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chris watton

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Everything posted by chris watton

  1. Well, all I know is that I cannot order my PE copper plates. If it is the same this time next year, then copper tape will have to be the norm for kits that need it. I much prefer the PE plates, but needs must...
  2. A little longer on that, as we need to move to a larger premesis in order for me to produce another kit of that size. That or I let Indy stock run down completely, stop selling it and another large kit take its place. It comes down to space to stock the kit parts, laser cut sheets,materials, boxes, plans/manuals etc. Whe have, or the company has outgrown our home.
  3. Around the same size as the Artois Class too, give or take a foot or two. And being a 36, she would have been armed with the long 18's, whereas the 38's had the short, in general.. I always imagined Hornblower's fictional 36, Lydia to be Phoebe Class....
  4. I will do a Restoration Era warship at some point, but because it would be a two year development and also expensive, not for a while, and not while I have a 36 gun 18 pounder Napoleonic frigate itch that needs a desperate scratch at some point before then.
  5. For belaying, if in doubt, just belay to the nearest appropriate point that doesn't foul any other lines.
  6. After years of trying to figure out the best sequence for the standing rigging, I found that, for me at least, the best thing to do is add all shrouds, lower and topmast, incuding lower futtock shrouds. I then add the ratlines while the area is still uncluttered with rigging. After this, the topgallant shrouds are added, then onto the stays. I sometimes fit the yards before shrouds, pinning them so I can tilt them up or down when doing the ratlines. After shrouds and ratlines, rigging comes together pretty quick, as the shrouds and rats are last longest single job to do on the model.
  7. I do have the gun brig Adder and another small kit that will soon be released in the new year (All they need is the prototypes building and then manual completed, as everything else is done, designs, cut files, plans etc.) - and yesterday I did make a small start on my 17th kit. ETA - This year hasn't been so bad, with Indy released in March, followed by Grecian and Trial cutter, plus the Speedy rework, which was no small job.
  8. A little update: I am still very busy, and have just completed another batch of Sphinx laser cut parts. After that was complete, I moved onto the new cannon and carriages (including carronades), which I am almost finished laser cutting and 3-d printing. I will paste the full list of cannon and carronades I will offer below - the carronades are now sold in pairs, instead of singles. Once these are done, I need to produce more Indy stuff, as we are now getting very short of some parts. And after that, I can finally produce my laser cut part for my little kits, so I can get those prototype models finished. I have already completed all of the plans for them, but cannot continue until I have cut the prototype laser cut parts. Here is the full list for cannon and carronades I now offer (I am still waiting for the PE for the early 12 pounder carronade, which will be back in stock as soon as the sheets arrive): New and updates cannon and carriage kits - Cap Square now integrated with carriage sides All Sets are priced per pair and all 1:64th Scale. Laser cut pear and 3-D printed barrels Armstrong 3-Pounder cannon (Barrel overall length - 24mm) - £4.20 Armstrong 4-Pounder cannon (Barrel overall length - 29mm) - £4.40 Blomefield 4-Pounder cannon (Barrel overall length - 29mm) - £4.40 Armstrong 6 pounder, 6 ½ feet length (Barrel overall length – 34.4mm) - £5.00 Armstrong 6 pounder, 7 ½ feet length (Barrel overall length – 39mm) - £5.30 Blomefield 6-Pounder, 6 feet length (Barrel overall length – 31.4mm) - £5.00 Blomefield 6-Pounder, 7 ½ feet length (Barrel overall length – 38.5mm) - £5.30 Armstrong 9 pounder, 7 feet length (Barrel overall length – 37.2mm) - £5.80 Armstrong 9 pounder, 8 ½ feet length (Barrel overall length – 44.4mm) - £6.00 Blomefield 9-Pounder, 7 feet length (Barrel overall length – 36.5mm) - £5.80 Blomefield 9-Pounder, 8 ½ feet length (Barrel overall length – 43.6mm) - £6.00 Armstrong 12 pounder, 7 ½ feet length (Barrel overall length – 40mm) - £8.30 Armstrong 12 pounder, 9 feet length (Barrel overall length – 47.2mm) - £9.00 Blomefield 12 pounder, 7 ½ feet length (Barrel overall length – 39.1mm) - £8.30 Blomefield 12 pounder, 9 feet length (Barrel overall length – 46.25mm) - £9.00 Armstrong 18 pounder, 8 feet length (Barrel overall length – 42mm) - £8.30 Armstrong 18 pounder, 9 feet length (Barrel overall length – 47.8mm) - £9.00 Blomefield 18 pounder, 8 feet length (Barrel overall length – 41.8mm) - £8.30 Blomefield 18 pounder, 9 feet length (Barrel overall length – 46.6mm) - £9.00 Armstrong 24 pounder, 9 ½ feet length (Barrel overall length – 50.6mm) - £11.00 Blomefield 24 pounder, 9 feet length (Barrel overall length – 47mm) - £10.50 Blomefield 24 pounder, 9 ½ feet length (Barrel overall length – 49.3mm) - £11.00 Armstrong 32 pounder, 9 ½ feet length (Barrel overall length – 51.2mm) - £12.50 New Carronade kits (includes 3-d Printed wheels) Now sold in pairs and all to 1:64th Scale Laser cut pear and 3-D printed barrels and wheels Carronade – 12-Pounder (Barrel overall length – 18mm) - £7.00 Carronade – 18-Pounder (Barrel overall length – 20.5mm) £7.50 Carronade – 24-Pounder (Barrel overall length – 22.5mm) £8.00 Carronade – 32-Pounder (Barrel overall length – 24.8mm) £8.50 Carronade – 42-Pounder (Barrel overall length – 27.3mm) £9.00
  9. I lied! I did add Clews, sheets and tacks for the square sail yards! I didn't mean to, must have got carried away.... I did mean to leave them off completely...
