Been working on this one for the past month. Heller claims the model is 1/75, which is ridiculous when you put a 1/72 scale figure on the deck - the railings come up to his knees, he would have to crawl to get between the decks, and he would barely fit in the lifeboat. A 1/87 scale (HO) figure is barely more credible, which leads me to believe the model is much closer to 1/100. The plastic kit only took a few days to finish, but the rigging took almost a month. Pics:
Biggles, she looks splendid! You must sail because your rigging looks years ahead of what I did with mine. Did you use the thread that came with the kit?
Thanks. I didn’t use any thread from the kit, but I did use some scale rope from Ropes of Scale and some sewing thread. I found that keeping all the thread as close as possible to 100% cotton, you can tighten up any slackness by saturating the thread with water, after installing the rigging, as the thread will shrink. I also replaced the kit yards with brass rod so they wouldn’t flex under tension. I didn’t follow the rigging scheme from the instructions, but found a couple of diagrams on the internet.
Imagine venturing westwards and sailing off the edge of the world! Actually Columbus knew very well he would eventually find land as he was aware of maps from the Norse (who actually discovered North America centuries earlier, started a colony, and made continuous trips for fur hunting, and lumber, for the Iceland, and Greenland colonies). Once the Vikings were Christianized, they traded throughout Western Europe, and news of a vast land to the west travelled quite far through western ports.
Biggles, you did a great job on this "vintage"kit. Your woodwork on the hull,deck, & other features look very realistic and weathered. I’m currently working on Revell’s Pinta kit and it looks very similar to your Heller kit. Revell says that their kit is in 1/92 scale. Do you have plans to build the other two of Columbus’s ships.
Tom S.
I believe Revell’s ships are the same molds as Heller’s, although Hellers may be of better quality. I’ve been looking into the availability of the other two ships, now that I’ve built the Pinta. They’re available, but at some totally insane shipping charges. Heller claims 1/75, and Revell claims 1/92. They’ve also been marketed under the Aurora label, Humbrol, and probably others, at various similar scales. I think they’re closer to 1/100.
If you’re not in a hurry, I may have the other two Heller kits in my stash I’d be happy to send to you. It would be a while before I could get into my stash storage though.
I believe the Basques were fishing the Grand Banks also, having learned of them from Breton Cod-fishermen, and established shore-bases to support their Whaling activities. Although the first official records date to the second decade of the 16th Century this is possibly because it was around then that the major powers of the European Atlantic seaboard began considering colonisation in northern North America, the Spanish Basques stymied French state colonisation but then got into internecine aggro with their French Basque cousins. Apart from the Bretons, the Basques also fished off the west of Ireland, with it’s tales of St. Brendan…
Co-incidentally, it’s just been announced that the most recent examination of Columbus remains using modern scientific methods suggest he was from Valencia and had a Jewish heritage.
Yes - I’ve read that Basque and/or Portuguese fisherman used to fish for cod and tuna in the Grand Banks. Seems inconceivable that they were almost in sight of land and would not venture closer. They would definitely need to go in search of fresh water, etc.
Thank you for recognizing the Norse seafarers - along with the Polynesians the greatest mariners ever . Do they still teach Columbus
“ discovered “ America in schools ?
Shameful if they do .
For many years now, I’ve referred to that holiday as “Incompetent Geometer Day”, from his conviction that the Earth was significantly smaller than the known size, making it viable to reach China by sailing west. He was shot full of luck that there was land at a distance he could reach.
Maybe lost according to his miscalculations, but it was known among sea-faring circles since 985 AD of a large land-mass to the south and west of the Norse Greenland colonies. According to the Norse Saga’s, the Viking Bjarni Herjolfsson, on his way to the Greenland colonies, was blown off course by a storm, and within sight of the eastern shores of Canada. It wasn’t until the year 1000, or 1001, AD that Leif Ericsson explored the coast, then a couple of years later that Thorfinn Karlsefni founded a colony at Anse-aux-Meadows, in northern Newfoundland, which lasted only a few years, but traded with local natives. According to legend, after too many brushes with locals, the Norse were forced to vacate.
But the point is, these exploits were well-known among the Norse community in Greenland, and Iceland, and even in Norway. With the introduction of Christianity into the Norse world by 1050, the North was opened up to trade (instead of raiding) to the rest of Europe. Surely between 1050 and 1492 rumors of a western land mass had been circulated among the European sea-faring community. There is also the question of the Kensington Stone which has been proven to be both genuine, and a hoax, several times, and by several “experten”. This is a totally different “can-of-worms”.
I built this back in the 90s. Bought all three of the ships but only finished Pinta. Still have her but she is a little worse for the wear after three moves cross-country.
Hi Leo, I like your Pinta a lot! I built the tiny Pyro version some time ago, but the Heller kit is larger and considerably nicer - and you have made the most of it!
Actually Columbus knew very well he would eventually find land as he was aware of maps from the Norse (who actually discovered North America centuries earlier, started a colony, and made continuous trips for fur hunting, and lumber, for the Iceland, and Greenland colonies). Once the Vikings were Christianized, they traded throughout Western Europe, and news of a vast land to the west travelled quite far through western ports.
