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Confused by scale on some popular kits...


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Hello folks!

 

I'm just delving into ship modelling, and am currently looking at branching into wooden kits. I've been an amateur woodworker for years and love the idea of building a traditional vessel from mostly proper materials!

 

Staring at some popular kits, such as those from Amati and Corel, I'm beginning to get very confused by the scales presented. For example, the Amati Russian brig Mercury is reportedly at 1/64 scale by all accounts that I can find online (except their official site or photos of the model's box, which does not seem to list a scale)... The finished model is reportedly 34" long, but my research indicates that the original ship was only about 96 feet in length.

 

Even if that length does not account for the bowsprit, then the model kit should only be about 18" long at most, plus the bowsprit... This does not make any sense to me, unless if I am clearly under-appreciating the lengths of the bowsprits. By way of comparison, a plastic 1/72 scale kit of the frigate Oryel is about 40cm long, while the original ship was ~80 feet in length. This makes much more sense to me!

 

I've come across similar issues for other wooden kits that have piqued my interest. Any insights before I make a plunge on one or another? I don't need things to be exact, but I do like to know that the scales are reasonable!

 

-Gregory

 

(p.s. I would not start out by building a $600 Amati Mercury kit, so no need for warnings! I merely use that as an example... I'll start with something simpler, as common sense demands.)

Edited by Kilroy1988
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10 hours ago, rs2man said:

If the kit is 34" long & the real thing is 96' , that's 1/34 scale .  Could the reported 1/64 be a typo ?

I've seen it reported in multiple instances but not on any official page, and the rest of the kits in the series also say 1:64, sometimes officially...

 

In any case, it would be nice to know for sure if the length of the bowsprit is considered in typical measurements of either the real ships or models (I assume so for the latter, but am not sure about the former)? I've seen "deck measurements" and "overall length" quotes for the real ships, so I suspect the overall length includes the bowsprit. Is that usually the case?

 

-Gregory

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