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Project Notes

#298 GoldenHind

Building a mini metal model of the Golden Hind. No electronics involved .. yet.

Build

Notes

A nice diversion .. a mini metal model of the Golden Hind (Model 9209) ended up in my shopping cart on an impulse.

I’ve been curious about the recent popularity of these “3D metal models”. I am guessing the availability and affordability of precision laser cutting equipment might have something to do with it.

The “Metal Earth” brand is often seen in toy retailers (it even has its own sub reddit!), but the model designs all see to be common from a few Chinese manufacturers. The model I have here comes from Shantou Mini Qute Trading Co. Ltd..

Model Accuracy

The Golden Hind was an English galleon best known for her privateering circumnavigation of the globe between 1577 and 1580, captained by Sir Francis Drake.

There is only so much detail you can pack into a 20-piece model no more than 10cm long, but I’m pretty impressed at the closeness of the model designer’s approximation and the level of detail that has ben included.

Construction

Following the kit instructions.. the construction quality of the kit is excellent - all pieces perfectly laser cut.

kit_unboxing

Build

Credits and References

Model 9209 - “Mini Qute Piece Fun 3D vehicle Ford cars train Titanic ship Black Pearl Metal Puzzle adult assemble DIY models educational toy” - aliexpress seller listing
Shantou Mini Qute Trading Co. Ltd.
Kit Instructions
Golden Hind - wikipedia
Metal Earth reddit
No holes in modern laser cutting story - thefabricator.com
..as mentioned on my blog

About LEAP#298 Craft

Project Source on GitHub Project Gallery Return to the LEAP Catalog

This page is a web-friendly rendering of my project notes shared in the LEAP GitHub repository.

LEAP is just my personal collection of projects. Two main themes have emerged in recent years, sometimes combined:

electronics - usually involving an Arduino or other microprocessor in one way or another. Some are full-blown projects, while many are trivial breadboard experiments, intended to learn and explore something interesting
scale modelling - I caught the bug after deciding to build a Harrier during covid to demonstrate an electronic jet engine simulation. Let the fun begin..

To be honest, I haven't quite figured out if these two interests belong in the same GitHub repo or not. But for now - they are all here!

Projects are often inspired by things found wild on the net, or ideas from the many great electronics and scale modelling podcasts and YouTube channels. Feel free to borrow liberally, and if you spot any issues do let me know (or send a PR!). See the individual projects for credits where due.