Realistic Blocks Now Available at Ages of Sail

Ages of Sail is carrying a nice alternative to the usual blocks found in kits. Of course, blocks are a very small detail, so many modelers may not care to spend the extra money to upgrade their build. But, for those who want their models to be as scale accurate as possible, blocks like these are worth the investment.

I’ve decided to use these to rig my gunboat “Arrow” that I’m building from an Amati kit. The limited amount of rigging and the need for only smaller sizes of blocks makes this a pretty ideal candidate for using them.

Ages of Sail

The blocks included in ship model kits haven’t changed a whole lot over the ages. That’s because they’re small wooden details that weren’t easy to produce in a fashion that looked much like real blocks used on ships. There are things you can do to make blocks look better, like spinning them in a special tumbler, which can improve the shape. For most of us, that’s probably fine.

In recent years, newer methods have been incorporated in the mass production of wooden blocks for ship models, and we are proud to announce that we’re now carrying high quality pear wood blocks produced by Master Korabel!

How do these blocks compare to the standard kits blocks? You can see this for yourself. Below are some single sheave blocks. Can you tell which ones are Master Korabel and which is not?

We carry all sizes from 2mm to 5mm of single-sheave and…

View original post 82 more words

Artesania Latina’s New 1/65-Scale Vasa Kit

As I announced in a previous post, Artesania Latina’s new Vasa kit is here! Ages of Sail reportedly has several of the kits in stock. This kit seems to mark another step-up for this classic ship model company, which in the old days, was often the first brand that future ship modelers were exposed to, as they were carried in the standard hobby shop distribution chain.

What seems most interesting now is the level of detail in the kit instructions. I don’t know how much of the instructions are included in the kit, as there are something like 400 pages of photo-based instructions. The kit includes a DVD and you can download them off the Internet as well, so I can’t imagine they’d print up such a massive book.

Anyway, check it out. You may find your next ship model project!

Ages of Sail

We just received a big shipment of products from the “new and improved” Artesania Latina, so we’re finally recovering after the holidays depleted our stocks of this long-time popular brand. In addition, we’ve receive some new kits you might want to check out, as well as the return of an old favorite, the San Juan Nepomuceno. But, the biggest news by far is the release of their brand new kit of the 17th century Swedish warship Vasa.

This spectacular kit is made for the Expert Level modeler and is produced in 1/65-scale, making it one of the largest Vasa kits available at 42″ long and 34″ high. The kit makes heavy use of die-cast and photo-etched decorations, and there are a LOT of them!

View original post 227 more words

On the Horizon: Amati’s German Battleship Bismark Kit

I mentioned recently that as a ship modeler, it’s nice to see new ship model releases. Vanguard Models’ and their imminent release of the royal yacht the Dutchess of Kingston is not the only new kit on the horizon. Italian kit maker Amati Model has apparently been working quietly on a new super-kit: A big scale model kit of the German battleship Bismark. 

I don’t know much about it, except that they’ve been hinting at the kit on their Facebook page. Then, today, Ages of Sail made an announcement of the kit’s upcoming release. Apparently, there are no specific detail announced yet on the kit or it’s exact release date, but it sounds like it should be out in the next month or so, and Ages of Sail will have the kit at the time of the official release. It’s also going to be a very big kit. 

From Ages of Sail’s blog post

Any bets on the scale of the new kit? In any case, the photos shown on Ages of Sail’s blog post show some very fine detailing. I “borrowed” one of the photos to give you an idea. To see more visit their blog post here. Ω

New Vanguard Models Products at Ages of Sail

Online ship model shop Ages of Sail just posted an announcement that they are now stocking Chris Watton’s latest accomplishment, the brig-sloop HMS Flirt. The ship’s overall look should be familiar to fans of Vanguard Models, as it is the same ship class as their earlier release HMS Speedy. There are some differences apparently, and the Flirt’s hull, at least in this kit, is not copper sheathed. So, if you don’t like that whole copper plates look, you might take a look at Flirt, as she’s a pretty nice looking ship.

In a separate announcement, Ages of Sail also announced that they now have the pre-sewn sail sets for Vanguard’s Zulu and Fifie kits. These look pretty nice, though if you want to die them the nice red-brown color that is shown on the kits’ marketing art, it looks like you’ll have to die the bolt ropes too, since those are attached, but I doubt most who look at the finished model will really even notice.