  10. For the Grecian (and Duchess of Kingston) the rigging is simplified, as I left off clews, sheets, tacks, leech and bowlines, so the spars only have ties, lifts and braces, the bare minimum.
  11. If you want to have a go at a Victory that doesn't break the bank, the 78th Panart version isn't too bad, if you're willing to put the work in.
  12. Carefully scrape off with a knife blade, and then re apply a drop of varnish. This is what I do, at least. I normally suggest 0.1 natural for rats becase it is not nearly as stiff as the black, so less likely to pull the shoulds too much. The Indian Ink then also helps secure the clove hitches - but always paper behind the shrouds, to keep any splashes to an absolute minimum.
  13. When that happens with me (and it always does, even for braces sometimes), I apply diluted PVA to the lines and run my fingers down them. This does help.
  14. Again, thank you so much for all of your kind comments, they do mean a lot to me, and helps reaffirm my enthusiasm for the hobby. I know that my products and business live or die based mostly on word of mouth, they are very low volume compared to the main players, as it takes much longer to produce each kit, and the pear is not as plentiful as standard kit wood, always having to order 2-3 months in advance for the quantities I need. Anyway, another thing I forgot to mention is that I have produced a few sets specifically for 18-gun brigs, and only because at some point, I shall produce my own 18 gun brig. I have a set of armament, 16 x 32 pounder carronades (1795-1815), with laser cut pear carriages, 3-d printed barrel and carriage wheels (like on Indy, Grecian and Trial Cutter), and 2 x 6 pounder long guns (Blomfield). No etch to go with them, but I could include the small copper eyelets. If there's any interest in this set, let me know. I added a 32nd scale cannon crew set to the product list, as I do plan to produce a cannon diorama at some point. Finally, Midwest Model Shop emailed me late last night, with a link wo a first impressions review of our diminutive Saucy Jack (Not sponsered by me, he ordered and paid full price just like anyone else - I didn't even know he was doing this until be sent the link):
  15. Amati already has a good selection of J Class yacht kits, they have been available for years.
  16. Cheers guys Of course, I cannot please everyone all the time, and will always have someone not happy. Here is a snippet of an email I received earlier this week: "I have now decided on the Sphinx kit and the kit was delivered today from a German dealer. I have to be honest but very surprised that the cannons are included in the kit in plastic. For a kit that costs 1000, - €, this is really not acceptable. Is this how the kit is delivered by you? Also, the anchors in plastic do not correspond to the otherwise flawless level of the kit." Well, I did initially offer metal cannon and anchors for Alert. The problem was that the cannon were actually oval in shape, and the monogram just a blob, and the anchor was rectangular in profile, rather than square, plus the hole for the ring was no longer a hole, and both had mismatch. Also, the octagonal winch for the Alert shrunk so much, it no longer fitted, plus that too was 'squashed'. I threw the whole lot away and initially went for cast resin, followed by 3-d printed resin. I guess the customer thinks that 'plastic' is a cheap and quick way to rip off the customer, rather than a new technology to more accurately represent the original parts, with zero shrinkage, no mismatch, and every hole perfect. The 9-Pounder cannon for Sphinx takes 3.5 hours to 3-d print 5 kits worth. In that same time, 100 kits worth can be produced if cast. Same applies to the stern decoration, which takes 7 hours to 3-d print, and you keep all the definition that is on the master file, rather than a blob of metal that wouldn't even pass muster for a children’s Clair's Accessories shop. On a personal note, I really have never cared too much about the material used for parts, as long as the end result looks right. I did originally sub contract the cast and 3-d printed resin parts, which was far from cheap. For example, a single 32 pounder cannon barrel cost 1 Euro. I think some do not differentiate between high volume injection moulded plastic and much lower volume cast or 3-d printed resin.
  17. Don't usually see that much of a gap. I would just cut a 'shim' of pear and glue it to the stern post, to bring it in a little more.
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