Author: agesofsail

Making an American Flag using Adobe Illustrator

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We don’t expect everyone to have access to the software to be able to do this. But, this is one way to make your own flag.

Of course, if you don’t have the software, you should be able to download an appropriate image on the Internet and print it on your color printer.

catopower's avatarShip Modeler

I’ve been taking a little time off of work since I’ve been actually pretty productive with ship modeling and other personal tasks. So, today, I finally decided to tackle the issue to making a flag for the American Gunboat model that I’ve been working on.

My Amati American gunboat model, nearly finished, but in need of a flag

The Amati kit includes a flag, but it doesn’t look like anything I’d seen before, with 13 stripes and 17 stars. The only flag I was really aware of from the War was the type that flew over Fort McHenry during the British bombardment and was the inspiration for our national anthem. That one was 15 stars and 15 stripes, but the Amati kit flag had me second guessing things as I realized that, after all, the U.S. at that time had more than 15 states.

The flag included in the Amati…

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New In Stock – Barking Fish Carrier, Ranger 1864 – Vanguard Models

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Just in stock is the latest ship model kit from Chris Watton’s Vanguard Models, the Ranger, a Barking Fish Carrier. Replacing the earlier well smacks, the fish carriers transported fish just caught from the fishing fleets and raced them back to the markets, requiring the best speed to assure fresh catch. So, boats like the Ranger were fast and had very fine lines.

Vanguard Models' Ranger - Barking Fish Carrier

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An Upgraded OcCre HMS Beagle Build

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Like many people these days, Ollie S of Norfolk, UK, discovered wooden ship modeling when the Covid pandemic kept him from his other activities. After building OcCre’s San Juan Felucca kit as his first project, he got hooked on ship modeling and took on OcCre’s kit of the famous exploration ship HMS Beagle. This is, of course, the ship that carried naturalist Charles Darwin on voyages of discovery, leading to his writing of The Origin of Species.

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OcCre Flying Dutchman Kit Now In Stock – Introductory Special

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OcCre’s newest kit has arrived and now available for immediate delivery! We’re offering this kit two ways: As a stand alone kit; and as part of an Introductory Special Combo set that includes the Flying Dutchman kit, the unique, custom display stand, and OcCre’s LED lighting set.

The new kit sells for $429, or you can get the Introductory Special combo set for only $479. That’s a savings of $70 off the individual components.

Check out OcCre’s Youtube video introduction to their latest kit…

Click Here to check it out at Ages of Sail!

Amati Gunboat “Arrow” Build – The Sails Again

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It’s good to see this build of Amati’s American Gunboat “Arrow” back again after a long hiatus. This post shows the adding of the reef points to the sails.

This War of 1812 era gunboat is an interesting and unique subject, and Amati’s intermediate level model makes for an interesting display.

If you’re interested in building this kit, you can find it on our online shop here: https://www.agesofsail.com/product/arrow-american-gunboat-amati-1-55-2/

catopower's avatarShip Modeler

It’s been a while since I posted about the Amati American gunboat “Arrow”. As you can see in the photo below, I have the model mounted on a cherry wood base that I cut and routed the edge.This photo is from a ship model meeting back in March of this year, and shows the sails installed with the final rigging lines going in.

Unfortunately, I am not one to leave well enough alone. The kit plans show two reef bands on each sail. Also, the sails turned out a bit small for the lateen yards. Finally, I didn’t like the run of the brails, the ropes used to haul the edge of the sail in and up into the lateen yard.

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New OcCre Flying Dutchman Kit, Pre-Order Special

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For centuries, sailors on the high seas have told tales of a strange ghost ship, veiled in a ghostly light, never able to make port and doomed to sail the seas forever. 

And while legend says the appearance of the phantom ship portends doom, the sighting of the new Flying Dutchman kit from OcCre is a sign of many hours of enjoyment in store for you.

Check out OcCre’s Youtube video introduction to their latest kit…

The kit is available right now as a Pre-Order Special, that includes the kit, the customized stand, and OcCre’s new lighting kit, all for the special pre-order price of $379.

The kits are expected to arrive the first week of October, and pre-orders will be shipped out ASAP.

Get your’s at Ages of Sail here: https://www.agesofsail.com/product/flying-dutchman-occre-1-50/

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Ages of Sail Now Taking Store Appointments

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People have been asking for months and months about when we’re going to be open for walk-in customers again. Well, wonder no more, the time is now. Ages of Sail is now open for appointments!

