Syren Ship Model Company News, Updates and Info.....(part 2)

[scrubbyj427]

Whoa! I really like that mystery wood. Great color! All look great.

[No Idea]

I have to say Chuck that I really like both types of block......beautifully made and if a builder gets a choice of colour then thats even better!

[mtaylor]

21 hours ago, Gregory said:

Besides being very high quality, your blocks are very competitively priced.   Any chance they are being re-sold?

I would think that also.  Seems for awhile, there some of Chuck's blocks in some stores on Ebay. 

[GGibson]

On 9/21/2023 at 12:36 PM, Chuck said:

Less than 24 hours after placing thousands (seriously thousands) of rigging blocks for sale on my site....

 

Yupp,  you guessed it.

 

Nearly sold out...

 

Wow!  I am one of the lucky ones!  Placed my order on Thursday.  And, received a shipment notice on Friday!  Great product followed up with great customer service!  Thanks, Chuck! 

[Loracs]

Chuck, all your blocks are indeed top notch...  we are all lucky that you are taking time and effort for making them available to all of us.  They just bring rigging up, way up in quality. On a side note, anyone successfully stain the boxwood blocks and still retain the wood quality?  Just asking away...

Edited September 24, 2023 by Loracs

[Gregory]

I've stained those 'bargain' blocks with Fiebing's Leather Dye.. I'm satisfied with results..

 

You can see I ended up with some variation, but i think that image is light overall, because my rope is darker than seen in the image.

 

Just a note, based on another user's experience.  If you use shellac on the rope and block after it is in place, the dye can leach out into the rope..

[Chuck]

Thank You

I havent tried but I dont know why you would do that.  At least once the pear blocks are available I mean.   But while you wait You could try dying them.  Several people do that and it looks great.  Greg Herbert did that with my blocks on his Speedwell model.  These are basically my BARGAIN rigging blocks dyed with Fiebing's dye.  You can see these are darker than those posted by the other Greg...I dont know what color dye he used or how long you have to soak them for.

 

[druxey]

Greg and I use Fiebing's medium brown dye for the blocks.

[Chuck]

Crazy thing...I rarely shop for rigging blocks for obvious reasons.   But I was searching online for info on rigging blocks so I can start making CNC fiddle blocks and Hearts...

 

 

LOL...I came across the typical square blocks which are abominations that come in most commercial kits.   I couldnt believe the price.  They are selling these things for $5.50 per package of 30.

 

It just hit me that my bargain blocks are the same price....I think my bargain blocks are a steal for the price.  I cant believe how out of touch I am when it comes to how much money folks are charging for this stuff.  I thought they were maybe charging $3 for a package.   Crazy stuff.  Anyway....enjoy them while I can offer them.  I should have another size in stock tomorrow some time.

 

 

 

 

 

[GGibson]

Got my package yesterday, Chuck!  Thanks! 🏆😁

[Azzoun]

I don't know how you're supposed to be able to sand those Shipways blocks into something passable?

 

[Gregory]

You can use a tumbler like the Block Buster.

 

I have my own little version  that works better for me..

 

 

I have a pretty good stash of Chuck's blocks so I wouldn't go to the trouble of making the kit blocks work these days.

But there was a time when it was all the kit builder had.

Of course there are some kits like Vanguard, that come with pretty decent blocks. 

[mtaylor]

2 hours ago, Chuck said:

LOL...I came across the typical square blocks which are abominations that come in most commercial kits.   I couldnt believe the price.  They are selling these things for $5.50 per package of 30.

 

It just hit me that my bargain blocks are the same price....I think my bargain blocks are a steal for the price.  I cant believe how out of touch I am when it comes to how much money folks are charging for this stuff.  I thought they were maybe charging $3 for a package.   Crazy stuff.  Anyway....enjoy them while I can offer them.  I should have another size in stock tomorrow some time.

I guess you've ignored inflation or greed or whatever.   I was looking at distilled and/or purified water last week.  I couldn't believe the price increases.  

[Jim Rogers]

2 hours ago, Chuck said:

Crazy thing...I rarely shop for rigging blocks for obvious reasons.   But I was searching online for info on rigging blocks so I can start making CNC fiddle blocks and Hearts...

 

 

LOL...I came across the typical square blocks which are abominations that come in most commercial kits.   I couldnt believe the price.  They are selling these things for $5.50 per package of 30.

 

It just hit me that my bargain blocks are the same price....I think my bargain blocks are a steal for the price.  I cant believe how out of touch I am when it comes to how much money folks are charging for this stuff.  I thought they were maybe charging $3 for a package.   Crazy stuff.  Anyway....enjoy them while I can offer them.  I should have another size in stock tomorrow some time.

 

 

 

 

 

I have thrown away hundreds of those Model Shipway blocks. First thing I do when ever I get a new model is trash the blocks and rigging line and replace with Syren blocks and line.

[scrubbyj427]

2 hours ago, Chuck said:

Crazy thing...I rarely shop for rigging blocks for obvious reasons.   But I was searching online for info on rigging blocks so I can start making CNC fiddle blocks and Hearts...

 

 

LOL...I came across the typical square blocks which are abominations that come in most commercial kits.   I couldnt believe the price.  They are selling these things for $5.50 per package of 30.

 

It just hit me that my bargain blocks are the same price....I think my bargain blocks are a steal for the price.  I cant believe how out of touch I am when it comes to how much money folks are charging for this stuff.  I thought they were maybe charging $3 for a package.   Crazy stuff.  Anyway....enjoy them while I can offer them.  I should have another size in stock tomorrow some time.

