To Build a Ship from Wood, I Need 350 Hours and 50 Thousand Rubles. But I Won't Sell the Finished One: To Me, It's Priceless

Hi! My name is Valentin, and I'm a senior systems administrator in the IT Infrastructure and Internal Systems department at YooMoney. In this article, I'll tell you about my hobby — ship modeling — and share what qualities this passion develops in me and how much it costs. Inside, you'll find plenty of photos of models I've assembled.

What Is Scale Modeling?

It's the creation of model replicas as close as possible to the real object, whether it's an airplane, tank, car, person, ship, or building.

I do ship modeling: I build ships and sailing vessels. The most modern ship I've managed to build is the Titanic. But most often I assemble historical ships: they're the most beautiful. I also enjoy painting small figurines.

How I Got Into Ship Modeling

Long ago, when I was in sixth grade, there was a magazine called "Young Technician" with a supplement called "Lefty" (Levsha). My father and I tried four times to build the ship "Mary Rose" from that supplement, but we never succeeded.

The next time I tried was in university — I made a ship about 25-30 cm tall. I liked how it turned out, and it became a hobby. I got into ships using other techniques, but settled on wood modeling — the result was highly detailed sailing vessels: "Victory," "Bounty," "Soleil Royal."

Materials I've Tried for Building Ships

Paper. It's the easiest to work with: you cut out patterns and glue them together.

Cardboard. Similar to paper but harder to work with: when you cut a piece, you can accidentally remove too much — and you'll have to redo everything.

Plastic. I don't like this material at all, because it's essentially like LEGO: plastic ship kits come with pre-made parts that just need to be connected. Plus, if a plastic part breaks, it can't be fixed or restored — you'll have to throw away the entire piece. But plastic pieces are interesting to paint.

Wood. I've worked with wood since childhood, and I like it the most because shapes can be given various forms. Wood is layered and textured — it's pleasant and convenient to work with.

What Tools Are Needed for Wooden Ship Modeling

Brushes, tweezers, pliers, wire cutters. But the main tool I use most often is a craft knife, or art knife. It's very similar to a scalpel but sharper and more durable. You also need abrasive tools for finishing: sandpaper, files, needle files, and so on.

What My Workspace Looks Like

Here's one of my very first workspaces.

My current one looks like this: I have lots of shelves and drawers where I can organize small supplies. Without the shelves, parts would probably get lost constantly and I'd need to buy replacements. Previously, I used construction organizers and small boxes for this purpose.

What Else You'll Need

Time. On average, assembling one small ship model takes me about 350-400 hours, not counting drying time. Larger ships take about twice as long — around 800 hours.

Diligence. Not everyone has the patience to tie all the rigging — averaging 250-300 ropes. And recently, I've started making them myself.

Persistence. Every plank, every detail — it all requires time and effort. All the cannons need to be beautifully painted, prepared, and positioned.

Willingness to spend more. Store-bought kits only include ship parts, not supplies (glue, varnishes, brushes, paints, and everything else) — those need to be purchased separately.

Ability not to rush. When you're sitting there tying ropes and gluing parts (and there are so many of them), it's important not to hurry, because rushing makes the model sloppy and it loses its beauty.

What You Get in the End

• You immerse yourself in history as you study the ship model.
• Working with small parts develops patience and trains fine motor skills.
• You get inner satisfaction when the model is finished and you can show it to everyone.

Plus, the finished model can serve as an unusual decorative piece for home or office interiors.

This is a model ship called HMS Bounty. On this ship, William Bligh sailed to Tahiti for breadfruit tree saplings.

How Much Does It Cost to Build a Ship?

• Ship parts cost about 30,000 rubles.
• Glue, paints, knives, and additional materials total approximately 10,000-15,000 rubles.
• For example, specialized glue (for kitchen furniture) costs 1,500-2,000 rubles per liter, primer — 2,000 rubles, brushes — 5,000-6,000 rubles, a craft knife — 1,000 rubles, replacement blades — 3,000 rubles.

"When working with wood, blades dull very quickly, so they constantly need replacing."

Who Buys Finished Pieces and for How Much?

I don't sell my ships, because I can't even estimate what amount I'd be willing to part with them for: too much time and painstaking labor has been invested. To me, my models are practically priceless. A single ship can take several months or even years to build.

But I know of one case where a master built a large ship to order, placed it in an aquarium, and sold it for 700,000 rubles.

If you also do ship modeling or have questions, write in the comments — I'd be happy to chat.