Pirate Ship Black Swan

This is a well designed kit. The instructions are clear enough if you pay close attention to them and the parts go together real well. I made a few mistakes but was able to cover most of them up. I also made some changes to some of the rigging and especially the paint scheme. I could have done better with that, This is only my third level five model. So far I’ve not felt brave enough to try a full running rigging. I also fear that full sails would hide a lot of my work. But a finished ship with no sails at all, looks naked. This Zvezda model comes with sails attached to he yards. I separated the sails from the yards and cut fabric for furled sails. I think this looks better. The thread they include with this kit comes on flat cardboard “spools”. Even after a coat of candle wax, it still has a good memory of the shape it’s been in and works against you. Luckily I had almost enough left over from other projects to use on this. I found some really good easy to work thread at Joanne Fabrics. The Ratlines Gave me some trouble but turned out OK. I was surprised to find that there were no ratlines included for the top sails of the fore or main mast. When I ordered this kit, I thought it would be really cool to do a “Pirate Ship”. This is a 32 gun frigate much like any other 32 gun frigate. The only difference is the very final step of attaching the skull & crossbones flag to the main mast. The most impressive part is the stern. If you get this kit, take special consideration of the stern. It’ll payoff at the end. All and all, it turned out to be a pretty nice 32 gun frigate but less impressive than the English Man O’war. I hope this helps you decide.

Zvezda's Black Swan is a really surprising kit in a whole bunch of ways. First, the 1/72nd scale seems right on the money. The detailing is exquisite in lots and lots of places: the wood grain on the sides and the deck is beautiful, the swan figurehead, indeed all of the ornate gingerbread, is wonderfully detailed. The treatment the guns is unusual, with the muzzle cast separately from the barrel, ensuring an open bore. And the guns come with plastic training tackle - a really nice touch. The ratlines and shrouds are plastic, too - not unusual for a ship of this size but surprising in this day and age of strict realism. In fact, that's the surprising thing about this kit. Zvezda's done an outstanding job of capturing the look of a pirate ship, but much of the detail work and design ideas come right out of the 1960's. Beyond the pre-molded ratlines, the sails and yards are one piece. The capstan serves as the base for the mainmast. Each gun is a 10-piece beauty, and you have the option to pose them run in or run out, but there are no additional details, buckets and rammers and the like, to show them in action. The masthead platforms seem to come from much later ships than the Black Swan's ornate carving declares. The wood grain, while beautiful, is actually a little heavy. There's no bell for the ornate belfry! Believe me, you will love this kit. It is magical in its level of detail and sheer visual beauty. Is she accurate? Will you have a precise model of a 1750-ish 32 gun frigate? I think that's up to you! Technically, fit is right on. The quality of the molding is excellent. It's a very well engineered kit that you will be proud to build.