chris watton

Oh, I did forget to add, all laser cut parts have their part number laser etched next to them. In some cases, this doubles the time each sheet is on the laser bed, but it does lessen the ambiguity of identifying the parts, and there are a lot of parts!

The differences are that copper photo etched tiles are on a sheet, required breaking off like a chocolate bar and each glued into position, whilst the copper tape is tape, on a roll, which you need to cut to length, but due to it being self adhesive, you need no glue to fix them. One other small difference is cost. I had always meant to include the PE copper as standard, but due to lack of availability and massive price hikes, I had to change this. If it were included as standard, the kit price would be £1500. I know some will not copper the bottom anyway, especially those who have the boxwood planking option. (The copper plate PE option will have a rudder pattern, though, so there is a port and starboard pattern as well as outer edge).

Looks fantastic, well done, Kevin!

Nice update! OK, I can now finally give hard details about release dates and costs. All of the production for Indy is now fully complete, photo etched brass, all castings and laser cut parts. Production started at the start of this year, but I have had to produce a lot of our existing kits in between. The time for each kit for laser cut parts is nine and a half hours. This is only for actual laser cutting time, and does not include removing and setting up each batch of material on the laser table (plus laser/extractor maintenance etc.), so the real time would be more like 11-12 hours dedicated to each kit for laser cutting. There are a total of 51 individual laser cut sheets, and with the (very limited) engraved deck option, 53 sheets and an hour added to that overall cutting time. This is all done on my large laser machine, and for the main construction parts, materials twice the size of Sphinx. Pricing: VM/12 HMS INDEFATIGABLE - £1350 VM/12/PB HMS INDEFATIGABLE Machined Pear block and deadeye set - £140 VM/12/Box HMS INDEFATIGABLE Boxwood Planking set -£450 VM12/D1 HMS INDEFATIGABLE Laser engraved deck set -£120 VM12/CP01 HMS INDEFATIGABLE PE copper plate set -£150 I have stock for 50 kits. (Complete kits with all masting and rigging materials, as usual) For the pearwood block and deadeye set, I have 30 sets in stock. The boxwood planking option includes all hull planking strip, including deck planking, in boxwood. Right now, I have ordered enough for 5 kits, but 2 of the 5 have already been pre ordered. If people want this, I will order more. This is due in January The laser engraved deck option is very limited, due to the sheer amount of scrap wood not suitable for the job. I was meant to have at lease 30 sets, but only have 8. The PE copper option will be available by the time of the kit launch, but is now quite expensive, and did not include in the kit for this reason (copper tape is included, and is what Jim will use). I was not sure I could even get this until a week ago. The kit will be available for pre order next week, with the actual release being mid-late February

Cheers guys! Just had this book arrive: Royal Yachts – Under Sail – VANGUARD MODELS It is very nice, have kept one for my own library...

Very nice work, Glenn, well done!

I am hoping to have the first 50 kits on pre order in 3-4 weeks, and the first kits being sent out in early Feb. Everything is ready, material wise, all I am waiting for is the finished hull, so the instructions can be completed.

Thank you, guys, for the birthday wishes! I started in this 'Industry' when I was 26, so have spent well over half a lifetime doing this stuff now! Today I have been mainly doing the American privateer designs and more Sphinx laser cut sheets for a Krick order, no let up!

Thank you, Kevin! Yep, 56 now, so probably have at least another 20 years of doing kits, all being well...

Am now on my second prototype hull for the large armed schooner after further fine tuning... OK, today I finally received my Alert premium sail sets (paid for and ordered back in May)! Alert Sail Set – VANGUARD MODELS I have put in another order which should be with me in the New Year. Also, here at last is my Indefatigable pear block and deadeye stock (a lot of blocks and deadeyes)!, so these will be available when the kit is on pre order. I will finish all Indy laser cutting within the next week (damn that's a lot of material), so all that will be left is to wait for Jim to complete the hull. As soon as this is done and have finished updating the manual, I shall release. Finally, I invested in an A0 plotter, so was able to print and send Jim all of the Indy plans, which makes things a little easier for him, especially for masts and yards.

Nope.....

It is not Pride of Baltimore. I see no sense in developing kits others have already done, even more so when it's a brand new range. I prefer to do stuff that hasn't been done thus far.

