bianfuxia Posted January 21, 2021 Share Posted January 21, 2021 Yesterday I was at my parents' home and I finally took some photos of this model which I built for them over 20 years ago now. It's one of the few sailing ships I ever finished. Were I to do it today, I'd do lots more with it, but straight out of the box as this was I think it still holds up by today's standards. The only thing I did that was "extra" was made my own ratlines (I forget how) and added bare metal foil to the bow along with some anchor chains. I can't say I've ever seen this one built and also i have not seen it available in a long time. That's a shame because it's a great kit. The front mast seems to be a bit bent out of shape but otherwise I've always been pretty happy with this model. 29 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Dapple Posted January 21, 2021 Share Posted January 21, 2021 That's really nice, I didn't even know Airfix made a kit of her. The original survives as a visitor attraction in Dundee Cheers, Stew 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mick b Posted January 21, 2021 Share Posted January 21, 2021 (edited) 3 hours ago, Stew Dapple said: That's really nice, I didn't even know Airfix made a kit of her. The original survives as a visitor attraction in Dundee Cheers, Stew They sometimes crop up on eBay but not cheap. I am hoping Airfix release it sometime in their classic range although I see from the new catalogue that the Endeavour that was released last year has already gone from the range. Lovely model and good to see the rigging has survived twenty years! Mike Edited January 21, 2021 by mick b 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bianfuxia Posted January 21, 2021 Author Share Posted January 21, 2021 thanks! Yes - the rigging has done well. I ran each string through a wax crayon before tying it on, and that's prevented the threads going all fuzzy like my previous couple of sailing ships did. I would love for Heller to re-release some of its ships. Like a total idiot I missed out on the PASSAT in 1:150 for 25 bucks when I was still in the US (on ebay). I was just getting back into ebay then and I thought, oh, that's the going rate, another one will come up soon. Fool! I never saw another one for under a C-note. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noel Smith Posted January 21, 2021 Share Posted January 21, 2021 The Discovery was a nice kit. Airfix only repop some of the classic ship kits very rarely these days. The original as bad been mentioned is now in Dundee. It was moored by the Thames Embankment for many years then moved to St Catherine's Dock in London along with other historic ships. It went to Dundee when the collection was dispersed. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bianfuxia Posted January 21, 2021 Author Share Posted January 21, 2021 16 minutes ago, Noel Smith said: The Discovery was a nice kit. Airfix only repop some of the classic ship kits very rarely these days. The original as bad been mentioned is now in Dundee. It was moored by the Thames Embankment for many years then moved to St Catherine's Dock in London along with other historic ships. It went to Dundee when the collection was dispersed. I vaguely remember seeing it in London many years back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homer Posted January 21, 2021 Share Posted January 21, 2021 Lovely model. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orso Posted January 21, 2021 Share Posted January 21, 2021 Thaks for showing this. The last time I saw one build was when I build one as a kid. No paint, no rigging back then. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swralph Posted January 21, 2021 Share Posted January 21, 2021 Great looking build.😀 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noel Smith Posted January 21, 2021 Share Posted January 21, 2021 The sail steam era is a nice one to model. Besides the Discovery, there was the Great Western kitted by Airfix, and the Great Eastern by Revell. Funny thing is that the two ships built by Brunel that no longer exist have both been kitted, but the Great Britain preserved in Bristol has not in plastic. Other steam sail kits that come to mind are Heller's Purquoi Pas (Why Not), a very similar exploration vessel to the Discovery, and of course Revell's big Alabama and Kearsarge kits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bianfuxia Posted January 21, 2021 Author Share Posted January 21, 2021 4 hours ago, Noel Smith said: The sail steam era is a nice one to model. Besides the Discovery, there was the Great Western kitted by Airfix, and the Great Eastern by Revell. Funny thing is that the two ships built by Brunel that no longer exist have both been kitted, but the Great Britain preserved in Bristol has not in plastic. Other steam sail kits that come to mind are Heller's Purquoi Pas (Why Not), a very similar exploration vessel to the Discovery, and of course Revell's big Alabama and Kearsarge kits. yes I have the small Heller kit of Purquoi Pas, not sure the scale but it must be 1/350 or 1/400 as it's quite small. I was lucky enough to visit Antarctica around this time last year - just got home before Argentina closed its borders, talk about dodging a bullet - and at one point the Russian guide on our little Zodiac took us into the inlet where the Purquoi Pas had berthed its small boats. There was a carving on the rock of the initials PP and because I had that kit I knew what it stood for. Of course, because it's not primary school any more I didn't wave my hand around and say "ooh pick me pick me" when he asked if anyone knew what the PP was for, hahaha. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robgizlu Posted January 22, 2021 Share Posted January 22, 2021 Very nicely done - I have one in the stash - I still need to source some railings You've given me some futher inspiration Rob 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noel Smith Posted January 23, 2021 Share Posted January 23, 2021 Forgot to mention that the Heller Purquoi Pas moulds were sold on to an Eastern European company and re released under their own brand name. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beefy66 Posted January 23, 2021 Share Posted January 23, 2021 Very nice and well built to still be around this long brings back some memories from a long time ago. beefy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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