1:350 Santa Maria

Santa Maria 1:350 — Zvezda

A plastic kit of the historic sailing ship Santa Maria, the flagship of Christopher Columbus, in 1:350 scale from the Russian company Zvezda. The kit has a small part count and the parts snap together, so it is built without glue; the manufacturer intends it above all for beginning modelers. For strength it pays to add cement to the joints.

The real subject

The Santa Maria was the largest of the three vessels with which Christopher Columbus reached the islands of the Caribbean in 1492. It was not a warship but a merchant cargo vessel of the carrack type, with a high superstructure at the stern and three masts. At the end of the first voyage it ran aground off the island of Hispaniola and was broken up; from its timber the crew built a strongpoint on the shore. That is precisely why the appearance of the ship has come down only from indirect accounts, and the individual reconstructions differ from one another.

Building and painting tips

Sand the remains of the sprue gates down so that the snap-fit joints seat properly, and put a drop of cement on the joints. You imitate a wooden hull by applying a darker wash over a light base shade and then picking out the individual planks with a dry brush and a fine brush; a uniformly brown hull looks flat. Spray the sails separately and dirty their edges, as new white sails do not look convincing on a historic ship. Add the rigging with fine thread or a hair if you want to get beyond the level of a basic build.

Who the model is for

• Beginners, as the build is short and needs no glue
• Enthusiasts of historic sailing ships and voyages of discovery
• A purchase as a gift or for a school collection
• Modelers who want a small model for a display case

The model is supplied unassembled and unpainted. Glue, paints and accessories are not included in the package, unless stated otherwise.