The South Bay Model Shipwrights is a ship model club in our own back yard, here in the San Francisco Bay Area. The group currently meets in Santa Clara once a month, and has been participating in various events in order to create visibility for themselves and for the ship modeling hobby as a whole.
Schooner Berbice Laser-Cut Kit from Shipyard by Jacob Cohn
Our local customer Jacob Cohn shared these photos with us of his latest laser-cut card model of the American-built, Baltimore clipper Berbice. The exact date of her construction is unknown, but she was built as a merchant ship, and purchased into the British Royal Navy in 1780 in the West Indies. She was officially commissioned into naval service in July of 1781 as HMS Berbice.
Photos of the Berbice at the meeting of the South Bay Model Shipwrights group in Santa Clara, CA.
Jacob acquired the kit in June of this year, and has gotten this far in only a couple months, and the results of his work are beautiful! He’s posted his build in a build log on ModelShipWorld.com, under his screen name of SaltyDog here. The model itself is one of the 1/72-scale laser-cut card models produced by the Polish company Shipyard, known for their paper models of sailing ships, as well as their lighthouses and harbor structures.
As with several other subjects, Shipyard makes the Berbice in the 1/72-scale laser-cut card version that Jacob is building now, as well as a 1/96-scale paper model version that includes a simple quay port diorama.
Jacob is now just getting to the stage of adding cannons, masting, and rigging. We look forward to seeing more progress on the model. Will it have sails? That’s for the builder to decide when the time comes.
If you’re interested in building one of the Berbice kits or other Shipyard kit, you can find them at Ages of Sail here.
New Ages of Sail Online Shop – Launch Delay
Due to a couple unresolved issues, the launch of our new online shop has been delayed! We hope to have the issues taken care of this week, so that we can switching over our online store, AgesofSail.com, to a system that we think will be easier to use, and will give us better inventory tracking, and allow us to provide overall better service. Keep watching for announcements of the new launch, which will hopefully be taking place early next week!
Ages of Sail
Amati Endeavour – America’s Cup Model Kits
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.
Fourth of July Sale on these American Made Kits
In celebration of our country’s Independence Day, Ages of Sail is giving 10% off all kits from the classic American shipmodel company Bluejacket Shipcrafters, from now, July 3rd, through Monday, July 7th. No coupon codes to use, discounts are already posted. Don’t forget we’re still offering free domestic shipping on all order of $150 or more.
Bluejacket’s USS Constitution
Founded in 1905, Bluejacket Shipcrafters has been producing high-quality, historically accurate model ship kits for over a century. Bluejacket Shipcrafters is known for its attention to detail and dedication to replicating the intricate designs of some of the most iconic American ships in history, and the kits are all Made in America.
Bluejacket’s Herreshoff 12-1/2
Bluejacket’s Civil War raider Alabama
Bluejacket’s Clipper Ship Red Jacket
Check out these and more at Ages of Sail here.
Steam Tug Hercules Heading to Mare Island
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
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.
Shipyard’s HMS Wolf – An Admiralty Model
Shipyard’s 1/72-scale laser-cut card model kit of the English 10-gun snow-rigged brig, HMS Wolf, is an amazingly detailed kit, designed with two masts, and a full spread of pre-cut sails. But, the rigging of any sailing ship model can be a tremendous challenge for any model builder. Here’s a model that has been built without all the rigging, focussing the observer on the shape and details of the hull, and the details of the decks, guns, and other features of the ship.
Placed on a fine walnut base and supported by brass pedestals, the model looks like a jewel on display…
New Revised RMS Titanic Model Kit for 2025 from Amati
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:
USCGC Eagle Touring the West Coast
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
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