- Joined
- Aug 14, 2018
- Messages
- 472
- Points
- 323
A girl I once knew, while sitting an entrance exam for a teaching college answered the question, ‘do you have any problems making decisions?’ She answered first, yes, then scored that out and wrote no. I felt a bit like that trying to decide what to build next. I was looking for something different, but likewise I really enjoy wooden sailing ships.
However, the decision was made when I read the book,’ British Naval Trawlers and drifters in two world wars’, my first thought was to build from plans with a scratch-built hull, then out of the blue I saw an ad. In our local ‘Gum Tree’ for the Calder Craft model. A quick bit of research told me this was a very old kit dating back to the 1970,s and was designed more for radio control than a static build i.e., more detailed modelling, ‘oh dear’. But I went and took a look, turned out the chap had bought it for his ten-year-old son thinking it was the finished article and ready to sail! He took one look inside the box and that was that. So, it was mine at a very heavily discounted price,(less than half rrp). The said box by the way is huge and the kit, although very old-fashioned, looked as if it was recently of the production line, I had feared something that had been laying around for years, not so.
What did I get for my money? Well certainly not a state of art computer designed model like those so brilliantly being produced in China these days. Laser cut? Nope, back then the only laser I had heard of was the one aimed at 007’s goody bag, ‘You want me to talk Goldfinger?- No I want you to die Mr. Bond!’ As for 3D well that bought you a bag of crisps. What you do get is a quite nice-looking grp moulded hull that will need a lot of work to look realistic, but not impossible. A whole load of printed plywood, some brass rods, dowels, and a piece that looks like part of bathroom plumbing! There is also a huge bag of white metal fittings which look really good, for white metal that is, last and least of all a vacuum formed ship’s boat, funnel and life raft, hummm. A set of plans and an instruction book complete the deal.
Seriously, yes it is all ‘old school’ but it looks great for the time, and I cannot wait to get started. Oh, near forgot, the instruction booklet mentions an article in the Dec. 1983 Model Boats mag. about Round Table trawlers, so I bought a job lot of the mags of eBay for a fiver and had a laugh. December 1983, one month until 1984. I remember reading Orwell’s book at school and thinking it would be years ‘till then! Where did they go?
Here are some pics. of the Grand Départ.
Cant wait to get started Cheers JJ..
However, the decision was made when I read the book,’ British Naval Trawlers and drifters in two world wars’, my first thought was to build from plans with a scratch-built hull, then out of the blue I saw an ad. In our local ‘Gum Tree’ for the Calder Craft model. A quick bit of research told me this was a very old kit dating back to the 1970,s and was designed more for radio control than a static build i.e., more detailed modelling, ‘oh dear’. But I went and took a look, turned out the chap had bought it for his ten-year-old son thinking it was the finished article and ready to sail! He took one look inside the box and that was that. So, it was mine at a very heavily discounted price,(less than half rrp). The said box by the way is huge and the kit, although very old-fashioned, looked as if it was recently of the production line, I had feared something that had been laying around for years, not so.
What did I get for my money? Well certainly not a state of art computer designed model like those so brilliantly being produced in China these days. Laser cut? Nope, back then the only laser I had heard of was the one aimed at 007’s goody bag, ‘You want me to talk Goldfinger?- No I want you to die Mr. Bond!’ As for 3D well that bought you a bag of crisps. What you do get is a quite nice-looking grp moulded hull that will need a lot of work to look realistic, but not impossible. A whole load of printed plywood, some brass rods, dowels, and a piece that looks like part of bathroom plumbing! There is also a huge bag of white metal fittings which look really good, for white metal that is, last and least of all a vacuum formed ship’s boat, funnel and life raft, hummm. A set of plans and an instruction book complete the deal.
Seriously, yes it is all ‘old school’ but it looks great for the time, and I cannot wait to get started. Oh, near forgot, the instruction booklet mentions an article in the Dec. 1983 Model Boats mag. about Round Table trawlers, so I bought a job lot of the mags of eBay for a fiver and had a laugh. December 1983, one month until 1984. I remember reading Orwell’s book at school and thinking it would be years ‘till then! Where did they go?
Here are some pics. of the Grand Départ.
Cant wait to get started Cheers JJ..