chris watton

So, I ended up producing the following (64th): 14 foot cutter hull 16 foot cutter hull 18 foot cutter hull 20 foot cutter hull 22 foot cutter hull 24 foot cutter hull They should be available to buy very soon. Nisha and Erycina sail sets arrived today, along with new sizes of lanterns and more pear blocks. All sail sets ordered will be shipped this week. The CC cutter shell is well after my time.

The beige boat isn't painted (none in the pics are), it was just printed in beige photopolymer resin, and then the laser cut parts added. I do like these, as I had to have scale, or very to scale thickness or not bother. I see so many very good models almost ruined because the boat/s stick out like a sore thumb, and bare very little relation to the build quality of the mother ship. Everything must be of the same 'fidelity'. Cast metal boats were out of the question, as they almost always look awful, as do pre shaped wooden boats, and look nothing more than afterthoughts. (I have always thought this) I still prefer the laser cut and PE mini boat kits for the larger models, as they suit the completed model perfectly. Plus, I think that if you buy something like a Sphinx or larger, you should at the very least have the modest skills to build the boats that come with the kit. For smaller kits, it's a different matter, and I am hoping these resin boats will enhance the overall finish, rather than detract. Final tally, I will produce 4 sizes for the cutter, 14, 16, 18 and 20 foot (95.25mm). Jim will be making a 24 foot cutter (laser cut MDF frames and pear wood planks/thwarts etc.) during the next few weeks. The 24 footer will be included with the Indy, amongst others.

I am still unsure about the pear wood dowels. You see, I have to buy a lot of it in order for them to produce it for me, we're talking thousands of Pounds. I cannot simply order a couple of hundred, so I have to try and weigh up the pros and cons. I would love to offer this, as I feel it would be in keeping with the rest of the kits. But would customers pay the increase in kit cost - or do I offer it as an upgrade. If the latter, I still have to order a large amount, and hope that enough want it. Having said that, I probably will go for it at some point soon, and I will ask about square dowel. I still have to be very careful about what I invest in. I have attached some pics showing the final iteration of the new resin boat shells. These show the 16 foot cutter hull (but the 14 and 18 will be the same, just smaller and larger. I have left on the 'stumps' of the supports for when 3-d printing, so you can see what area needs slight sanding. Only the stern board requires cleaning up, as already mentioned, as these boat hulls are not cast. Downside is production time, 5 hours to produce (for the 14 foot, rising to 6.5 hours for the 18) and 30-40 minutes in post processing, but can do multiples at a time, so no big issue for me. Also in the pics is the smaller (slimmer, in beige resin - others are in white) 16 foot boat, which will be offered as an extra for the fishing boats kits. I should get my shipment of Nisha and Erycina sail sets in the next week. In that shipment, I have a re-supply of pear blocks (mostly single sheave, 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6mm sizes) and three new sizes of the detailed lantern kits in 17, 19 and 22mm sizes, so I will have 5 sizes to offer. I invest in these as they will be used in all future kits. Cheers!

Happy Christmas! Over the past few weeks, I have, amongst many other things, been working on trying to make small boat hull shells. I know that some have trouble making these with the small planks, and I thought they may make a nice alternative to the wood hull versions. Only the small boats, though. What I have done is produce hulls for a 14, 16 and 18 foot cutter (66, 75 & 84mm long), with 2 versions for the 16 foot, a standard and a slightly slimmer version for small decks (27.5 and 23.5mm widths). These are 3-d printed in SLA resin, so no mould separation lines and every hull is printed from the same master file, so they are always the exact same. I have tooled them so the supports are all on the flat stern board, and any slight support stumps are easily sanded off by simply rubbing the stern on a flat piece of sand paper. For now, only the slim 16 foot boat (not shown) has laser cut pear seats and oars, with the others being just the hull - but I figured it is the hull most would have problems with planking, the rest is easy. The planks are clinker and scale thickness, too. These will be available very soon, with the 14 and 16 foot versions being perfect for the fishing boats, and the 18 footer being for almost everything else. ETA - the three hulls shown are not the final versions.

