After completing my last ship, the HMS Beagle, I went looking for my next project, I finally settled on Columbus Santa Maria by AL. Today I started working on the hull assembly following the photographic instructions that came with the model, so far there has been no problems since all parts are numbered and the numbers matched the main hull ( I may be using the wrong name, this is the part that holds all the ribs).
I finish gluing the ribs and waiting for the glue to dry to go to the next step.
I have included a photo of the part I just finish. Being a AL kit, I hope I won’t run into problems due the fact that there is no written instructions, I will have to follows the photographs that are included.
I read a great book about 20 or 30 years ago. I don’t remember the exact title but iit contained the terms “Columbus’ ships.” It was written by a Spanish Naval officer who was somewon in the history office. Excellent reference!
I have completed the building of the ribs, I also installed 2 large components that are part of the side of the ship, and the installation of the lower deck, I am now in the process of installing the second deck ( see photo ) which required me to go to my garage a get a large adjustable clamp so I can secure the side of the ship until the glue dries. I have ordered a bottle of Titebond White all purpose glue that, according to another member of this blog, dry faster than Elmer’s glue. I ordered this glue due to the situation were there are some parts that can not be held long enough for the glue to dry and they are almost impossible to hold with clamps, etc.
So far the installation has gone fairly smooth, I do not know if is because I have more experience building these type of ships, if the instruction are easier to follow, or a combination of both, but, the building is coming along.
You mean the Keel? This is interesting. Ships of this era were so different from builder to builder. They didn’t draw plans. A model was built. A board was convened and then it was decided by a consortium whether to grant the money to build one. None were alike so That era of shipbuilding will always contain a great deal of conjecture.
As to her actual appearance, While many have gotten close, Still no Cigar! Why? Well, consider this. Many of the ships back then “Plowed” through the water. They did not sail well and had a tendency to broach in heavier that normal seas. Bluff(Rounded) bows detracted from speed and handling. Tall sterns caught the wind like a Cliff of wood.
So the question. Did the Santa Maria really look like some think or? are they all based on artists conceptions of what we think the ships of her type looked like back then? Build on . I am curious!
You might want to try super glue for wood. It dries just like the regular super glue we use for plastic models. Thin us super fast and thick which it looks like what you need dries faster than any of the “white” glues.
I have started to plank the sides of the ship and it is coming along. As you may know, planking a ship is an art all by itself, an art that I am still in the process of learning, so I go very slowly and measure every plank to make sure it fits were it is supposed to seat.
To bend the planks I am using this tool ( see photo ) which basically is a modify soldering iron, it has made the work a lot easier because allows me to bend the wood exactly to the shape I need.
See attached photo of the progress I have made so far.
Well here is an update, sorry it took a while but I am getting lazy in my old age.
I have completed the planking and finished with the the “furniture” on the deck, all of the “furniture” had to be fabricate with the exception of the barrels and the cannons, the life boat gave me the most problems because, for some reason, the glue would not take and the planks keep getting unglued. Expend over a week on the life boat.
I am now working on the masts an getting ready to start the rigging, so far the boat is come along fairly well, for some reason I have made more errors in this boat than in the HMS Beagle even when it is considered that the Beagle is a more complex boat.
Here is a photo as the ship stands now.
The items at the button of the photo a components of the masts awaiting to be installed, I probably will have this task dome by the end of the week
Beautiful work there Joe! She’s coming along nicely. [Y]
Those AL kits do make nice models but they are a little bit of work. Check out my AL build of the Bluenose II that is 2 posts down. She’s coming along but giving me a few problems along the way. My avatar is also an AL kit of the Scottish Maid I built quite a few years ago.
CapnMac, I just checked out that site. Those are great looking kits. The Viking ship came out to about $240. As you said, “Not for the faint of heart”, but looks like a nice one. His blocks and fittings look pretty good too. Have been checking out Viking ship and Chinese Junk kits for a while. Would like to have one of each someday, if I can ever afford them. [;)]
She’s a Civil Engineer in CT, originally from Ukraine. Her husband is a professor of nautical history (and has a fascinating YT clip on just what we know about Columbus’ ships).
Here is another update on the Santa Maria. I have installed the 3 main masts and done with the shrouds and the rat lines, next step is going to be the installation of the anchors followed by the sails. The model is almost completed, I should be done in a month or so.
The ship is coming better than I expected due to the many errors that I made during the construction, I was able to fix many of then, but, there are some that can not be corrected without the disassembly of the ship, since the ship is all glue together, disassembly is out of the question. The good part is that is hard to see the errors that I could not fix, I am sure that some modelers with ship construction experience could spot them, but the casual observer would not see them.
Here is a photo of the ship as it stand at the time of the photo.
Here I am again with my final update on the Santa Maria. I have been aflicted with a bad case of laziness, I should have written about the completion of the ship a month ago, finally, I decided to go ahead and issue this update and here it is:
I have completed the building of The Santa Maria, the ship came out pretty decent, I made several mistakes due to the conflicting instructions ( This is a AL kit after all) which forced me to redo some of the components that allows such repair, but, there are some defects that I was unable to fix because those parts were already glued and would have been very difficult to take apart.
Well, the attached photos give an idea on how the ship came out, I hope you guys like the result. For my next model built I have yet to choose the next one, the reason for these is because I have several projects that need to be done around the house, plus I designed a working table that is still under construction that I hope will make the building of my future models a bit easier. Once he table is completed, I may post it here for your consideration in case some one would like to copy it.
Attached see the photos of the completed Santa Maria, please feel free to critique. The comments offered by you guys are always welcome because allow me to get better at this hobby.
