HM Brig Speedy

[Short John Bronze]

Vanguard Models kit
Unboxing
The instructions are clear and comprehensive. A 79 page booklet provides detailed, coloured pictures of all stages of the build with adjacent captions in English. This is easier than having the pictures in one place and instructions on a multi language sheet elsewhere. I don't know what provision is made for those speaking French, German, American etc.
Sheets providing plans of the model and its rigging are also included.
There are bundles of two stage planking strips (5x1mm lime; 0.8x4mm cherry) and spar dowels (mainly walnut) but no other strips
The keel and bulkheads are on laser cut MDF board. This is not nice to work with. Although it is all hidden in the final model it still needs to be processed: shaping the bulkhead edges and removing the laser burn to improve adhesion. MDF dust is carcinogenic.
The deck sheets are pre-printed with planking seams and nails. There are debates elsewhere on the forum about the acceptability of this alternative to user planking. The plywood bulwarks are also presented with marked planking.
The fittings are all in well labelled bags. I opted for the £40 higher priced version which has nicely shaped rigging blocks. Cannons and anchors are plastic (mmm!); rigging thread looks to be from the Amati stable which is OK. BUT: the ratline thread is white and the instructions describe making it black with ink! Why not supply black thread?
Most of the wooden fittings (eg cross trees, cannon carriages, gratings, pin rails, bitts) are on laser cut sheets of pearwood. This is a pinkish colour and most, it seems, are intended to be painted black. Unpainted walnut would have been better - I don't like painting wood.
A Real downer: belaying pins, eyebolts, deadeye hounds and many other fiddly bits are on sheets of photo-etched brass, These 2D representations of 3D items are really naff. All will need painting. Painting brass with simple paints is not very satisfactory; primer and top coat are really needed to achieve adhesion. Where the vaunted historical accuracy here?
A trivial point: the box appears to be generic - perhaps for a smaller model. The bundles of dowels and primary planking will only fit at an angle. The box is unnecessarily deep and the contents were bulked out with copious bubble wrap.
Apart from the hull planking this seems to be a wooden Revell kit (but pricier) requiring assembly rather than building. I don't think painting and putting ready-cut bits together will be very rewarding.

 

[Pfälzer]

John,
a very heartfelt thank you.
At last, someone with a realistic assessment.
As someone who’s migrated here from MSW, I’d only ever come across this manufacturer being hailed as some sort of guru.
If model-making really is heading in this direction, it’ll be hard to find kits that you can refine with your own creativity.
Personally, I’ve already started trawling through eBay and similar sites for kits from the eighties.
Firstly, you actually build them rather than just putting them together; secondly, they’re still made from bronze castings; and thirdly, they’re affordable.
That said, we have to be honest. Manufacturers are struggling with fewer people taking an interest in this hobby. So, logically, simplicity is the way forward. Laser-cutting allows them to charge the prices needed to stay in business.
Just my humble opinion.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

 

[sirdrake]

Well, it's a kit, after all. It's intended - on purpose- for those who don't have the space, the tools, the means or simply the interest to tackle those eighties-style kits. I'm one of those (and I love the eighties!) But maybe I'm also a bit opinionated, just bought the kit myself

Modern kits try to use available technology to produce parts that fit and need only minimal refinement. And if one wants to dive in depeer, there is of course plenty of room for improvement.

Cheers,
Frank

 

[Short John Bronze]

An Ideal Kit?
Clearly this is just my personal preference. I would like the contents to be as follows.
Pre-cut keel and bulkheads
Planking strips for deck and hull (preferably thick enough for single hull planking ), dowels for masts and rigging thread.
Strips with various cross sections from which I can fabricate bitts, pin racks, cross trees, coamings etc.
Castings for things I cannot make: anchors, cannon, figure heads, decorations
Dead eyes, belaying pins and blocks which would be too tedious to make in quantity.
Essentially: just the materials for me to work with. I don't want more than the minimum done for me.
The AL Cutty Sark was a good fit to these preferences.

 

[old Fred]

I am glad folks are reviewing kits and giving their opinions as it helps us novices decide what manufacturer and kit might be our next choice. Thanks @Short John Bronze for the review. I am looking forward to trying a Vanguard kit. Vanguard kits are what appeal to me in this hobby - doable and ships at a consistent scale.

I believe many aspiring hobbyists choose too difficult of kit to start, get overwhelmed, then quit. That's what happened to me 40 years ago when I first bought a model ship kit. Love that the review confirms what I have heard about Vanguard models and will help me choose a kit that I will enjoy.

 

[Bemused]

2D delaying pins? How can they ever look correct ?
If nothing else, that would stop me from buying that kit, which I have been considering. I have been a fan of HMS Speedy since reading about her nearly sixty years ago!

