More from HSPMS member Clare Hess on his build of the 1/64-scale Woody Joe kit of a 17th century royal yacht of England’s Charles II.
Clare’s Royal Yacht Model Update
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An Update on Building a Charles II Royal Yacht by HSPMS Member Clare Hess
Shipmodeler and HSPMS member Clare Hess, posts an update on his build of this Woody Joe kit of a 1674 royal yacht of England’s Charles II.
Ages of Sail Announces New HM Cutter Trial, 1790 – Vanguard Models Kit
There seem to be quite a number of new ship model kits being released these days. This particular company has upped the game considerably. Though these kits are more expensive, the manufacturer appears to have spent a lot of development time making detailed and accurately scaled and historically accurate wooden ship kits.
This one is made for beginning modelers, and it looks pretty darned nice. Would love to see a club member build this one! Ω
Hobbies Unlimited in San Leandro Closing Soon
Sad news for fans of the brick and mortar hobby shops, particularly those in the San Francisco Bay Area: Hobbies Unlimited is closing soon.
The store is located at 937 Manor Blvd, San Leandro, only about a mile or so from Ages of Sail. And, while this shop hasn’t been particularly significant to the ship modeling community, it does carry lots of paints and tools, and it’s still sad to it go. But, the owner has apparently been at this for a long time and wants to retire. Sadly, nobody seems to have shown an interest in buying the business. There was no exact date given as to when the store will close, but it was reported the first part of this year.
For more information, here’s a link to the store’s website, including contact information: Hobbies Unlimited. Ω
Update on HMS Wolf 1752, Card Model by Clare Hess
HSPMS Member Clare Hess posted this latest update on his build of the British snow-rigged brig HMS Wolf. This is a laser-cut card model from the Polish kit maker Shipyard. These unique kits are known for their high degree of detail and are available in the U.S. through Ages of Sail.
This is a unique type of kit which has all the necessary parts pre-cut, including the hull planking. Masts and spars, however, have to be built up from wood dowels provided in the kit. The kit also includes resin castings for the figurehead and brass barrels for the cannons, plus rigging line, paints, and brushes. Ω
Select European Kits Now Available from BlueJacket Shipcrafters
It appears that Blue Jacket Shipcrafters of Bath, Maine, is now a new source for kits from Vanguard Models, Caldercraft, and Amati’s Victory Models line, all of which are generally known for their high quality ship model kits. Here’s hoping that this will give the company better exposure in the ship modeling community, because they have many excellent kits of their own, and it would be nice to see more of these kits built by ship modelers.
This post makes mention of the Laughing Whale line of kits. This line is made up of some very fine subjects that are relatively easy to build, such as the small Friendship Sloop kit shown below.
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Artesania Latina’s Newly Released HMS Victory Cross Section Kit
Artesania Latina has been producing some very interesting kits lately and revising old ones. This HMS Victory Cross Section kit is a brand new 1/72-scale kit that looks very tempting. While the cross section is at the mainmast, it only shows a mast stub, so it isn’t nearly as lofty as Corel’s smaller scale kit that most of us are familiar with (member Tom Shea built the Corel kit, as some may recall). The larger scale matches that of Caldercraft’s excellent HMS Victory kit, making this look like a nice companion piece.
This also would make a nice stand-alone model. The internal details of the model appear quite nice. Figures are included, along with 8 cannons, and all the various construction details. A good book on HMS Victory would make for a nice gift set for anyone who likes to build models (hint, hint!).
The kit lists for about $230, and I hope to soon see this model built by one of our local ship modelers. If anyone does take on this kit, please send along your photos and we’ll post them on our site. Ω
Hyde Street Pier Model Shipwrights 