I received the Albatros as a gift over 4 years ago and didn’t have time or commitment to start it. With my recent retirement I have the time and the desire to get back to modeling. I started with a Revell Constitution, 1/96 Scale. It was a significant effort over 4 months but I learned a lot about ships of that period, rigging and nautical terms. I also learned that plastic for me was a bit limiting so I dug out the Albatros and started early September. The pictures I am posting start with the initial stages and go through where I am today. I have learned a lot with this build-woodworking skills, glue and clamping techniques, planking, and ratlines. So far the areas I have enjoyed are 1) building the body of the ship- shaping it and adding the details; 2) assembling the rigging- what a puzzle not only of where things go but the most efficient order of adding the rigging to the ship and 3) building the structures to add to the ship. The only area I have not enjoyed is adding the ratlines. Tedious and pretty boring. I wonder what others have as favorite areas vs least favorite areas of builds? I also think OcCre built a nice kit for moderate beginners. There customer service has been outstanding by providing rigging plans not included in the kit and broken parts replacement within a week from Spain to the US. While I do not have a lot of context I would recommend them. Well here are some pics. Not a piece or art but a nice first build project for me.