Ages of Sail has recently added a new line of paper model kits from the Polish publisher Seahorse. This publisher specializes in sailing era craft, of mostly less common subjects. Modelers who frequent online forums such as Papermodeler.com or ModelShipWorld.com will recognize the amazing work of the designer Tomasz Weremko, who has created many wonderful kits for the paper model publisher WAK. Tomasz has since stepped up his game, creating amazing kits and accessory sets through his own company, Seahorse.

Seahorse’s paper model kit of the Sao Gabriel, the ship of Vasco de Gama.

All the kits we sell are his complete sets, so they include not just the basic paper model kit, but also the accompanying laser-cut frames sets, masting sets, and any related sail sets, cannon sets, resin block sets, etc. We are hoping that by introducing them on our store, we’ll give Tomasz a wider audience that can discover and appreciate his amazing model kits.

If you’ve never built a paper model kit before, we recommend you start with a simpler kit. Seahorse kits are each classified by difficulty levels, from 1, the easiest, to 5, being very difficult. While they don’t currently produce any level 1 kits at this time, three of the kits we carry are Level 2 kits.

Vistula Barge

You might want to consider this 1/100-scale, late 18th century Vistula Barge. It has an easy hull shape, a single mast and sail, but plenty of detail to build into a very interesting model, about 20″ long.

For an investment of only around $30, this is an inexpensive way to check out the quality of these model kits. The only additional material you’ll need to supply is the rigging line, which is not provided in these sets. We suggest adding a selection of the finest Amati rigging line sizes we carry, such as 0.10mm, 0.25mm, 0.5mm, and 0.75mm natural hemp line (you can always stain them black if you need to):

Amati 0.10mm beige rigging line

Amati 0.25mm beige rigging line

Amati 0.50mm beige rigging line

Amati 0.75mm beige rigging line

Note, this is just a suggested sample of the line that we carry that may be helpful to your build. The exact sizes recommended in the kit instructions will vary, and are just a suggestion as well. You may also find that larger sizes, or commercially available sewing thread may be useful for some of the rigging needs. It all depends on the exact kit. But, the selection listed above should give you a good start.

Whichever Seahorse kit you try out, we think you’re in for an amazing experience! Check them all out here. Ω