1/75 Spanish Caravel "La Pinta" - Heller

[Strategos Augustus]

I've always wanted to make sailing ships. I did a few such vessels a decade back: when I did not have an airbrush or an appreciation for oil paint. I selected this kit because it was simple, on-hand, and the minimum viable three-masted ship. A good opportunity to test 'proof-of-concept'. Very much enjoyed this build and I look forward to tackled more complex sailing vessels in future.

Since La Pinta, 'the Painted-One', was this ship's nickname (the real name was lost to history), I decided to make it somewhat colorful, presuming that she must have been called that for a reason. The limewash bottom might be a little early for the period, but I've always liked the white bottoms. The figure, presumably a rather tall Don Mart�n Pinz�n himself, was a 1/72 Airfix Spitfire pilot whose uniform took some abusive reshaping. I sanded his goggles and earmuffs off and made a brim for his hat from a spare from a Tamiya tank kit. His outfit is supposed to be suggestive of a rather nice green doublet with puffy shoulders. Maybe ION would like to have a go at 15th and 16th century sailors ?

I choose to use the vacuform sails included in the kit. To make them more compelling, I added cordage to the sail's edges (and added the loops) and also to the grooves in the plastic. I airbrushed them and added darker patches, matched front and back, to simulate repairs with different canvas.