Building the 1/350th Scale Noah's Ark Minicraft Kit

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I am in the process of building this kit now. Check back to watch it's progress as I get 'er done!

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Hello! I'm Mr. Ed

Blog Created: 3-4-2023

Last Updated: 7-14-2023

The two main colors of paint that I am using are Rust-Oleum brand oil-based enamels. Gloss Leather Brown #7775 and Gloss Sand #7771. I bought them at Menard's..

Greetings ~

We all know the story of Noah's Ark. The dude who sailed the big boat full of animals during the world's first flood. God told him that he needed to build a boat and gather pairs of animals from all over the world to re-populate the earth because there was to be a great flood to destroy all the evil. God told Noah how to build the vessel as there was no internet or You Tube in those days for Noah to check out. So he was hoping that God knew what he was talking about when it came to ship building. He must have because we have a ton of animals in the world today because of one man...and of course, God. Plus we have flies, mosquitoes, hornets, wasps, bats, snakes, spiders and a bunch of other critters we don't need. Thanks God!...and Noah! You should have kept a better watch as to what got onto that boat. But anyway -

This blog is not the story of Noah or his animals, or his boat. This blog is the story of me building the Minicraft scale model of Noah's Ark in 1/350th scale plastic. The kit is from 2009 and was released by Minicraft Model Kits Company. I've built other Minicraft kits such as the 1/350th scale Titanic. So I know the kits and they are done very well.

This kit came from my brother-in-law's estate. He actually started it by installing the animal cages but sadly, he had a massive heart attack at the age of 61 and died. When I got the kit from his widow I really wanted to finish it for him. So that's where I am now.

Like all Minicraft kits, this one has a load of parts. It comes with a detailed display stand, eight pairs of animals, (Noah had a lot more). And it is complete with the figure of Noah himself. Go figure!

The kit's number is MK-60. It is a plastic kit but claims to be museum quality. Once finished, it is over 18-1/2" long. It is accurately scaled to the cubit which was the measurement system at the time since they didn't know about feet and inches back then. No measuring tapes or rulers. The instructions say that this model is "authentic to the biblical account" of the original boat.

I'm hoping that the finished piece will go on our mantel under the wife's Noah painting. So, without further ado, let's get this puppy started! ( I guess there were puppies on the ark too).

This painting of Noah's Ark hangs over our fireplace. My brother-in-law was the person who made the frame for it years ago.

The kit comes with a booklet explaining the story of the Ark.

Chuck had already gotten all the animal cages put in. I began the model by gluing in the inner walls on the various decks.

When Chuck started the kit, he painted some of the inner decks. He painted them a very light tan. For one thing, I have no idea what color he used. Plus, It was too light for my taste. (Sorry Chuck).

I decided to repaint them a darker color. I figured that the original Ark's interior would have been probably a hard wood such as oak so i went with the darker Rust-Oleum gloss leather brown. This is paint color number 7775. It was a real chore painting all the cages but I got it done.

I prefer using paints and stains that are made in the USA. Rust-Oleum is manufactured in Vernon Hills, Illinois.

Still Painting Decks & Cages ~

Next I started painting the decks with the divider walls.

All of the decks are now painted.

I took a few days off for health issues. But I'm now back at it ~

I'm starting the painting of the hull halves. For this I am using the Gloss Sand color.

It's not very different from the model's original color. But the paint gives it a gloss shine plus there's a woodgrain effect.

Some More Time Off ~

I'm doing this model as I get time. It's a good thing that God was not depending on me to build the original ship. If he had, there would be no elephants in Africa today and the cowboys in the old west would have been walking everywhere. In other words, there would be no animals in the world now.

More decks get painted.

Other parts are painted and left to dry.

All the decks get glued in place. We start with the lower decks with the animal cages. The decking is slightly warped from age. So they have to be clamped in place until the glue dries.

The next deck is glued in place. It had to be weighted down.

These decks are slightly warped from age. I had touse weights on all of them.

I put little spots of glue on the tops of the cages and on the hull walls to hold the decks. However, I DID NOT glue the ends yet as they will not stay in place. I'll glue them later on.

