I just finished building this, and it looks pretty good. Except for the comments below, I thought the instructions were pretty good. The instructions for finishing were the best part.

Building went relatively well. I haven't made a wooden model other than a Guillow's plane model, which didn't impress me very much as the wood was very inconsistent, and the plans were poor. The Dinghy was pleasant to work with compared to that.

Model Expo sells a larger version (20" long) of this Dinghy for $59.99, and they appear to have dropped their price for this model (10") to only $29.99. (I think I bought it online for $40) For that price I'm almost tempted to build this one again and do it better the second time.

Note that the picture on the box shows a mahogany piece at the top of the transom, on the inside of the boat. That is neither included in the kit nor mentioned in the plans. I assume this is a picture of a prior version of the model.

I think it turned out pretty well and I learned a lot. I hit the "Insert Gallery photos" link and got an error, so I haven't posted any pictures (yet).

How to improve the instructions from my perspective as a beginner:
1) More pictures, either on the box or in the instructions would have been helpful. I would have liked to have had color pictures from the front, back, bottom, and sides. Black and white line drawings aren't enough.
2) It would have been helpful for the instructions to suggest using a gap-filling CA glue. I made a mistake that I know others made in using the standard watery CA, and discovered its non-existant working time was not helpful for some of the larger pieces.
3) I was disappointed that the instructions did not have any suggestions for how to fill and hide the holes that are made in the center of the bottom plank early in the construction. I asked Midwest Models via email how to hide them, and the response was to use wood filler. I tried to make a wood filler out of sawdust from another piece of the basswood in the kit and a tiny bit of white glue. It didn't work, and now the holes look like holes that were filled. Partly my mistake for not seeking out more advice before filling, but the plans could have easily included specific info. If you poke two holes in the bottom of a boat model, in an obvious place, I think filling those holes would be high on the list of things to address.
4) In the instructions on how to put on the side planks, the drawing clearly shows small a triangular gap at the transom where the middle plank overlaps the bottom plank. I shaped and glued my planks as it shows in the plans. I realized later that there appears to be no instructions on how to fill that gap, even though in the illustration for step 91, the gaps have magically disappeared. I decided in my final model to leave the gaps open on both sides because of my problems with filling the holes in the bottom.
5) As far as cutting the seats to size, the instructions say to just sand and cut away until everything fits, and gives some advice about cutting one side, then the other, but it's still easy to cut too much off one side, even when you're being careful. I ended up cutting a few pieces of polystyrene sheet to the rough shape of the seats, fitting that to the seat positions, then using the polystyrene pieces to mark the dimensions on the wood.

I'm looking hard at the Phantom kit now...

 

Custom Search

Searching for something? See Search Tips, Main Search Page, Amazon Quick Search Do a "Quickie" - Google that is!  Or would you rather - "Amazon"

Hi Don. If your talking about the link in the message edit box, that only inserts photos you already have in the Photo Galley. To post photos in the Gallery, read these: Upload Photo(s) (open in a blank window), Upload Instructions (open in a blank window).

To post images directly in to message, you can use the 'Manage Attachments' button under 'Additional Options' right below the message editing box. You can upload images directly from your computer into a message.

John

 

Custom Search

Searching for something? See Search Tips, Main Search Page, Amazon Quick Search Do a "Quickie" - Google that is!  Or would you rather - "Amazon"

Very informative post Don. It would be nice to see more detailed postings like this from people.

 

Custom Search

Searching for something? See Search Tips, Main Search Page, Amazon Quick Search Do a "Quickie" - Google that is!  Or would you rather - "Amazon"