The ship was delivered by FedEx to my door, packed in a sturdy cardboard box, surrounding a lattice wooden boxwork frame, completely protecting the model. The hull was supported by a molded foam plastic base with a few inserts to protect forward and backward movement. There ws no visible damage to box or contents. A screwdriver (used to get under wire brads, pliars (to pull them out, and a small hammer was use to unpack, taking about 45 minutes.
The ship needed the rigging tightened, using the working fittings on the ropes. Looking at the ship and compring my pictures that I have made on previous visits to the real ship, I detected no large deviation from the rigging or sails, except for some differences in rigging diameters, when compared with the pictures. There is enough color variation in the model rigging to easily make out the setup.
The only real detraction that I found is on the copper plating of the hull. The builder covered the plates with a fiberglass mesh and locked it in place with epoxy coating. The color is not changed, but the mesh is a bit distracting. From a standoff distance of 5 ft., it is not noticed. All in all a very satisfying, almost museum quality model, As a long time ship model builder, I would have much more money, not to count time invested in this model, I recommend it highly."..." Read more
- A. Joe Hiller in Lexington, KY