Ahoy!
So… I don’t have anything new to process-post yet, but I’ve never really told you about my Seahorse Barque process. See, this one was my first-ever Robotime kit, and I didn’t even know there was a community by the time I was done with it. I was just looking for models, I’m a pirate-universe-lover, I randomly found this “build this amazing pirate ship without any kind of glue”… And MAN, I was sooo in. So I ordered it through Amazon, I received it the next day… And I was sooo ready to start my journey! Again, it was my first time, so… Errors were made and parts were broken. But a ship was built. So behold! And remember this day as the day you ALMOST caught… Captain Jack Sparrow!
Okay, so… I’m posting this as a long-post since it’s about my whole building process of the Seahorse Barque kit. I’ll try to make it… Not too boring? Nor longer than I should. But it won’t be short either. I’ll also try and add as many tips as I can remember from my building progress almost half a year ago 
but since I still have my pictures I’ve decided to share it with you. Why not?
What I can tell you 100% is that the first thing you build is a tiny little pirate ship on a gear you can freely rotate with your finger. I really though that was gonna go somewhere in the main ship! It took me a while to learn that it was a bonus little build as an extra (and you can find that kind of thing in A LOT of Robotime kits actually). It’s a cute one! After that it was time to build the base that would hold the ship once built. I did find the ROKR sign a bit tricky to put together on it, and the parts holding said sign are reeeeally fragile. So be careful with that.
Actually, at this moment the base of my Seahorse Barque has no ROKR sign at all, since those holding parts actually broke. 
Anyway, the build goes on! Or it actually begins here with the Seahorse Hull. By putting the first set of black pieces together it’s already coming to an interesting shape, isn’t it? Maybe because of the black seahorse siluette already showing off around the bow are. Amazing! I don’t remember those first steps being particularly complicated, although you have to use your screwdriver here and be careful how to put those screws to hold the long wood sheets properly against the skeleton of the ship.
And well, after adding a few details to the hull and stick the light brown colors to it, it was time to be ready for the fight! This was my first time ever learning what it means to properly wax this kind of thing. Once the cannon deck was prepared, well… I can’t really tell you for how long was I playing moving those cannon lines in and out of the deck part 
After this, of course, you’ll add the low cannon deck to the ship and you’ll surround it with the hatchs. I love how the little details are already showing, like those stairs going down into the ship! I’ve always told you this is one of my main reasons to love this brand: attention to detail is spot on in every single kit I’ve tried so far.
The ship comes with a system through which you move a specific part (the tall one in the center-ish of the cannon deck) and the cannons push themselves through the hatches! Then you move that part back and cannons hide themselves again. It’s a wonderful detail! The one and only interactive thing you’ll find in the Seahorse Barque really, but it’s a worth it one.
Although… I find a little issue here, I don’t know if it’s only me (@jeanneL , @Jerry_Boswijk?), but some of the hatches don’t work properly. Like… Some of them will only open a little bit, and others will open too much and too high so they won’t close by themselves when the cannons move back inside. But it’s a minor issue either way!
Okay! Then it’s time to hide all this and bring the Main Deck. As I’m sure you’ve seen by yourselves more than once, to add one big part to cover something else it’s trickier than you could expect, because… Well, there are a looot of holes to align for it to fit perfectly. In those cases, I tend to use the screwdriver (or a provided tool part if the kit comes with it) to help myself with it since my fingers won’t reach the parts properly.
And then, after some time and effort… Voilà!
Of course, after adding the deck, it’s time to start covering it with details! Firstly you’ll add some parts of the bow structure as well as a couple of boats and the bell. Yeah, the bell! I didn’t expect that either, and that’s what’s inside that little “building” thing that looks like a tiny kind of temple. It’s a bit tricky to put together, but it’s nice for the eye, isn’t it?
After that, more details include the stairs and my personal favourite, the main boat that cover the cannon structure and that becomes what you’ll push and pull for the cannons to come out or go back in. Well thought, @Robotime, well thought!
