@Kurt Konrath , here's that keel.
It's one piece, which avoids that fiddly business of joining two halves and it's very, very sturdy plywood at 5.3mm thick. It's heavy too and dead flat. I will be fitting captive nuts for the pedestal mounting that I have in mind. Brass pedestals and a suitably Mediterranean wood, perhaps olivewood?
The flat wood is ok. I don't think it's any kind of fruit wood and the figure is a trifle vivid, but what the devil, it's Italian! There are some crazy shapes on that top piece too. I don't know yet where they will go but they will certainly be interesting.
There are a lot of gratings on this boat and I'm not really keen on using laser cut ones like this but fortunately I have a fair stock of the interlocking comb type and I might use that instead.
Plywood sub-deck. You can see how much extra length is contained in the quarterdeck (and its extension) which overhang the stern like a swan's tail feathers.
There was something similar to this on my Alert, flat brass intended to represent carving. I rejected it as too flat and wholly ahistorical but on the Xebec (which must soon have a name...), on the Xebec this brass forms a filigree bulwark to the quarterdeck. More bling. Nice.
Thank you Amati. Thank you very much. I can't/won't build ship's boats. They are far too fiddly for my Falstaffian fingers. I think I can manage a die cast one though.
This is the second Amati boat I've attempted. First was their New Bedford Whaleboat and I'm still using the excellent cardboard box that one came in. Xebec was equally splendidly packaged with these divided trays for your small parts. The trick is the troughs at the front...
...which take care of all the stripwood. Nothing to do with the model, I just liked that someone was doing all they could to deliver it all to me intact.
The stripwood is good. No splinters, nothing warped. I don't like the Sellotape holding it in bundles since there's always some glue transference, but I suppose it kept it all safe and tidy. And quite Roman, I suppose. I wonder if there's an axe wrapped up in there.
All very nice and not too much of it. I am not in the mood for a project that will outlive me.
This is the grating for the quarterdeck extension. It's made of plastic. Nope.
These are spare duffel-coat toggles in case Paddington Bear turns up looking dishevelled. Seriously, they are the toggles that hold a lot of the rigging together in such an exotic fashion; unchanged since the tomb ships of Ancient Egypt.
Here we have more brass which will be painted I think, to suggest carved and painted wood. Or there's always gold leaf...
Ringpieces. Hmm. Seems to fit my impression of pirates. They are the gunports of course and will look ab-fab when painted...
...which is more than can be said for the standard issue Amati die-cast generic cannon which are as horrid...
...as the swivel guns are beautiful.
There are a few other odds and ends but nothing worth a photo or even a word. And there's one thing missing. For the first time in my limited experience, there are no tiny nails for use while planking. Excellent as I don't use them and I've got thousands of the things now. I'm scared to throw them away in case I think of a use for them.
So there you have it. Or rather, there
I have it but you are very welcome to look at it.
TLDR? It’s a good looking kit which I’m joyfully anticipating building. Start date to be notified
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