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First off, welcome to the forums. 
so, the one thing I did note is that it states that the frames for the hull are made of solid oak. This will cause the frames to be fragile and likely split along the grain of the wood during construction. That's why they used many pieces for each frame so none of the length had the grain perpendicular to the length.
I've never heard of this model company, so I would do a LOT of research before I made a decision to buy.
I couldn't find information on how much the kit costs. Just that the S&H within the US is $9.99
I hope that helps !
so, the one thing I did note is that it states that the frames for the hull are made of solid oak. This will cause the frames to be fragile and likely split along the grain of the wood during construction. That's why they used many pieces for each frame so none of the length had the grain perpendicular to the length.
I've never heard of this model company, so I would do a LOT of research before I made a decision to buy.
I couldn't find information on how much the kit costs. Just that the S&H within the US is $9.99
I hope that helps !
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also from my side a warm welcome here on board of our forum
It is looking like an interesting model, but like Jeff mentioned - make some research about the offer and the company - not that you buy 20 parts and afterwards they stop
It is looking like an interesting model, but like Jeff mentioned - make some research about the offer and the company - not that you buy 20 parts and afterwards they stop
Oh, is it?….. as I said this company is very well reputed in large scale car kits, but I have never heard of them making a wood ship kit. So I was fully expecting this be based on some existing kit, maybe with some added value of excellent build printed instructions as well as video files.
By the way, the way it works, is that you don’t buy the kit outright, but rather its split over 12-24 months. Some people love this concept others hate…. It has pros and cons, for sure.
By the way, the way it works, is that you don’t buy the kit outright, but rather its split over 12-24 months. Some people love this concept others hate…. It has pros and cons, for sure.
I don't believe it is. Look closely at the frames in the advertisement.It is an OcCre model. Look closely
they have 2 payment plans...
the model is $149.99/month for 12 months, first mo is $74.99
24 months is $74.99/mo, first mo is $74.99
the model is $149.99/month for 12 months, first mo is $74.99
24 months is $74.99/mo, first mo is $74.99
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I'm not betting on dinner with you because you live too far away
, but I'm almost sure that OcCre is behind this model. Or let's say it's an intuition.
wow, that is over $1800 USD !
For that kind of money, you could get the Caldercraft Victory kit and have about $500 left over !
For that kind of money, you could get the Caldercraft Victory kit and have about $500 left over !
The price is enough to make me pass in it. Many other great builds for a lot less money.
It looks to build into a nice model, but the "'Shipyard' hull construction technique follows that of the original ship." bears very little resemblance to the construction of it, or any, real ship. And IMHO there are far better kits for far better prices.
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I too only know of them as selling (not necessarily producing) larger scale kits... mostly cars, but also some military, and some Hollywood stuff like Terminator and the like.
And this is a pre-order scenario, which is how they usually introduce new models they'll be selling. To the best of my knowledge, the kit components are manufactured in China. But a wooden ship kit is whole new territory for them, as everything else they sell is typically plastic and metal that gets screwed together to form the final model.
The price for any given model... whether you pay monthly over two years, or in one big bang... is always in the $2000 or more range. In this case, $1915 USD, plus monthly shipping fees. And not all kits they sell are available as a single complete purchase. They start off with the first mailing of (typically) 24, and in a lot of cases, they've only had the first few months of a particular kit produced. But their site will always show if a kit can be purchased all at once and shipped all at once. There are a lot of companies playing this game now as it's a real money milking machine for them. In our case, it seems this is the option we have that can be purchased in Canada... but shipped from the US that means we also need to add another twenty to twenty five dollars per shipment to cover the brokerage handling fees the courier company will charge us to bring it across the border. Now the outfit that sells these same subscription kits in the Europe (I watch YouTube videos of a guy in the UK who builds them)... also provide a magazine with each shipment that includes the build instructions, along with a lot of historical and background information associated with the model being built. We don't get those in North America. But Agora Models is legit as far as that is concerned, but simply expensive.
I've considered a couple of their car kits previously, so have reviewed their offerings in quite a bit of detail. The challenge with this particular kit is that since it's new, you're likely going to be contending with a fair amount of items not fitting to plan. That seems to be a common "challenge" with any of their new kits, and once established, those same kits get modified to address fit and finish issues that get picked up with the first generation of kits. Might be a great kit. Might be a bit of a horror story. Until the first ones have been completed and reviewed you wont' know. All I can say is that if you decide to get on the pre-order list, go in fully informed and understanding what you're accepting.
That's my two cents worth of input on the subject...
And this is a pre-order scenario, which is how they usually introduce new models they'll be selling. To the best of my knowledge, the kit components are manufactured in China. But a wooden ship kit is whole new territory for them, as everything else they sell is typically plastic and metal that gets screwed together to form the final model.
The price for any given model... whether you pay monthly over two years, or in one big bang... is always in the $2000 or more range. In this case, $1915 USD, plus monthly shipping fees. And not all kits they sell are available as a single complete purchase. They start off with the first mailing of (typically) 24, and in a lot of cases, they've only had the first few months of a particular kit produced. But their site will always show if a kit can be purchased all at once and shipped all at once. There are a lot of companies playing this game now as it's a real money milking machine for them. In our case, it seems this is the option we have that can be purchased in Canada... but shipped from the US that means we also need to add another twenty to twenty five dollars per shipment to cover the brokerage handling fees the courier company will charge us to bring it across the border. Now the outfit that sells these same subscription kits in the Europe (I watch YouTube videos of a guy in the UK who builds them)... also provide a magazine with each shipment that includes the build instructions, along with a lot of historical and background information associated with the model being built. We don't get those in North America. But Agora Models is legit as far as that is concerned, but simply expensive.
