All News

Two New Fishing Boat Kits from Vanguard Models – In Stock Now

/ agesofsail / 1 Comment

Lately, it seems that Vanguard Models has been releasing new kits faster than we can stock them. The two newest kits to be released are a pair of 19th century fishing boats, the Nisha, a Brixham “Mumble Bee”, and the Erycina, a Plymouth Trawler.

Erycina

Nisha

The Nisha, 1907 – The ‘Mumble Bee’ was cutter rigged, full bowed and broad beamed. They were strongly built and many survived to a good old age. Because of their fine lines, a few of these vessels were converted to yachts in their later life. Those fishing off the Welsh coast out of Tenby, working the fishing grounds in Mumbles Bay, acquired the collective term ‘Mumble-Bees’. In part, this was coined because of the large numbers of them ‘buzzing’ around the Mumbles like bees around a hive, and also arose by them adopting some of the features of the established Mumbles boats. Nisha had an overall length of 59 feet 3 inches, moulded beam of of 14 feet. She had a deep drag aft with a draft of 7 foot 10 inches but only 4 feet forward. Her fine lines translate into a very pleasing hull shape, making a very attractive display model.

The Erycina, 1882 – Originally built as a cutter designed by H.V. Prigg and built by W.H. Shilston, Coxside, Sutton Harbour in 1882. She was converted to a ketch rig in 1894. Due to her pedigree, Erycina has unusually beautiful lines, described as a ‘Crack Ketch’, and handled more like a racing yacht than a fishing vessel. Erycina fished along the South West UK coast for over 50 years, an incredibly long career for such a vessel. Her overall length was 71 feet, with a length between perpendiculars of 63 feet. The moulded bredth of 17 foot 2 inches was rather more fine than that of the average trawler, but she was built for speed, and of- ten raced at regattas with with the crack Brixham Smack, Ibex. In 22 races at Plymouth regattas, Erycina won 15 first, 4 second and 2 third prizes.

Both kits are in 1/64 scale that incorporate the latest design techniques, but are both suitable for the total beginner, as well as the seasoned modeler who may want to take a very scale accurate and detailed kit and add their own additional detailing.

Both feature laser cut and engraved parts in MDF and pear wood, laser cut pear wood ladders and companionway, laser etched and cut maple decks with treenail detail, photo etched brass detailing, and more.

Check out the specifics of each kit or order yours on our Ages of Sail shop here:

Nisha – Brixham ‘Mumble Bee’

Erycina – Portsmouth Trawler

Available Now at Ages of Sail

OcCre’s HMS Terror Build in High Speed

/ agesofsail / 1 Comment

The latest video work from TOM’S Modelling in Motion brings us a 4-1/2 minute build of the Arctic expedition ship HMS Terror, one of two ships that disappeared while searching for the Northwest Passage in 1845, the other being HMS Erebus. The video takes us rapidly through the model, seemingly building itself, while educating us about the story of the ship and crew.

 

OcCre's HMS Terror

One thing that’s interesting about Tom’s build is his use of some specially designed 3D printed figures which are prominently displayed at the start of the video. Apparently, these figures are available as a file download for your 3D printer for a very reasonable price. Of course, you’ll need your own 3D printer or service to create them.

Tom’s figures are available as 3D printer files, which you can purchase, download, and print to your own 3D printer or using a service of your choice.

We don’t sell these ourselves, and we are not responsible for the quality or use of the file or figures. But, you might be interested in using them yourselves. Again, we have no knowledge about how to use the downloaded files, so please don’t ask us! Here’s the link that Tom shared on his Youtube description: https://cults3d.com/en/3d-model/various/admiral-captain-and-sailors-for-hms-terror

But, the model is of course the HMS Terror kit from OcCre of Spain. And, if you’re inspired to build your own model of this fascinating ship, we do carry this very popular kit.

OcCre's HMS Terror

OcCre's HMS Terror

OcCre's HMS Terror

Start by checking out the kit on the Ages of Sail online shop here: https://www.agesofsail.com/ecommerce/occre/occre-ship-model-kits/hms-terror-occre-oc12004.html

Find this, and more, at Ages of Sail

Artesania Latina’s Soleil Royal Now in Stock!

/ agesofsail / 2 Comments

The 17th century French ship-of-the-line Le Soliel Royal was build as as a 104 gun warship name for the “Sun King”, King Louis XIV, and served as the flagship of Admiral Tourville. The “three decker” was built in 1669 and was one of the most powerful ships of her day. She was also among the most sumptuously decorated warships with wooden carvings paying tribute to the French monarch.

Artesania has recreated this ship in incredible detail with this big 1/72 scale wooden ship model kit that is replete with decorative fittings, particularly at the bow and stern. The kit features hundreds of laser-cut plywood and solid wood parts, cast and photo-etched metal fittings, as well as a full set of pre-sewn sails. To finish the model, the kit also comes with wooden base and metal nameplate, plus a set of 12 cast metal figures of the ship’s crew, ready to paint and assemble.

