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I let my Admiral choose my new kit !

Thanks Paul, Roger & everyone who has commented. My mind is better than it was last night. I have re-grouped & now clear headed. The research I have done the last few months included every build log on SOS & YouTube of the San Felipe & Belle Poule. That's what I thought I was getting.

I have learned a wealth of information & also learned every person on this forum is willing to help, no matter how dumb the question may be or how possibly delusional I may be. I cannot say the same for an aquarium forum that I used to visit. They were entitled snobs & spoke down to new members.

I am going to spend the next few days watching YouTube & reading build logs here for this Victory kit. I have found several. I will start a Build Log for further discussion. I won't be able to start anything until Feb/Mar.

After absorbing all the comments, I appreciate all the positive reinforcement & PM's to proceed with caution on starting this long term project. That itself is a confidence booster for me. I expected to wake up this morning to several posts saying "DON'T".
 
Well, I guess it's way too late to say "Don't do it," but if you're committed to building a Victory kit as a first effort, which is sort of like teaching yourself to swim by jumping into the deep end of the pool, I would urge you to carefully consider returning the OcCre kit and replacing it with the Caldercraft Victory kit. The Caldercraft kit is generally acknowledged by most to be the finest Victory kit on the market, and it retails for $300.00 less than the $1,800.00 OcCre kit that is now sold out.

I won't go into further detail, except to say, "Why would anybody pay more than the price of a top-of-the-line Mercedes for a discontinued Ford model?"

I'll butt out now. Ask the other guys what they think. Maybe I'm all wet on this one, but, "Just sayin'."
 
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Bob Cleek said:
Well, I guess it's way too late to say "Don't do it," but if you're committed to building a Victory kit as a first effort, which is sort of like teaching yourself to swim by jumping into the deep end of the pool, I would urge you to carefully consider returning the OcCre kit and replacing it with the Caldercraft Victory kit. The Caldercraft kit is generally acknowledged by most to be the finest Victory kit on the market, and it retails for $300.00 less than the $1,800.00 OcCre kit that is now sold out.

I won't go into further detail, except to say, "Why would anybody pay more than the price of a top-of-the-line Mercedes for a discontinued Ford model?"

I'll butt out now. Ask the other guys what they think. Maybe I'm all wet on this one, but, "Just sayin'."
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But he won't because that would be a sign of total ungratefulness and disrespect towards his admiral.
 
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But can you really compare Occre's model to Caldercraft's without mentioning that Caldercraft's is a monster!

Here's a comparison and I would have to move if I built Caldercraft's model. :)

Victory - A comparison between the Occre and Caldercraft models

When I started the Occre Victory I thought it might be interesting to compare it to the Caldercraft Victory I made a decade ago. This might help people to decide which of the two models they should go for – it would seem that they are both represent the top of the Victory model range each with a...
shipsofscale.com

In comparison, I see that Occre's instructions are significantly worse.
So I continue to recommend Sherbourne before you start on Occre's Victory.

I don't know if Caldercraft's instructions can be helpful when building Occre's model?
If so, maybe someone here can help you with that.
 
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Bob Cleek said:
Well, I guess it's way too late to say "Don't do it," but if you're committed to building a Victory kit as a first effort, which is sort of like teaching yourself to swim by jumping into the deep end of the pool, I would urge you to carefully consider returning the OcCre kit and replacing it with the Caldercraft Victory kit. The Caldercraft kit is generally acknowledged by most to be the finest Victory kit on the market, and it retails for $300.00 less than the $1,800.00 OcCre kit that is now sold out.

I won't go into further detail, except to say, "Why would anybody pay more than the price of a top-of-the-line Mercedes for a discontinued Ford model?"

I'll butt out now. Ask the other guys what they think. Maybe I'm all wet on this one, but, "Just sayin'."
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Bob, it looks like you’re trying to help (as always), but Mike’s situation here is a bit different. The kit wasn’t an impulse buy; it was a gift chosen with a lot of heart, meaning, and care. For a first build with that kind of emotional weight, the “right” kit is the one sitting on his table. Every builder starts somewhere, and with patience, research, and the support of this community, Mike will do just fine.

Let’s cheer him on instead of dwelling on whether he got the ‘wrong’ present. This is going to be a great journey for him!
 
Jimsky said:
The kit wasn’t an impulse buy; it was a gift chosen with a lot of heart, meaning, and care.
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What you wrote is absolutely correct and it is a delicate situation. But, to play devil's advocate, if my admiral bought me a new set of golf irons that were meant for more capable golfers I would explain this to her and she would understand why I would have to return them for something more suited to my own capabilities. Maybe it would be a short term emotional issue, but that would be less difficult to get through than watching the frustration that would carry on for a long time.
Allan
 
AllanKP69 said:
What you wrote is absolutely correct and it is a delicate situation. But, to play devil's advocate, if my admiral bought me a new set of golf irons that were meant for more capable golfers I would explain this to her and she would understand why I would have to return them for something more suited to my own capabilities. Maybe it would be a short term emotional issue, but that would be less difficult to get through than watching the frustration that would carry on for a long time.
Allan
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Golf and ship modeling aren’t really parallel cases, though.
In golf, equipment directly limits or enhances performance. In ship modeling, the kit doesn’t “swing the club” for you — patience, learning, and enjoyment matter far more than the complexity of the box. Many beginners have succeeded with challenging kits because they simply loved the subject. So while the analogy is understandable, I don’t think it fully applies here.
 
