Anybody built these kits - moved by moderator

[latestarter]

Has anybody bult these kits by Caldercraft? HMn Jalouse or HM Brig Supply, if you have could you give an opinion please? Things like ease of building, kit quality etc.

[monkeyman]

I've just checked both in the store and somehow liked them much less, than Model Shipways'. I was a bit confued, that all pre-manufactured parts are not laser cut.

Edited January 28, 2015 by monkeyman

[yamsterman]

Hi have built several caldercraft kits over the years.....sherbourne,balahoo,hatch HMS snake. Quality of the kits is above average fittings are generally excellent plans are usually very good but the actual instructions are pretty basic.I think along with a lot of European manufacturers that the builder already has some degree of prior knowledge.laser cutting has been replaced by CNC routing which is just as accurate and no laser char to remove. I would have to say by comparison model shipways instructions areprobably the best in the business.

Cheers.....mick

[Thunder]

I have built their models of Pickle, Chatham and supply. Early kit instructions are minimal but later kits like pickle are very in-depth. Saying that a few errors in Pickle spoilt it. Enjoyed Chatham most. My supply had one bulkhead incorrect towards the stern. If you look at some of the builds you can see where others have not spotted it. Otherwise a very nice model.

[hornet]

I am currently building the Caldercraft Supply. Fittings and instructions are good. I am a little disappointed with the quality of the wood, much of which is brittle and splintery. They have provided ample quantities though so breakage has not been a problem. There are three companies producing the 'Supply' as far as I know. Caldercraft, Artesania Latina and modeller's shipyard. All three versions look different. Through my research, I have made many modifications to this kit to make it more authentic. I also have the Caldercraft 'Bounty' and Caldercraft 'Endeavour' on the shelf. Wood quality in these kits seems to be similar. I also had some 'issues' with missing components as have others. These are discussed in a thread called Caldercraft Customer Service' if you are interested. Overall though, I am quite happy with this kit.

Edited February 8, 2015 by hornet

[Thunder]

When building the Chatham the wood was excellent. I then built pickle and the walnut second planning kept losing its edge. On the supply the second planning was the same but deck planning was even worse as it was different sizes. They replaced this very quickly.

 

They have told me I am storing in too dry a house and should keep some water in the area I store them but doesn't seem to have made a difference.