Sorry to hear that SA is so difficult to get parts.I think for me the UK seems to be the best source of parts.The other thing in sourcing parts is to have others in my club needing part we make a list and order splitting the cost of shipping among us.
It works but I would much rather go to a hobby shop and walk around.There may be specials showing up that don't list on line .O-WELL.
Rick

You should try SA Rick - difficult to import parts & virtually Zero locally - nothing at all with lockdown as its not allowed - not even sure if the PO is working & Couriers only essential goods......

Most of the parts I source come from the UK as we don't have many hobby shops in Canada that carry parts and if they do not what I look for .
Rick

The leeds Model Shop have loads of this type of fittings but not sure there listed on their web site.

Correct Pete, 'The Little One'. Seems to be a simplified Starter kit?
All Columbus' ships had nick names. E.g. Niña was really the Santa Clara.
Pinta's real name seems to be 'lost at sea', but would have been Santa 'something' according to the tradition of the time.

The second example is more comprehensive, and expensive, which corresponds more with Lea's hull.
But I suspect that Lea's model was scratch built from whatever info was available in the twenties. No kits around then?
1920 would have been the 300th anniversary of the Mayflower landing in The New world!
Ooops! New orders just arrived from the Parks & Gardens Dept.💥🤕
"Yes Ramona my love, coming Ramona my love!" 🤔
Time to play 'Place the quote'!😁 CU later - I hope!
Cheers, Doug 😎

Just call me 'Admiral Bloodhound' Pete 🐶😁
(That's NOT an order!!😠😉)
FLEET😎

Not that well up on galleons and the like, but I reckon
you have found the missing boat Doug, well done👍
btw That's the SANTA MARIA LE PICCOLE.😎

Cheers, Pete (rooky)

Good tip Red👍
It looks suspiciously like this (there's quite bit broken off or missing though🤔)
Buena suerte Lea👍
Cheers, Doug 😎
https://www.hobbies.co.uk/model-boats/model-boat-display-kits/mantua-models-santa-maria-le-piccole-kit
Or
https://www.hobbies.co.uk/model-boats/model-boat-display-kits/mantua-models-santa-maria-model-ship-kit
Roll up roll up! Get yer Santa Maria plan here!😉
https://www.hobbies.co.uk/model-boats/plans-and-books/old-time-ship-plans-pack-of-4
Getcher Riggin' Tools here! 😀
https://www.hobbies.co.uk/model-boats/tools-and-sundries#q=ptype.Rigging-Tools

H Lea - suggest you look at the Hobbies (Dereham) UK website - it might well have been one of their plans - been going a long time - think they still advertise some of the Columbus ship plans - been a while since I checked though. Worth a look in any event

I totally agree with Doug. and welcome to the site.

Martin555.

And a very warm Welcome Aboard to you too Lea👍
An ambitious project you've taken on there😮
But rest assured we'll rally round to help out when needed.
Cheers, Doug 😎

Hi Peewit,
Ref :- "I tend to be a lone modeller and more of a doer and don’t really get out to see people".

I am very much the same as you.

Welcome to the site, I think you will enjoy it.
You will find we are a friendly bunch and have a bit of a laugh and try to help when we can.
So don't be afraid to ask for help.

Martin555.

Welcome aboard Peewit.
Another enrichment to the the site.👍
"pee-wit, wit wit, eeze wit"😉 (Fleet Admiral takin' liberties again😁)

Loved your report on the dinghy, excellent work👍
I'm a bit of a loner too, since the local MBC mysteriously disappeared about 25 years ago🤔
So I really appreciate swapping ideas with and learning from the guys (and gals😊) here with all their diverse interests and skills.
Have fun. Cheers, Doug 😎

"I'm not sure what you mean by blocks; do you mean buying parts in bulk?"
Actually no Lea😉 Although considering the number of 'blocks' in Santa Maria's rigging it might not be a bad idea👍
In this case it means the pulley blocks (as in Block & Tackle) used to adjust the length/tension in various parts of the rigging. You can see them clearly all over the place in the pic of SM that I posted - the ovalish 'blobs' with two or more lines going in/out on one side and just one on the other. Nerys can no doubt explain in better detail having had first hand experience of them. OH!😮 Not on Santa Maria I hasten to add!!😁
Skydive130 showed a simple way to make them in his 'Orca' Blog.

Re scale: the original apparently had a hull length of 161' (49m).
If your hull is 20" that indicates a scale of around 1/96. So period fittings should be available from a variety of sources😊, e.g. Billing Boats, Cornwall Model Boats, Krick ....
Have a look through the 'Useful Links' on this site.

