him about the quality and the pros and cons of this kit?
and also @GaryM has one:
 
BTW: Max from ZHL has a very good aftersale service - so if there is issue with the kit - he is trying to solve the problem without any question
 
Our member @Pat71 has the ZHL kit, maybe you can communicate with him about the quality and the pros and cons of this kit?

Yes, this is one of the builds I was comparing to Donnies Panart.... and Gary’s is the older kit when the decorations were resin and quite good, I think...
 
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Re Panart: ?preplanked ply sheets. This was not the case when I built it over 25 years ago. The "prepared"parts of kits are often more work and less satisfactory -except carving in which I'm useless. By the way, the kit cost then (listed price in 1997 model expo catalog as $1500 !!!) Discounted to $600 +shipping +tax!! So production costs and precision must have improved.
 
Greetings, Not sure how much experience you have, but with the fact that you would replace most if not all supplied timber from kt, you may think about to build her from scratch, and purchase just decoration (if it possible). You may save some $$$$.
 
I thought about that Jimsky but the casting set is $350 alone - plus if I scratch it I would want to do it 1/64 scale.... not too big, just right...

I did not know CAF did custom work ... I will contact him.... Thanks Zoly
 
Hi,I would like to make a suggestion,purchase an older untouched Panart kit.I do not know when the changes were made but in addition to the benefits of the kit being designed around the lack of precut parts,you gain solid brass instead of plated pot metal castings.This enables you to properly anneal things like the balcony balustrade to bend around the curves without breaking.
There was an untouched vintage kit on Ebay in the States just before Christmas.

Kind Regards

Nigel
 
Yes,I have just checked myself and it is no longer listed.It was not auctioned,it was on buy it now for around 500 dollars.It was eighties production as it had the old box art and fitting were individually bagged as you would buy them off the shelf.Very nice kit.The castings get a lot of bad rep in these kits,when they were released many years ago,they were clear and sharp.It is many years with no retooling that you see in the new kits unfortunately.

Kind Regards

Nigel
 
If you are stuck with plastic ship decorations don't fret. Paint. Plastic carvings can be painted to look OK. I have used plastic in many of my builds...such as the styrene plastic shapes and sheets...need molding? Use styrene scale strips. Then paint. Looks good even on close inspection.
 
Stargazer,
I do not recommend the panart. I can’t even in good conscience recommend it.
I put a lot of blood and tears into it trying to make the kit into a model half way decent looking.
For instance, I had to order about 15 more .12 mm rigging line to make rigging more realistic with seizing sand such. More other sizes as they only supply enough for someone that would not know any better about rigging. ALL cannon ports do not line up correctly “mostly depth”. I had to use lathe to adjust the depth of EACH cannon. If not, each cannon would stick out of port lid at different lengths. But for the unknowing, it would not be an issue. Also I had to buy a few more dowels for yards. Not enough material for that. It wasn’t until I got further along into kit until I realized the serious problems. All the brass ornaments on panart needed a lot of attention before they were useful.
The ZHL is far better all around. Larger size is better. just buy the ZHL as is and see what you have before trashing over half the wood and all.
 
I’ve had many a person write me personally asking me if I had plans to such and such model as they bought an “unbelievable” good deal of a model on eBay only to find the plans and manual we’re removed from box. Needless to say the person(s) were upset they wasted money and could not find anyway to build model as they basically were starting out and was going the cheapest route. Please be careful on eBay purchases.
 
Hi everyone, thanks for your input. John, I don’t think I would spend $1300 on the DeAgostini kit - I would wait till CAF gets more models released and do the Bellona or a Le Requin for that kind of money. Or Amati 1/64 Victory that will be coming - good point on eBay too Donnie, the plans are usually available but you never know what you get with a huge ship kit.... could be missing a lot. I can see all the passion in your San Felipe Donnie, awesome build and attention to quality!! but your point about the rigging applies to the China kit too, at least from what they depict in the kit, it is severely lacking- I wish they provided the materials to make it look like the finished model they picture with the kit...( the pics below) not just the rigging but the decorations and even the wood provided for railings, balustrades, stanchions, gunport frames etc.etc. but it is obvious looking at the contents that there is no way they are providing the materials for that model - not even close to my eye... and they both have the same design problem with deck heights and gun placement but the China kit is a lot bigger and about $200 or so less. That’s my conundrum - which one offers me the most value for a huge kit bash and I have never carved anything so I need good (at least usable) decorations..... maybe I should switch models? A Sovereign of the Seas or the Ingermanland or... ?? :) :)
  • ZHL-model-San-Felipe-1690-model-ship-wood.jpg_50x50.jpg
  • ZHL-model-San-Felipe-1690-model-ship-wood.jpg_50x50.jpg
  • ZHL-model-San-Felipe-1690-model-ship-wood.jpg_50x50.jpg
  • ZHL-model-San-Felipe-1690-model-ship-wood.jpg_50x50.jpg
  • ZHL-model-San-Felipe-1690-model-ship-wood.jpg_50x50.jpg
  • ZHL-model-San-Felipe-1690-model-ship-wood.jpg_50x50.jpg
 
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Is it possible to make those images a little larger? From experience, they look to be only 50px square. It would be nice to have perhaps at least 600 px square and a name to go with them. :)
 
Nah I don’t think so - they are just thumbnails from a ZHL San Felipe ad. Here’s the link - I’m not very computer savvy.... my point is I wish they provided the stuff to build THAT model....!! It would already be at my house!
 
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