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Amati Endeavour – America’s Cup Model Kits

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With OcCre getting a lot of attention with the release of their new America’s Cup challenger Endeavour kit, it seems like a good time to highlight the whole range of America’s Cup kits that are available from Amati, beginning with the big, 1/35 scale wooden model kit of the Endeavour, the 1934 J-boat that challenged the Rainbow for the coveted America’s Cup.

At this scale, this wooden plank-on-bulkhead Amati kit builds into a BIG model, at over 46″ long, allowing the modeler to show off the many fine details that Amati designed into it, including Pre-finished wood, cast metal and brass fittings, as well as photo-etched brass parts.

Or, if you’re looking for something to fit a smaller space, or that is considerably easier to build, Amati has you covered with their 1/80-scale wooden hull kit. At just under 19″ long, this model still features lots of great details and a wooden plank-on-bulkhead construction hull. This kit even provides you with a selection of useful tools, making it ideal for the modelers building his or her first planked boat model.

And if you’re really new to ship modeling, or are just looking for a nice quick project, but still want a beautiful model, Amati offers this same boat in 1/80 scale, but with a polystyrene hull, perfectly shaped, just needing priming and painting.

When it comes to America’s Cup, whatever your skill level, Amati has you covered. Check out the whole line at Ages of Sail here.

Steam Tug Hercules Heading to Mare Island

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The historic steam tug Hercules, one of the many historic ships of the San Francsico Maritime National Historic Park, is on the move again! It will soon be joining it’s fellow historic ships at the Mare Island waterfront. These historic vessels will soon be open to the public again, but not until the Park Service finishes building the access ramps and finishes docent training.

 

Did you know that Ages of Sail carries a beautiful wooden model kit of the Hercules? These kits are manufactured by OcCre of Spain. This is a 1:50 scale model that measures 36″ long and 16.5″ high, and is made to be built either as a display model or an RC model. Learn more about the kit here.

You can learn more about the Hercules on the SFMNHP website here.

Endeavour – New America’s Cup kit from OcCre

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Just in is the newest kit to be released from OcCre of Spain, the racing yacht Endeavour, a J-class yacht built for the1934 America’s cup race. She was a steel-hulled design built for Thomas Sopwith, who used his aviation design expertise to ensure the yacht was the most advanced of its day.

 

The new kit is in stock and ready to ship to you for only $149. For more information or to order your’s, check out our listing on Ages of Sail here.

OcCre’s Endeavour is a 1/75 scale wooden ship model kit, measuring just under 21″ long and about 28″ tall.

New Revised RMS Titanic Model Kit for 2025 from Amati

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Just Arrived and In Stock Now at Ages of Sail!

For years, Amati has had one of the best wooden ship model kits of the famed RMS Titanic available. Now, the just released a newly revised version of their 1/250 scale Titanic beauty, and this new model kit is better than ever! Like their original version, this is a plank-on-bulkhead construction wooden ship model kit that measures just over 42″ long, 9″ high, and 5″ wide.

The model now features a more accurate hull shape and new photo-etched parts, replacing the old paper pieces that were used for representing some of the doors and windows. Plus, laser-cut parts are now provided for the second planking layer, making for easier and more accurate assembly.

The shipment of the new kits just arrived and are on sale now for $549. However, if you want to save some money, and you feel the original version is good enough for you, we still have several in stock, at the low price of $450.

Check them both out on Ages of Sail:

New 2025 Version

Previous Version

 

USCGC Eagle Touring the West Coast

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For those of you in our neck of the woods, there is an opportunity to visit a real, operational tall ship this Summer. The Eagle, ex-Horst Wessel, is the U.S. Coast Guard’s training vessel. She’s a 295 foot long, steel hulled, 3-masted barque, meaning her fore and main masts are square-rigged, while her mizzen mast is fore-and-aft rigged.

The ship is scheduled to visit San Francisco on June 25 and again on July 25. However, there’s a possibility that the June date may change. In any case, she will be open to the public, so here’s a chance to go aboard.

San Francisco has been home to a couple tall ships for many years – the 3-masted ship Balclutha, and the 3-masted lumber schooner C.A.Thayer have been open to visitors at the San Francisco Maritime National Park’s Hyde Street Pier. However, those ships have been temporarily relocated the Mare Island while the pier is under repair.

Unfortunately, there are no longer any kits available of this ship, at least from our wooden ship model kit manufacturers. However, the Eagle is a Gorch Fock class ship, and we do carry a couple kits of the Gorch Fock. It should be possible to model the Eagle from one of these kits, though the Eagle has been modernized, so some modifications to deck structures and fittings would be necessary to accurately portray this ship.

OcCre’s Gorch Fock wooden model ship kit.

 

You can see the Eagle’s full West Coast tour schedule here.

You can also keep track of just where the ship is at any given time, using this ship tracker. Ω

 

An Amati Greek Galiot Build – A Customer Update, by Will G

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One of our customers sent us some updates of his build of Amati’s Greek Galiot kit. This is a 1:65 scale kit of a type of Mediterranean vessel from the early 19th century that was powered by sail and oar. This vessel resembles a xebec in many ways, but this warship is armed with a pair of forward firing cannons, while xebec carried broadside guns. Amati’s kit measures a little over 21″ when complete.

