Mamoli MV37 Halifax - Wood Plank-On-Bulkhead Ship Model Kit - Scale 1/54 - Length 590 mm (24")

Not off to a good start. The instructions focus on (I assume to be) Italian readers. There is English, but not well written or formatted (I’m a professional writer of user doc). Instructions are in a small 3 or 4 point font and lines of sentences can be up to 16 inches long. This makes for difficult reading. The keel, where you start construction, comprises six pieces, and must be built first. The instructions do not even mention this. You have to study the various pictures to see this. In addition the primary portion of the keel is composed of a different wood from the other five. When I realized I needed the other five, I could not identify them at first, thought they were missing, though I did finally locate them. I am very early in construction. As more problems develop, I’ll add them to this review.The decks (there are four, fore to aft) are solid pieces, not individual planks as used on the hull. Diagrams showing deck construction show this: solid pieces, however they need to be marked, with lines drawn on to indicate planks. This should be done before installation; otherwise, it would be very difficult to do afterwards. If you want to stain or paint the deck, this would be done more easily before the pieces are glued into place. Again, the instructions do not mention this, although later diagrams suggest the deck is planked.Parts 24 and 25 are missing. You must make these yourself. I cannot find a rudder either and expect to make this too. And now I’ve finished the “easy” part. Now I start planking the hull and the instructions are vague and incomplete.Chamfering of frames before planking would be more easily done before assembling frames on the keel structure. This is especially true for parts 20. Also, this wood is very tough and using sandpaper manually would be tedious. I recommend an electric tool such as the Milwaukee rotary tool.Other pieces are hard/impossible to identify. There are many strips of wood that are not identified in the “instructions.” Note, these are not wood as such; they’re a combination of plastic and wood. They are hard to sand, hard to cut, and you have to do both.Planks for the hulls: instructions would have you soak planks in water, then place them on the hull, bending them as necessary and holding them in place with pins. Not possible. You have to cut them into shorter strips, and even soaking them to fit remains difficult.Pieces shown in the diagrams are not described in the instructions, except to glue them into place….without identifying which of the many pieces to use. For example, piece 35 is the keel, but the only strip of “wood” that could be used for the keel is not identified. The one (of two) that might serve, is too long. Yes, it can be cut, but this is not mentioned in the “instructions.Finished the hull, and I thought construction would get easier with the superstructure. Not so. The “instructions” are very confusing, as are the figures. Pieces are missing. There is no piece 44 (rudder). If you want to install a rudder to this thing, you’ll have to make it yourself.I’m not nearly done, but considering how much I paid for this, I’ll continue. I strongly suggest you find another model.