Hi - since you commented on the Kurun kit, maybe you can help me. Yes, I realize your post is four years old, but I’m not having much luck in other places. Do you have any suggestions on where I might go to find the instructions for assembling this kit? thanks, Mike
Try a new thread asking for the Kurun instructions. I’m sure there are copies out there, but the people who have them might not read this thread. With Kurun in the title you should get some help.
I will probably be shot at sunrise by my fellow modelers , but , here,s my suggestion . The model company “MIRAGE” has a nice little sailing sloop called "The sailing yacht “OPTY” ,it is straight forward , singlemasted and simple , but , attractive when done . You also try one of LINDBERG,S sailing ship kits. They,re a little more fiddley , but , for the most part they look decent with very little running rigging and the minimum of standing rigging . Running rigging is for sail handling and standing rigging is that which holds it all vertical and ready to take sails . You could try to find PYRO/LIFELIKE/LINDBERG- OYSTER BOAT kit , again a single masted vessel . If you insist on more than one mast , definitely give PYRO/LIFELIKE /LINDBERG BLUENOSE fishing schooner a chance . I hope this helps you . AURORA years ago used to have a Two masted yacht and it was nice I saw one on yuk-bay and fuggedaboud it . WAY to expensive . There was a large model of a twin masted yacht put out by a company I haven,t seen in a while (so much so , I forgot their name) But they did one called MINOTS LIGHT and another called the PALAWAN . If you can find one the instructions are clear and concise and rigging is simple . Good luck tankerbuilder
Definitely no shots coming your way from me. They are all good suggestions and follow JTilleys maxim of a small ship on a large scale. I would add either of Revells or Emhars viking ships to your list. My first was Revells small Constitution. Somewhat challenging, but easy enough I turned out something I was happy with.
Her’s a dirty word for you. Wood.
You have a point. Midwest makes some excellent small craft that are excellent for novices, including a couple of sailing vessels. They provide die-cut planks, and the hard-chined vessels have only a few planks on the hull, so the difficulty of planking a large ship hull is eliminated.
The instruction books are excellent, with lots of photos and lots of detailed explanations. I would second any of those Midwest small sailing vessels.
My 2-cents as I just fell into this fix myself; find a subject ship you are truly interested in, else you will lose any desire to proceed when the going gets tough. Preferably the bigger the scale, the better - at least for me with aging eyes and too fat fingertips for knot-tying. AFAIK, the Revell Golden Hind is one of several in that “big scale” category.
Me, I used to build those old Pyro kits you would find for 50-cents at the drugstore, eons ago. They were my last sailing kits.
Recently found a steal of a deal on a 70’s boxing of the Revell 1/96th Constitution and rekindled the sailing ship bug - especially since it is a multi-gun “combat ship” and not a tuna boat.
It looks to be a fine kit and with a good reputation - but waaaaaay over me.
I have since snagged one of the current Chicom-molded 1955-vintage Revell 1/196th Constitution kits you find in HobbyLobbys to help train for the big fight to come. This new-old Revell kit is apparently way nicer than the Lindberg ex-Pyro Connie in 1/2xx scale, and I am still building the Connie.
If the incredible history and lore of Old Ironsides isn’t enough to keep me interested, well at least I learned on the smaller, easier to display kit.
And yes, it is a pity-shame that Revell hasn’t spent a penny on a re-tool of these old classics (or ANY of their old kits for that matter) - something that Trumpeter and DML routinely do in their lineups.
I’d bet if Trumpeter or DML did a proper big-scale Connie it would be a world beater.
Don, Midwest was exactly what I was thinking about when I posted. Great minds think alike!
I’ll have to throw my 2 cents in for the Lindberg Jolly Roger / La Flore kit, I’m building it (not “converting” it) to a Revolutionary War frigate just for the fun of it and I think it’s a great kit.
The scale is large enough at 1/130 for all the detail that I want to include (Stirrups & foot-ropes and a bit different rigging scheme) but it’s not large enough to be overwhelming like the 1/96 Revell Constitution. I have a Revell 1/96 Connie that I started many years ago & never did finish. I bought a second 1/96 kit recently to repair & finish up my kit when I can get to it. It’s a great kit but like it has been said, it’s complicated and can get the best of you.
One thing I really like about the Lindberg JR is that it has a full gun deck and individual 2 piece cannons. The fit is a bit tricky mounting the two decks to the hull but it’s not too bad. With a hull length of 13" not counting the bowsprit, it is building up into a pretty impressive little ship.
Another kit I would recommend is also another Lindberg kit, the ‘Armed Schooner Sandpiper’. It is an absolutely delightful little kit that I can’t wait to get to once I finish up the Jolly Roger. I believe this kit is a Baltimore Clipper or Revenue Cutter (Roger B. Taney perhaps?).
Both the Jolly Roger & Sandpiper are fairly easy to find, I saw a Jolly Roger at Hobby Lobby for 19.99 a month or so ago and I see the JR & (occasionally the Sandpiper) pop up on ebay quite often for even less.
FWIW, those are my suggestions, I’m not really a beginner modeler, or even new to ships having built a few years ago. But, I’m new to ‘returning’ to ship modeling and far from a good modeler, so it gives me a pretty good perspective I guess.
Adrian
i agree with you, it is a very nice kit, which considering its linberg is a mild surprise to say the least,i also modeled mine to represent the continental navy ship alliance and im quite happy with it, 100% accurate or not, makes a great companion kit to my bon homme richard, which i have finished but i do not know how to post a photo of it on here.scale is very close. we have to make do with the kits available(plastic) i myself have no interest in wood kits, i would love to see someone do some new sailing ship kits in plastic, espesially early american warships, revolutionary war, war of 1812 etc, i know im not alone on this subject, getting to the topic of this thread i think a great first time kit would be one of the 4 kits being sold by linberg as pirate ships, there cheap, the only thing you need to add are some flags, easily found on the web and copy them to size, you can build them with as simplified rigging as you want, just my 2 cents
Funny; old thread. The Revell small Constitution can’t be beat, along with the CW Morgan. But those are full rigged projects, as is the La Flore.
Revell Viking ship, beautiful. Revell Golden Hind, best of class. Revell Mayflower, great model.