While I was building the Nordkap 476, I was given the opportunity to build this fine ship. It is a German crabbing boat, normaly found around the west coast of Germany.

Still being rather new with this mode of modeling, I was a bit reluctant, but later accepted. This kit is an advanced beginner's kit, for those who have some experience with wooden ships.

The build went rather well. The only real problem I found with the build was how the masts were cemented into the deck. The solution I found was to drill the hole for the main mast almost directly over the third deck beam, using it as a stop. The mizzen mast was a goof of mine. It was supposed to be cemented into the pilot house platform, behind the structure. I had the pilot housing too far back, but a simple remedy for this was to drill another hole directly behind where the base was to be located.

The Cux 87 "Krabbenkutter"

When planking the ship's deck, I found the best way to accomplish this was to leave all of the structual areas blank, devoid of planking, so that these structures could be cemented in the "wells" that these voids created.

As with this build, ideas came to me from all sides - I was overwhelmed with how many I had! I found this kit to be a lot of fun to build, and I found myself doing things that I wouldn't even dreamed of doing with a plastic kit. It has opened my eyes to a hobby with no boundaries - I may never build another plastic kit again! I even found myself replicating parts, although the parts supplied were of good quality.

As with the Nordkap, I thought that the build needed to have waterways, which were not included in the kit. Additional embellishments include rope coils, flotation buoys, pilot house furnishings, and other small details that brought out more character to the build.

I would recoment this kit to anyone who has a flair for imagination. It is a well made kit and the ease in which it assembled, made it a joy to build.

The Nordkap is a 1:50 scale, wooden ship kit, put out by Billing Boats. It is a typical English Trawler, that would be commonly seen in the North sea. This particular ship was built in the ‘70's, constructed as a steel hulled vessel.

This ship was given to me by an acquaintance of mine at work. I have no experience in building wooden ship kits, but the key word here, was "old". I love old kits. It had been stored in an attic for over 20 years. The wood was very dry, and shrinkage, along with a degree of warpage, had occurred. The kit was not laser cut as well. All the parts had to be cut out by hand, as I do not have the luxury of power tools.

Nordkap 476

Surprisingly, the build went very well. I had to replicate some part, as well as the waterways, which were not included in the kit. The shrinkage and warpage did hinder me a little, but I was able to work around it by adding and subtracting wood here and there. I did a few things to enhance aspects of the build, and even added embellishments of my own. During the build, I had the pleasure "getting to know" Tom Richardson @ Billing Boats, in Wisconsin. Kudos to this gentleman, for all the help that he was to me. The Nordkap is an advanced kit. The builder should have knowledge of the craft before attempting it. I was lucky with the fact that I have been building models most of my life. Not to say that I did not make a mistake in building this one - I made a few.

Nordkap 476

It was a learning curve that has taken me from plastic, and after seeing these builds, my wife won’t let me do plastic anymore. I would highly recommend this ship to anyone who has the ability and knowledge to build these wooden crafts. I have to say that I had so much fun building this ship - and the ideas that came along during the build was fantastic!