„Schwarzer Rabe“ – the flute of Republic of Both Nations/Dutch

Flute is a type of sail ship, built in Holland at the end of the 16th century. These ships, built also in Germany and in shipyards in the Baltic Sea region, have common features, that distinguish them from other types of ships. It has a characteristic rounded stern, hull construction and proportions. It is interesting, that the Dutch flut's for sailing in the Baltic Sea had such hull proportions, that they paid the lowest duty to the Danish customs. And the flut's intended for sailing to Spain and North Africa were seriously armed, because of the Dunkirk pirates, who were active there. Good seaworthiness, the possibility of armament, large cargo capacity made the use of these peculiar ships of that era very versatile. They participated in great geographical discovery and research expeditions, corsair raids, trade voyages and were also used as whaling ships. The "Czarny Kruk" ("Schwarzer Rabe") is one of six flutes, seized by the RBN fleet for smuggling contraband to Sweden. In the victorious battle of Oliwa this ship fought in the first escadre, which also included the galleons "Šwiety Jerzy" and "Raczy Jelen", the pinka's "Pana Wodna" and "Zolty Lew". The ship was armed with 8 lances and 2 iron cannons, the crew consisted of 35 sailors and 80 soldiers of the boarding team.

The model is well designed and detailed, of medium complexity, so we recommend it only for intermediate and experienced modelers to glue, but under the supervision of a more experienced colleague, it can be glued by both an advanced beginner and a low-experience modeler, but it will not be an easy job. Flags are double-sided printed on so-called "canvas" paper. It is possible to make one of three versions of the model: Dutch, Swedish or Republic of Both Nations. The publication is equipped with laser-cut cardboard frame parts of the required thickness