My Workbench

Sunday, March 5, 2023

Lindberg 1/144 Santa Maria

 A few Christmases ago my youngest daughter gifted me the Lindberg 1/144 scale box set of Columbus' three ships. 


I built the Nina and Pinta a long while back. It was quite a challenge to make those very plain and simple models look respectable. And this last one was no exception. 




I had to add a lot of detail. The stern was just a blank, no channels, the super thick flags attached to the masts had to be removed and replaced with new flags. A stern spar was added and the anchor modified. Like the other two models, the supplied cannon were from a much later era so I had to make some short ship bombards to fit the narrow space available. I also added gratings and coiled ropes where I deemed appropriate.










Thank you for stopping by. I'm not sure what I'll work on next, there are so many ideas floating around up there.

9 comments:

Stew said...

Great job. Ship looks fantastic, all your additions are seamless. 😀

A Miniatures Hobby Room said...

Thanks buddy. I realized after posting that I forgot the lifts and braces for the spritsail. I'm adding them now.

A Miniatures Hobby Room said...

Ok, the post is now updated with new pics.

Jonathan Freitag said...

Super looking ship. I remember seeing that kit in the stores when I was a lad.

A Miniatures Hobby Room said...

I built a lot of ships when I was a kid, but I never did these three. Don't know why. And, aside for one Pyro model, I always went for the more detailed kits with lots of parts. Now they cost a small fortune. So I settle for these somewhat less expensive simple kits, and try to make them look better than they are.

caveadsum1471 said...

Excellent looking Santa Maria about 35 years ago I did the ratlines and rigging for all three ships in about 1/50 for a TV series during my very brief career as a model maker, your version looks really good, especially consideringhow basic the kit was to start with!
Best Iain

A Miniatures Hobby Room said...

Thanks Iain. Wow that sounds like a dream job. What was the TV series? Then I can watch and say "Hey, I know the guy that made those ratlines!" Seriously, I would love to know more about the work you did, what other models you worked on. So cool!

caveadsum1471 said...

Hi Vol, it was a BBC production in 1989, we put the boats on skateboards to give the slightly wobbly movement! I also did an 8' x 8' model of the grand canyon that split diagonally for cgi space ships to get added in about the same time but it was funny I got a bit fed up with it as a job , I'd rather have it as a hobby, otherwise it just turns into work!
Best Iain

A Miniatures Hobby Room said...

I do understand that. That is the reason I don't generally take commissions. Thanks Iain