What Brands Make Higher End Limited Edition/"Museum Quality" Model Kits and How Different Are They from a Standard Kit?

DocTom said:

I am currently building your Harriet Lane kit. I am enjoying every minute of it, and learning a lot, despite what I call eruptions of Model Shipways-itis - things that don't match the instructions or pieces that don't exactly fit. I learned how to build wooden boat models from your Shipwright of Old series, and recommend them as often as I can. I owe my enjoyment of my new hobby to you. A question: your instruction manuals all seem to illustrate prototype kits. Do you ever have anyone build a production kit for the instructions? Your customer service is top notch in terms of replacing missing or damaged parts. Is there someone we could correspond with about issues with instructions (there are several in the Pram, Smack and Harriet Lane) or faulty laser cutting (I'm thinking about the cockpit seats in the Lobster Smack and bulkhead 3 in the Harriet Lane)?

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Please send me a message at rick@modelexpo-online.com and I'll put you in contact with our master modeler.

AllanKP69 said:

Are we related? Ship modeling, military school, American Flyer instead of Lionel,..... anything else??

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We are related in Spirit no doubt. You could throw in old cars, landscaping, photography and stirring the pot when things get dull around here. Just sitting in a parking lot near the market entrance on a rainy day with my backup lights on can be fun too.
About "Museum Quality" kits: No kits are MADE for that. The more expensive the kit is, is a guide to the complexity of building it. Whether or not it looks good enough for a Museum is entirely up to you as the builder. An exquisitely built dory is just as likely to end up in a museum as the most beautifully built clipper ship. Practice,practice, practice is the key and keep trying new things. It's always other people who decide what goes in a museum or not.

AllanKP69 said:

the majority of kit makers assume the buyer is just wanting to have some fun and is not that interested in accuracy

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I think you're spot on there Allan. Outside of our little niche there are many more people building kits out of the box, painting them with the paints and brushes that came with the kit, and enjoying every moment spent doing this. By virtue of being on this forum, we are probably not the primary target group!

KevinW said:

I think you're spot on there Allan. Outside of our little niche there are many more people building kits out of the box, painting them with the paints and brushes that came with the kit, and enjoying every moment spent doing this. By virtue of being on this forum, we are probably not the primary target group!

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so many times i come across the comment of "just having fun" or "just enjoying myself" is what kit makers are picking up on. So if the builders in general do not take model building seriously why should the kits makes? different levels of cost of a kit is to appeal to a bigger range of the market the expensive kits are no better than a cheap kit as far as historical accuracy or quality the kit makes just makes kits bigger and more complex to build.

i do not think better quality of materials add to the value of a model as much as workmanship would.

To my eye:
One factor in producing a "quality" model - one that cannot be mitigated by any amount of additional work ---- is using wood species that scale effectively and have the necessary properties.

I have my list of suitable species and also of those species that are just plain trash. All of us with enough experience do. I will resist expounding my list.

I have my list of suitable species and also of those species that are just plain trash. All of us with enough experience do. I will resist expounding my list.

as it is said some man's trash is another man's treasure experts suggest the true number of trees likely lies between 70,000 and 80,000 species. So when someone posts you have to use Boxwood for ship modeling because it is the only wood with the necessary properties to work in small detail is just repeating what they heard and the truth is there could be 1,000 types of suitable wood. Yes that is a postage stamp in the corner and the models are not Boxwood or Pearwood or Applewood a wood you can buy by walking into most any store that sells lumber.



So a kit maker who advertises (for more money) you can get Boxwood which most likely is not actually boxwood or pearwood is suggesting a better-quality model or is it just hype?

Dave Stevens (Lumberyard) said:

I have my list of suitable species and also of those species that are just plain trash. All of us with enough experience do. I will resist expounding my list.

as it is said some man's trash is another man's treasure experts suggest the true number of trees likely lies between 70,000 and 80,000 species. So when someone posts you have to use Boxwood for ship modeling because it is the only wood with the necessary properties to work in small detail is just repeating what they heard and the truth is there could be 1,000 types of suitable wood. Yes that is a postage stamp in the corner and the models are not Boxwood or Pearwood or Applewood a wood you can buy by walking into most any store that sells lumber.

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So a kit maker who advertises (for more money) you can get Boxwood which most likely is not actually boxwood or pearwood is suggesting a better-quality model or is it just hype?

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If they advertise boxwood and substitute it with anything else, it IS false advertisement. If they charge more money for a kit version which has a choice of wood above the quality of their standard kit, AND honestly describe which wood that is, such that you, buyers are properly informed, then the price is justified. And I would probably buy such a kit based on that material as provided, because that's how I roll.

DARIVS ARCHITECTVS said:

If they advertise boxwood and substitute it with anything else, it IS false advertisement.

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Perhaps except for Mahogany, it would be difficult to find a name for a wood product more ambiguous than 'boxwood'. The more there is a demand for it, the more species there are that become 'boxwood'. If I could pass the law - only a Buxus could be named 'boxwood'. An ironic factor is that Buxus is more shrub than a tree. The bole is seldom large enough to provide stock that is practical for framing.
It seems that forever - what we have been calling 'boxwood' that is used for framing is actually a Calycophyllum which is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs belonging to the madder or coffee family, Rubiaceae,. most often Calycophyllum multiflorum -Castelo.

