Chris Watton and Vanguard Models news and updates

[maaaslo]

You also might want to abolish using Amex. Where i live, you wont find single retailer accepting amex since they take too big a bite from the payment. Look into it...

[Blue Ensign]

Couldn't resist it Chris, order placed today, look forward to making Alert come to life🙂

 

Every success with your new venture.

 

Regards,

 

B.E.

[chris watton]

59 minutes ago, Blue Ensign said:

Couldn't resist it Chris, order placed today, look forward to making Alert come to life🙂

 

Every success with your new venture.

 

Regards,

 

B.E.

Thank you very much!

 

Had a manic couple of days, but a good manic. For the next kit, I think we will have 20 made up kits ready to go before adding it for sale. Lesson learned there!

[Cabbie]

Hi Chris my order just went in, i hope you still have some available.

Gotta love the location for postal rates

Customer matched zone "FAR FLUNG"

I hope it is not too far flung,

Hooroo Chris

[chris watton]

21 minutes ago, Cabbie said:

Hi Chris my order just went in, i hope you still have some available.

Gotta love the location for postal rates

Customer matched zone "FAR FLUNG"

I hope it is not too far flung,

Hooroo Chris

Thank you!

 

I am trying so hard to get the UPS rates down right now, but cripes UPS are hard to deal with. I promise that if I can get the price down for your shipping, I will reimburse you the difference, and this applies to all orders (although US and UK are nigh on perfect - but Canada and Australia prices are mad!)

[catopower]

Hello Chris,

 

Congratulations on getting the first kit done and on sale! The Alert looks like a really beautiful kit.

 

I was reporting on its release in our club newsletter when I realized that there is no description of the kit contents on your product site. That would be very useful for those who aren't on MSW, or just for those who don't want to dig around to find the info.

 

You know, something like, kit contains X laser cut sheets of high quality birch plywood, boxwood strips for planking the hull, large sheet of P.E. parts... all that marketing stuff. It's helpful to know, though most of us on MSW already know you and your work and I'm pretty sure would buy your products sight unseen – myself included!

 

Edited June 13, 2019 by catopower

[James H]

I should have a review and kit contents posted next week for you all. 

[chris watton]

5 hours ago, catopower said:

Hello Chris,

 

Congratulations on getting the first kit done and on sale! The Alert looks like a really beautiful kit.

 

I was reporting on its release in our club newsletter when I realized that there is no description of the kit contents on your product site. That would be very useful for those who aren't on MSW, or just for those who don't want to dig around to find the info.

 

You know, something like, kit contains X laser cut sheets of high quality birch plywood, boxwood strips for planking the hull, large sheet of P.E. parts... all that marketing stuff. It's helpful to know, though most of us on MSW already know you and your work and I'm pretty sure would buy your products sight unseen – myself included!

 

Sorry, you are right.  The kit has two sheets for keel and bulkheads in MDF and all other wooden laser cut parts are limewood (1mm, 1.5mm, 2mm and 3mm). The stand is in laser cut clear acetate. Seven laser cut sheets of different materials in all. There are three photo etched brass sheets, 0.2, 0.4 and 0.6mm thicknesses (which includes a nameplate for the stand). First planking is 1.5x5 limewood, second planking and other hull strips is pear wood and deck planking is boxwood. Six different rigging threads, resin cast main and small winch drum, cast metal cannon and anchors, and a full colour 56 page plan and instruction manual with parts list in A3 format. 

[Kurt Johnson]

Chris,

 

For some reason, I was under the impression the cannons were resin, not that it matters.  

 

Kurt

[Cabbie]

11 hours ago, SpyGlass said:

Sorry far flung is of course relative 

But I needed a name in an hurry for a group covering Japan to NZ. China to Argentina etc

No need to be sorry, very apt from Chris's part of the world

[chris watton]

18 hours ago, Kurt Johnson said:

Chris,

 

For some reason, I was under the impression the cannons were resin, not that it matters.  

 

Kurt

They are for Speedy, I never said the guns for Alert were resin. I did change the winches on Alert from metal to resin (at quite an extra cost, as I had already had all of the castings made), as I wasn't happy with both the quality and amount of shrinkage. Cannon were OK. Resin castings cost a lot, lot more than white metal, so had to weigh up the costs for Alert as I wanted to keep it well under £200. There are 24 cannon barrels altogether for Alert, more than usual for such a small vessel. The only way I could add the resin cannon to replace castings is to change the wood strip from box wood and pear to Tanganyika (box wood is eye wateringly expensive).

 

However, for future kits, I want to keep metal castings to an absolute minimum, and have worked the resin cannon cost into Speedy (this is what you probably read), as Speedy doesn't have a more expensive to make octagonal winch drum to put in the kit box. So, Speedy will have 20 x half pounder and 14 x 4 pounder cannon and Cochrane figure in resin.

 

Essentially, I didn't want to price myself out of the market with my first kit, I was pushing it a bit using the woods.

 

ETA - To show you what I mean when I said I wasn't prepared to put the metal castings in the kit, and decided to have them resin cast, I have attached some pics of the difference, both from the exact same 3-d file. I want to use white/Britannia metal as little as I possibly can in future..

Edited June 14, 2019 by chris watton

[chris watton]

Here are some pics of contents, the second pic shows all of the laser and PE sheets for Alert.

 

The laser has made some black marks on the acetate sheet, but this is just confined to the protective film, the actual parts are perfect.