Attached is a pic I found of a replica built in the 1890s. Also blows up nice and big😊
Have fun👍 Cheers, Doug 😎

Agree with you on this, it may well be a representational model and not particularly accurate or represent a particular ship particularly accurately.

It’s early morning and breakfast/garden/chickens/dogs/wife call but hopefully I can get back on things later this evening.

Really glad I found you lot. Seams to be a nice friendly site with knowledgeable people on it.

I tend to be a lone modeller and more of a doer and don’t really get out to see people making things that much even out of lock down.

Hope everyone has a good and productive day.

Good luck and take your time!

Hi all,
I talked some more with my grandparents and turns out, this model was built in the 1920s -- very cool because it's so old, but unfortunately I won't be able to purchase parts for it. That said, I took your advice and took lots of photos of the rigging and detail work so I'll know how to put it back together. In the meantime, I'll keep watching tutorials and reading posts on this site.

Peewit, I measured and it's about 20 inches long. I'm not sure what you mean by blocks; do you mean buying parts in bulk? I guess it's obvious I'm a rookie 😊 Here are some more pictures of it close up, it's night here so please excuse the less-than-perfect quality.

RNinMunich, that picture is great! I will definitely be using it as a reference.

Thank you all, I had no idea I would get so many helpful responses!

Hi All,
Not convinced it's either Niña or Pinta, notwithstanding the rig, or remains of!
They were much simpler ships than the model shown, and the bow / foredeck is all wrong.
Attached pics show replicas of all three. First two pics are the replica of Santa Maria, which looks a much closer match to me. Then Pinta then Niña.
Looking at that weird bow I first thought of Mayflower, but then the foredeck house is missing and the gunnels are wrong🤔
Problem is, we don't know how many liberties the builder of the model took or how much poetic license he took😉
Lea: I strongly endorse the taking of as many close up detail pics as you can before taking anything off. Many years ago, before digital cameras and phones that think they're smarter than us, I undertook to restore a model of the Pamir for a neighbour. Her Granpa had worked on her apparently and built the model.
Last pic of such a model shows the scale of my task wrt the rigging! Pretty daunting, but I could never resist a pretty lady with dark soulful eyes😉
I shot two rolls of 35mm film documenting everything as I dismantled it.
Those and reams of sketches were essential to re-rig and set the sails.
Don't let that discourage you though. It can be done👍 Just go slow, step by step and triple check before you glue or knot anything.
If you get stuck you know where to ask questions.
Cheers, Doug 😎
BTW The Santa Maria view from stbd bow is Hi Res so you can expand it real big to show the rigging in great detail👍

Sorry, just realised it’s not a bow chaser - it’s a broken bowsprit thingy.

My eyes are not very good this evening.

If it’s one of the Columbus ships, it’s certainly that period it would be either the Niña (Santa Clara), or the Pinta as they were caravela redonda rigged - which yours is.

Could I suggest that before you take anything of the ship - ever you take a couple of pictures of it in place and another one of it when you have taken it of.

You will be surprised just how easy it is to forget what went where - especially if you are unused to the layout of the particular type of sailing boat you are working on if you are trying to restore something.

What length is the thing? The reason I ask is that then you can work out the approximate scale so you can find out if it’s possible to buy in things like blocks etc. You will need quite a lot of them and if it’s a fairly big boat as I suspect it is it’s not that difficult to make things - and it’s a lot cheaper.

Really like to see some more close up pictures -especially of the bow chaser canon - the one at the front. Also a picture of the back of the ship, windows and rudder. This sort of detail gives an idea of the quality and detail of construction.

I suspect that when you bring this back from the dead you want it all to “ blend” so that basically it all looks as if it was built together and hasn’t been repaired.

Could look quite nice restored as an “old “ model.

Lea,
There are a lot of rigging tutorials on utube that might help you figure it all out.
They might also tell you what materials you will need and how to do it.

Martin555.

Thank you Martin and Rick!
I did do some more digging online and it is definitely a model of one of Christopher Colombus' ships. A lot of the rigging will have to be replaced, do you have any recommendations where I should get replacements?

Hi Lea,
You certainly have big project on your hands there.
The only advice i can offer is take your time and dismantle as much as you can without breaking it.
That will make it a little easer for cleaning up before you can start to figure how you will start to tackle it.

Good luck.

Martin555.

To me it looks a little like the Santa Maria I built a number of years ago and it is a static model and for show only. Go on line and see if you can find something that looks close to your model and then decide how to start.Cleaning and removing broken parts is a good start but keep all the parts for later use in making new bits and pieces .
Good luck
Rick