The Secret of the Unicorn (The Unicorn)

Greg Baker Författare
This should be an adventure... I'm entering a 120 step program... 🙂

Greg Baker Författare
Ok... so a bit of an explanation seems in order for this project. As most of you know, I have a large and ever growing Tintin project - trains, planes, automobiles, boats... and ships... that were featured in the various Tintin albums. Amongst the long list there are the "Big Three" - The Lunar Rocket, Marlinspike Hall/Chateau Moulinsart, and the Unicorn. For the first two, I've been doing some preparation work to be able to tackle them with 3D model building and printing. But the Unicorn... well, that's a different beast altogether. A sailing ship as complex as the Unicorn is not something easily 3D printed. That's were this set comes in. In 2011-2012 Hachette released a Unicorn "kit" - basically on a "one part per week" schedule. You buy the booklet and the part... and little by little the Unicorn comes to life. I've known about this set for a while, but didn't really have a hope of ever getting my hands on it. I missed the weekly release, which, while still expensive (about $10 a shot... for a 120 shots...) would have maybe been manageable over the long haul. However, trying to get your hands on all the parts at this point is not easy... and generally costs a mint. So, I'd more or less resigned myself to not getting this.

Greg Baker Författare
However, as luck would have it, I seem to be getting a bit of a reputation as a builder of Tintin models on a few spots on the internet and after making a few connections ran across a guy who HAD gone to the book store 120 times... and then got in over his head. So for over 10 years this partially started project has sat in his basement... until this past week. There was a bit of negotiation, but the price was quite reasonable (all things considered) and, after finding a few unloved boxes of comic books and sports cards in MY basement, I was able to a 3-way trade and close the deal. 😄

Greg Baker Författare
Yesterday the box showed up on my front doorstep... in less than stellar condition. I'm really glad this box was only being shipped across the country and not overseas, because I'm sure I would lost half the parts somewhere over the Atlantic. 🙂 I get the impression that the seller doesn't do a lot of online sales... because he basically threw whatever was on the table in his basement into a flimsy box, threw a scrap of bubble wrap on top and put a piece of tape over the top. However, after a close inspection I was very glad to find that everything arrived more or less intact. I thought I was going to have to craft a few bits to replace the broken off tips on a few of the pieces, but luckily I actually found them on my front step this afternoon. Anyway, it's been cleaned up, all the bags have been inventoried, the broken bits glued back on... and it's ready to go. The first 9 steps have been completed so I'm starting from step 10... only 110 more to go! Stay tuned! This one's going to take a while...

Cuajete
Interesting story. Glad you were able to get it, Greg 👍
110 updates ahead seem to promise hours of fun and days of watching it here 🙂
I can't miss this!

Greg Baker Författare
Thanks Cuajete. One of the problems with inheriting a partially started model like this is that sometimes you need to undo someone else's mistakes. This is a rather precise "kit" and I've already had to partially disassemble it to a) clear out a glob of wood glue that was pushing up one of the ribs and would make the deck warp, and b) sand down the cut edges so that the little burs don't keep the parts from sitting flush. Luckily the previous owner didn't do such a great job to glue the pieces in place, so it's coming apart relatively easily. Maybe I should tear the whole thing down and start over…

LucLuke B
Count me in.
Yes, maybe a good idea to go back to step one.

Alec K
Taking a seat. What a journey so far!

Greg Baker Författare
Thanks guys. LucLuke - I've inspected the rest of the pieces closely and there are 3 that I think were originally mis-aligned. So, I think after a bit or regluing I should be good going forward now. I'm a little warry of the MDF wood - it's a lot less forgiving than plastic. I don't want to break and of the pieces by trying to take them apart because they're unlikely to simply break cleanly like polystyrene. The MDF will tear and become full of fibre. That will make it almost impossible to get it back in position.

Cuajete
I agree with you, Greg. The cure could be worse than the disease 👍

Spanjaard
this will cer6be an epic project, not to be missed 🙂

Greg Baker Författare
It'll be an epic... one way or the other. 😉

I just hope Lode doesn't show up until it actually looks like a ship... and not just leftovers from a home building project. 🙂

CaptGPF
Taking a seat - this is definitely going to be insteresting!

Matti Thomaes
Permission to come on board, Sir? very interrested in this one.

Ben M
🏴‍☠️

Greg Baker Författare
Thanks guys. This one promises to be a long and plodding project. It'll be a new experience for me though, that's for sure.

bughunter
Great story and nice that you don't have to wait another week or more to get next set parts 👍 The rather large gunship looks really small compared to this new ship.
Watching no matter how long it takes!

Greg Baker Författare
Thanks Frank. The pirate ship does look small, but I'm happy to note that I think I got the scaling bang on. My original thought for this project was the Heller 1/100 Soleil Royal (with heavy modifications) and the pirate ship is a 1/110 scale Bounty. Both of which were (at least to my eyeballs) pretty close to perfect for the scale given that this one is "scientifically calculated" to be 1/72 scale.

Anyway, I'm still in the re-do mode. I can tell that the previous owner was a bit less than careful in putting some of the pieces together. I've had to break down a few more parts, do a bit of sanding and then re-glueing them back in the proper place. The trim along the hull for the canons was particularly sloppy and I think that would have caused me a lot of grief once I try to get the hull put together because they would've caused gaps in the planking.

LucLuke B
What's worse is that you've got to build three.