The completed model measures just about 36″ long, 34″ high, and just under 12″ across.

We also stock Artesania Latina’s optional lighting kit, which you can use to add extra life to your model.

As with all Artesania Latina kits now, all instructions are provided in digital format on computer DVD . The step-by-step instructions consist of nearly 400 pages, with thousands of images and text to help get you through this incredible kit, designed for the Expert ship modeler.

Don’t have a DVD drive? Not a problem, you can download the instructions directly or you can preview them here.

To get started on your own Artesania Latina Soleil Royal build, visit our kit listing at Ages of Sail here.  Ω

Vanguard’s Lady Eleanor – A First Time Build

/ agesofsail / 1 Comment

It’s always a pleasure when customers send us photos of their completed models, so we were particularly happy to start off the new year when customer tomsimon of Chino Hills, CA, shared with us the final photos of the wooden ship model he just completed, the Lady Eleanor from Vanguard Models. He gave us permission to share these photos on our social media sites, so we’re happy to post them here for you.

Tomsimon tells us that this Lady Eleanor is his first ever wooden ship model, and we think he’s done a wonderful job!

Lady Eleanor is a 1/64 scale wooden model kit of a Scottish fishing boat type called a Fifie. It’s described as a type that was commonly seen off the east coast of Scotland from the 1850s through the 1950s, and was known as a workhorse in the fishing community. Continue reading →

More Vanguard Models News

/ agesofsail / Leave a comment

In addition to the new ships boats kits, we just restocked some of the more popular Vanguard Models kits that we ran out of before the holidays including HMS Speedy, HMS Flirt, and the Duchess of Kingston kits.

Vanguard Models Duchess of Kingston

HMS Speedy

HMS Flirt

What’s more, there are two brand new fishing boat kits that we should be getting in, perhaps by the end of the year. Sorry, they’re not in time for Christmas. But, when things settle down at home, and thoughts turn to your next ship model project, they should be here waiting for you.

Both kits are fishing boats with beautiful, fine lines. We’ll have more details later. For now, here’s a little sneek peek…

Watch here for more information!

 

 

Ship’s Boats kits from Vanguard Models – Now in Stock

/ agesofsail / 1 Comment

While Vanguard Models is known for some very beautifully designed kits of British fishing boats and 18th century warships, they also now produce a full line of ship’s boats kits, and Ages of Sail has them for you.

All kits are 1/64-scale models. They are fully detailed to finish out your large ship model or waterfront scene, and they make great short term projects on their own.

All kits come with a disposable building frame, with all wooden parts provided in high grade pear wood. Planks are laser-cut, and accessories are provided in the form of photo-etched brass.

There’s a wide assortment to choose from – everything from an 18-foot cutter on up to  34-foot launch. There are currently 8 different kits available, so you’ll be able to find the exact boat you need, and we have them all at Ages of Sail here. Ω

 

Holiday Shipping Timetable

/ agesofsail / 1 Comment

Every year at the holidays, it’s important for us to post this timetable, so shoppers know whether or not to expect their order in time for holiday gift giving. These are the dates posted by each of the major carriers we use, but they are not guarantees.

We are working hard to get packages out on time, but all carriers are reporting delivery delays.

We recommend making your purchases early, to help assure you get them on time.

Service Deadline Time Frame
USPS AK/ HI Priority 12/17/2021 by 10am
USPS AK/ HI Express 12/21/2021 by 10am
USPS International Priority 12/06/2021 by 10am
USPS International Express 12/10/2021 by 10am
USPS First Class 12/16/2021 by 10am
USPS Priority 12/17/2021 by 10am
USPS Express 12/22/2021 by 10am
FedEx Ground/Home Delivery 12/14/2021 by 10am
FedEx Express Saver 12/20/2021 by 10am
FedEx 2-day 12/21/2021 by 10am
FedEx Overnight 12/23/2021 by 10am
All FedEx International 12/13/2021 by 10am
FedEx to AK/ HI Ground 12/09/2021 by 10am
FedEx to AK/ HI Express 12/15/2021 by 10am

All carriers are experiencing delays, and we are not responsible for packages that are delayed and cannot make any ultimate guarantees on deliveries.

Purchase early to help assure you get your items on time!

 

 

New Titanic Kit from OcCre

/ agesofsail / Leave a comment

On Sale Now!

The latest release from our friends at OcCre is a new 1/300 scale model of RMS Titanic. From their website:

Continue reading →

HMS Sphinx from Vanguard Models Now in Stock

/ agesofsail / 1 Comment

In case you haven’t noticed yet, the newest release from Vanguard Models, HMS Sphinx, has made it to our shores and is now available at Ages of Sail!

HMS Sphinx was a 20-gun sixth-rate warship of the British Royal Navy, launched in 1775 at Portsmouth Dockyard. Technically, she is not a frigate, but a sloop-of-war. However, she was “frigate built” with connected quarterdeck and forecastle.

Continue reading →