I took a moment to look over the animals. They are tiny, around N-gauge. I'm hoping my old hands can still paint stuff this small.

And Noah is even smaller.

Now that the glue holding the decks in place is dry, I glued the ends and then put rubber bands around them to hold them in place.

The rubber bands actually worked pretty darned good. Surprising!

Now the last of the inner decks is glued in on both sides. Again rubber bands are used on the end areas.

And again I had to use weights.

So now I put in the upper deck. I rubber banded this one too at both ends.

The rubber bands seem to keep just enough pressure on the deck ends to keep them in place until the glue dries.

Next, the ramps are glued into the interior sections.

Now I start gluing together the upper section where Noah and his family stayed.

This piece will be glued into the bottom, or hull of the ship.

It's put in place, but not glued yet, to check it's fit.

Now I glued the ramp in the other side of the hull.

Then I painted the top of the bottom hull section. The bottom of this piece will stay the original color.

Each deck has a section of the floor to glue in. These are painted the darker brown to match up with the interior.

The bottom section of the hull is glued into place and clamped.

Display Stands ~

Next, I glued the two display stands together. These stands will be fastened to the two hull sections at the last stages of construction. Once the Ark is finished, it will be able to be opened to see the interior. So each section will have a stand attached. The model will be able to be viewed from both sides.

The two stands are glued together.

Next, the lower deck floor is glued in.

The next deck is glued in place.

All of the inner deck are in.

Next I painted the ship's display stand.

The next thing is to paint the name letters on the stand. I'm using Testors gloss red.

Next, I glued the top deck in place.

Again, I used rubber bands to keep the deck in place. It didn't want to stay and the ends keep popping out.

So now this side of the hull is finished.

Next I assembled the other half of the deck house.

Then I glued the deck house to the top deck half of the other side.

It's left to dry.

Next I painted the backs of the stands so they are done.

Painting Tip ~

When using the quart size paints for scale modeling, I shake the can and then use the paint fron the inside of the lid. It saves the paint and you can use it a lot longer. The paint inside the lid will just harden anyway so you may as well use it.

The top deck on the other side is now glued on.

The animals are tiny. Possibly "N" gauge.

I wish there were more animals. But then, I would have to paint more so maybe it's just as well there aren't.

Showing how tiny they are.

I gathered some water-based craft paints.

I am painting the animals from memory. I would have to find pictures, print them out and take them down to the workshop. No thanks! I will just paint them as I remember them.

The ship itself is finished. There's a few things that need yet to be done. Such as painting the details on Noah and installing the outdoor hatch and ramp. The ramp comes first.

The hatch door is installed. This part has small hinges and it is NOT glued in place. The door is put in by sliding it through the opening in the hull corner to corner and then turning it into place.

I glued the ramp to the hatch door. There are small spots on the corners to insert the ramp. Then I used a steel weight and a few popsicle sticks to hold it in place for the glue to dry.

I didn't glue the hatch door as it will need to hinge so, once the model is displayed, it can be raised or lowered as to the place it is displayed on.

I have no idea how Noah kept the elephants and buffalos from falling over the side of the ramp. Another history mystery I guess.

I painted Noah's outfit off white. Then painted the face and hands flesh color. Then I painted his beard black. I finished by painting blue stripes on his outfit. I did this by using a pin as the paintbrush so the stripes would be real thin.

I cut out a white base for the animals using thin white cardbaord.

Then I glued Noah on the top deck right over the exit hatch.

IT'S FINISHED!

The Ark on the fireplace mantel ~

The most fitting place is on the mantel under the painting.

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Model Revue ~

Overall, this kit is pretty nice. However, I think for a kit in this scale, it's actually small. I guess that's because it's so plain. It's a nice kit but I have seen it listed for $90. This is too much for what it is.

It took a few months to build. But that was because I set it aside many times for other projects. Actually, this kit should take you about a week or less to build.

I would say that $40 would be a much more fair price for this kit. If you get one have fun with it. But just a note...Noah is tiny and a real bitch to paint. Other than that, it's a fairly easy kit to assemble.

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