Essex - Process and corrections to the new Model Expo Kit

[hollowneck]

I just noted that the "width" dimension is 13- 3/4"  I didn't realize the Essex was that beamy.

 

AND -

 

From the ME (downloadable PDF) Instruction Manual: "Instructions and model prototype prepared by Samuel Cassano, Jr."

 

Flip a coin: "Crain or Cassano", they both start with a "C"

 

Ron

[Pheasant]

not the old kit that I've been building with Raffin's log.  It;s about 5 1/2" wide..

 

Terry

[overdale]

I tried to get in touch with Sam a few weeks back but got no reply.

 

I hope all is well..

[Pheasant]

I'm planking her now.  If anyone else is working with the old kit as I am, be prepared for a lot of work on the bulkheads to assure a fair run of the planks.  This was also a "surprise", and quit time consuming.  My Dremel worked overtimne.

 

Terry

[Guest Tim I.]

I'm planking her now.  If anyone else is working with the old kit as I am, be prepared for a lot of work on the bulkheads to assure a fair run of the planks.  This was also a "surprise", and quit time consuming.  My Dremel worked overtimne.

 

Terry

 

Do you have a build log started so we can follow your progress?

 

- Tim

[overdale]

I'm planking her now.  If anyone else is working with the old kit as I am, be prepared for a lot of work on the bulkheads to assure a fair run of the planks.  This was also a "surprise", and quit time consuming.  My Dremel worked overtimne.

 

Terry

 

Just how bad is it Terry. I'm about to start on the old kit and I'm wondering now whether to just build a hull from the Takajian drawings.

[Jaxboat]

I understand the introduction of the corrected kit is imminent. Of course, ME has been saying that for about a year  but I think they're serious this time

Jaxboat

[Pheasant]

Well, Bob cautioned me about starting; but like a dummy, I did anyway!  Sort of glad I did, cause once I got the fairing close to right, she looks pretty good.  Just a lot of extra time fitting the bulkheads, cause the slots were too tight, and the fairing.

 

Coppering now, which I've never done.  So a lot of experimenting with that.

[pythagoras]

Hello members,

  Has anyone noticed that the newly offered kit of the Essex in the "Catalog of savings 2015" using offer code FC14  from ME is at a price of $449.99 up from my last catalog price of $299.99. This is significant!!  Anyone want to comment on this??

[mtaylor]

Hello members,

  Has anyone noticed that the newly offered kit of the Essex in the "Catalog of savings 2015" using offer code FC14  from ME is at a price of $449.99 up from my last catalog price of $299.99. This is significant!!  Anyone want to comment on this??

 

I'd suggest you call them and ask.  I seriously doubt that any (ok.. almost all) of modelers have a clue on that question.  Let us know what you find out.

[rafine]

I have no information on the "new" Essex kit. I do know that Sam Cassano has been quite ill and may not have been involved in whatever has now been produced. I notice that his name does not appear in connection with the kit in Expo's new catalogue.

 

Bob

[mtaylor]

I have no information on the "new" Essex kit. I do know that Sam Cassano has been quite ill and may not have been involved in whatever has now been produced. I notice that his name does not appear in connection with the kit in Expo's new catalogue.

 

Bob

 

It's sad that he doesn't at least get an acknowledgement. 

[GuntherMT]

Not directly related, but a lot of MS prices changed - the AVS was $169 in September, went up to $189/$199 depending on when you looked in October/November, and in the new catalog is $249. 

 

Maybe they just decided that they can ask more for these kits, or they are testing the waters to see how high they can get the margins before sales fall off.

[s4usea]

Not directly related, but a lot of MS prices changed - the AVS was $169 in September, went up to $189/$199 depending on when you looked in October/November, and in the new catalog is $249. 

 

Maybe they just decided that they can ask more for these kits, or they are testing the waters to see how high they can get the margins before sales fall off.

 

Or people have become so used to the sale prices that they've forgotten what the full prices are/were.

 

The simple answer is they are no longer on sale, for whatever reason.

Edited December 17, 2014 by s4usea

[Jaxboat]

It does not matter what the price is as they have not shipped an Essex

 kit for about a year. Sorry to hear that Sam is ill. I wish him a speedy recovery

Regards

Jaxboat

[Guest Tim I.]

I called Model Expo yesterday. The woman I spoke with said that they will not be shipping the Essex until early February 2015. As for the pricing it appears that all of the prices have ballooned across the board for Model Expo. The Essex kit may have had a price increase due to the cost overruns from the issues with the kit (just a theory). Either way I will wait until mid summer before I try ordering the kit again. Maybe (with some luck) it will be on sale and actually available to ship, instead of the moving date of "we will ship the kit on _______".

 

- Tim

[augie]

It's really sad to hear that Sam is ill.  I know he's been quiet for many months now and I've been concerned.

[Guest Tim I.]

I also hope that Sam is ok.

 

I noticed on the Model Expo site that they have given him credit for the prototype and kit design, Bob Crane for the revisions.

 

I placed a new order for the kit on the 1/1/15. I called today as it is currently back-ordered to get an idea on time frame. According to Model Expo, orders will begin to be fulfilled in a two to three week time frame. I hope this is the case, as this happened all last year. We will see. I will update here with some pictures of the new kit once (if) it arrives.

