HMY Fubbs, HMS Kingfisher - LSS kits available

Joined
Sep 6, 2017
Messages
289
Points
228

I received an email from a woman whose husband died recently. She has his still brand new, unopened kits I produced of the HMY Fubbs and the HMS Kingfisher. She asked me if I could help her sell them. She also asked what they might be worth. My advice to her was not to take anything less than what her husband paid for them.

The Kingfisher kit sold for $1750.00 and the Fubbs kit sold for $1000.00. If you are interested in buying these kits, please contact her at maryannh@bellsouth.net . Her name is Mary Ann Harris.

Thank you,

Bob Hunt
 
I want to express my condolences for the loss.

I think Mary Ann registered as a new member, so it would be (depends on her) also possible via a PM to @Maryannh .....

Dear Bob,
due to the fact, that not every member knows your kits in detail, maybe you can introduce them a little bit more?
 
I want to express my condolences for the loss.

I think Mary Ann registered as a new member, so it would be (depends on her) also possible via a PM to @Maryannh .....

Dear Bob,
due to the fact, that not every member knows your kits in detail, maybe you can introduce them a little bit more?

Hi Uwek,

From 2004 to 2008, I produced several true plank on frame kits. The first was the Fair American kit based on the plans drawn by Clayton Feldman with his permission

IMG_3599.jpg

This kit sold for $400.00. It had cherry framework, aspen and walnut planking, a Harold Hahn style building jig and some swiss pear parts. It included photo etched parts also and brass cannons (not shown in this photo).

The next kit I developed was the Halifax based on the plans drawn by Harold Hahn with his permission. I paid Harold a 5% royalty for each kit I sold.

_MG_1922.jpg
This kit was also true plank on frame. It included resin castings for the figurehead, stern transom and side gallery windows. It had cherry framework, cherry, walnut and aspen planking and included the mouting base and pedestals. It also had brass cannons (not shown in this photo). It sold for $600.00.

The third kit I developed and produced was the HMS Kingfisher based on the plans drawn by David Antsherl and his Swan Class books with his permission. I paid David a 5% royalty for each kit I sold. This kit sold for $1750.00 and for good reason. The kit was all boxwood except for aspen deck planking and some accent parts. It also had some swiss pear for accent parts. It had over 2000 CNC milled parts and took 5 days running 2 CNC mills to produce just 2 of these kits. I stayed 6 months behind in production because the kit was so popular. It also had an upright building jig.

IMG_3772s.jpg

The Kingfisher was historically correct. All wooden parts were milled to actual dimensions. David Antscherl's books on the Swan class ships gave the dimensions of every part in the ship. It had a styrene ship's oven that you built, resin cast cannons and swivel cannons using boxwood turned cannons that David made for me. It had resin cast stern transom parts and resin cast side gallery parts. The painted freeze was printed in color as shown in this photo on paper and then glued to the side of the hull. It had a double capstan and a very detailed ship's wheel. This kit was the creme de la creme in model ship kits. It had photo etched gunport hinges, rudder straps, the horseshoe at the lower stem, a resin cast figurehead. Detailed deck framework. Everything was historically correct and to scale.

_MG_2568.jpg
IMG_2853.jpg

Even the chain pumps were historically correct and included photo etched parts that you assembled. The chains were developed by David Antscherl. Even the bottom of the pumps had the correct parts in photo etched form.
IMG_3050.jpgIMG_3060.jpg

There are so many features in this kit that made it so popular that it sold like hotcakes and once I quit producing it in 2008 when the housing market crashed, it never got produced again. It had 43 billets of CNC milled parts in it.

The last kit I developed and produced was the HMS Fubbs based on the drawings by Portia Takajian. It sold for $1000.00.

DSC00725.jpg

It was true plank on frame, Navy Board style. It included colored prints on sticker paper for the painted frieze, a mounting base and crowns with jewels to mount the model. The planking was boxwood, walnut, swiss pear and aspen and all of the framework was boxwood. The figurehead and stern transom carvings were resin cast. It had turned brass posts that held the caprail at the stern quarterdeck area.

All of these kits were high quality, CNC milled kits, very popular, and produced in limited quantities. For 4 years I produced kits, and in the latter years, I would produce a different kit each week, 52 weeks per year, non stop because they were so popular and frankly, the best kits on the market.

If anyone has any more questions about these kits, please let me know. I'll be happy to answer them.

