Backyard and Beyond Ship/Bottle - Pirate

This ship requires a lot of patience and I would say the "ages 10 and up" is a little bit of a stretch. I wouldn't buy this to do with your children, even if you've done other (car, plane, etc) models with them. Probably the only thing they'd be able to do is paint the hull.I found it impossible to get the tiedown pins into the hull. I started breaking, bending, and losing them so I finally just used the #60 bit to drill holes into the side of the hull to insert the tiedown pins. The holes were way too big but it worked out...just made things a little more difficult. I might try to find even smaller drill bits to pre-drill tiedown holes though. (Also as a note, I followed the pictures on tiedown locations and ended up running into the mast brackets when I tried to insert the pins so make sure you don't line them directly up. That was probably user error.)Though I was able to find the #60 bits here on Amazon, I don't have a drill that tightens enough to hold the bit so I had to improvise. So be weary of that. I was probably supposed to use a hobby drill. I would not advise a manual/hand drill, though.It also seems to me like some of the instructions are not ideal. I was following them to the letter however once I got closer to finishing the ship, it seemed like I could have eyeballed the placement of certain items (yardarms, mizzen gaff...) and done a better job.I also gave it 3 stars because the description for this kit is a little misleading. First it says the required materials are included in the kit. I expect to buy paint and glue, and I would even find it ok to need a common-sized drill bit. Needing a tiny bit that I have to order online and possibly buy a new drill to use? Yeah not so much. It also says "pre-shaped wooden parts". I guess they mean since the hull is shaped. You have to cut and shape the items on the hull out of this flimsy, easily-dented balsa wood. You have to cut all the masts to size and round the tips of them. I got the impression (prior to ordering) that this kit would be on par with popular model car kits. This is NOT the case. This is definitely for more experienced model hobbyists.As long as you know what you're getting into it's fun to build and VERY rewarding to complete. I feel like throwing a party for having finished this thing. I might even build another one...

good

Too small for adults but cute. Pieces very tiny for big hands. Thought it would be good retirement gift, but very small.

This was not what I expected when I purchased it, but it was still a good buy that brought a little frustration, and a lot of pride

I bought this product for my 7 year old grandson. It was much too hard for a 7 year old. Very small pieces, very tiny drill bit needed to drill through tiny wooden masts(toothpicks). Still have not found that small of a drill bit. Very disappointed.

I finally got the courage to put this kit together, and almost tore out what little hair I have left. As the other reviewer said, you need a super tiny drill bit to make holes for the mast supports, and I could not find a bit small enough at any hobby store. I finally used the tiniest drill available from Home Depot, which made too large a hole, and then stuffed material AND glue in the holes.Also, you get tiny pins to stick into the hull as anchors for the rigging, and it was almost impossible to get the pins to penetrated the hull even using needlenose pliers to hold and push them in.The only thing that is shaped is the hull. Everything else you cut and shape youself. You cut the masts from dowels the thickness of toothpicks. There are fake 'cannons' which you make by cutting a small piece of black tubing into tiny lengths.I am not a big person, and even my fingers were too large for a lot of the work, and hurt a lot by the time I was done.But, I have to say that it looks really nice when you are finally finished. I posted my photos underneath the Amazon picture. I guess there is an extra sweetness to finishing such as arduous kit.