Model Shipways MS2190 Chaperon - Wood and Metal Kit of an 1884 Historic Stern Wheeler Riverboat

This kit is overpriced. The quality just isn't there. The instructions are vague with few pictures to aid you. The prints themselves do not show everything. There are a lot of details omitted. You will have a lot of fun figuring out the rigging. Overall, I would not recommend this kit to anyone who does not have a working knowledge of a riverboat.It says there is extra wood in case you make mistakes or use the wrong pieces. So far I have not had enough of any of the lineal wood. I have used the excess frame stock to make these pieces.This kit is poorly engineered. I doubt if the designer ever built his design. I scraped the 2nd deck siding battens in favor of thin sliced card stock. It gives it a much more proportioned look. Note: CA glue does not stick to some of these pieces. This kit is basswood which is much harder to work with than balsa.

I don’t like giving negative references but for the cost of the model you would expect the highest quality. It bothers me when the instructions tell you to find card stock to copy a drawing like the smoke stack tops. They expect you to cutout a drawing transfer to card stock and go from there. These items should be part of the kit! I pay over $200 and now I have to purchase missing items to finish the build. The other negative is the rudder directions. There are NONE. The instructions tell you to install “the rudder assemblies” but never show you how or what parts they are.There are many of these mystery areas. Very few photos that show assembly in detail that match the instructions. They say refer to the plans. The plans I have a very light so it’s hard to see fine details. Almost like printer was out of ink.One last negative is during the laser cutout some items I guess were damaged so they taped the replacement items onto the boards. The sticky tape glue is now showing so they need to be prepped and they used different wood stock that makes the missing laser parts stand out due to much darker or lighter wood. Due to this I will not be able to stain or clear coat some areas I had planned as the parts do not match in color or grain.You will spend hours going from plans, instructions and the laser cutout drawings to locate parts as you build this.Not sure if I’ll purchase another from the brand.