Golden Hind Sailing Ship: WIP

[David G.]

Hello Everybody!

This is  the Golden Hind Sailing Ship 1/245 Scale Lindberg Kit #70891. I don't recall that I've ever built a sailing ship before but this kit was given to me by a family member. I was looking for a simple kit to fill a gap between some other projects I thought "This one looks simple enough."

Yeah, we know how that sometimes works out.  

This kit is supposed to be a rendition of the Golden Hind captained by Sir Francis Drake in the 1570s. The actual ship which inspired this kit no longer exists but  a few replicas have been built and this kit holds little resemblance to any of them. The kit seems to be based on an entirely different style of ship. It's probably the standard base master from which all the other ships in Lindberg's series were derived from.

Needless to say, I'm not particularly concerned about the historical accuracy of this build, I'm just going to pick the design elements I find most appealing and go for it..

 

This is what I would consider a "dime store kit" and the fit quality reflects that.

 

It looks like some corrections and adjustments will need to be made.

 

This gap in particular will require some attention.

 

Starting with some scrap sheet styrene trimmed to shape.

 

A second piece is added for the rise in the deck.

 

After a bit of filing things begin to take shape.

 

Filling one gap of course creates another.

 

Which requires another bit of styrene.

 

Another test fit reveals that a little more work needs to be done, but the situation is much more easily managed.

 

As always, please feel free to post any comments you may wish share.

Thanks for taking the time to look.

David G.

[stavanzer]

Those kits are Toys, mostly as you have found. And, as you have found, they are not and never were any good. 

However, under your skilled hands, the end results were be Excellent.

I look forward to seeing what you do with it.

[David G.]

20 hours ago, stavanzer said:

Those kits are Toys, mostly as you have found. And, as you have found, they are not and never were any good. 

However, under your skilled hands, the end results were be Excellent.

I look forward to seeing what you do with it.

Thank you most kindly Alan. I'm always up for a challenge and this kit certainly offers its share.

David G.

[Dragline]

Watching with great interest. This kit and others like it were in a lot I passed on at an auction. I am interested in what can be done with it. You are off to a rather bumpy start with all that seam filling.

[Anglia105E]

You have your work cut out with that one David . . . What an awful kit, but if there's anyone that can do something with it, you are the man !

Good luck . . . and may she sail the high seas  !!!

David W.

[David G.]

On 6/7/2025 at 5:22 AM, Dragline said:

Watching with great interest. This kit and others like it were in a lot I passed on at an auction. I am interested in what can be done with it. You are off to a rather bumpy start with all that seam filling.

Thank you much Bob.

I don't think you missed anything great by passing on that lot. In fact you may have avoided a little disappointment.

 

13 hours ago, Anglia105E said:

You have your work cut out with that one David . . . What an awful kit, but if there's anyone that can do something with it, you are the man !

Good luck . . . and may she sail the high seas  !!!

David W.

Thank you David, that I do.

While she'll never be seaworthy, if I'm lucky I can make her see-worthy. Or at least good enough to look at.

Sorry for the bad pun. (not really)  

David G.

[David G.]

Hello Everybody!

It seems that the simplest kits can often provide the most challenge. Maybe that's because the builder ends up compensating for what was left out to simplify the kit.

I know that model ships really don't need ballast but I wanted to add a little lead shot to balance the mass out a little.

 

I sprayed some flat black primer on the inside to give some shadow and depth to the few deck openings... and help hide any gaps that escape my vigilance.

 

Getting some basic colors on the mainsails. I'll have to do some blending and softening to get the appearance where I want it to be.

 

First mockup assembly, testing out some colors for the deck. I had to straighten the masts using hot water. Obviously, there's still more work to do.

 

As always, thanks for taking the time to look and please feel free to post any questions or comments you have.

David G,

[Anglia105E]

On 6/8/2025 at 2:08 PM, David G. said:

Hello Everybody!

It seems that the simplest kits can often provide the most challenge. Maybe that's because the builder ends up compensating for what was left out to simplify the kit.

I know that model ships really don't need ballast but I wanted to add a little lead shot to balance the mass out a little.

 

I sprayed some flat black primer on the inside to give some shadow and depth to the few deck openings... and help hide any gaps that escape my vigilance.

 

Getting some basic colors on the mainsails. I'll have to do some blending and softening to get the appearance where I want it to be.

 

First mockup assembly, testing out some colors for the deck. I had to straighten the masts using hot water. Obviously, there's still more work to do.

 

As always, thanks for taking the time to look and please feel free to post any questions or comments you have.

David G,

Looking good so far David, and the ballast inside the hull is a good idea actually . . .

Here is a link to the Revell version of the Golden Hind kit . . . https://www.internetmodeler.com/2001/january/ships/golden_hind.htm

David W.

[David G.]

16 hours ago, Anglia105E said:

Looking good so far David, and the ballast inside the hull is a good idea actually . . .

Here is a link to the Revell version of the Golden Hind kit . . . https://www.internetmodeler.com/2001/january/ships/golden_hind.htm

David W.

Thank you very much David.

Thanks also for the link. That's quite an impressive rendering of that vessel. It really calls out the toy-like nature of the Lindberg kit I'm working on.  They're unquestionably two different beasts.

Certainly a good resource to have for my research. Thank you.

=D-

[David G.]

Hello Everybody!

Work on the "Golden Hind" sailing ship progresses.

Almost all of the most recent build session was spent getting the hull sections and deck as aligned as possible and glued together.

 

Once the rubber bands came off, the bond was solid but there are issues I'll have to address. Aside from the obvious alignment problems, the textures on the two halves of the stern aren't even close to being similar! 😮 

 

But at least most of the huge gaps between the deck and hull have been corrected... mostly.

 

 

Maybe this kit wasn't the best choice for a first go at a sailing ship.  

Anyway, thanks for taking the time to look and please feel free to comment. 

David G.

 

[mustang1989]

Given your skill set......this one should be fun to watch Dave. She's lookin' good already. 

[David G.]

14 hours ago, mustang1989 said:

Given your skill set......this one should be fun to watch Dave. She's lookin' good already. 

Thank you for your vote of confidence Joe. 

I sure do seem to pick 'em don't I?   

=D-

[David G.]

Hello Everybody!

Work on the Golden Hind progresses and here's proof.

On the stern, the two halves of the hull not only fail to meet evenly, they have completely different textures! One half looks like it's probably supposed to be shiplap and the other is some strange kind of wood grain.

 

Luckily, I remembered that I had some HO scale clapboard siding sheet styrene left over from my model railroading days. Though not exactly correct, it should look better than that mess that Lindberg provided. I've cut a piece and thinned it down to better fit the stern and blend in with the rest of the ship.

 

After trimming the panel to size I added some more styrene pieces to dress things up a little. I may still do a little more, I'll have to see how I feel about the overall appearance in a couple of days. Hopefully this is the last of the cosmetic surgery I'll have to perform.

 

Now if I could just do something about that... rear bumper(?).

As always, thanks for taking the time to look and please feel free to share your comments, thoughts and suggestions.

David G.

[stavanzer]

David, more Magic from your Workbench!

You never cease to Amaze me with you skills and attention to detail.

[David G.]

6 hours ago, stavanzer said:

David, more Magic from your Workbench!

You never cease to Amaze me with you skills and attention to detail.

Thank you most kindly Alan.

=D-