Poor kit from Model Shipways

[ERSRich]

No disrespect intended, all opinions respected. My comments are not criticism of anyone or their work.

What is being paid for is a set of plans, and a gathering of materials. Imagine the amount of time it would take to gather all of the materials on your own - find vendors, order, shipping, etc.

The first step in the instructions is usually inventory the parts and contact the vendor for missing parts. After starting the Constitution about 8 years after purchase, noticed a plan sheet missing, Model Expo sent the sheet no questions asked.

After many, many kits, from just about all vendors, have yet to come across a problem with the kit that prevented completion. Including scratch building many parts I have lost or broken. But that’s the beauty of woodworking, when you know it, making parts is easy. Nowadays, discard the dowels representing yards and make them with popular.

Some interesting questions here - just asking and not criticizing anyone or their work.

First what is the problem? Is the kit “defective”, or does the builder lack the skill to deal with the perceived defect?

And what is a design defect? The kit is a representation not a miniature ship. Are real ship components, not represented in the kit a design defect? Or parts out of scale, like grommets for portholes?

Like how many licks to finish a Tootsie Pop, the world may never know.

Cheers

 

[DocTom]

I have only built Model shipways kits during my brief modeling career - their 3 boat intro series and now their Harriet Lane. I loved every minnute of building them, but they all had some issues. Some are WTF, like mistakes in the instructions that could be corrected simply; a few are inherent in the kit (like spars that are too small in diameter on the Pram); and some appear to be quality control issues (like the bulkheads on my Smack. They seemed too big. Model Expo sent me a replacement sheet, and those bulkheads were all 2mm smaller than my originals. How does that happen with laser cutting?). It's also clear the instructions are written and photographed during the construction of a prototype, not a production kit.

Despite all that, I ended up with some good looking models, thanks to build logs and HillBilly Modeling on YouTube. I assumed the issues I found were inherent to all wooden ship model kits, but maybe they're not? I can't comment on the issues with the Pilar kit as I don't own it, but I will certainly but another Model Shipways kit - in fact I have several in my stash. It's too bad they can't correct some of these fixable problems.

 

[mberg]

Uh huh.. go for it! Let us know what your $2.90+ gets you!
Thanks for volunteering!

Me? Oh no no no no. Remember,our countries are in a 'trade war'. I'm not ordering a damn thing from model expo for some time.

 

[jasonized]

Me? Oh no no no no. Remember,our countries are in a 'trade war'. I'm not ordering a damn thing from model expo for some time.

Huh, oh yeah. Right. Hey, I’m dual-citizen, does that mean I have to fight with myself?

 

[allbassfearme]

In general, maybe not here, this is a misunderstanding of laser cut and wood parts, especially compared to injection molded plastic.

As a necessity the parts come out of the billet oversized, not the exact size, the piece is rough and must be shaped for final fit. Thus slots must be enlarged, corners must be made perpendicular. It follows bulkheads right off the billet may or may not fit the keel without enlarging their slots. Kit boxes often say “Laser Cut Parts”, teeing up the idea of perfect fit. The laser cutting is just a time saver (in the past lines were stamped on the billet), not the end all, working the part is just about always necessary.

All the wood parts are rough cut, planks and dowels must be tapered, slots in cannon parts need to be worked, metal must be cut and shaped. The hull, masts, and rig must all align. The kit manufacturer label kits, if the label is intermediate, advanced, or expert, the expectation is the builder knows how to do all of this without being told how.

So fit issues are not a quality issue, or a “disaster”. It’s the nature of building wood model kits. The time and effort learning how to do all of this is a gateway to scratch building.

Good luck!

Well said! On the plastic kit side there are many issues to that require l9ts of time and effort to repair to get the best quality end result. Im loving building wooden ships and feel a deeper, more personal connection to the model! I feel a deep connection that I never ot even after months of photoetch, wood decking, scratch building, bodywork, digging, etc. Working with wood is such a remarkable way to connect historically, or I'm just romanticizing. Thank you! God bless you and enjoy!!!

 

[Ted Robinson]

I've found Model Shipways, Model Airways and Model Expo kits to be an excellent value. The company offers old time customer service not seen in today's marketplace.
I purchased a steam locomotive kit to build while waiting for my Bluenose kit to arrive from China. When it arrived I realized it was a snap together type of kit and wouldn't provide any challenge or reward. I listed the kit on SOS as a giveaway to someone wanting a kit to build with their child or grandchild. Model expo being a member of the site saw this and paid me that they would provide a store credit for my shipping costs. This type of jesture is missing from today's business climate but puts Model Expo on the top of the list when it comes to integrity. I'm a customer for life, like I wasn't already.
As to typical problems on plans and instructions. Who knows what the number of plan sets and instructions purchased in advance are necessarily in order to sell these kits at the prices we enjoy. Perhaps an errata maintained on the website would be the solution but the information appears to already be available here at SOS for the cost of reading a few build logs.
Hats off to Model Expo and their owners and management.
Respectfully,
Ted