>>96785907
The easiest option is to find 1:100 plastic kits and play at 15mm using the old cm = inches hack.

The best cheap 28mm pirate ship is the Blood and Plunder plastic Bermuda sloop. $40 with lots of deck dressing and you can easily re-rig it as a ketch, barque, or brig with a bit of work. Works for about 20 crew. Firelock also sell blisters of guns, ship's fittings, and wheels among other things. Even have rigging kits for building out your own hull.
https://firelockgames.com/products/bermuda-sloop-ship-kit
Most MDF kits kinda look like shit, especially for the price. Only worth it if you can't scratch for the life of you and it's an uncommon subject.

Don't buy the Reaper ships. They're giant janky lumps of PVC. You have to pin and weld them with solvents and dowels, then slap on a base to hold it together, re-rig it, and build out new deck furniture to get it to look halfway decent. Guess how I found out.