Cottage Industries 1/96 scale U.S. Revenue Cutter Alexander Hamilton

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Aug 23, 2017
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Location
central Florida
My favorite group of sailing vessels are the Topsail Schooners built at various shipyards in the early 1800's. The Hamilton was built in 1832 in New York, NY While looking through Google images of topsail schooners I found an image of this model and further investigated the company producing the kit. Previously I had seen several Civil War ironclad kits produced by Cottage Industries and they look outstanding. So I read the description of the kit and realized this may be one of the best kits so far of a topsail schooner. Similar to one issue by Model Shipways of the New York pilot boat it has a precast resin hull. Additionally it comes with everything needed to build the ship to completion(according to the company) including resin parts for the deck furniture, white metal castings of the cannons and carriages and many of the parts needed to rig the ship, wood dowels for the masts and yards and finally several sizes of rigging thread in two colors. The kit includes 4 large plan sheets (similar to those in Model Shipways kits) and a 16 page instruction manual

There are a couple of things I don't like so far. It doesn't have a dedicated box to hold all the parts, instead everything was bubble wrapped or in baggies and placed into a shipping box. Also the manufacturer doesn't include a stand of any type but they recommend supporting it with brass or steel rods embedded in a sturdy base. Finally all the resin pieces need to be removed from their support structure and cleaned up. Also most of the white metal parts need a lot of cleaning up. All of which is going to add considerable time to the build100_4275[1].jpgHamilton 001.jpgHamilton 002.jpgHamilton 003.jpg
 
Great review, Bob! Many thanks for sharing with us! Thumbsup How much does the kit cost?
 
Since last week was my birthday I decided to buy this model despite it's price of $249. What sold me was the promise that the kit is complete and if a shortage is discovered or a part broken they will replace what's missing no questions asked. It cost me more than the Pride of Baltimore II but I think I'll be more likely to finish it owing to the fabrication of the hull.
 
Thanks for the answer, Bob? Any timeframe to start building her? Sorry for too many questions...;)
 
From my time as a teacher. There are never too many questions. It's going to take a while to get all the resin parts separated and cleaned up, not to mention the white metal castings as well. Then I will inventory everything and compare with the parts list. If everything checks out I'll probably get started on the build after Labor Day. Before then I will post some images of the major components before starting.
 
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