Edited June 14, 2019 by chris watton

[Kurt Johnson]

Chris,  UPS states that they expect to deliver the kit Monday the 17th by end of day, they only picked it up this morning the 14th! If that is true it would be amazing. Amazing! I thought it would at least e stuck in customs for a day or three.  

 

Kurt

[chris watton]

37 minutes ago, Kurt Johnson said:

Chris,  UPS states that they expect to deliver the kit Monday the 17th by end of day, they only picked it up this morning the 14th! If that is true it would be amazing. Amazing! I thought it would at least e stuck in customs for a day or three.  

 

Kurt

That is good if it's delivered that quick! The 1x4mm was swapped out with the 1x5 strip.

 

And Chris in Australia, the UPS postage was eye watering (was actually £56), I hope to get these shipping prices for some countries down soon, now we're up and running..

[Kurt Johnson]

Chris,  Thanks about the wood. I’ll be more than happy if it comes Monday, I was figuring about two weeks in transit. With the tracking apps these days it shows some routes that seem a bit bizarre where it at times it is closer to you and then goes further away before it comes back towards you again. UPS has it really mapped out though. The delivery drivers have all the turns set up to avoid left turns as much as possible (against the oncoming traffic in the US) to save time.

 

Kurt

[James H]

I think they are shipping tomorrow for UK, so I would think Tues/Wed latest. 

[chris watton]

I am sure UK customers will get theirs by Tuesday, UPS wasn't as straight forward as I first hoped, but all sorted now.

[Cabbie]

3 hours ago, chris watton said:

That is good if it's delivered that quick! The 1x4mm was swapped out with the 1x5 strip.

 

And Chris in Australia, the UPS postage was eye watering (was actually £56), I hope to get these shipping prices for some countries down soon, now we're up and running..

Thanks Chris happy to be the guinea pig on this. We will see how quick and what condition its in when it turns up

before judging them on the 56 pound. Have there been tracking numbers issued

It would be nice to know who will deliver over here, one particular mob here are schockers about doing a prompt delivery,

if not loosing it for weeks.

And that is only getting something from Melbourne 100k away. Thanks Chris

Edited June 14, 2019 by Cabbie

[chris watton]

2 minutes ago, Cabbie said:

Thanks Chris happy to be the guinea pig on this. We will see how quick and what condition its in when it turns up

before judging them on the 56 pound. Have there been tracking numbers issued/

It would be nice to know here who will deliver over here, one particular mob here are schockers about doing a prompt delivery,

if not loosing it for weeks.

And that is only getting something from Melbourne 100k away. Thanks Chris

Every parcel should have it's own tracking number, and they should keep you updated via email, as far as I am aware. I have no idea who delivers it to you, I naturally assumed it is UPS all the way.

[Cabbie]

So ups should send an email with a tracking number?

I believe that it will be Aust post that delivers to me (very good)

Last time  I had a international delivery I don't think I heard anything until it landed in Aus

[Altduck]

Thank you for explaining and illustrating the differences between the resin and white metal.

 

Your photo of the 2 winch drums side by side is a vivid statement.

 

Kind of like looking at a prune, next to the plum it came from.

 

[mtaylor]

UPS does "partner" with various snail mail (regular postal service) for so-called "last mile" delivery.  In other words, if you don't see UPS truck in your neighborhood regularly then chances are, UPS will hand it over the local postal people.

[JeffT]

Mine says the 17th too but I'm skeptical, so we'll see.

 

**Update: changed to the 20th. That seems more realistic.

[jimvanlan99]

I am in the United States - North Carolina.  Where are you folks seeing a delivery date?  I got a notice from Vanguard Models (Chris) that my order is complete.  But there was no tracking data or delivery date.  Just curious.

 

Jim 

[JeffT]

38 minutes ago, jimvanlan99 said:

I am in the United States - North Carolina.  Where are you folks seeing a delivery date?  I got a notice from Vanguard Models (Chris) that my order is complete.  But there was no tracking data or delivery date.  Just curious.

 

Jim 

 

I use UPS my choice.

[Rick01]

2 hours ago, Cabbie said:

one particular mob here are schockers about doing a prompt delivery,

if not loosing it for weeks.

Not Startrack by any chance? Around our way they throw the parcels into corners that you can't easily access!

 

Rick

[Cabbie]

Good Morning Chris

Can I ask a bit off topic question? Ok thanks

I am currently building the Mermaid, with what looks like a bowsprit installed similar to what

yours looks like on the Alert. Can you tell me how yours is done?

I have been looking around at other models and can't get a clear look.

Thanks Chris

[chris watton]

37 minutes ago, Cabbie said:

Good Morning Chris

Can I ask a bit off topic question? Ok thanks

I am currently building the Mermaid, with what looks like a bowsprit installed similar to what

yours looks like on the Alert. Can you tell me how yours is done?

I have been looking around at other models and can't get a clear look.

Thanks Chris

The end slots into a square hole through the bitts, and is then secured further by an 'Iron Hoop' that is bolted to (or through) the stem post

[Cabbie]

Thanks Chris Also should have asked, How low does it is into the gunwale/bulwarks?

Thanks, now I will leave you alone.

[chris watton]

1 minute ago, Cabbie said:

Thanks Chris Also should have asked, How low does it is into the gunwale/bulwarks?

Thanks, now I will leave you alone.

It rests on top as the gunwales end before reaching the stem, and there in a step down on the bulwarks, so the bowsprit rests on top of the stepped down gunwale or bulwark top edge.

 

Not sure how well I explained that, just got up and still very tired... lol