My daughter has asked me to make a ship model for her which is great; I get to build a model without having to find somewhere to put it. Presented with a link to a catalogue of ship models she chose the AL Cutty Sark. Excellent! I have done the 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. As a representative of the 19th, Cutty Sark is probably as late as one can go for a wind driven ship. No gun ports and I suspect the pointy bows will involve minimal plank bending. Unfortunately, the kit is out of stock at my go-to supplier Cornwall Model boats so I decided to risk the complications (HMRC) of ordering directly from the Artesania Latina website. For anyone (especially a Brit) who is interested it was a pleasantly smooth process. The kit was dispatched immediately with FedEx who trustingly paid all the import duty on my behalf and delivered it within about 5 working days of the order. FedEx then sent me the tab for the import duty. The overall cost was £5.90 less than the CMB list price - though I did get a 5% introductory discount from AL so the difference could have been a few pounds the other way.
I don't know if the other European vendors are as efficient. I shall regard this exercise as a viable alternative for anything not available in the UK when required. Sorry CMB. Your stock control lost you a sale.
I don't know if the other European vendors are as efficient. I shall regard this exercise as a viable alternative for anything not available in the UK when required. Sorry CMB. Your stock control lost you a sale.