 

 

 

 

 

I bet you sell a lot more blocks than MS does though. I’m sure we would all still pay more for these given the results. Last time I bought MS anything was probably 10 years ago.

[Gregory]

One more reason why those box blocks are problematic.

 

Note how the sheave holes are close to the center on a lot of them.

Again, this is what you get in most kits, and they really spoil the look of the rigging.

 

[dvm27]

I use Fiebings medium brown dye for dyeing Chucks blocks. I string a whole bunch together forming a necklace and dip them in the dye for about ten seconds. I place them on paper towels to blot the excess and let them dry. Finally, I polish them with a rag then coat them with a bit of Renaissance conservators wax between my fingers. Treat the Fiebings dye with great care as splatters can never be removed from the surrounding area!

 

I think the dyed blocks look great against the black spars.

[GGibson]

2 hours ago, dvm27 said:

Treat the Fiebings dye with great care as splatters can never be removed from the surrounding area!

 

The Fiebings dye method that both Druxey & Greg mentioned sounded really good.... until Greg's warning about the splatters.  Even if it happened in the shipyard, the Mrs would probably have me removed!   <shrug> 

 

I know Chuck is simply promoting his quality product and does not mean for this to get into a MS bashing thread, but there IS a quality difference.  Keep up the great work, Chuck!

 

EDIT:  Made the picture bigger so you can see the details better.

 

 

Edited September 27, 2023 by GGibson

[Dr PR]

I would urge caution about using a dye on blocks. I used Fiebing's Light Brown leather dye and was not happy with the results. I explain my concerns here:

 

https://modelshipworld.com/topic/19611-albatros-by-dr-pr-mantua-scale-148-revenue-cutter-kitbash-about-1815/?do=findComment&comment=986904

 

What really peeved me is that Chuck's blocks are really nice and they came out looking terrible (in my opinion) because of the uneven staining. I think they would have come out better looking if they were painted. That's just my opinion, for what it is worth (they say you get what you pay for, so free opinions aren't worth much).

 

I am also the fellow who put shellac on a block and had the dye bleed into the light tan rope. The reason for this was to hold the rope in shape tight through the block while in tension so I could work on the fall later. I often use shellac to secure lines temporarily so I don't have to work with too many "moving parts." I should have known better! Both the dye and the shellac are alcohol based and the alcohol on the rope wicked the dye out of the block, even though it had been weeks since the blocks were dyed. I think I can brush alcohol onto the rope and wick some of the stain out with a paper towel, but I haven't tried that yet.

[druxey]

Sorry about your dye bleed, Dr. PR. Instead of shellac, a spot of dilute PVA (white) glue could act as placeholder. I also wax my dyed blocks. This might act as slight barrier to shellac, but I wouldn't bank on it without testing first.

[Keith_W]

Hey Chuck, I need to buy some rope! But your store is closed for maintenance. When will it reopen? 

 

I also want to clarify - on your webpage, you say that your rope is supplied in 29-30' packs. I am not American, I presume that means 29-30 feet? Or about 9.14 meters of rope per pack? I have some rope from Syren that I bought in a previous order (maybe 5-6 years ago), and there isn't 30' of rope per pack. I just measured it, the length of rope that I have is 19' in a pack. Have your packs gotten larger? 

[Chuck]

You have my older rope packages.  A few years ago I decided to make the rope lengths longer but keep the price the same.   Just to give folks a bit of a break with inflation and rising costs.  I am still maintaining those prices.  Yes that is 29 to 30 feet.   

 

My store will reopen sometime today.  I just returned from a trip to Annapolis and the Navy Yard Museum.   Below for example is the Crypt of John Paul Jones.

 

 

 

Chuck

[GGibson]

Thanks for the pictures, Chuck! Our son is a 2004 USNA graduate, and we loved our trips to Annapolis. 

[Chuck]

Everyone had a great time at the carving workshop and tour of the Naval academy.  

 

It is always great to see all guys and gals.   A special thanks to David Antscherl and Greg Herbert.

 

 

 

Chuck

[scrubbyj427]

Those carvings turned out very nice. Was that all done on AYC? Or boxwood? 

[Chuck]

Boxwood or Swiss Pear....we had both to experiment with.

[tlevine]

I was great getting together with everyone, not to mention learning from a master.  Hone your chisels!

[Chuck]

1/8" single BARGAIN blocks are now in stock.   I will finish this batch of 1200 blocks tomorrow and start on doubles.

 

While I was busy packaging them up I decided to do a comparison photo between my Original Hand Made BARGAIN blocks and my new CNC blocks ...both are 1/8" single.   In addition I added a Dry-dock single of the same size and took a brutal close up photo with my phone.  I dont know what all the fuss is about with the other guys blocks.  I only had a package of their pear versions...if that is actually pear I dont know.   In addition I was pleasantly surprised at how close my old hand-made blocks look to my new CNC versions.  I am glad I have help now to make both so its not a chore to make either of them.   Having worked for the last 10 months at those CNC blocks it certainly help me improve my skills when it came time to make them by hand again.  I hope you dont mind me saying that I am pleased with the results for the hand-made Bargain blocks.

 

Photo Just for fun!!!

 

 

[scrubbyj427]

Definitely the best on the market, hands down. 

[druxey]

I still prefer the more oval shape of the 'originals', although the strop groove is more accurate on the CNC version. Take your pick!