We received many other photos, but these show what the planking process on this model kit looks like. This is a single-planked model kit, so our builder added his own balsa wood filler blocks to give support to the hull planks, a technique that many ship modelers use to assure a smoother curvature to their model’s hulls.

We’ll be looking forward to more updates on Will’s Greek Galiot in the future. In the meantime, if you’ve got photos to share, please send them along to us at blogger at agesofsail.com.

Learn more about this Amati kit at Ages of Sail!

New Kit from OcCre – The Black Swan Pirate Ship

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“Cisne Negro!”  The call from the lookouts that would strike fear in the hearts of the captain and crew of any Spanish galleon that sailed the Caribbean waters. Cisne Negro… The Black Swan.

During the golden age of piracy, the Black Swan sailed the perilous waters of the Caribbean, leaving behind a trail of fear and admiration. Under the command of the ruthless Captain Tom Leach, this legendary ship raided Spanish trade routes and boldly faced fleets that tried to stop it. Its dark silhouette and black sails billowing in the wind were symbols of defiance, freedom, and adventure.

 

 

Now, you can build this fearsome looking master of the open seas with the latest kit from OcCre of Spain! The Black Swan model is a 1/75-scale wooden model ship kit that features a plank-on-bulkhead construction using laser-cut framing, high quality wood strips. The kit includes all the necessary wood strips, dowels, cannons, fittings, rigging material, pre-sewn sails, and pre-printed flags. Printed and well illustrated instructions will guide you step-by-step through the build. Continue reading →

New Vanguard Models Kit – HM Brig Harpy, 1796

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After the Holidays, we’ve had a long wait for our latest shipment from England’s Vanguard Models, but it finally arrived yesterday, and we couldn’t be happier. Or, should we say Harpy-er? With this shipment we received the latest kit to come out of Chris Watton’s Vanguard Models company, and it’s amazing. This is the Royal Navy vessel HM Brig Harpy, 1796.

Continue reading →

Double Clip Extra Hands Tool

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One of the popular tools we have sold for many years is this classic from Excel Blades Corp., the Double Clip Extra Hands. We sell one with an attached magnifier. The arms that hold the clip is fully adjustable, as is the magnifying lens, allowing you configure the tools for the task at hand. Here is an example of how one is being used by a ship modeler to hold a yardarm steady while it is being rigged.

The tool uses small alligator clips to hold objects. So that these don’t mar the yard being worked on, small pieces of masking tape are wrapped around the yard, leaving a “tail” for the clips to clamp on to, though depending on the material being held, this precaution might not be necessary. Below, you can see how the magnifier is still attached, but folded back, out of the way.

Below is another view of the holder with the magnifier removed. Here, some blocks have been added to the yard.

Of course, every modeler has they own way of doing things and their own favorite tools. But, for around $30, this tool seems like it has some good uses for ship modelers. Check it out on our online shop here: https://www.agesofsail.com/product-category/hobby-tools-excel-tools/ Ω

 

An Amati Greek Galliot Build – Planking Update, by Will G

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Our ship modeling neighbor Will G., here in San Lorenzo, CA, sent us a brief update on his build of the popular Amati Greek Galliot kit. This early 19th century warship featured three lateen-rigged masts, and a pair of forward-firing cannons at the bow. As a type of galley, the ship could also be maneuvered by oars, allowing it to operate in dead calm, and to aid in quick maneuvering.  Will had built the framework of the ship and was working on some of the basic details in his last email to us.

He pointed out that this model is built with a single layer of planking, something fairly common for some of Amati’s smaller ship model kits, like their Swedish gunboat kit and others. In order the help give the planking a nice smooth curvature, Will used small blocks of balsa wood to fill in the spaces between the bulkheads. This was then sanded down to make a nice, smooth curve to the hull, and to form a nice support for the hull planks. Even so, he says that planking, particularly at the bow, still had its challenges.

The balsa wood used as filler is very soft and is easy to file to shape, in this case, using a coarse emery board. He used one of the hull planks to check the fairness of the curve, and to make sure the balsa didn’t stick out anywhere. Balsa wood for these purposes is not something we carry at Ages of Sail. So, we recommend checking your local arts and crafts supply store, such as Michaels, or Hobby Lobby.

For the small amount of deck planking done so far, Will explained that he edged the deck planks with pencil to simulate caulking and to get the planks to stand out a little. He says he considered doing this with the hull as well, but decided against it.

Will soaked the planks to be able to impart a slight curve to the hull planks, which is needed at the bow. It also helps keep the planks from breaking or splitting when bending them around curves.

To hold the hull planks into place, he used a variety of plastic spring clamps where possible. But, where the balsa block were put in place, he could use simply office push pins.

Will says his work is far from perfect, but he’s enjoying the build. We think the work looks wonderful, and we’re looking forward to more updates on this project!

Those of you who are interested in learning more about this Amati kit, can find more info on our web listing here: https://www.agesofsail.com/product/greek-galliot-wooden-boat-model-kits-amati-165-2/.

Special thank you to Will G. for keeping us posted on his work.

Do you have some build photos and information to share? Be sure to use the comments section below to let us know! Ω