I am putting the emphasis on the "NUT" part of my name, and I am seriously considering
working on two ships at once, even though I am a novice.

Just by applying first planks I have learned a great deal, including respect and patience
for the art of this craft. I would like to apply these to a bigger, better model now so I can
finish it while still in my sixties!

Artesania and Mamoli offer very different versions of this ship, and I am leaning toward
the AL ship because of the size, sails, and natural wood. This is a project I would do much more slowly for quite a long time and still enjoy doing my best on the Mamoli Lexington.

Any opinions? (Other than the ones concerned with my sanity!)

Thanks
Jack

Can I suggest the mamoli? Not that I have built it but the AL is very inaccurate and like me if you're prepared to spend a long time, probably less work in the long run. Also, get the Anatomy of the ship "endeavour" and you will see that they appear to be different ships as AL seem to have just thrown this one together. The Corel Endeavour or Jokita looks a lot more accurate.

I highly recommend the Jotika.
http://www.jotika-ltd.com/Pages/1024768/Heritage_2.htm

(If you click on the pictures they display in color)

The most accurate and one of the best darn models out there.

It is on my list of projects to do. I have seen the kits and they are extremly well manufactured.


Richard

AL is good for someone with little or no experience. My first kit was AL's King of the Mississippi ( rather complicated for a beginer. ) I made some big mistakes on that one BUT learned a lot.

Very helpful answers, Greg, Richard, and Dave!

Another vote for Mamoli, another strike for AL, and the first I've heard of Jotika!
I am impressed by their kit description. (Their name just doesn't show up on my
search for ship modeling..hmmm)
The Corel looks somewhat like the AL and Jotika and Mamoli look similar.
(in the composite pic, they look like four different ships!).

My original goal was to learn on the Lexington and then build the Mamoli Beagle.
I may still do that, and your replies are helping in that decision too.

By the way, the Mamoli Beagle is $239 at Historic Ships.com and $195 at Seagifts.com

I shall mull things over and there's no need for any more replies for now. Many Thanks.

Happy Fourth of July....

Jack

My Endeavour started as an AL kit. I got as far as planking the hull and putting the decking down and then found the AOS book on it. After that, the "kit" became just a box of sticks. The Jotika kit looks great to me. It appears to be consistent with Marquardt's AOS book and very similar to the Lightley's Endeavour model in the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich.

Hello,
I'm not too familiar with the details as far as accuracy. I looked at the web site for the full sized replica and AL looked ok to me. Maybe the colors were a little off, but you could fix that. Also I liked the sails. I built the Mamoli Victory and later tried to add my own sails but it was just to complicated.

All of your collective wisdom has convinced me to take a half step backward and build the Mamoli Beagle while I learn on the Lexington, and THEN tackle the Endeavor...proabably the Jokita. But a lot can
change by then.

Thanks again, happy modeling!
Jack

p.s. have to get another nailer...Amati failed. I found out too late that there are two sizes of nails....oh well.

Jack I finished the Endeavour about 6 months ago. It is an AL kit and While I found it difficult at times, I also enjoyed the build very much. I went into it knowing of the inaccuracies and used the AOS book to modify it to Marquardt's drawing.
I too have read many not so favorable remarks about the AL line of kits. Frankly, most kits are not "true" representations of the ships they purport to be. And most require some alterations or modifications.
Therein lies the allure of ship building to me. I enjoy "making the ship my own" through many changes.
So were I you I would pick the kit I want and make it your own.
Tom

Thank you, Tom. You hit the nails on the head (btw I fixed my amati
nailer!).
I am very new to this great, only, and last hobby of my life and I am loving it! even with the traps laid for newbies. For example, my kit told me to taper forward and rear bulkheads, long before it was ready! I have had to do a lot of re-fairing with shims, etc, but it will turn out OK.
I'm with you on "making the ship my own". As new as I am, I can see that historical accuracy is the holy grail, the goal of purists and professionals, and I am not worthy to hone their blades! Instead, I, like you, am out to build a ship that makes sense and is attractive. The Lexington that I am planking has an unusual (and tricky) stern shape. It's going to be fun to find some way to get enough planks running vertically, then horizontally, then vertical again, then covering the keel to the garboard without any real support, like bulkheads. Maybe I should name it the "Rexington" lol.

Happy modeling

Jack

Jack,

If you are still interested in the Mamoli Beagle, Model Expo has it on sale for $144.

Tom

Hi,

Good luck with the Endeavour, whichever one you do. I'd add my vote to the Jotika, it's the most accurate. But then again, the model of the Endeavour in the National Maritime Museum in Sydney, Australia, is terribly inaccurate too (but I guess since it was a gift to the country, we couldn't send it back!).

On the Beagle, be aware too that the Mamoli kit is an almost complete fabrication. I know "Albisasky" has done an extensive review/buildalong on thsi site so it's worth a search. I have the AOS and trust Marquardt a lot more than the kit designers :-) ...having done a fair bit of reasearch on the Beagle myself, everything he shows matches other sources/descriptions (as sparse as they are). So I'll be scratchbuilding it. But that's just me. I've built a couple of kits and just gone along with them, accuracy be damned! Just as satisfying, so jsut ensure you have fun and will be happy with the end result.

(And at the end of the day, how many friends will look at it and say "hmmm, shouldn't the mizzen mast be a scale foot further back??" or similar!).

Regards,
Darren

Rustednut. (Jack). Hope you get on OK with your new kit. Thank goodness you did not buy the Corel version as I did. Talk about a poor kit. I have finally resorted to one of the "Anatomy of the Ship" books which are well researched and provide a mine of information. Especially for the scratch builder. (Obtainable from Amazon). For the first time I am seriously thinking of scratch building. The Corel Endevour bears no resemblance to the original as researched in the book. (except for the shape of the hull!!). Good luck with your 'endevours'. (Pun intended).

I would also vote for JoKiTa based on the excellent Granado kit that i am "close" to finishing. Excellent materials and instructions. Second only to Model Shipways.

ron

Hi Jack. Whatever you do do not buy a Corel version of HMB Endevour. You will find my comments elsewhere on the site. I do agree with Jack, historical accuracy is not so important as a good model but you do expect some semblance to the real thing when you buy a kit. I find that buying the kit, getting some accurate information from books such as "Anatomy of the ship" series, and going on from there doing your own thing is very satisfying. I am afraid with the constraints of the commercial market one is never going to get total accuracy, but I find the thought of scratchbuilding rather daunting! (Comments from scatchbuilders please). Good luck. Jonathan.