To make an appointment to visit the shop, please email us at agesofsail@gmail.com or call us at 510-889-6000. Appointments are available Monday through Friday during normal business hours and must be made at least 24 hours in advance.

We look forward to seeing you soon!

On the Horizon: HMS Indefatigable from Vanguard Models

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With the release of the cutter HMS Alert, the Brigs HMS Flirt and HMS Speedy, then the royal yacht Duchess of Kingson, and finally the frigate HMS Sphinx, the Royal Navy ships available from Chris Watton’s Vanguard Models continues growing in size and number.

The latest work in progress is now the 44-gun razee frigate, HMS Indefatigable, a ship with not only a very active history, but also one famous for its appearance in C.S. Forester’s Horation Hornblower series.

This 1/64-scale wooden ship model kit has been under development by Chris Watton for some time, and the prototype model is currently under construction by ship modeler James Hatch. You can read about the the build progress on the ModelShipWorld online forum here: https://modelshipworld.com/topic/30665-hms-indefatigable-1794-prototype-by-james-h-vanguard-models-164/

According to Chris, he’s hoping for a December release of the new kit. But, it will depend on when the prototype model is completed, at which time, he has to begin the process of laser-cutting the parts of the final version. Ages of Sail is expecting to order the new kits as soon as they are available.

In the meantime, the latest release from Vanguard Models was recently announced, and Ages of Sail is in the process of ordering these kits of the Barking Fish Carrier Ranger, 1864.

This latest kit from Vanguard Models is 1/64-scale and measures a little over 20″ long.

Watch for forthcoming details once we have the kit in stock.

In the meantime, check out the line of Vanguard Models kits at Ages of Sail. Ω

 

 

Building HMS Wolf – Shipyard’s 1/72 Scale Laser-Cut Card Kit – Part 6

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Another installment of the building of Shipyard’s laser-cut card model of HMS Wolf in 1/72 scale. This is the sixth such installment and the model is looking truly amazing. It is surprising that we have not seen many other builds of this or other Shipyard laser-cut card models. We hope that others will be inspired to build them and post their progress on the various ship modeling forums.

We can’t wait to see how this model looks with some rigging. But, it seems like it will happen pretty soon.

catopower's avatarShip Modeler

Shipyard’s HMS Wolf laser-cut card kit is moving along, but progress seems slower. The details take time to add and they’re not as obvious from photo to photo. However, I’ve completed the rudder and just need to add it to the model. Also, if you look closely at the photo here, you can see the most obvious addition are all the timberheads at the forecastle rail as well as the posts for the swivel guns. Lastly, did you spot the channels at the sides of the hulls?

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An HMS Enterprise Paper Model Build in 1/64 Scale

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We recently found this very interesting build of the English frigate HMS Enterprise. While this is a paper model and it’s based on Shipyard’s paper model kit, Shipyard’s kit is made at a scale of 1/96. This particular builder, who lives in Vietnam, after building a 1/96 scale paper model, decided he wanted to build something larger, so he bought the Shipard kit and made an enlarged copy, to create a model that’s 50% larger.

The model is complete, but you can follow his full build log on ModelShipWorld here: https://modelshipworld.com/topic/27494-hms-enterprize-by-dominichsteven-finished-shipyard-164-card/?_fromLogout=1

There’s some really interesting and useful information for those who are curious about what it’s like to build a model in paper. They’re a lot more detailed and realistic looking that you might think.

Again the model is based on Shipyard’s 1/96-scale paper model kit, which is very inexpensive.

And, if you’re happy to build the kit in 1/96 scale, in addition to the optional sail set, the blocks set, and the mast and spars set, there’s a new set of laser-cut detail parts designed specifically for this kit.

The set includes gun carriage parts, gratings, ship’s wheel, binnacle, railings, capstans, deck pumps, bitts, and timberheads. This will save hours of work, though I believe the parts will need to be painted. Now, we don’t have this detail set in stock yet, but we are in the process of getting them. Hopefully, we’ll have these in just a few weeks, along with similar detail sets for HMS Mercury and Santa Leocadia.

The Santa Leocadia, by the way, was temporarily out of production, but is back again with the release of the new detail sets. So, we should have the Santa Leocadia back in stock soon as well.

Of course, we’ll post announcements when these products are in stock, so keep watching our blog if you are interested.

In the meantime, if you haven’t done it yet, make sure to check out the big, 1/64-scale HMS Enterprise build and get some great inspiration, whether or not you are a paper model builder: https://modelshipworld.com/topic/27494-hms-enterprize-by-dominichsteven-finished-shipyard-164-card/?_fromLogout=1

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