Cap Horn Sailing Ship

Cap Horn Review This is my forth level five model ship. It’s my first from Heller. Vague instructions and diagrams resulted in a lot of time spent trying to decide the best way to accomplish different steps, then correcting my mistakes. The finished product is an impressive display, so I’m now working on a second Cap Horn. I’ll explain. When this package was delivered, the outside wrapping was in perfect shape. So there is no complaint about Hobbylinc.com’s shipping practices. In fact, Hobbylinc.com did everything they could to help me with whatever problems came up. Inside the box is a different story however. All the preformed parts sprues were just rattling around in the box with other miscellaneous parts and equipment. Some parts were separated from the sprue and two parts were broken. I was able to glue those parts together adequately. The loose parts were a mystery with no number attached and no parts list included. It took me about three months to get to the ratlines, (shrouds) stage. All that time the shroud “machine” had haunted me day and night. The machine itself is pretty ingenious, but the very brief instructions and tiny markings on black plastic make it difficult to figure out. The fact that Heller doesn’t supply thread for those ratlines was disturbing. There is a lot of waste involved. On my fifth try I was able to produce a usable set of two ratlines. Even now that they’re all made, the best ones I’ve been able to produce only fall into the acceptable category. Attaching them to the masts with the sparse information provided was yet another source of aggravation. Pre-made shrouds could have shortened my build time significantly. On more than one occasion the idea of cutting my losses and trashing this project sounded pretty good. I wish Heller would include a parts list, more building tips, preformed shrouds, better instructions and clearer diagrams. Perhaps if I had had previous experience with Heller products or more experience in general I could have managed better, but as stated above, the finished model is quite impressive. Cap Horn “2” is a much smoother build now that the mysteries have mostly been solved. I hope this helps you.