Have any of you plank on frame guys done the USS Constitution hull section cutaway? If so, was it a good build and would you recommend it?
I think the kit you’re talking about is one of those Italian “plank-on-bulkhead” ones. I don’t want to sound like a snob, but serious scale ship modelers have trouble taking those kits seriously. They look nice to people who don’t know the subject matter, but aren’t really scale models. The proportions are generally off, the details out of scale, the materials highly questionable - and the prices outrageous. I used to work in a maritime museum that held a rather prestigious ship model competition every five years. The unofficial word was “don’t bother entering any of those continental European kits. The judges won’t look at them.”
This may sound gingoistic, but I really think - on the basis of 45+ years of ship modeling - that the best wood kits are the American ones. There’s some variation in quality among the kits from Bluejacket and Model Shipways (that can be said about any manufacturer’s products), but they take historical accuracy seriously. My usual advice to folks getting started in scale ship modeling is: 1. If you’re looking for a good, accurate kit, pick a good plastic one. (The big Revell Constitution is actually quite good; so is Heller’s H.M.S. Victory. Just get rid of those awful plastic “sails” and “ratlines.”) 2. If you prefer to work in wood, you’re likely to get the most satisfaction from working from scratch. (It’s not as hard as lots of people think - if you start with a good set of plans and good materials.) 3. If you really want to work from a wood kit, pick an American one.
All this is generously salted with personal opinion, but I think most people who’ve been building scale sailing ship models for a while will agree.
[#ditto] Exactly my experience! Life is too short to build models from kits that start out with poor or questionable quality and accuracy. One has to expend too much time and effort to correct those inadequacies…time and effort that could be better spent researching and building a much better kit or model from scratch.
“Should we prosper it shall be as is our custom…by Miracle!”[4:-)]
Thanks guys, you have just reenforced my feelings about that subject.