With some encouragement from Tim Reynaga I'm going to attempt a build log of the Lindberg kit of a Pirate Felucca. This is only my second build log. I'm hoping it will drive me to actually complete a build. Something I haven't done in a while. This kit is one of the golden oldies from a couple generations ago that's been re-released by Round 2 Models. The only number on the box I've found is HL205/12 so I assume it is the kit number. The scale is listed as 1/250 and it looks to be fairly accurate from my Mark I eyeball.
I'm having trouble saving photos to this blog. I can't find the properties for the expanded photos in my Kitmaker gallery so I'm having to post thumbnails. I'll try to correct it in future posts.
There aren't a lot of parts to the kit. There is a small amount of flash on some but nothing difficult to remove. I re-purposed the two cannon intended for the quarter-deck for an earlier build. The other cannons do not have wheels molded on so I intend to rig them as carronades.
The oars appear to be grossly out of scale. I'm going to re-purpose some oars from an old Heller 1/450 scale La Reale kit that look like they will do in this scale.
There is wood grain detail on the hull exterior and deck. I'm not sure if you can make out the grain on this close-up of the hull. There is no wood grain detail on the inside walls of the hull. The oar ports are a little low on the hull based on illustrations I've been able to find but I'm going to go with them as provided.
The instructions are 2 pages with exploded views for parts placement. Simplified rigging is also shown.
The decal sheet is colorful and provides a selection of flags, sail markings, and a decal for the stern rail to show decorative scrollwork.
In cleaning up the parts to start construction I noticed the locator peg for mounting the anchor is well back on the starboard side under the #1 gun port and over the oars. This wouldn't be practical so I removed the peg and will mount the anchor on the bow later.
I've started by gluing together the two hull halves and the deck. There are fine locator pins on the hull halves which assists in alignment and do not create any gaps.
The deck fits snugly with only minor gaping that will need some putty to fill. I also need to do some filling and sanding on the stern rail.
Question for our members: There are no parts for a steering wheel or tiller in the kit. The illustrations I've been able to find on the internet for sea-going feluccas don't seem to show a wheel or tiller either. Sail handing equipment and stern guns are shown but no steering. Tillers are used for river-bound feluccas. Would the feluccas have been steered from an aft cabin below the weather deck?
I hope to use some of Tim's techniques he's displayed so well on his Chinese Junk, Nina and Pinta builds he's posted here are Model Shipwrights. I don't have an airbrush so I'll be using rattle cans and brushes when we get to the painting. I'm going to try and paint the ship in a color scheme similar to the box art.
I'm asking for comments and critiques as I progress so we can all benefit from our shared experiences.
Thanks for looking.
John
PS - I meant to post this in the General Ship Modeling Forum. Can one of our moderators move this blog or let me know how to move it? Thanks John
