Hello Tony,
, I'll open a log for the Diana... probably in about 2 weeks. I haven't received the kit yet so I'll have to wait a little longer....
As far as the Con is concerned, I would like to make the following comments (strictly my personal opinion):
It is certainly not a kit for beginners. It is a beautiful ship...once finished but:
As far as the contents of the kit are concerned, there are a number of serious shortcomings:
- the quality of the laser cut parts such as the Fife Rails, Gunport Lids and Gratings are very poor. If you are not careful, the parts will break immediately.... the wood is much too thin (1/32" ...)
When opening the box I noticed that the gratings were broken (eg WP 2040 -S) and others.
But, and this deserves all praise, I sent an email to the service department of Model Expo and after about two weeks I received the new parts via Fedex. Great service!
-Also too few wooden strips, specifically too few of the smaller sizes such as the 1/16 x 1/16, 1/32 x (1/16, 1/4.....) etc. And these sizes are not available here in Europe because we work in the Metric system... so be careful.
- The quality of the rigging wires: the wires supplied unravel very easily, which is of course annoying... So I bought a completely new set of wires...
- And the "copper" for the hull... Covering such a beautiful ship with self-adhesive thin copper tape... no.
Choosing the solid copper plates from Amati was certainly the best thing I decided, but it is of course expensive... count on about 200 euros extra.... But the result is impressive!
Most of the mistakes I made were due to misinterpretation of the diagrams provided... These are not always clear. A strong recommendation is to thoroughly study all plans before starting. This way you can anticipate later issues during realization, such as making the opening for the sleaves....
What is certainly missing are laser cut parts, for example to amend the Binnacles... very small and if you want a nice result... not for everyone unless you have special tools... (I don't have a 3D printer ....
).
I learned a lot...and super happy to have built this ship.
But one thing is certain: with the Diana I will pay much more attention to the finishing of the wooden parts... as you always do Tony... your work: everything fits perfectly, perfect rectangles, very nicely sanded. ..that is the challenge I face now..
And I hope I can always come to you with questions... Greetings
Marc
, I'll open a log for the Diana... probably in about 2 weeks. I haven't received the kit yet so I'll have to wait a little longer....As far as the Con is concerned, I would like to make the following comments (strictly my personal opinion):
It is certainly not a kit for beginners. It is a beautiful ship...once finished but:
As far as the contents of the kit are concerned, there are a number of serious shortcomings:
- the quality of the laser cut parts such as the Fife Rails, Gunport Lids and Gratings are very poor. If you are not careful, the parts will break immediately.... the wood is much too thin (1/32" ...)
When opening the box I noticed that the gratings were broken (eg WP 2040 -S) and others.
But, and this deserves all praise, I sent an email to the service department of Model Expo and after about two weeks I received the new parts via Fedex. Great service!
-Also too few wooden strips, specifically too few of the smaller sizes such as the 1/16 x 1/16, 1/32 x (1/16, 1/4.....) etc. And these sizes are not available here in Europe because we work in the Metric system... so be careful.
- The quality of the rigging wires: the wires supplied unravel very easily, which is of course annoying... So I bought a completely new set of wires...
- And the "copper" for the hull... Covering such a beautiful ship with self-adhesive thin copper tape... no.
Choosing the solid copper plates from Amati was certainly the best thing I decided, but it is of course expensive... count on about 200 euros extra.... But the result is impressive!
Most of the mistakes I made were due to misinterpretation of the diagrams provided... These are not always clear. A strong recommendation is to thoroughly study all plans before starting. This way you can anticipate later issues during realization, such as making the opening for the sleaves....
What is certainly missing are laser cut parts, for example to amend the Binnacles... very small and if you want a nice result... not for everyone unless you have special tools... (I don't have a 3D printer ....
).I learned a lot...and super happy to have built this ship.
But one thing is certain: with the Diana I will pay much more attention to the finishing of the wooden parts... as you always do Tony... your work: everything fits perfectly, perfect rectangles, very nicely sanded. ..that is the challenge I face now..
And I hope I can always come to you with questions... Greetings
Marc