By then I was already having the “this is really going somewhere” feeling you usually have when you’re advancing in the build and you feel like you’re getting closer to the end. And that feeling was stronger once I started building the stern platform, or the Captain Quarters if you like.
Those stairs and railings were particularly tricky but, personally, the structure on the back (the whole part that covers the Captain Quarters from behind) were the most complicated part of this kit to put together. You’re supposed to hold a decent amount of parts together with one of those parts that you have to carefuly fold, and that’s sooooo easily brekable. It broke, actually, and I had to use some glue for the first (and only) time here.
Also, the kit comes with some translucent plastic parts that are supposed to be the windows for the quarters, but I was so frustrated with this particular step of the process that I completely forgot to add the one in the back. So guess what? My Seahorse Captain has no windows from behind so you can see everything that’s going on there. As @Jerry_Boswijk once said, it seems like all my builds come with a distinctive customization, huh?
OH! About this last photo. Sadly I can’t tell you the specific page or step since I don’t keep the manual, but see the top of the picture where the wheel is? Right behind it, the manual will prompt you to add a small circled thing covering a “+” shaped hole (one of the masts will go there), and behind that, a small structure that looks like a small bench or something like that. Don’t put that bench thing yet and save it for later. Maybe it’s a mistake on the manual, idk. But once you’re done building everything and you’re doing the ropes around the sails, the manual will pretend that you’ve never put that benched thing in the ship and will ask you to make it, add a rope to it, and THEN fit it into the structure so the rope will be hold there. So if you don’t trust me here, you’ll do the same as I did and you’ll need to carefully remove that “bench” (wich is not easy with all the details and sails around) so you can proceed, add the rope to it and fit it again. I’m not sure if I’ve been clear about the information here, but I hope this is helpful for somebody 
Moving on! Everything was looking so magestic now, even if there were no windows behind lol. So there were only two remaining things to put together: the sails and masts, and the ropes.
For the sails, you’re supposed to go from bow to stern, so the first one will be the reeeeally first one you see when looking at the ship.
I really liked the material used to make the sails. It really feels… Sail-y, if that makes any sense? and it’s really easy to work with. One advice though! If you’re keeping your sails sheet in the box with all the other parts, be sure to keep it flat and smooth. I didn’t, and one of my sails is a bit bent/twisted in one corner. Nothing too serious, but it could’ve looked better if that didn’t happened!
Anyway, after the bow sail, you’ll have to prepare three masts with their sails and then attach them to the deck structure. You want to be careful with the attach-the-mast-to-the-deck process, so they’ll fit correctly in the first hole and then the second one without breaking anything through it. Once you’re done, it’ll look something like this and you’ll feel amazing about it:
A-MA-ZING, right? It even took me a few days to move on and start with the ropes. I was a bit afraid also, I wasn’t sure how able I was gonna be to do that without breaking something. But it was easier than expected! The manual tells you how long to cut each piece of rope (and it’s telling you to cut it longer than you need it on purpose). If you follow the manual carefully, the explanations on how and where to move and attach the ropes are really easy and straightforward, and then you just tighten it properly and cut the spare.
And then… That’ll be it! You’ll add the last ropes and structure details, and your Seahorse Barque will be ready to leave behind the East India Company and the whole of the marines armada.
Let me tell you something. I’be built the Seahorse Barque, the Water Lilly, the Dream Gift Factory, the Music Carousel, a couple of Pendulum Balance Toys, the 3D Airplane, the Bookstore Book Nook, the small Ferris Wheel, the Titanic… And while I had a lot of fun with all of them and I particularly love the Dream Gift Factory, there’s something about the Seahorse Barque that still makes it the one I’m most proud of so far.
Thanks for reading! It’s been a hell of a journey, and it was fun to remember this whole process in my head through those pictures.
It still look flawless to me.
