Two Billing Boats kits just added, Frigate Jylland and HMS Warrior

July 11, 2017July 11, 2017 / agesofsail / 1 Comment

We’ve carried Billing Boats kits for quite a while, but we’re working now to expand our retail selection of these kits. There will be more Billing Boats kits forthcoming, including a couple fairly recent releases. But, for now, here are two classic warships from the transitionary period between sail and steam, the Danish frigate Jylland and the British iron-hulled warship HMS Warrior.

Both of the original ships are still in existence and represent the last ships of their kind. They are available for public access, so you can still walk the decks of these beautiful vessels. And, if you can’t get to them, there should be plenty of photos on the Internet to help you make the most accurate build possible.

In fact, here are a couple photos we found on the web…

HMS Warrior

Frigate Jylland

Both Billing Boats kits are “Expert” level models, so we don’t recommend you attempt them without a fair amount of experience. The kits feature plank-on-bulkhead construction and include laser-cut frames. Many major parts are also laser cut. Fittings provided included wooden blocks, and fittings in brass, wood or plastic fittings.

The Frigate Jylland, BB5003

The frigate ‘Jylland’ was the last warship of the Danish Royal Navy built of oak. It was launched on 20 January 1860. ‘Jylland’ was also the first steam-powered, screwdriven ship and at an engine out-put of 400 hp was able to reach the then impressive speed of 12 knots. A noteworthy feature that should be mentioned is that the screw could be raised up into a ‘screw- well’ so that it did not slow the ship down under sail. On 9th May 1864 ‘Jylland’ fought in the Battle of Heligoland against a fleet of Austrian and Prussian ships. King Christian IX used the ship on various visits to Iceland and Russia. The 2450-ton ‘Jylland’ had a hull lenght of 71m (96m overall) and a beam of 13,5m. The ship had a crew of between 405 and 437 men, depending on the ship´s duties, and carried 44 muzzle-loaded cannons. In 1960 ‘Jylland’ was towed by tugs from the naval base in Copenhagen to Ebeltoft. On 11 August 1984 it made its last voyage – into a new exhibition dock. After several years of restoration work, Frigate ‘Jylland’ was opened to the public. For those with an interest in ships and life at sea, this 130-year-old ship is certainly worth visiting.

The completed model measures 39.8″ in length and 24.8″ in height and sells regularly for $599. To celebrate the addition of this model, we’re taking 10% off, now through September 1st. We only have 5 of these kits available at the time of this writing, so act fast if you want to get one, especially at this price.

HMS Warrior, BB512

The Warrior was designed and built in response to an aggressive French shipbuilding program which saw the introduction of the first iron-clad warship La Gloire. The Royal Navy was determined to meet this challenge of supremacy and build a ship so superior in terms of quality, speed, size, armament and armour that it would be inconceivable to France that she could take Britain on in a sea battle. August 1, 1861, The Warrior was the largest warship in the world, at 9,210 tons displacement, she was fully 60% larger than the La Gloire. June 1862 she started active service in the Channel Squadron. In 1871 she was no longer the crack ship she had once been, and was downgraded to Coast Guard and reserve services. The Warrior was eventually converted to a floating school for the Navy and re-named Vernon III in 1904. By 1978, she was the only surviving example of the ‘Black Battlefleet’, the 45 iron hulls built for the Royal Navy between 1861 and 1877.

This is a BIG model! The completed model measures 57.9″ in length and 26.5″ in height and sells regularly for $755.95. Again, to celebrate the addition of this model, we’re offering the kit at 10% off, now through September 1st. We only have 13 of these kits in our warehouse, so we don’t expect to run out anytime soon. But, if you want to take advantage of the special pricing, make sure to act by September 1st!

Click the links below to check out the kits now at Ages of Sail:

A fine exhibit and publication about model ship building!

June 21, 2017 / agesofsail / Leave a comment

Found this blog post which is several months old now. But, we just checked with the San Diego Maritime Museum, and the exhibit, titled “Steering Small” is still open. We couldn’t find out how long it will continue to be there, so if you want to see this wonderful looking display on ship modeling, better go now!