Since the Vanguard Models fifie kit is the same scale as the one that Mr. Watton did for Amati’s Victory Models line, I suppose the sails ought to work on that kit as well. But, that’s just my own speculation.

Anyway, you can check out the posts below

HMS Flirt Announcement: https://blog.agesofsail.com/2020/08/26/new-hms-flirt-from-vanguard-models/

Sail Sets Announcement: https://blog.agesofsail.com/2020/08/26/sail-sets-for-vanguard-models-kits/

 

 

Ship Model Kits Come and Go at Ages of Sail – Plus, Vanguard Models News

With so many people staying at home these days, the stocks of ship model kits at Ages of Sail, particularly the newest kits, seem to come and go faster than ever.

OcCre’s newest release is the schooler Polaris, which bears a striking resemblence to Artesania Latina’s pilot boat Swift kit, was introduced and sold out in less than a month, though I’m told that a further shipment has come in, so they may be available again at the time of this writing.

 

About the same time they started selling the Polaris, Ages of Sail started carrying the new Vanguard Models kits, and there too, the HMS Speedy kit turned out to be more popular than expected and is now out of stock at Ages of Sail.

 

HMS Flirt – Vanguard Models

But Chris Watton, who’s the one-man development machine of Vanguard Models, has been working hard at getting a brand new kit ready for release: The brig-sloop HMS Flirt.

 

If you’ve been eying Vanguard’s HMS Speedy kit, this one will look very familiar to you, as the Flirt is of the Speedy class, so it’s essentially the same ship. However, the kit differs in that it does not have a coppered hull and has slightly different rigging, making this kit about a bit shorter than HMS Speedy.

In any case, this model of the 14-gun brig-sloop sure makes for a pretty-looking ship! This kit is expected to be releasee within a couple weeks. Hopefully, Ages of Sail will grab some of these up as well as a replenishment of their stock of HMS Speedy kits. Maybe they’ll get some of the pre-sewn sail sets for those nice-looking Zulu and Fifie kits at the same time.

Personally, I don’t understand why the Scottish Sailing Zulu kits haven’t run out yet – There’s a nice looking, unique ship model kit…

 

But, kits seem to be coming in all the time over at Ages of Sail, and I understand that many of the OcCre kits are back in stock now, including the popular Polaris kit and many others. Plus, as I posted previously, Constructo’s Gjøa kit, after many years out of production, appears to be back again, which is nice to see. Ω

 

 

 

 

Constructo’s Gjøa is Back

This is a kit that I haven’t seen on the market for many years. Certainly, Ages of Sail hasn’t been carrying it for a long time now. Nice to see this classic back.

The pre-sewn sails and the tools bundle is a nice touch. At $140, it seems like a very good deal.

Ages of Sail

I just received word that we are now stocking Constructo’s Gjøa kit. If memory serves me correctly, this is a plank-on-bulkhead wooden ship model kit that has been around for decades, but hasn’t been see here at Ages of Sail for a while.

This classic kit of Roald Amundsen’s Arctic exploration ship has been updated and now includes a set of basic tools plus pre-sewn sails. This 1/64-scale kit is considered one for the Advanced Beginner. The completed model measures a little over 19″ long and 18″ high.

In the years 1903 through 1906, the Gjøa was the first ship to successfully navigate the Northwest Passage. Other ships that attempted and failed include HMS Terror of the 1845 Franklin Expedition, the subject of another very popular kit we carry from OcCre Models.

After Amundsen’s arrival in San Francisco following completion of the Northwest Passage, the Gjøa was on display at…

View original post 100 more words

New Wooden Kits from Shipyard – In Stock Now!

Two new kits from the Polish card model kit manufacturer Shipyard brings us a whole new category of ship model kit: The Wooden Card Model. Ages of Sail announced that they are now stocking these kits.

Ages of Sail

Shipyard is a Polish manufactures known for producing some extraordinary paper model kits and laser-cut card model kits. Just recently, they even had their HMS Wolf model grace the cover of the Nautical Research Journal.

