jimvanlan99

I can only speak for myself.  I am in the mountains of North Carolina, and, yes, UPS delivered the last mile.  I even took a handover from the driver - but he said nothing about the condition.  Sigh!

Jim

Kurt,

You and I must have had the same UPS delivery person.  I have now found that one Part Nr. 46, the port capping/drift rail (same as yours), broke at the very stem end.  I think I can fix it with a little bit of glue when it comes to putting it on the ship.  There were several laser cut parts that came loose from their positions on the sheet (this is the large, VERY THIN, sheet), but I think I am generally good to go.

Jim 

HMS Alert pulled into safe harbor in Boone, NC, this afternoon.  There must have been pretty rough seas between Britain and the mountains of NC as evident from the condition of the box upon arrival.  An examination of the contents indicates very minor damage to the long laser cut sheet, but it does not appear to affect the ship's parts themselves.  Thanks to Chris and UPS for great service.  It looks this is going to be one fun project!!!!  Jim 

I am in the United States - North Carolina.  Where are you folks seeing a delivery date?  I got a notice from Vanguard Models (Chris) that my order is complete.  But there was no tracking data or delivery date.  Just curious.

Jim 

Chris,

And so is mine.

Jim

Great, we'll be waiting!!!!!!!!!

Chris, your news about receipt of everything you need to ready "Alert" for sale to those of us anxiously awaiting her availability is wonderful news.  You are bringing increasing excitement to a lot of folks.   Good luck in your work to put the kits into their final forms!!!!!  Jim 

I think a lot of us are glad you, Chris, changed your mind.  And we are excitedly awaiting the availability of "Alert" for purchase.  At least, I know I am.

I just looked over the pictures of your manual for the Alert.  It looks terrific.  Like others who are following your progress on Alert, I am anxious to see its debut!  Congratulations on all the work you have done so far.  You are making it very tempting to say that Alert will be my "next" model.

Jim 

Congratulations on your upcoming release of the Alert.  I look forward to seeing it.  And, I like the idea of the 3-D figures on the models.  As someone said earlier, it provides a good link between history and our hobby of ship modeling.  Best of luck with the first production and here's hoping for many more after that.  Jim 

Chuck,

Reading through this thread regarding the "Winnie" has really whetted my appetite.  Your work looks absolutely marvelous.  Are you taking names for "pre-sales" or will it be first come, first served?  If you are taking names, please add Jim Van Laningham of Boone, NC, to your list. Otherwise, I will just keep my eyes peeled here and on your website for the first installment of the model and hope for the best.  If the "Winnie" is anything like your Medway Longboat on which I am working now (and I am sure it will be even better), it will be absolutely wonderful.  I really look forward to building it!

Jim

Johann - simply beautiful!  Inspirational for those of us who love the ship modeling hobby.

Johann, I thoroughly enjoy every one of your photographs and the beautiful craftsmanship that you put into your work.  You set a high standard, which I never hope to meet - but I certainly will keep trying - thanks to your inspiration!

Jim 

As always, a beautiful piece of craftsmanship.  Your work is truly awe-inspiring.  Thank you for sharing.

Robert,  I have a question for you, if you don't mind.  I am interested in getting the Caldercroft Victory model for my next project.  Now that you have been working on your model for some time, do you find that the wood provided in the kit is good for its use on the model, or do you find yourself replacing the kit's material with that from other sources?  On my current model, the Fair American, I have replaced virtually all the lumber and have hand built the deck fittings to get a better model. I am wondering if the same if going to be true of Caldercraft's Victory?

Jim 

Messis, can you tell me how you download build logs on this forum?  I would love to do that, especially Robert's Victory build.  It will be invaluable for future reference.

Thank you.  Jim

Bob, 

Both of those seem like great projects.  I have watched Chuck's kit come to being and would dearly love to try it myself.  Of course, right now, my full concentration is on Fair American.  

I will be following both of your projects as you work on them.  Your build logs are always informative, instructive and just plain fun to read.

Cheers,

Jim, 

Bob,

Congratulations on a beautiful build.  While it may not come up to your (very high) standards, it looks absolutely

terrific to me.  Hope your health problems are behind you and you can take up another, better build in the near

future.

Jim 

Dave,

Your model is looking great.  I like the hull, and your gun carriages from scratch are awesome.  Congratulations on the fine work.

Jim 

Bob,

Absolutely beautiful work on the rigging.  Happy New Year to you.

Jim 

Beautiful rigging, Bob.  You set a high standard indeed.

Jim 

Robert,

I really appreciate all of the detail you have provided on how to do the cannons and their carriages.  This is a great tutorial!  And the work you have done (I agree that taking shortcuts is seldom satisfactory in the end) is simply superb.  Thank you.  Your "tutorial"

will be of great use when I get to the point on Fair American that I want to work on the cannons.  Of course, I only have a total

of 14 cannons compared to the many more that you have done!

Thank you.

Jim 

Bob, 

Your craftsmanship is really awesome.  It is a true joy to see your work.

Jim 

Bob,

I am so glad that I found you working on this project.  I intend to pull up a chair, read the past postings and then watch 

as you progress with your marvelous modeling skills.

I have learned so much from your re-constructed build log for the Fair American.  I am using your work as a practicum

for the Fair American model that I have started.    I am sure I will learn every bit as much keeping up on this project of 

yours.

Fair Winds,

Jim

Tom,

You have done a terrific job!  Congratulations.  I will be sure to watch for further updates.  The Niagara is on my to-build list,

but I have enough on my hands at the moment with Fair American.  Again, a very nice build that you are doing.

Jim