If we find out more information, we’ll pass it along. The exhibit is in the Gould Eddy Hall aboard the ferryboat Berkeley.

Shipyard Quay Port Kits Online

June 21, 2017 / agesofsail / Leave a comment

One product that we have been very slow to put up onto Ages of Sail is the line of card model Quay Port kits produced by the Polish manufacturer, Shipyard. But, all that has changed. We’ve just put the final updates on our site with all of these kits listed.

HMS Wolf at Chatham, 1754

Like the ship model kits, these Quay Port kits come in either 1/96-scale or 1/72-scale. Being part of the Laser Cut Model series, these kits include laser-cut parts and must be painted. They are also designed to accommodate a specific model kit. In the above example, the 1/72-scale Chatham Quay Port kit is designed to work with the 1/72-scale Laser Cardboard kit of HMS Wolf. However, these kits are also designed to be displayed without a ship, if that’s what you choose.

HMS Endeavour at Deptford, 1768

Will the Quay Port kit accommodate another ship model that’s it’s not designed for? We can’t really answer that as we’ve yet to build one of these. But, it seems that if you’re willing to deal with the necessary modifications, then why not? And, if that’s the case, that would mean you should be able to adapt it to your wooden ship model, if that’s what you’re looking for.

There are 9 different models and scales to choose from, and we carry them all at Ages of Sail. Pick your favorite Quay Port and the corresponding Ship Model kit, and make sure you select the correct scale for your build.

HMS Mercury at Chatham, 1780

In addition to these kits, we also have begun carrying some of the individual dock yard equipment pieces. So, you can add an extra shed, extra crane, or whatever.

Add some more accessories!

The Dutch Fluit Schwarzer Rabe at Amsterdam, 1627

Again, you don’t have to add a ship to be able to build a nice Quay Port model. So, if you don’t feel up to the challenge of ship modeling, you can stick with just the Quay Port. Also, consider the models in the photos show ships under construction. If you want to try a ship model, but are worried about the rigging, you can stop before you get there, and build a Quay Port scene out of it. And, if you do complete the ship model, what a great way to display it!

Now, if you want to try a ship and Quay Port combination, but are low on cash, there is one paper model version available. It comes with the 1/96-scale Baltimore Clipper Berbice Paper Model kit.

The kit is something more of a challenge in that you have to cut out all the parts yourself, etc. But, you get the Quay Port kit, you get the ship model kit – it’s a great combination!

Check out all the Shipyard Quay Port kits at Ages of Sail:

http://www.agesofsail.com/ecommerce/paper-kits/quayport-kits.html

Shipyard’s 30th Anniversary Collections

June 20, 2017June 20, 2017 / agesofsail / Leave a comment

2015 marked the 30th anniversary for the paper model manufacturer Shipyard. To celebrate, Shipyard created some new model collections. Each collection includes two or more ship model kits from their Paper Model series.

We got these in earlier this year, and finally got them posted on the Ages of Sail website. These sets offer a savings of up to about 25% off the cost of buying the kits individually. So, if you like building models, this is a way to really get started on some models for less than $100.

Want to know more? Check out the pricing and details of these and other Shipyard kits at Ages of Sail:

http://www.agesofsail.com/ecommerce/paper-kits/30th-anniversary.html

We now have sail and masting sets for each of the models. These are sold separately, but can be found at Ages of Sail:

http://www.agesofsail.com/ecommerce/paper-kits/sails-and-accessories.html

Photos from the Golden Hind Repair

May 31, 2017 / agesofsail / Leave a comment

Ship modeler Clare Hess does some repair work on this beautiful cut-away display model of Sir Francis Drake’s Golden Hind at the visitor center at Pt. Reyes National Seashore, a short drive north of San Francisco.

Ship Modeler

I was just sent some photos taken last Friday during the final stages of my repair work on Raymond Akers’ Golden Hind model. The model is on display at the Bear Valley Visitor Center of the Pt. Reyes National Seashore.