It is 64th scale. I will announce the name of the vessel at a later date. I literally only started this on Monday. I think this is my very first American vessel I have designed!

Nicely done, Yves!

Very first assembly of a brand new design for kit 13. Overall, the fit is great, but some areas need more work... (Baltimore built vessel) Hull length is around 505mm (almost 20"), so quite a bit larger than Speedy

Hello Gary. These colours are the ones (or very close equivalents) I have used for three decades, both for my personal builds (before even designing my first model) right up until now. The turquoise is a new one, and I think it is a very good match for the background colour (or an alternative to standard blue) for frieze work. The rest are all pretty standard colours that would have been available in most boatswains stores. Some would be lighter or darker, depending on how much they had and how much they would thin it down, plus weathering...

Looking really good, Kevin!

That is amazing!

That's certainly a big girl!

The kits are made up in batches, which my wife does, using a picking list drawn up by me. I can accommodate the odd change, but what I cannot do is offer an 'A La Carte' choice for each kit, as they have been developed from the start to be full kits. So, something like Indy (or even Sphinx) would become an absolute nightmare to produce if they were not all the same, there are just so many parts.

The problem is that the parts for masts are also on the PE and laser cut sheets, which also contain hull parts. I have said this before, omission of dowel, blocks and rigging thread would not have much of an impact on the overall kit cost, as around 98% of the costs go into the hull - plus you would still need 7, 5 and 3mm deadeyes for the chainplates. However, for those who do not want dowel, thread and blocks, you can contact me and I will see what I can do - but it will not make much difference to the cost.

I will need to wait until Jim has finished the hull. I will then release. I am hoping to implement pre orders in December and the actual release being in January. By December, I will have all remaining parts I ordered here with me and all laser cut sheets done (I started this before Summer!). I already have the PE sets here, and all castings are done and packed. I should have a pear block and deadeye option available too, by the time of pre order. For those that may ask, yes, the Indy will contain all parts for masts and rig, there are 9 x 980x680mm plan sheets for masts, yards and rig; and all dowel, rigging thread, blocks and laser cut parts are included, as usual.

I just received my paint sets for wood and flesh tones, plus a standalone sunny skin tone colour. Paint – VANGUARD MODELS Yesterday, I started the A3 Indy manual, this is my last big job for this development!

Yes, it must be said, Indy was always designed with red alder planking strips as the deck planking from the beginning. The pre engraved decks option was and is only an optional extra.

Another little update. I am certainly getting quite a few by products from the Indefatigable development - figures, paint sets, and now flag sets. I initially purchased the flag sets as an optional extra for the Indy kit (and they will be), but as I have them here, they are now for sale. I have a red ensign set and a white ensign set. I may get a blue ensign set for completion at a later date. They are: Red or white Ensign (120x70mm) 1707 - 1800 Union Flag (75x50mm) 1606 - 1800 Tricolour Pennant (255x17mm) 1661 - 1850 Flag sets – VANGUARD MODELS And talking of Indy, today I finally completed all plan sets, there are 26 sheets in total, all 680x980mm in size. Next week, I shall start on the manual. And finally, moving on to decks... OK, regarding pre-engraved decks. I need to rethink these due to batch after batch I order being no good. The maple veneer of late is like the picture attached, so is useless for decks, and the maple sheet scrap rate is now way, way too high. I ordered enough 0.8x200x800mm maple sheet to produce 60 Indy kits worth, but in reality, I can get about 15 kits worth from the whole batch, due to knot holes and too much colour variation and/or 'tiger striping' the same as can be seen in the maple veneer pic. I ordered very large sheets (1.5x2.5 metres) of both maple and birch veneer from another supplier, but again, no good for decks due to too strong a contrast in patterns and colours. With this in mind, pre-engraved decks for Indy will be very few. My last option is to try limewood, as this is the most neutral of woods for colour variation. What I do know is that I am done wasting literally hundreds upon hundreds of Pounds on veneer and sheet that I cannot use, hence scrap. With this being a natural product, I have no comeback, so I cannot afford to keep gambling with each order I make any longer. The smaller kits are fine, up to Sphinx size, but for anything larger, it is a problem. I have one more avenue to go down for Indy, and this is with limewood and alder. I have ordered some sample sheets to see if this would do the job.