Model Shipways Ernest Hemingway's Pilar - 1:30 Scale Wooden Sportfishing Boat Model Kit

fished for marlin. Now you build the legend.

In 1934, Ernest Hemingway ordered a 38-foot Wheeler motor yacht custom-built for one purpose: adventure.

He named her Pilar—after the fearless heroine of For Whom the Bell Tolls, and quietly, after his nickname for his second wife, Pauline.

She carried him through the waters of Key West, the Bahamas, and Cuba in pursuit of giant marlin, new stories, and whatever waited beyond the horizon.

Hemingway didn't just fish from her. He wrote on her. He lived on her.

He chased marlin and even used her to hunt German submarines in the Caribbean during WWII.

Today, nearly a century later, Pilar remains preserved at Hemingway's pre-Castro home in Cuba.

Now you can have her on your workbench.

The Kit

Designed by master modeler Marcelo Matrangolo of Nauticurso Brazil and manufactured in the USA by Model Shipways, Pilar is a true plank-on-frame wooden ship model that captures the character of Hemingway's beloved sportfishing yacht in remarkable detail.

Length: 16" (406mm)

Width: 4¾" (19" with outriggers)

Height: 7½" (10" with outriggers)

The dramatic fishing outriggers, elevated bridge, elegant cabin, and classic Wheeler lines make Pilar unlike anything else in a ship model collection.

An Unique Model Kit

Authentic Plank-on-Frame Construction

You build this hull the exact way real twentieth-century boatbuilders did. Erect 20 precise laser-cut frames onto the included building board, join the two-part keel to form the central spine, and lay individual wood planks from keel to rail. Every bend, seam, and plank edge is yours, resulting in a historically accurate hull that solid-wood kits simply cannot replicate.

High-Tier Laser-Cut Precision

Frames, bulkheads, deck structures, cabin sides, and roof support beams are cleanly engineered on premium laser-cut sheets for an incredibly tight, seamless fit. Supporting tabs are designed to be sliced cleanly with a sharp hobby blade rather than punched out, safely preserving every fine point.

Intricate Cabin Interior & Exterior Subassemblies

The multi-stage cabin assembly builds out with beautiful interior panels, a windshield, delicate door trims, and a detailed radio console. Roof support beams are sanded perfectly flush to support the flying bridge , which features a functioning exterior ladder and a realistic 3-wire console connection drilled smoothly through the roof.

Hemingway’s Custom Fishing Details In Full Force

Pilar was heavily modified to Hemingway’s exacting specifications for offshore fishing, and this kit faithfully reproduces the features that made the vessel unique. This kit captures all of it:

Detailed fighting chair with footrest, armrests, and swivel pedestal

Complete flying bridge assembly

Scale fishing outriggers

Navigation lights and deck ventilators

Anchor winch and bollards

Detailed helm station

Propeller shaft and rudder assembly

Cabin radio equipment

Upper bridge railings formed from brass wire

Display stand included

The fighting chair alone has seven separate cast parts, a miniature project in itself.

The kit also includes a full decal sheet featuring:

Pilar name markings

Key West transom graphics

Hull registration numbers

Wheeler builder's badge

Decorative hull artwork

What's in the Box

Laser-cut wooden parts

Hull planking stock

Deck and trim stock

Cast metal fittings

3D Printed Resin fittings

Brass wire

Dowel stock

Full decal set

Display stand

25-pages fully illustrated instruction manual

Required Skill Level: Intermediate to Advanced

This kit uses construction details and techniques that require some previous ship modeling experience. It assumes comfort with planking hulls , working with varied adhesives , cutting supporting wood tabs cleanly , and bending or soldering brass wire elements.

Kit Specifications

The marlin may be gone.

The adventures are history.

But Pilar remains.