Post by nemosdogs on Jun 13, 2015 15:58:37 GMT -5
I am 237 hours into the Bluenose II by Artesenia Latina. Admittedly, since this is my first kit, except that I have already purchased a Model Shipways Niagra kit and at least I can review the contents of theModel Shipways and come to some conclusions.
The Artesenia kit components and wood materials seemed to be of pretty good quality, and they did provide spares on the small bits. The plans and instructions left something to be desired. There were several steps in the directions that seemed to be out of order. The plans were OK but would have done well with a few more views, particularly a good straight on view. The rigging instructions were less than clear, stating "we could spend a lot of words but we recommend you just look at the drawings. Close inspection revealed some inconsistencies. THey left out several tackle block locations and a few attachment point references for rigging ends at the deck.
One troublesome area was the need to verify and correct for symmetry of the bulkheads about their centerline. The LASER cutting seems to be much more accurate in the Model Shipways kit.
And although Artesenia provides sail patterns pre-marked on a piece of linen, DO NOT PRESUME that the patterns as is will fit into the ship rigging structure, mine certainly did not. I suggest cutting out the patterns in heavy paper and then fitting and trimming in situ.
ONe really troublesome area was the stern. It required a good deal of imagination beyond the instructions and drawings ro fashion a suitable termination of the bulwarks and planking to get something that looked correct.
Reviewing the Model SHipwys drawings shows them to be far more comprehensive and useful. Much less "Imaginatio" required.
If anyone wishes to do this kit and ask me questions, I invite the dialogue.
The Artesenia kit components and wood materials seemed to be of pretty good quality, and they did provide spares on the small bits. The plans and instructions left something to be desired. There were several steps in the directions that seemed to be out of order. The plans were OK but would have done well with a few more views, particularly a good straight on view. The rigging instructions were less than clear, stating "we could spend a lot of words but we recommend you just look at the drawings. Close inspection revealed some inconsistencies. THey left out several tackle block locations and a few attachment point references for rigging ends at the deck.
One troublesome area was the need to verify and correct for symmetry of the bulkheads about their centerline. The LASER cutting seems to be much more accurate in the Model Shipways kit.
And although Artesenia provides sail patterns pre-marked on a piece of linen, DO NOT PRESUME that the patterns as is will fit into the ship rigging structure, mine certainly did not. I suggest cutting out the patterns in heavy paper and then fitting and trimming in situ.
ONe really troublesome area was the stern. It required a good deal of imagination beyond the instructions and drawings ro fashion a suitable termination of the bulwarks and planking to get something that looked correct.
Reviewing the Model SHipwys drawings shows them to be far more comprehensive and useful. Much less "Imaginatio" required.
If anyone wishes to do this kit and ask me questions, I invite the dialogue.