The repair work is done – yes, I finally finished a ship model related project – and the model is back in its display, with a new, more colorful backdrop.

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Shipyard Sail and Masting Accessories – Now at Ages of Sail

April 28, 2017 / agesofsail / 1 Comment

If you’re familiar with Shipyard products, you probably recognize the fact that their line of Paper Model ship kits only contain the paper parts necessary to build the model. They kits give you drawings for proper dimensions of the masts and spars and patterns for the sails, but don’t include material needed to build them.

These materials are easily obtainable at fabric stores and hardware stores. But shipyard also produces separate accessory sets so that you don’t have to make the sails or hunt down the proper size dowels and such.

Now, Ages of Sail has made these accessory sets available, and you can find them on our online store: Shipyard Sail and Masting Accessories

These sets are available only for the 1/96-scale Paper Model ship kits. They are the equivalent of what Shipyard already includes in their boxed 1/72-scale Laser Cardboard series kits, but of course, at a different scale.

Sail Sets

The sail sets include all the necessary sails for your paper model. The sails are laser cut, with details laser etched onto the fabric. All you need to do is add the bolt ropes, which are included in the sets, and mount them onto your model. For some models, an optional studding sail set is also available.

Masting Sets

The masting sets not only include all the dowels you will need to complete your ship model project, but also include laser-cut card stock parts for the cross-trees, mast tops, and yardarm details to replace or supplement the printed parts in your paper model kit. These will save you lots of time, as the parts are all pre-cut and ready to use.

See our growing selection of Shipyard products at Ages of Sail!

Spring Special on Amati Victory Models!

April 15, 2017April 25, 2017 / agesofsail / Leave a comment

Ages of Sail is offering a special, very rare, limited time discount on them kits from Amati/Victory Models. From now through June 1st, 2017, you can save $50 to $150 on one of these amazing kits. There’s no special coupon code to mess with, just visit our website and see the savings.

Check them out now

74-Gun Ship of the Line HMS Vanguard – $150 off!

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Shop Notes I is Back in Print

April 12, 2017April 12, 2017 / agesofsail / 1 Comment

The popular Ship Modeler’s Shop Notes (book 1) was first published by the Nautical Research Guild in 1979 and has been out of print for many year, but it is now back in print and copies are In Stock at Ages of Sail!

From the NRG website:

The Nautical Research Guild’s Ship Modeler’s Shop Notes book, first published in 1979 and out of print for several years, is now back in print. This popular and insightful volume discusses the construction of ship models in numerous articles written by marine historians and ship model builders. Edited by Merritt Edson and assisted by Ben Lankford, Edward Mueller and Norman Rubin, the book is a compilation of shop notes and longer articles from out-of-print material contained in Volumes 1 through 25 of the Nautical Research Journal. This book has been a standard for ship model building, and highly acclaimed by professionals and beginners alike. The material has not gone out of date.

The articles are by notables such as Howard I Chapelle, Harold M. Hahn, Michael Costagliola, Ben Lankford, Merritt Edson, Dana McCalip, and many others. There are nearly 170 articles, 9 plans of hull lines and many drawings contained in 216 pages.

The content of this book is different from that of Shop Notes II, which is also available.

But them both now at Ages of Sail.

Royal Carriage Build of Amati Kit

April 8, 2017 / agesofsail / Leave a comment

Mr. Don Robinson built Amati’s 1/24-scale Royal Carriage kit as a gift for his granddaughter and shared pictures of his completed model with us.

Don did an incredible job building this 9-1/2″ long model and we can only imagine how his granddaughter must have felt getting this as a gift. Don gave his model a custom paint job and it turned out beautifully.

The Amati Royal Carriage is based on the Egyptian carriage for Maria Cristina of Bourbon, for the Carnival Gala in Turin, Italy in 1819. This kit is one of many non-ship model kits that are available from Amati and from Ages of Sail.