Thank you, guys! I had the final part of my new laser purchase finally arrive this week, a monolith of an extractor for my new machine. I can now use both machines, as they both have their own extractor and air assist. (I think I was engraving two lots of Sphinx decks on the new laser, in the pics) A little more news: 1 - I can get hold of pearwood dowel. Is this something you would like in kits, or have an option for, as it is more expensive? 2 - Alert - I have started a 'Version 3' of this, and will be the final version, after bringing it up to my latest standards. This will be available once all V2 stock is gone - BUT, it will be £20 more expensive (All kit prices need to increase, in fact, as materials are getting more expensive, but will hold all prices for as long as I can). Alert 3 will need to cost more because the laser cut gratings are included, and the cannon carriages have been re-worked to have the cap squares integrated with the part, as per the Sphinx carriages. Laser engraved decks will be standard with this kit and the white metal anchor set replaced with a black resin 3-d printed version, eliminating the last trace of white metal from my kits. I will have to have the Alert manual updated when next printed. Staying with Alert - I am having a full sail set made for this kit, so a pre made set will be available early next year. The company that is doing these is the same that do the sets for Amati, Occre etc, and are not the same very high quality I get from the (much more) expensive current sail sets, and this will be reflected in the lower price, compared to my existing sets. I love the sail sets I have now, but they do take an age just to do 20 sets, and I am forever running out of stock. An alternative was sorely needed. I have ordered 100 sets each for Alert and other kits (Not Speedy, Flirt, Duchess or Sphinx) And finally, as I am writing this, something just arrived that I gave up all hope of seeing this side of Christmas - a 50kg pallet chock full of fresh photo etched brass and copper from Italy, that I was running short of! All I am waiting for now is my damned Nisha and Erycina sail sets..... Merry Christmas to all, and a Happy New Year! Chris

Just a little update. From very early 2022, KRICK will be my Vanguard Models German distributor. I am putting their first order together now. They already have copies of all master files for the plans and instructions, so they can produce their own German language versions. I have known Krick for 25 years, and am very happy for them to be my distributer for Germany. Over the past year, I have had many emails from people in Germany, asking if I had a distributor for their country, and now I have. Cheers, Chris

Don't worry about bending the ply, it is good quality, it can take it. These kits (Nisha and Erycina) have the bulkhead tabs rounded and tapered to help push the ply down in place, it really shouldn't be an issue.

I am yet to draw the full profiles, but the hull itself will be around 885mm long. I guess dimensions will be roughly the same as the 64th Aggy I did over twenty years ago, except 20mm or so less in height but at least 50mm longer, as I will give Indy a flying jibboom.

Hardly any difference in price between brass and 3-d printed resin guns. In fact, brass barrels would probably work out cheaper. I prefer the 3-d printed versions, as they are all made directly from the master file and extra detail can be incorporated into the designs. Carronades are usually a real pain to do properly, more so turned brass types. I have tried to design the carronades to be as little hassle to build up as I can, there are 18 in a kit, so opted for a 'slot and glue' assembly method, so making assembling the 18 sets less of a chore, but still detailed enough for very close up shots. If I thought turned brass cannon would be better, I would use them, there is no shortage of companies more than willing to do them. But I prefer the 3-d printed version. The extra weight of brass would be minimal, as this is dwarfed by the weight of plans, manual, PE and laser cut materials. Please do not think I choose resin over metal because of price, nothing could be further from the truth. I just use whatever material I think is best for the part and scale accuracy. If I were asked to do a one off commission, I would still chose SLA 3-d printed resin. I chose this method despite the time and costs involved. Others will have different opinions, some like the weight of brass, but I do not care about that so much, as long as the end result looks good and can stand up to close scrutiny.

Would be rude not to!

This will be a more conventional kit. I cannot go as far as did with Sphinx for two reasons. The first being that the sheer size of this would make it way too expensive. The second reason is that this kit will be aimed at more experienced modellers, more used to planking. Decks will be planked with strip and most of the outer hull will also be planked from the quarterdeck bulwarks down. This will be more like my Amati Victory designs. There will still be a silly amount of laser cut and PE parts, though.

Damn, you have an Erycina coaster, it should be Nisha. My wife is fired....

