This was my first experience with a Zvezda kit. The parts go together well enough, but I did need a bit of filler to fill in some gaps. The instructions took some getting used to, though, particularly when it came to the sails and rigging. Nitpicks aside, it is a great looking kit. And the only one of its kind, so hats off to Zvezda for making it. A note on the scale: the box says it's scale 1:72, although my Italeri 1:72 Greek hoplites seem to be a little on the large side for it. You are given the option of building the trireme with its keel in place, so you can display it on a stand (which is included), or you can build it waterline up. I chose the latter and glued it to a 5 mm sheet of polystyrene. The sheet measures 50 x 25 cm, which is too narrow to display the ship with its oars extended. I therefore chose to shorten the oars as if they were retracted during sailing. I painted the polystyrene sheet with different shades of blue and then painted on a coat of Vallejo Water ...