chris watton

Sorry for the glitch guys, there was a slight technical that I could not sort, and didn't know about it until I awoke, and even then I couldn't sort it, as I'm an idiot... All sorted now, though. Cheers, Chris

I can also say that pear is much better than standard kit walnut, and looks great (grain-wise) when painted or varnished. Boxwood shows hardly any grain and looks great in the closest of shots.

The website should automatically bring the pages online after 12.00. Bob, a good example of the boxwood hull planking can be found here, with the Master Shipwright version of Speedy: Flirt not only has the boxwood planking, but also boxwood laser cut wooden parts.

There was nowhere to put the binnacle, and I am not sure Flirt would have had mast hoops, those are really for Alert.

Oh, also, I now have binnacles in 1mm boxwood, plus the small chimney in CNC turned bass for sale

**PRE-ORDER OPENS AT 12.01AM, THURSDAY 16th JULY** Hello, Seems like an age since I updated this, but I have been very busy with both Flirt and new designs for an end of year kit release. Anyway, I can say that I have all materials in and ready for both versions of Flirt. I am waiting for the plans, manual and boxes and labels to be delivered. I mentioned in Jim's Flirt thread that I changed my mind about the boxes at the last minute (was going to have the same boxes as Alert and Speedy, even did the full box art for the kid). Because of the length of some of the materials, the new box will be 520mm long (internal), 300mm wide and 90mm high. The kit components will fit much better. I will paste what I wrote on the Flirt thread: Standard version Flirt is already high spec, with laser cut pearwood and pearwood planking, Keel and bulkheads are 3mm MDF, and lower deck and stern frames are 2mm birch ply (the 2mm deck was initially meant to be done in 'Ceiba ply', but I decided this material was utter trash, and changed to much stronger 2mm birch ply) . There will be 2mm single blocks for rigging the cannon carriages if you so desire. Master Shipwright version is crazy spec, but will look fantastic, DelF's version of Speedy looks wonderful. Flirt MS will have laser cut keel and bulkheads in the highest quality birch ply, all wooden laser cut parts in 1mm, 1.5mm, 2mm, 3mm and 4mm boxwood, second planking in boxwood too. Machined pearwood blocks as standard PLUS 90+ 2.5mm 2 hole pear wood blocks for rigging the cannon carriages. This version also comes with the 18' cutter as standard, with 1x2mm boxwood planking. Both versions will have 100 metre reels of Gutterman 0.1mm thread, so there's more than enough for rigging the cannon as well as masts and yards. Both versions will be available to pre-order at 12am, as I know everything is in hand and all materials laser cut and fittings/wood packs made up, ready to go into the boxes once here.

Boxwood is almost 4 times the cost of even pearwood. It is much closer grained and very strong. The colour is different, lighter than pear wood. Boxwood is used a lot for delicate carving because it doesn't split like 'normal' woods. Flirt MS version has 6 laser cut sheets in varying thicknesses, and 1x4, 1x3 and 1x2mm boxwood strip for hull planking.

Yes, I will not ship a kit without the box. I have to wait until I get the boxes so I can measure the area and then get the sleeves made. Yes, it means exactly that. The materials used are so expensive it can be nothing else but limited edition. More may be available in the future if I decide to invest in the materials again, but not for a good while.

Standard version Flirt is already high spec, with laser cut pearwood and pearwood planking, Keel and bulkheads are 3mm MDF, and lower 2mm deck and stern frames are 2mm birch ply (the 2mm deck was initially meant to be done in 'Ceiba ply', but I decided this material was utter trash, and changed to much stronger 2mm birch ply) . There will be 2mm single blocks for rigging the cannon carriages if you so desire. Master Shipwright version is crazy spec, but will look fantastic, DelF's version of Speedy looks wonderful. Flirt MS will have laser cut keel and bulkheads in the highest quality birch ply, all wooden laser cut parts in 1mm, 1.5mm, 2mm, 3mm and 4mm boxwood, second planking in boxwood too. Machined pearwood blocks as standard PLUS 90+ 2.5mm 2 hole pear wood blocks for rigging the cannon carriages. This version also comes with the 18' cutter as standard, with 1x2mm boxwood planking. Both versions will have 100 metre reels of Gutterman 0.1mm thread, so there's more than enough for rigging the cannon as well as masts and yards. I changed my mind about the box very late, last week in fact. I am now having the same type as the small Fifie and Zulu, but a larger internal length (520x300x90mm), so the planking strips fit in better, plus I could have two labels for the boxes, one for the standard and one for the MS version.

I will update you on that later this week, it does look pretty cool! ETA - Both versions of Flirt will be available to pre order very soon, as everything is almost ready and sorted, after a very stressful couple of weeks organising printing and new size boxes....

OK, I have just finished the Flirt box art, ready to be sent to the printers. I now have to wait until I have the plans, manual and boxes done for me. For the Master Shipwright version of Flirt, I have decided to ditch the maple veneer deck due to high scrap rates, so have ordered 1mm thick maple sheet instead. As soon as that arrives, I can do the MS decks. Everything else is done, laser cut wise, and waiting to go into the boxes...

It was nothing a little Photoshop masking couldn't fix... lol

I was fooling with you, couldn't resist. MDF has much tighter tolerances, whereas ply tolerances are comical.

Yes

Ever seen what happens to the standard cheap ply used in most kits when it's a little damp...

And I had (finally) my Zulu sail set order arrive today, so all that ordered sail sets for their Zulus will be receiving them within the next week, and anyone who now orders a Zulu and sail set can be shipped together. Nice work of the Fifie, BE, I see these models as a 'blank canvas' for the more experienced, who like to stamp their own mark on the kit.

I know there is a hell of a lot of photo etched parts on Bismarck and Hood, and PE is very expensive..

I know that I did no less than 31 full size plan sheets plus 114 page A3 size assembly manual for this Victory.

There is no law preventing you from not planking certain areas, as the hull structure is more than strong enough to not be clad in planking. As for how the kit may be broken up, I have no idea, as I no longer work for Amati. Personally, I would not break the kit up - it would be futile breaking it up into hull and masts/rig, as the former is 95% of the material expense.

I bought this book the day it was published, and it is £65 very well spent. I bought this and the Sovereign of the Seas book more or less at the same time, and whilst the latter turned out to be a slight disappointment, this book more than made up for it, a top quality book.

The overall dimensions I have on my master drawings are: Length - 1582mm (includes bowsprit and gaff/boom) Height - 1061mm Width - 590mm (Main yard and stunsail booms) Hull only length - 1066mm I have attached a side cutaway profile of the kit, as the main question people ask is why would they want to buy this over other model kits of the same...

Yes, I am just waiting for the finished model to complete the box art and manual.

The 18 foot cutter will soon be available to buy as a separate part very soon, it will include all laser cut wood, PE and 2x1mm wood strip for the planking, but need to sort out separate instructions for the mini build..

There isn't right now. I only had enough materials for a couple. I ordered the boxwood specifically for the Flirt MS edition, but I had a couple of scrap on some sizes, so could only do 18 Flirt MS laser cut boxwood parts, but still had enough for a couple for Speedy (as quantities are different) When I order some more boxwood and I finally receive my pear wood block order, I will do a few more, but because of the cost of the materials used, they will always be very limited editions - I will let you know when I can do some more.

I have a great wife with a 'Can-Do' attitude! The aim is to one day give up our day jobs and concentrate fully on Vanguard Models..