Again, very nice work! Amazon Class (1770's) is very much on my To Do list

I know Billings do a sailing Thames barge, that was my first ever wooden kit purchase! I will have another two fishing related kits out after these, and that will be it for this line for a very good while. Here are the new boxes, fully printed box tops for these.

Nisha and Erycina are now in stock: Nisha – Brixham ‘Mumble Bee’ – VANGUARD MODELS Erycina – Plymouth Trawler – VANGUARD MODELS I waited until I have all the kit ingredients for the kits here with me, but optional pre made sail sets are still to come.

Superb!

All sail sets ordered with the new kits will be sent as soon as I receive. I did think I ordered them far enough ahead that I would have them by now, but alas....

It sort of is! Development starts soon. Trying to get electricians has been a complete nightmare, no one seems to want the work!

A happy coincidence! Damn, I am in desperate need of wall sockets!

That is Royal George. I have a lot of plan sets I bought from the NMM, for future development purposes. Once scanned, they are often just left in their tubes forever. The Royal George plan is there because it is gorgeous, and I like to look at it The other two plans are future developments, with the one being very near future..

Hey Ron Sadly no, the little flash drive contained all the drivers and software for the new machine - but the external HDD also attached has all my files! That is the bed size (actual machine a lot larger), so it could cut up to 960 x610. However, more realistically, I will be cutting materials that are 800x600mm in size. Up until now, I have been restricted to a max material size of 600x400mm, which is fine for all kits I have done thus far.

Busy day! New laser machine arrived earlier (LaserPro Laser Engraving Machine Spirit GLS), and it's quite a bit larger than my trusty workhorse. I ordered it from the same company, as the software is identical. But the bed size is a lot larger. My Mercury 3 laser bed is 635x459mm, this one is 960x610mm. It is a big investment, but very necessary if I want to grow the business. The workshop is still a work in progress, as I am waiting for the wiring to be added for the electrics (lighting and plug sockets), and the doors will be changed to insulated roller doors. But it has had a brand new roof, floor levelled and a partition wall added, so this room is narrower than the other side. Bigger kits can now be developed!

I would like to do a Restoration warship at some point, but the castings isn't the problem, it's getting the carvings done that is, and they would be very expensive to commission. But one day, I will, I have one in mind. (not Sovereign, though, that's a little too OTT for my mellowing taste) In the meantime, I have just booked the pick up for the Nisha and Erycina printed colour boxes, so should receive these Wednesday or Thursday, and kits go on sale Friday. I wasn't sure these boxes would be ready in time, so I was very pleased to learn they are just awaiting picking up!

Small update - Things are moving slower than I would like. This is mainly due to shipping delays with my new laser machine (and other items), which has been more than a little frustrating. However, it is being delivered tomorrow, at long last, 15 weeks after placing the order! Nisha and Erycina should be due for release next Friday (3rd December). I am not putting these on pre order due to the problems I had with Sphinx, so I am not putting them on until I have absolutely everything here and they're ready to be boxed. I do have all of PE sets here, though, and the manual and plans are due Wednesday. One item I will need to put on pre order is the sail sets. The company that produces these for me had to shut down for 14 days, due to a Covid outbreak at their place, but I am hoping to have these with me in the next 2-3 weeks. This is equally annoying for me, as the sail sets have all been paid for, but cannot be helped. I do now have Nelson figures in 48th and 96th scale in stock. These are 3-d printed 'In-House'. Most (but not all) future castings like figureheads and stern decoration will also be 3-d printed in house. I have attached some pics of some sample parts I sent to Jim. There are figureheads for Duchess, Sphinx and Bristol, and the sterns are Sphinx and Duchess. Here is the link to the Nelson figures, there are 4 scale choices now: Figure – Lord Nelson 1:48, 1:64,1:72, and 1:96 scales – VANGUARD MODELS

I think you are overthinking way too much for this. All of the hard work has already been done in the development stage. All you need to do it put it together and then, when all parts are added as described in the instructions, simply sand the required bevels so the planks have maximum contact with each bulkhead edge . If you do as Glenn Barlow and watch you do not take away too much of the other edge of the bulkheads, that is all you need to do. The lines for Sphinx are pretty nice, so this shouldn't be an issue. (compared to a bluff bow like Endeavour or similar)