Last year, they released two new laser-cut card model kits of medieval cogs. And this year, they have entered the realm of wooden ship modeling, by making two new laser-cut kits. This time, they aren’t made from card stock, but of wood. Ages of Sail is proud to be able to bring these kits to the US market, having recently received its first shipment of these amazing new kits.

The two kits are both medieval cogs – the Wütender Hund and the Kogge von Kampen.

These wooden kits are actually closely related to their card model cousins, in that their method of construction is nearly identical to the card models, but of course, using wood as…

View original post 145 more words

Master Korabel Kits Now at Ages of Sail

A few months ago, I spoke with the owner of Ages of Sail. With the demise of Mamoli and then more recently Artesania Latina, I mentioned the Master Korable line after having seen some details about their kits on Model Ship World.

When I have more time, I’d really like to take on the cutter rigged tender Avos, or maybe the simpler Double Boat. By the looks of these kits, they’ll all look really good when completed.

Ages of Sail

We’ve recently added a relatively new line of wooden ship model kits from Russia called Master Korabel. This company produces some amazingly well designed kits that make ship modeling easier than ever, using state of the art design and manufacturing.

Most builders are accustomed to seeing laser-cut bulkheads in their kits, but Master Korabel kits go well beyond that, using some clever engineering to give your model very sturdy construction, while making it easier to build a properly shaped hull. These kits even go so far as to provide laser-cut decks and hull planks, so that you model not only looks beautiful, but with authentically shaped hull planks as well.

Double Boat.

Some of their kits come with various options, but for now, we’ve opted to carry just the high-end options. One of their most recent kits, the cutter-rigged tender Avos that we carry is the “Special Edition” version (PSX)…

View original post 203 more words

Kolderstok kits at Ages of Sail

Ages of Sail just posted an announcement on MSW and on their blog site that they are now carrying kits from the Dutch ship model kit maker Kolderstok. I’ve only recently heard of this company, but their kits look interesting.

The Statenyacht. At 50cm (19.6″), this 1/50-scale kit is Koldercraft’s smallest ship model offering.

Kolderstok appears to be a one-man production, kind of like Vanguard Models and Syren Ship Model Company. For this reason, I’m rather surprised to see that Ages of Sail was able to carry the line. These companies usually offer little or no discounts to resellers due to their production costs.

The kits appear to feature single-planked hull construction, which is also a bit unusual these days, but not unheard of. It just means that you have to more careful or more creative in the hull construction techniques to keep the hull planking smooth. This alone is probably a good reason for the kits to be recommended for experienced ship modelers.

The flagship of Admiral Michiel de Ruyter, De Zeven Provincien, is Kolderstok’s largest and most complex kit – A 1/72-scale kit, 90cm long (35″).

Anyway, the kits look interesting and fairly unique subject matter. Here’s the link to Ages of Sail’s blog post: https://blog.agesofsail.com/2020/03/01/kolderstok-17th-century-dutch-ship-kits-now-available/

And, a direct link to their Kolderstok kit listings: https://www.agesofsail.com/ecommerce/kolderstok.html

 

OcCre’s HMS Beagle Kit Now in Stock (HMS Terror too)

New kit from OcCre models now available at Ages of Sail, HMS Beagle. This is a nice looking kit that OcCre lists as having a low difficulty level. Looking for your next ship modeling project? Check it out, along with their HMS Terror kit.

I have the HMS Terror kit, but I’m feeling an awfully strong pull for the HMS Beagle…

Ages of Sail

It’s been a bit of a wait with a lot of hold-ups along the way, but the new HMS Beagle kits have finally arrived!

Available Now!

HMS Beagle

We’ve been fulfilling the pre-orders, and if you’re one of these buyers, your kit is already on it’s way to you.

HMS Beagle

HMS Beagle

HMS Beagle

For the rest of you who are interesting in this kit, there are plenty in stock! We made sure to order enough that we shouldn’t be running out of them any time soon.

https://www.agesofsail.com/ecommerce/hms-beagle-(occre-1:60).html

And speaking of running out, the OcCre HMS Terror kits, which we had run out of, are now back in stock too!

https://www.agesofsail.com/ecommerce/hms-terror-occre-oc12004.html

HMS Terror

HMS Terror

HMS Terror

Both were early 19th century British warships, later modified for exploration. Which will YOU build?  Terror or Beagle?

View original post