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Vane reacted to a post in a topic: Chris Watton and Vanguard Models news and updates Volume 2
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mtaylor reacted to a post in a topic: How will laser cutters compliment our hobby tomorrow?
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Gregory reacted to a post in a topic: How will laser cutters compliment our hobby tomorrow?
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How will laser cutters compliment our hobby tomorrow?
Vane replied to EspenT's topic in 3D-Printing and Laser-Cutting.
I think there are two major problems for the wooden ship kit industry to evolve: - Its a very small market and I am not so sure if there are so many new "modellers" getting in to it - Its very traditional relying on traditional material and alot of carve it yourself practices Look at the major manufactureers. They dont come up with any new kits and most of what they sell are 20-50 year old kits. 3d printing and lazer cutters have been around for years but the kits are still made from plywood/walnut milled in CNC machines and casted white metal. Vanguard models is the pioneer in reinventing the business with much success but its a very niche market. And are the old modellers willing to change? Can wooden ships actually be made of the "wrong materials" like resin and plastics? Chris Wattons "plastic guns" are way more detailed than the ones in metal but they dont have the same weight. Is it real then? Personally I love alolt of the new stuff to make modelling more detailed and also easier. Buuuuut..... not all new solutions. China is another problem. They dont care about copyright so if they get their hands on the data files we can expect them to start copying.... -
Vane reacted to a post in a topic: Chris Watton and Vanguard Models news and updates Volume 2
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Vane reacted to a post in a topic: Chris Watton and Vanguard Models news and updates Volume 2
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Ryland Craze reacted to a post in a topic: HM Bomb Vessel Granado 1742 by ECK - Amati/Victory Models - 1:64
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I wish some 3rd party could start doing 3D printed upgrades for shipmodels. Vanguard models has through new engineering excellent details in there lineup. But all these old school kits with white metal solutions are just horrible and dont do the models justice. Here is how i ended up with the Caldercraft kit. I decided to be abit creative in my paint scheme.
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Vane reacted to a post in a topic: Chris Watton and Vanguard Models news and updates Volume 2
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What a surprise...! I know its not the real thing but I got to see the movie ship back in 2012 when I was visiting San Diego. I just looked at the old Caldercraft project of Surprise. Not sure why they never finished it. I remember being very excited about that release but seeing the photos now it looks very dated and undetailed. It will be really interesting to see what you will come up with. I am sure you will do her justice.
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Vane reacted to a post in a topic: Chris Watton and Vanguard Models news and updates Volume 2
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Vane reacted to a post in a topic: Chris Watton and Vanguard Models news and updates Volume 2
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Vane reacted to a post in a topic: Chris Watton and Vanguard Models news and updates Volume 2
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Vane reacted to a post in a topic: Chris Watton and Vanguard Models news and updates Volume 2
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Caldercraft hasnt done anything to their Nelson Navy series since the beginning of the 2000s so I dont think we can expect anything from them at all. They have a great line-up of kits but IMHO they are in desperate need of updates but they simply gave up on product development. Just take the plans and manual for the Diana kit as an example. Without seeing others builds on this site, I would be completely lost. The Harpy look indeed very interesting. Taking a first glance at the plans it indeed looks very much as Speedy... but it is much bigger in size. I really need to start the rigging of my Speedy but been caught up in plastic models for a long time now.
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Vane reacted to a post in a topic: Chris Watton and Vanguard Models news and updates Volume 2
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Vane reacted to a post in a topic: Chris Watton and Vanguard Models news and updates Volume 2
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Yes, but in this case the price range goes from just buying separate blocks to the MS edition. If I understand correctly, there are also various of blocks available to other ships and they dont have it on the same page. My point was simply that Flirt seem to be listed abit differently than the other kits that seem to follow a certain style.
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Sorry for being a Besserwisser, but I just noted an anomaly on your webpage when checking out the latest releases.... instead of "HMS Flirt - 1782" it has been listed as "Order 1:64 HMS Flirt". And it also has a odd price range since you could order block through it. Order 1:64 HMS Flirt – VANGUARD MODELS I know you are a perfectionist so I thought I would point it out 😛
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Interesting concept, she looks great! I think several of your old design deserve revisits. Just look how far you have taken this since the Diana days. When I compare my Snake to Speedy for example it looks so "bulky". Its nothing wrong with the old Snake but just imagine how it would look like/and build with your new design style and mtrl.
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Speaking of sales and perhaps this is company secrets... but just out of curiosity. You now start to have a very good lineup, what kits are doing well and is there any kit that has suprisingly low numbers for some reason? People have expressed lots of suggestions on what you should develop next but what is actually selling in practice?
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There she is! I am glad you went with her, its such a weird ship. And she actually looks better than I imagined. Kind of the opposite to Speedy which has the most beautiful and proportionate lines. Perhaps you should sell it as a pair under the name "the beauty and the beast"? I think it will sell just because it stands out to basically everything else on the market.
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The content of the kit is clearly explained at the website so that customer hasnt read what he is buying.... However, I think he just had gotten the wrong idea what Vanguard is all about. Shipmodelling has for decades been very traditional. Plywood, walnut and cast metal that many times looks quite bad. Even though a metal barrel might feel more genuine.. its not like you are going to fire them. As I understand, Vanguard is about re-inventing shipmodelling, using new materials and solutions in order to make models more accurate and also more easy to build where most companies just give you instructions how to carve out things from rectangular wooden blocks. I cant say I like all of your soilutions. But I definitely enjoy seeing the constant new designs. And when it is time to buy a new kit, I cant really see me going for something else than a Vanguard kit again.
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