 

- Tim

[JerseyCity Frankie]

I am picking up this discussion late in the process and trying to understand the issues. Like many topics on MSW there are many pages of static to wade through. Can someone sum up what  is  at issue with the kit in question? As an outsider picking up the thread, I see this topic starts out with the designer of the kit setting out to discover what is amiss with the kit as delivered. And I see here at the end of the thread that there is some confusion about the state of things in early days of 2015. Can someone sum up what turned out to be "wrong" with the kit?

Elsewhere on the internet a new term has arisen, its expressed as TL/DR and stands for "too long, didn't read". Its used when there are daunting walls of text that are "too long" and as a result people don't read them. A volunteer then steps forward and provides a synopsis for those who would like to understand what is at issue. The volunteer posts some text begging with "TL/DR:" and then provides the synopsis.

is this possible here, or is  the issue too complex to distill?

[mtaylor]

Short answer Frankie:

 

Sam designed the kit. Somewhere in the production, things when to hell in a handbasket apparently.  Rafine was building an early version (see his log for specifics).  Sam got ill.  Someone else finished or was involved in the rework for production.   In the middle of all this, ME had management issues.

 

It's still unclear to me what the issues were and how they were resolved.

[kb466]

I have one of the early versions of the Kit and it really looks nice. As I recall the problems, the kit was designed for one thickness of plywood but in production, a thicker wood was used, meaning the pre-cut slots were undersized. Also I seem to remember some of the bulkheads didn't line up right. Rafine should be able to describe the issues with the kit. As I recall Sam started on fixing the issues, but apparently fell ill. My question is whether ME is going to replace the defective parts as they had earlier indicated they would for us with the earlier production kits. All in all, it will be an outstanding kit and model. I am anxious to start mine--- just waiting on those corrected parts.

Bill M.

[Guest Tim I.]

Bill,

 

I would

 

I have one of the early versions of the Kit and it really looks nice. As I recall the problems, the kit was designed for one thickness of plywood but in production, a thicker wood was used, meaning the pre-cut slots were undersized. Also I seem to remember some of the bulkheads didn't line up right. Rafine should be able to describe the issues with the kit. As I recall Sam started on fixing the issues, but apparently fell ill. My question is whether ME is going to replace the defective parts as they had earlier indicated they would for us with the earlier production kits. All in all, it will be an outstanding kit and model. I am anxious to start mine--- just waiting on those corrected parts.
Bill M.

 

Bill,

 

I would at least reach out to Model Expo. Given how comprehensive they are kits parts  and replacement, you might be able to get the replacements with no issue.

 

- Tim

[rafine]

Frankie:

 

Mark's synopsis is accurate. The slightly longer version is that the kit was issued with plans and parts that were not the final versions that Sam had turned out and used for his prototype. In addition, the plans and parts did not match each other. All in all, a messy situation. As you can see in my log, the framing process required substantial modifications, rework and a fair amount of imagination to fill in the gaps.

 

Bob

[Pheasant]

I have an earlier kit, same as Bob's. Bob advised that I shouldn't start, but with his help I have worked through the issues.  Before I started, I asked ME what they were going to do, but received no reply.    Knowing what negatives to expect and using Bob's blog, I have been able to make a pretty good model, for my ability level.  Was a pain early on tho.  Surely not as clean and crisp as Bob's, but OK.  Working on deck fixtures now.  Will not completely rig however.

 So it can be done.

 

Terry

[kb466]

I'm in the same boat (no pun intended!) with an earlier version of the Essex kit. I have been waiting for the corrections before starting mine. I just emailed ME to see if they were going to provide the corrected parts to those of us with the earlier kits. I noticed on their website just now that they say they will replace any defective parts free of charge on their kits-- so there is hope. One other thing that Sam told me would be corrected was the instruction booklet, as much was left out, including mention of the wales, etc.

Finally, has anyone heard from or about Sam recently? He was a real stand-up guy and I hope things are alright with him.

Bill M.

[rafine]

Bill:

 

My most recent communications with Sam were a few months ago. He told me that he had been quite ill and continued to be so.

 

Bob

[mtaylor]

Bob,

 

I "liked" not because of the news but because you had news.   The news does make me sad, though.

[Guest Tim I.]

 

- Tim

[overdale]

Bill,

 

I would

 

 

Bill,

 

I would at least reach out to Model Expo. Given how comprehensive they are kits parts  and replacement, you might be able to get the replacements with no issue.

 

- Tim

 

I've 'reached out to them' on behalf of my pal who has the kit. So far no reply.

 

I've been helping him build it as he's not hugely experienced and Bob's experiences terrified him so I offered to help with the hull. Fortunately Bob's magnificent results calmed him enough to make a start and We got through the bulkhead issue eventually. But we've just discovered that the windows are literally falling to pieces due to incorrect laser cutting. Virtually all of them are unusable due to having all or most of the frames too thin or missing.

 

I have always had a positive response from ME when I've had a problem and this is the first time they've ignored me. I don't know if the fact that he bought the kit from a hobby store and not ME direct has anything to do with it. 

 

So, we may be looking at a scratch built or getting windows cut by a third party if ME don't respond.

 

Did you hear back from them yet Bill.?

 

Dan. 

[Guest Tim I.]

Dan,

 

I purchased my C.W. Morgan kit from a hobby store and all the bulkheads were horribly warped. I submitted a request for replacement to Model Expo and received the new bulkheads three days later. 

 

I suspect that with the Essex kit, that they do not have the capability yet to send out replacements, as they are scrambling to fill back orders.

 

- Tim