Billing Boats Wasa vs Corel Wasa

[RussR]

Is there a good reason for the price variance between these two models? 

Both are 1/75 scale.

Could it be the material quality or documentation? 

 

https://www.agesofsail.com/ecommerce/corel-ship-kits/corel-wasa-wood-ship-kit-model-sm-13.html

 

https://modelexpo-online.com/Billing-Boats-175-WASA-Wooden-hull_p_4205.html

 

The Corel is 3X the price of the Billing Boats.

 

RussR

 

 

 

 

 

[mtaylor]

I"m not sure, myself. But... the Billings is far more accurate than the Corel. The Billings kit has been updated as research on the recovered wreck has made new info available.   I'm not sure Billings is updating the kit anymore as I've not read of any new research findings.

[Gregory]

Have you checked out the pricing at  Cornwall Model Boats ?

 

 

Even after shipping costs, the price can be very competitive..

 

 

 

[RussR]

On 9/25/2020 at 10:24 PM, Gregory said:

Have you checked out the pricing at  Cornwall Model Boats ?

I have checked Cornwall. Their price for the Billing kit is US$359.99 plus shipping and taxes. 

 

ModelExpo has an end of summer sale. 

https://modelexpo-online.com/End-of-Summer-Sale--Deals-and-Steals_c_311.html?viewall=1

20% off everything on the website (including the sale items) and 25% off orders over $600.00 plus free shipping on orders over $100

 

The Billings Kit works out to a few dollars less than $300.00 with free shipping.

ModelExpo has PDF instruction for download. But they are in Dutch (I guess). So I ran them through a translator. They are typical kit instructions.

I don't work for ModelExpo.

My question remains: Why the difference in the price of the Billing Boats Kit and the Corel Kit?

 

Thanks,

RussR

 

 

[rshousha]

There is much less wood in the Billings kit and many parts are plastic that are metal in the Corel kit. Some people swear by Billings kits. Others prefer the double-planking on the Corel. 

 

You can find the instructions easily on the Billings site and you can see the reference to plastic parts next to Fig. 19. 

 

 

[RussR]

On 9/26/2020 at 5:41 PM, rshousha said:

There is much less wood in the Billings kit and many parts are plastic that are metal in the Corel kit. Some people swear by Billings kits. Others prefer the double-planking on the Corel. 

That is a good reason for the price difference. I do appreciate your view.
 
I would think that the plastic parts could be an advantage if they didn't fit well. I could change the shape of miss shaped plastic parts a little easier than cast metal.
An as far as less wood in the Billing kit, I think I can buy a lot of wood if needed for the price difference. 
I haven't bought anything yet. So if I wait, this will pass, I won't have to do anything.🙂
Thanks again for your input.

RussR

 

[mtaylor]

Russ,

I thought the plastic was an advantage as they're crisper than most metal parts and also the reworking to get them to fit the curves.  A little hot water goes a long way to improve the fit.    I used cherry wood (very thin) over the kit planking and it came out quite well.

[RussR]

On 9/26/2020 at 10:27 PM, mtaylor said:

I thought the plastic was an advantage as they're crisper than most metal parts and also the reworking to get them to fit the curves.  A little hot water goes a long way to improve the fit.    I used cherry wood (very thin) over the kit planking and it came out quite well.

These are my thoughts too.
I have some cherry and some walnut that I could ripe if the planking didn't turn out to suit me. But I need to get more practice cutting my planking. 

RussR

[RussR]

On 9/26/2020 at 7:27 PM, RussR said:

And if I wait long enough this will pass and I won't have to do anything.🙂

The sale ended last night. The price went from $300 back up to $470.
That was a close call saved $300. 😊
It wasn't like I didn't have anything to do.
I have my Armed Launch to finish.
And after a few months, I picked up a new 1/350 plastic Titanic for $45.
Until I get a clean slate, I won't be buying anything for a while.

RussR

[RussR]

Well, now I have done it.
Yesterday I checked, the sale had ended, the price went back up. This morning I checked my cart, the price went back to the sale price. So I bought it. I got what I wanted for almost half of what another well known US supplier offers the same thing.
Thank you, Modelexpo.
However, I won't be starting this project for some time.
I need to finish the Armed Launch and the Titanic.
My thinking was I didn't want to fill up the house with a lot smaller/simpler models.
That is enough to last for at least a few years.
Thanks to all for your input and interest.

RussR

 

[RussR]

 I received the Billing Boats Vasa sometime ago. And I have completed my Panart Armed Launch. The only thing now is waiting on an engraved nameplate. I will update my log after it arrives.
The decision now is, do I build the 1/350 Titanic (plastic) or the Vasa. My 20-year-old son wants me to start the Vasa. My lining is to the Vasa. 
The quality of the Billing Boats material isn't up to some of the other five kits I have built. But I knew that going into it. Up until now, I have been an out of the box builder. So I have some research ahead of me. If anyone has a resource that would help,  I would like to know.

[Baker]

 

 

25 minutes ago, RussR said:

The quality of the Billing Boats material isn't up to some of the other five kits I have built. But I knew that going into it.  Up until now I have been an out of the box builder. So I have some research ahead of me.  If anyone has a resource that would help in this regard I would like to know.

The Billings Vasa has its shortcomings, but you  will enjoy building it. 

 

These links are very helpful

http://www.wasadream.com/Index/indexenglish.html

https://sites.google.com/site/clayton707/vasa1628

 

[RussR]

On 10/15/2020 at 7:52 AM, Backer said:

The Billings Vasa has its shortcomings, but you  will enjoy building it. 

 

These links are very helpful

http://www.wasadream.com/Index/indexenglish.html

https://sites.google.com/site/clayton707/vasa1628

Thanks look like great resources for my built. I am sure I will utilize them a great deal. I don't want this to be another model without regard to the real ship.

RussR

[mtaylor]

Russ,

Have a look at the build logs here on MSW also.   They will be a big help.

[RussR]

22 hours ago, mtaylor said:

Russ,

Have a look at the build logs here on MSW also.   They will be a big help.

Yes, I have and have bookmarked most of them for future reference.  They will be a great help as well as the links provide by Backer. 

Before I start I need to put up some more shelves in my work shop (spare bedroom).

And I am recovering from "lazyitis". 🙂 

Some days I have to kick myself in the a$$ to do something.

RussR

[mtaylor]

6 hours ago, RussR said:

Yes, I have and have bookmarked most of them for future reference.  They will be a great help as well as the links provide by Backer. 

Before I start I need to put up some more shelves in my work shop (spare bedroom).

And I am recovering from "lazyitis". 🙂 

Some days I have to kick myself in the a$$ to something.

RussR

I think lazyitis has hit many of hard lately myself among it's victims.