Bob,
I honestly appreciate your insight & in a different situation, I would agree with you. But as Jim mentioned, I cannot disrespect my wife by not attempting this project. She is not an impulse person, but once she found what she wanted, she spent several hours trying to procure one.

Below is my latest scroll saw/fretwork project that I made my wife. This was about 100 hours & over a year to get to the point it is now. I got so burned out working on it, that I had to stop many times. It still needs steel wool & top coat, but I am excited to finish. My tactic on this was "no more than 3 hrs for each session." Sometimes my session was only 10 minutes as my mind started to wander. I will use the same tactic on this ship. If I get stumped, frustrated or burned out, I will stop. If I fail for whatever reason, at least I can say, I did my research, due diligence & had the balls to attempt it.

IMG_1072.jpg
 
Hello Mike,

There is a collection of 35 build videos of the Occre Victory on you tube by Wolfgang Zinn. You should be able to use to help guide you through the build. Also, the second build I did was an Occre kit. I was able to use videos to help me along the way. I didn't have much problems with the build and I would consider myself a beginner.

Bill
 
Bill-R said:
Hello Mike,

There is a collection of 35 build videos of the Occre Victory on you tube by Wolfgang Zinn. You should be able to use to help guide you through the build. Also, the second build I did was an Occre kit. I was able to use videos to help me along the way. I didn't have much problems with the build and I would consider myself a beginner.

Bill
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Thanks Bill. I have watched everyone of his videos... twice. He is amazing. After watching them, I am still confident & excited, especially for the open hull. My favorite part of a home build was passing the C/O Inspection. My second favorite part was seeing the finished framing.
 
Pepite 1/60 said:
But he won't because that would be a sign of total ungratefulness and disrespect towards his admiral.
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I hardly think so. She was to pick one of three relatively conservative choices. She went totally "over the top" and bought an entirely different kit for a lot more money. He can certainly still be grateful by explaining that he's exchanging it because there's a much better option out there for a kit of the same vessel. If she's like most, she will understand sending something back because it didn't fit. And if she takes offense to his exchanging one kit for another, well... getting stuck with a poor-quality kit for more money is obviously the least of his problems.
 
Mike-H2O said:
Bob,
I honestly appreciate your insight & in a different situation, I would agree with you. But as Jim mentioned, I cannot disrespect my wife by not attempting this project. She is not an impulse person, but once she found what she wanted, she spent several hours trying to procure one.
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I get it. "Happy wife, happy life." You gotta dance with the gal ya' brung. Maybe you can talk her into letting you pick out her next fancy outfit or pair of shoes. What goes around, comes around. No? :D After retiring from over forty years as a preeminent trial and appellate divorce attorney, I know how these things work. Believe me, I do.
 
Bob Cleek said:
I get it. "Happy wife, happy life." You gotta dance with the gal ya' brung. Maybe you can talk her into letting you pick out her next fancy outfit or pair of shoes. What goes around, comes around. No? :D After retiring from over forty years as a preeminent trial and appellate divorce attorney, I know how these things work. Believe me, I do.
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No, you merely know how it doesn't work.
 
Bob Cleek said:
I get it. "Happy wife, happy life." You gotta dance with the gal ya' brung. Maybe you can talk her into letting you pick out her next fancy outfit or pair of shoes. What goes around, comes around. No? :D After retiring from over forty years as a preeminent trial and appellate divorce attorney, I know how these things work. Believe me, I do.
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I think we may be drifting into comparisons that don’t really fit the situation. Mike isn’t dealing with a relationship issue — he’s sharing a modeling project and the story behind it. Let’s keep the focus on the build and the hobby, not on personal analogies that don’t really add anything to the discussion.
 
Bob, I still agree with you. That would probably be the wisest choice. It's possible that this or any kit could be my first & last. If I return/exchange it, I will forever be thinking in my (Lunatic) head... Dang, I wish I would have attempted it. On the other hand, if I start & fail, I will forever be thinking I should have listened to experienced people like You. This is a true Catch-22 situation. I honestly give my chances to successfully complete this kit @ 65-70%. That is good enough for me to proceed with caution. No one can get those odds in Vegas, so why do millions of people still flock there knowing the house always wins ? A trip to Vegas will cost more than this kit & that money is gone in a weekend. That statement makes no practical sense, but I hope you can see my thought process.

Plan B: If I am in over my head, I will stop, put this kit away, eat a crow sandwich with a slice of humble pie & ask those here to help me pick out the best starter kit to learn what I need to continue.

Plan C: If I find out that this hobby is not for me, I will save it for my kids or grandkids. Expen$ive lesson.
 
dockattner said:
Hi Mike,

I was wondering if your wife has any interest in building this model alongside you? Perhaps in the actual construction or maybe when it comes time to make design decisions? Could be a nice way for her to continue to participate beyond the model selection process.
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Paul,
Absolutely. Once I told her to pick which kit she wanted, Lol, she was all over it like a monkey on a cupcake ! She knows very well that I am in for long, difficult journey. I read her some of the comments on this thread today. She said "If you don't attempt it, you will always wish you had. My thought as well.
I have already asked her to help with the finish & help keep me on track, motivated & organized.
She will be my side the whole journey.
 
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