Jump to content

Chris Watton and Vanguard Models news and updates Volume 2


Recommended Posts

Based on some upsetting past posts, this is a question. not a criticism. Is a sheet provided with the printed map and book pages, or copies we can download?

Edited by thibaultron
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted (edited)

OK, I have done trial prints of the new 22 and 24 foot cutters (these are not simply scaled from the same file, but drawn from separate plans, as can be seen in the shapes). Plus the 22 foot yawl.

 

I am now awaiting the other three boats I am having done for me. The main aim of these was to have options for the Sphinx and Indy boat sets, but will of course be sold separate also.

 

I think I will put the oars on the laser cut wood, as the end paddles are quite flimsy...

Boats 2.jpg

New boats 1.jpg

New boats 3.jpg

New boats 4.jpg

New boats 5.jpg

New boats 6.jpg

Edited by chris watton

logo.jpg
Vanguard Models on Facebook

Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 minutes ago, Ronald-V said:

They look sharp! I will first try the wooden ones included with the Sphinx kit, but nice to know there is some nice back-up :D 

The 22 foot yawl especially, as this should really be clinker planked. Can't wait to see the 28 and 32 foot pinnace print files!

8 minutes ago, myxyzptlyk2003 said:

Personally, I will always purchase these if they are not included in the kits.      I have never had any luck with building the kit supplied, wooden boats.    I have retrofitted several older ships with these and they look fantastic. 

Thay are also my personal choice. In the past, there was little choice but to use the plank on bulkhead boats as there was no real alternative. With the advent of 3-d printing, I figured why not offer an alternative. These boats are quite a large investment for me, but I think will be worth it, as they are both as accurate as they can be in shape and detail, and much easier and quicker to put together. As usual, there will be a lot of laser cut parts for each, including thwarts, knees, floors etc.

logo.jpg
Vanguard Models on Facebook

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, AJohnson said:

They look great Chris, what is the smallest boat you plan on doing?  
Just thinking for the likes of Adder & Trial etc?

I may be wrong, but I am sure that when researching the Adder, I read somewhere that these gun brigs actually never had a boat.

 

I have done a run of 16 foot cutters, (scaled down from the 18 footer), but have yet to laser cut the parts for them

logo.jpg
Vanguard Models on Facebook

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That is an interesting bit of info about gun brigs not having a boat. I wonder if this is to do with them being designed to be rowed inshore anyway?  Like the smaller mortar vessels Convulsion & Destruction. You any plans in your files for a little Mortar vessel one day? 😁

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 minutes ago, AJohnson said:

That is an interesting bit of info about gun brigs not having a boat. I wonder if this is to do with them being designed to be rowed inshore anyway?  Like the smaller mortar vessels Convulsion & Destruction. You any plans in your files for a little Mortar vessel one day? 😁

No plans at present, no small kits planned for the time being, as I will be busy with kit 18 for the next year...

logo.jpg
Vanguard Models on Facebook

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, chris watton said:

 

I am now awaiting the other three boats I am having done for me. The main aim of these was to have options for the Sphinx and Indy boat sets, but will of course be sold separate also.

Definitely thinking about a Sphinx set if it fits the budget, I'm awful at making those little buggers out of wood lol.  

Current Build

HMS Sphinx, Vanguard Models 1:64 Scale

 

Finished Builds:

HMS Beagle

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A smaller boat is very high up on my wish list too. Logic dictates that any ship definitely needs at least one boat to communicate with the shore and for various other tasks.

 

In ‘The Naval Cutter Alert’ Peter Goodwin writes about boats:

 

“… For conveying stores, dispatches and officers and crew, the Alert carried a single boat. (…) In all probability, 6- or 8- oared cutters varying between 12ft and 18ft in length were employed. Alternatively, a long boat either 14ft or16ft in length may have been used. (…) In December 1763 one such (Admiralty) order decreed that during winter only one small 4- oared boat should be allocated and that it should be carried rather than towed to avoid being lost. An order of June 1779 mentions 16ft boats for cutters while another of July 1783 recommends the addition of a second boat.

(…)

When not in use the boat was stowed on the upper deck between the main jeer and topsail bitts and the two elm tree pumps abaft. (…) When required the boat was either swung out or hoisted inboard from tackle suspended from the boom. Should the vessel encounter action the boat was towed astern…

The ships boat also served to convey boarding parties onto vessels ordered to be searched; and for laying out the kedge anchor for warping the ship; or for towing the ship when becalmed. ”

 

A contemporary model of the naval cutter Hawke kept at NMM shows a small boat stowed on deck.

 

 

I guess that all this information is also valid for any other ship or smaller vessel. So, each vessel must have had at least one boat. It may not always be shown on contemporary models because smaller vessels may have towed it quite often but for heavy weather there must have a been a possibility to take it aboard.

 

I really would appreciate a model of a small 12ft or 14ft boat which would also fit all your small models. With a small stand to place it on deck included, you should be able to sell at least one model to every serious model builder who bought one of your smaller kits 😉.

 

Peter

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 8/28/2024 at 7:27 PM, flyer said:

you should be able to sell at least one model to every serious model builder who bought one of your smaller kits

Here, hear!  I wonder also about swinging them from davits.  Though I think I could scratch build the davits easily enough, would it make sense to offer davits of varying sizes as an (expensive) extra?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 8/28/2024 at 7:27 PM, flyer said:

I really would appreciate a model of a small 12ft or 14ft boat which would also fit all your small models. With a small stand to place it on deck included, you should be able to sell at least one model to every serious model builder who bought one of your smaller kits 😉.

 

I, too, would like a boat in one of these, smaller, sizes.
A wooden kit would be my preference, though I understand the drive toward a 3d printed hulls.
 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The boats are by and large a by-product of the kits I do, whether existing or future kits. I have no plans for any more wooden ships boat kits and all future kits will have a 3-d printed hull version. I do this because if I were buying the kit, that is what I would prefer - but existing wooden boat kits are always an option for those who want them, and they will always be included in the Indy and Sphinx kits, with the 3-d printed sets being an option. With any future kit, this will be vice versa.

 

I will do/finish a 16 foot cutter when I am less busy (hulls are already printed), but in all honesty, I could offer and spend many thousands on almost every variant of boat, and I would still get asked to produce something other that what I already have - this is why I make a point of sticking to boats I know I will be using in both current and future kits. I did in fact offer smaller boat hulls for two years on my website, and in that time, I never sold a single unit, so were removed when I started to add the newer types of 3-d printed boats.

 

The boats do not come with cradles, this is something the modeller needs to do, as I have no clue how far each boat will have the cradles positioned or how high - are they on the deck and need to be high enough for the keel to miss hatches, or are they located on the hatch coamings, so no need to be so high - or just stowed on the spare spars on gallows - or davits!

logo.jpg
Vanguard Models on Facebook

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Received the figures and they live up to the promise.  Only took a week to get to Boston.  
 

Thanks Chris!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...