Zvezda release of an old plastic frigate ship 1:200 "Acheron"
A fix-and-improve project of this stylish frigate.

Ahmet Eren İspir
I am thinking whether should I get this kit or not. Can you add some pictures of your build and would you suggest this kit as a first sailing ship model? I have built modern ships and other vehicles so it won't be my first ever kit.

Treehugger
I can show you some photos later today.

This is definitely an old mold, probably from somebody other than Zvezda. I would think that the plastic is good. The gunports aren't molded 100% symmetrically, so I have done a lot of sanding to adjust the horizontal position of the gunports. Vertically, they should be ok iirc. The sails, are hard/soft molded plastic. I thought on using fabric, but packing the sails, as I think it looks nicer. The cannons aren't very details. I ordered metal barrels, and 3D printed my own. But from a distance, the kit kannons probably look ok. The rigging for the side climbing stuff is all plastic. The kit contain different rolls of strings for the rest of the rigging. The deck and detaliling looks good I would say. I did buy aftermarket wooden deck, just to reduce the width of the planks. I also curved the deck, an experimental thing. There is no internal detail other than a plain cannon deck below. No cabin details iirc.

Yes, I think I can recommend this kit. I just don't know how difficult it will be to put up the plastic sails. the ship itself is a nice looking frigate. 🙂 Some 50 cannons or so. Also, kit box have no figures iirc.

Treehugger
ibb.co/xFzQHVX (these parts are 98% flash free in my box)
ibb.co/5BFc0QD (Not too large, not small, height unknown maybe 40+cm?, I doubled the thickness of hull here with sheet styrene)
ibb.co/x3NBK0J (all cannons, are one part only, no hole for the barrel, poor detailing but somewhat ok)
ibb.co/Q6400Qp (some of the stuff included, a nice nameplate and threads, some paper flag iirc)
ibb.co/4sKzc1B (sheet of thin plastic sail material)
ibb.co/dgDwvkh (What the side looks like, after careful sanding and filling, correcting some of the horizontal position of the cannon ports, should look ok by default if you aren't thinking too hard about it)

Some parts have flash on them. This is not an entirely flash free kit.

Richmond
Youtube Video

Also you may wish to refer to britmodeller.com/for..ernando-ii-e-gloria/

Ahmet Eren İspir
Thank you guys, looks like I will get this kit when my Fletcher has done!

Treehugger
Might be better to get the one with the gray hull plastic, the zvezda one had black plastic. Unsure if the kits differ greatly or not with regard to content ohter than plastic (or anything).

Ahmet Eren İspir
I have seen only the zvezda one here, but will be searching for the other one also, this ship is really elegant...

Treehugger
I think galleon's look silly, frigates seems more beautiful I think.

Richmond
Check out the Revell - its listed here.

One thing to note these are very very old kits - I am in the middle of a Revell trawler and a tug and have another Gorch Forch in my stash and they are nothing like the quality of today's models - bad fitting, terrible overused moulds, lots of flash, seam lines and the parts themselves do not have the crispness and detail of todays models.

Unfortunatley the market does not exist for them to produce new kits. You only have to look at this newsfeed - very few ships built outside 20th century warhships.

Ahmet Eren İspir
Treehugger yes, I also feel the same for big line of ships, like HMS Victory. They look too fat and non aesthetic to me.

Richmond unfortunately, you are right. Seems like no one is interested in sailing ships anymore.