DARIVS ARCHITECTVS said:

If they charge more money for a kit version which has a choice of wood above the quality of their standard kit, AND honestly describe which wood that is, such that you, buyers are properly informed, then the price is justified

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In which case - the kit mfg should be required to provide something that they probably have not known themselves up to this time - the true genus and species of the wood that they are supplying.

If they advertise boxwood and substitute it with anything else, it IS false advertisement. If they charge more money for a kit version which has a choice of wood above the quality of their standard kit, AND honestly describe which wood that is, such that you, buyers are properly informed, then the price is justified. And I would probably buy such a kit based on that material as provided, because that's how I roll.
Kurt
In which case - the kit mfg should be required to provide something that they probably have not known themselves up to this time - the true genus and species of the wood that they are supplying.
Jaager

If the wood has an accepted name as Boxwood then it ca be sold as Boxwood. Boxwood has become a trade name for any wood that resembles true Buxus. Yale University department of forestry lists substitutes for true boxwood.

my brother was a Dendrologist and worked as an Arborist after i left commercial arts we started a tree service company when he passed away i was given his library.

so here is every know Buxus that grows in China, what you find common among all of them is there are no trees they are all small shrubs rarely getting larger than a 4 inch diameter bole (trunk) and that is rare. What is a "shrub" a woody plant which is smaller than a tree and has several main stems arising at or near the ground. this does not sound like you will get a commercial supply of sheet stock 4 or more inches wide and clear of defects. That takes a "tree" size plant not a shrub.

For the past 100 or so years true Buxus was not used commercially for anything the supply is not there. a long time ago there was a supply of Buxus used as rulers and other stuff but that supply is long gone.

Buxus austro-yunnanensis is an evergreen shrub

Buxus bodinieri is a broadleaf evergreen shrub

Buxus cephalantha It is a subshrub or shrub

Buxus hainanensis cultivated ornamentally for low hedges

Buxus harlandii commonly called Harland boxwood or Japanese box, is a small, evergreen shrub in the family Buxaceae

Buxus hebecarpa is a species of small to medium‑sized shrub in the family Buxaceae

Buxus henryi commonly called Henry’s box or Henry’s boxwood, is a slow‑growing evergreen shrub or small tree in the family Buxaceae

Buxus ichangensis is a species of evergreen shrub in the family Buxaceae, commonly known as Ichang boxwood

Buxus latistyla is a species of evergreen shrub in the family Buxaceae, commonly known as boxwood or wide‑column yellowthorn

Buxus linearifolia also known as linearleaf boxwood, linear-leaved boxwood, or linear-leaved box, is a small evergreen shrub in the family Buxaceae

Buxus megistophylla also called large‑leafed boxwood or greater‑leaf boxwood, is a slow‑growing, evergreen shrub in the family Buxaceae and genus Buxus

Buxus microphylla Dwarf evergreen shrub or small tree, typically 1–3 m tall, sometimes up to 4 m. Leaves are small commonly grown as an ornamental shrub for hedges, topiary, and containers

Buxus mollicula is a small, evergreen shrub it is also part of the boxwood genus, which is valued for landscaping, hedges, and bonsai.

Buxus myrica is a subtropical evergreen boxwood shrub slow‑growing, dense, and suitable for hedging

Buxus pubiramea It is a member of the genus Buxus, which contains about 70 species of slow‑growing, evergreen shrubs and small trees

Buxus rugulosa is highly valued in bonsai culture is an evergreen shrub in the family Buxaceae, commonly known as wrinkled‑leaf boxwood or rugose boxwood

Buxus sinica is commonly known as Korean boxwood, Chinese box, or small-leaved box.

Buxus sinica is a broadleaf evergreen shrub This species is widely used in formal gardens, hedges

Buxus stenophylla is a small to medium-sized evergreen shrub

Buxus wallichiana is a slow‑growing, evergreen shrub or small tree hill forests at 1,200–3,000 m altitude; is both an ecologically important Himalayan forest species and a plant with a long history of traditional medicinal use, valued for its resilience, dense wood, and alkaloid content

Way back in the 1970’s I became aware of the splendid work being done by Ohio model builders Bob Bruckshaw and Harold Hahn, and learned about “Boxwood.” Like many novices I assumed that a supply of this wonderful material would be the key to ship modeling success.

I somehow discovered that a hardwood importer had a supply and bought two large planks. It was great stuff but by no means a substitute for careful work.

When I moved from Southeastern Ohio to Northeast Minnesota the wood came with me. It is hard, light yellow in color with almost no visual grain, and cuts cleanly. But from what I’m reading it’s not boxwood but Castello.

In this case, the name doesn’t matter. It’s simply the best wood that I’ve found for building ship models.

Roger

In this case, the name doesn’t matter. It’s simply the best wood that I’ve found for building ship models.
Roger

i agree with that,
it only matters if you put that model in a gallery and list materials as Boxwood and price it higher because it is made from an expensive hard to find wood now that is misleading. The name Boxwood is too generic it could be anything.

i also agree with kurt
If they charge more money for a kit version which has a choice of wood above the quality of their standard kit, AND honestly describe which wood that is, such that you, buyers are properly informed, then the price is justified.

if they are using a generic term "boxwood" as a reason to jack up the price and it is not true Boxwood that may not be right. The wood they call Boxwood may or may not actually cost more than what is used in the standard version.