The lady selling the Kingfisher kit and Fubbs kit lost her husband to cancer. She has asked me to also inform the group that she has other brand new, unopened kits available such as HMS Vanguard by Amati, HMS Fly by Amati, the Syrene by Model Shipways, the Constitution by Model Shipways, the Lady Nelson by Amati. If anyone is interested in buying one of these kits, they should contact Mary Ann at maryannh@bellsouth.net .

image1.jpeg
image2.jpeg
image3.jpeg

Take care,

Bob
 
There are so many features in this kit that made it so popular that it sold like hotcakes and once I quit producing it in 2008 when the housing market crashed, it never got produced again. It had 43 billets of CNC milled parts in it.

I shelved a number of kits myself and stopped producing them. These days the same kits are produced in China for a third the cost including shipping.
I saw a couple of these kits and they are really good quality I can't make a kit at those prices. just the time and expense of research designing and prototype building is a big investment and that is up front.


wow, what a bargain, these Fubbs and Kingfisher kits are as "rare as hens teeth."

the kits are now limited editions and are more valuable as a collector items
 
Hi bob,

What a beautiful model kit the Kingfisher. Can imagine you sold them by the dozen. What scale is the model?
Hi Maarten,

All of my kits were in 1/4" scale. Kingfisher was about 2' long. I sold around 75 of them and could have sold more but once I lost my wood supplier, I was out of the kit business. The Kingfisher had 43 billets of boxwood, walnut and aspen CNC milled parts and each billet was a different thickness because every part was in scale.

Bob
 
A pitty I haven't seen these in Europe in the past. Then it would have been certainly on my list. If you have more pictures they are more then welcome.
 
I’ve seen yacht kits produced in China, but I wasn’t aware that there was a kit similar to your Kingfisher. If there is I would be sorely tempted.
 
I’ve seen yacht kits produced in China, but I wasn’t aware that there was a kit similar to your Kingfisher. If there is I would be sorely tempted.
Contact this woman (email address posted above). She has an unopened Kingfisher and Fubbs kit for sale.

Bob
 
Mary Ann has sold those kits, but she still has available all her late husband's tools and equipment. She sent me a picture and I could see a Sherline lathe, Foredom drill, and other unopened items. It all looks good, and I'm sure there will be interest. I told her to join SOS and post her items for sale here. She may need some help with fair pricing and posting.
 
I build the Fair American, but upgraded a lot of the wood to include an ebony wale, the most difficult wood I ever worked with. I used exotic wood wherever I could other than the cherry frames provided with the model. It still sits in my family room. Man was it fun cutting and fairing those frames. Unfortunately, aside from the kit no longer being produced, the Hobby Mill, my source for great wood also went out of business.
 
Hi Glenn, I remember your FA - it was definitely a class build, i don’t remember your finishing techniques but you produced a satiny(?) depth that was just luscious.... oozed warmth and luster.... jeez .....it was just a ship model right? . I’ve got a great stash of castello, pear, holly, and some that I forgot but if you ever are in the mindset of producing another great rendition of a ship and need wood, I’d be willing to help you out.... just sayin....
 
Thank you for saying so. My signature link will lead you to Donnie's old gallery photos of it, the Granado, and the Pegasus. The FA was my grand experiment in painting with exotic wood, not a drop of paint anywhere on it (which became fun dealing with ebony for the wales.). It was an adventure and required a lot of patience. Yes I did add a satin finish it to bring it all out, it has aged nicely as well. I'd have to go back to remember what I used - readily available at Home Depot, nothing fancy, just applied gently. I had a nice build log on it but it and my others were lost on MSW, I never made an offline copy (which was dumb). I do have all the build photos though.

It's been a long time since I built a ship, the culmination of 7 builds resulted in shoulder surgery, from the long hours of sitting over small parts. So my next effort will be very minor by comparison. I ordered a copy of the Amati (I trust their kits) Lady Nelson, something I can do fairly quickly and with my eyes closed (assuming it's like riding a bike:). To make it interesting I'm going to toss all the kit wood and replace it with exotics. I still have a stash of several types, but not enough and no boxwood, which I will use on the hull above the wales at a minimum (like the FA). Once I get the kit I'll inventory what I need and go from there.

My young grandson has expressed an interest in my ships sitting around the house. I'll find parts of it he can help me with, it should be easy and fun and not take over three years like some of the others.
 
Very nice Model, Glen! I have a LSS Fair American with a completed keel and all the frames glued up, ready to go into the jig. Got left behind as I turned to the “dark side”. Maybe I should resurrect the build! The hard work is mostly done.
 
Back
Top