 

[wernerweiss]

Hello John,
Thank you very much for your review!
I myself purchased this kit recently and began with building the ship´s boat.
I also had intended to buy the extended version with machined blocks and copper plates, but just on the day of ordering this version was sold out - and to my regret available again only three days later.
But ok.....for the replacement of rigging accessories like blocks, thread and yes! deadeyes and 2D photo-etched brass fittings there are providers as syrenshipmodelcompany or drydockmodels&parts.....

I look forward to post a build log in the appropriate forum.

Greetings

Werner

 

[Bob Ellis]

Vanguard Models kit
Unboxing
The instructions are clear and comprehensive. A 79 page booklet provides detailed, coloured pictures of all stages of the build with adjacent captions in English. This is easier than having the pictures in one place and instructions on a multi language sheet elsewhere. I don't know what provision is made for those speaking French, German, American etc.
Sheets providing plans of the model and its rigging are also included.
There are bundles of two stage planking strips (5x1mm lime; 0.8x4mm cherry) and spar dowels (mainly walnut) but no other strips
The keel and bulkheads are on laser cut MDF board. This is not nice to work with. Although it is all hidden in the final model it still needs to be processed: shaping the bulkhead edges and removing the laser burn to improve adhesion. MDF dust is carcinogenic.
The deck sheets are pre-printed with planking seams and nails. There are debates elsewhere on the forum about the acceptability of this alternative to user planking. The plywood bulwarks are also presented with marked planking.
The fittings are all in well labelled bags. I opted for the £40 higher priced version which has nicely shaped rigging blocks. Cannons and anchors are plastic (mmm!); rigging thread looks to be from the Amati stable which is OK. BUT: the ratline thread is white and the instructions describe making it black with ink! Why not supply black thread?
Most of the wooden fittings (eg cross trees, cannon carriages, gratings, pin rails, bitts) are on laser cut sheets of pearwood. This is a pinkish colour and most, it seems, are intended to be painted black. Unpainted walnut would have been better - I don't like painting wood.
A Real downer: belaying pins, eyebolts, deadeye hounds and many other fiddly bits are on sheets of photo-etched brass, These 2D representations of 3D items are really naff. All will need painting. Painting brass with simple paints is not very satisfactory; primer and top coat are really needed to achieve adhesion. Where the vaunted historical accuracy here?
A trivial point: the box appears to be generic - perhaps for a smaller model. The bundles of dowels and primary planking will only fit at an angle. The box is unnecessarily deep and the contents were bulked out with copious bubble wrap.
Apart from the hull planking this seems to be a wooden Revell kit (but pricier) requiring assembly rather than building. I don't think painting and putting ready-cut bits together will be very rewarding.

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Observations;
For hull skeletons I use the same stuff as Chris from the same supplier. In my opinion it's far superior to the questionable ply that the bulk of the 'Eurotrash' kits offer, it also comes in veneered versions so visible parts belowdecks can be stained. As for it being a carcinogen we don't exactly sit in clouds of dust when we're working, and do you eat smoked bacon???
The kits are designed so anybody can produce an attractive result. You can opt to use the veneer or use it as an accurate guide which has greater detail than plain planking. Otherwise I would have no use for it. I mill my own timber to what sizes I need in the type of wood I like, so I have a lot of choice!
The resin guns are good, a little imagination with a fine paintbush but more realistic than brass (which depending on the maker can be the wrong shape entirely) You have to do some soldering to get brass Blomfields, and cast your own if you want a royal crest. The quality of the carriages is fine.
You can colour ratlins according to choice. Pale brown/grey I think would be more accurate. If they were tarred black imagine the mess in the Tropics, but personal choice, it's a model.
You suggest walnut! WALNUT!!! No thank you! There's a reason kits use walnut, it's cheap low grade timber, and an irritant. If you don't like painting I suggest black hornbeam, or ebony (ebay, guitar fretboards)
In short it's a highly adaptable kit with more possibilities than the bulk of the market. There are more than enough companies with awful accuracy using the same approach they've used for half a century. Incorrect planking methods, cheap materials. You can build using whatever approach you like. Instructions are not compulsory!

 

[CoastieGeorge]

2D delaying pins? How can they ever look correct ?
If nothing else, that would stop me from buying that kit, which I have been considering. I have been a fan of HMS Speedy since reading about her nearly sixty years ago!

Chris Watton announced recently he is now printing 3d belaying pins. Check the Vanguard Models website but I think he is selling them and also including them in his newest kit. Hope this helps with deciding to get the kit I am building her now and just started planking.

 

[Bob Ellis]

Chris Watton announced recently he is now printing 3d belaying pins. Check the Vanguard Models website but I think he is selling them and also including them in his newest kit. Hope this helps with deciding to get the kit I am building her now and just started planking.

Bin them. Boxwood pins are as cheap as chips! It's a backwards step from Chris, I suspect it will be universally unpopular and predict commonn sense will prevail! Good idea to always give feedback.