I've considered a couple of their car kits previously, so have reviewed their offerings in quite a bit of detail. The challenge with this particular kit is that since it's new, you're likely going to be contending with a fair amount of items not fitting to plan. That seems to be a common "challenge" with any of their new kits, and once established, those same kits get modified to address fit and finish issues that get picked up with the first generation of kits. Might be a great kit. Might be a bit of a horror story. Until the first ones have been completed and reviewed you wont' know. All I can say is that if you decide to get on the pre-order list, go in fully informed and understanding what you're accepting.
That's my two cents worth of input on the subject...
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Correction.... if you go the 24 month route, it's $74.99 USD for the first month (as you've noted), but the remaining months are $79.99 USD each.
once upon a lifetime ago i was heavily involved with model trains. there was an all brass engine that was basically the same subscription payment plan. but once the engine was done... it was extreamly detailed plus a limited edition, very collectable item. then to top it off... the walthers catalog had even more detailed parts you could use to really kit bash this thing to death. i did two engines of different year kits.
they are gorgious and considering what was a fortune cost then compared to value today, you would think i was nuts at my asking price (not that id ever sell them). so if the ship is actually museum quality, it just may be worth the investment... providing you had the skill level required to complete such a quality ship. but since they ship parts every month... if they go under or you just give up, you are stuck with a pile of incomplete junk.
they are gorgious and considering what was a fortune cost then compared to value today, you would think i was nuts at my asking price (not that id ever sell them). so if the ship is actually museum quality, it just may be worth the investment... providing you had the skill level required to complete such a quality ship. but since they ship parts every month... if they go under or you just give up, you are stuck with a pile of incomplete junk.
Yeah, Agora is more expensive than others (Deagostinni for example). I have experience with currently subscribing to one Deagostinni vehicle in Europe, and you are right, I get a nice magazine with articles related to the vehicle plus building instructions each month. I like the concept and the magazine. I wish we could get that here in Canada, but I would not hold my breath for that. It’s a tiny market for them, EU is huge…..
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If you have the patience for it, you can sign up to Agora's newsletter, and they will notify you when the entire and complete set of 24 monthly packages can be purchased and shipped as one item. When you go to their website, for the kits that have been fully manufactured, you'll see this listed as one of the purchase options. Due to the $480 USD of shipping costs, if I proceeded with one of their kits on the 24 month plan, there's double incentive for waiting till it can be shipped as one complete package.
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I hadn't been on their website for quite a few months, and this thread intrigued me enough to go back there and putz around looking at things again today. One surprise I found was that they do actually provide the magazines for their Titanic kit. I don't remember seeing that when they first listed it, so perhaps they are getting the message that people may find it of interest. Now... do I finally pull the pin on that DB5... (it won't be the Goldfinger limited edition, as they show it priced at $29,999 USD, with a $9,999 USD deposit). Dear God, that's four times what I paid for my first new car. lol
I thought I'd toss in the cost of the limited edition version of the Aston Martin to amuse the folks that thought the regular kits had a bit of an outlandish cost. There's expensive, and then there's crazy expensive.
Actually, if you look twice, you can note that the frames are extremely similar to the Occre's Victory. It seems like both are made of oak. Moreover, if you look at the "new modelling technique" section, as they say on their website, the frames are made of various pieces that need to be glued, and, in addition, there is also a jig to build the hull of the ship, just like in the Victory...
You DO know something!I'm not betting on dinner with you because you live too far away
More coincidences. This extract of the "pack 2" found here shows the same style template of the identification sheets and the wood samples in the bottom left corner, just like any Occre kit...
On the left, the U.S.S Constitution identification sheet, on the right, Diana's. Same style
And the clearest one (!!!)
This is a screenshot of one of the building videos found on their website, as they are still hidden on YouTube.
They are clearly and (I think) knowingly
using Occre's Cola Blanca (wood glue) and their recognisable bottle.Now it makes me wonder. Why release a new model without the usual Occre's fanfare, (totally agree with all the hype they build and how their marketing campaigns work, they are really clever) and release it under or by another "brand" / "retailer"?
I strongly think that if Occre had released this kit by themselves, just with half the exclusivity and build-up of the HMS Victory, they would have had an incredible success, especially in the United States market, knowing the history and love for this particular model.
In addition, I believe it would have meant a slightly more affordable price range.
I know that they sure have their reasons and interests, of course, I just want someone to explain it just for the sake of it hehehehe. Or maybe in the next 10 years, we will see a big announcement of a new arsenal kit from Occre...
This reminds me of DeAgostini when they released the Wasa (If I remember correctly), where there were similarities with Artesania Latina's way of building, and years later, AL released their own Wasa
I might be all wrong, and this is just my opinion and what I have seen, but it seems interesting and a bit funny to me
(in a good way, of course).Let's see if someone can throw a bit of light here!
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So based on the images of package one and an Occre kit, I would tend to agree that Occre... for whatever reason... has opted to subcontract a package for an outfit that normally produces expensive kits made of plastic and metal. This is certainly a first or Agora Models. I first found them as a result of a random YouTube video from a guy in the UK that does build videos of all their kits. I "think" that Agora is the company that holds a license to resell product in North America, as from the YouTube videos this guy creates, it appears there's a much more extensive product line available in Europe. Here's a link to the fellow'ss YouTube channel: World of Wayne ... and here's a link to his first stages of his USS Constitution build: Wayne's Constituion Build (he now has two videos up, so he's gotten the second shipment of components).
I wonder, if in the long run, that Occre will eventually release the kit under their own brand? And what the price difference might be if they do... lol
I wonder, if in the long run, that Occre will eventually release the kit under their own brand? And what the price difference might be if they do... lol