Recently, I heard from a customer who had purchased what the manufacturer described as a beginner wooden model ship kit. He found himself immersed in trying to decipher instructions translated from another language. I wrote him back to try and help him with words of encouragement. Building even beginner kits may not be “instant gratification” easy. However, with patience and willingness to research, the rewards of a beautiful model can be tremendous.

Though I have many kits which are super simple to build and directed toward children, the “beginner/easy” category of kits also has many ships which are considered easy build, but may not be simple for the novice. The fact is, all of these kits still require research, patience, and a genuine interest in the subject. They will often take hours to build. They will be put up for a while and then taken out and worked on several times. They will often require a dedicated work area where you can “leave the mess” and not be scolded by a spouse or significant other.

So you have ordered the kit and opened the box, now what. My best advice is to firstly take out all the drawings and parts and check that everything is there. Familiarize yourself with the drawings and how the parts fit. Test fit often. And use the best adage “measure twice cut once.” Now that you are ready to build get out your computer and Google the name of your ship kit. Look for build logs from other people who have recorded their experience building the same kit. YouTube is your best ally for how to do various things like planking. Don’t worry about buying expensive books on the subject, just Google it! Most of the kits that I have marked in my store as easy or beginner have extensive build logs and internet “how to’s.” If in doubt, Google the subject ship kit before buying or ask us here at WoodenModelShipKit.com. We are all to happy to help you pick that perfect first model. You can also write us or comment in our blog area. I would really like to get some build log’s going on our store site. And, send photos when finished so our other customers can see your accomplishment.

Most of all be patient. The rewards will come with work and research.