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Building a Beginning Billing Boats Kit, Dana Fishing Boat – Part 6: Deck Details

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More on the Billing Boats Dana build.

catopower's avatarShip Modeler

Portholes

Among the deck details are the portholes in the forward cabin. These are essentially black plastic flanges and are the same fittings used for the hawsepipe. There is one to mount on the port and starboard sides of the cabin. Mounting these requires cutting holes in the plastic cabin.

Since the flanges have no “glass”, I used some clear plastic I bought a long time ago from the manufacturer Plastruct, which makes all sorts of plastic shapes for architectural and craft projects. Hobby shops used to carry this stuff all the time, but those stores are becoming few in number. You can order direct from Plastruct if you need to, or in this case, you can cut a small piece from a clear acetate sheet protector, which you can get easily at Staples office supply.

The plastic just needs to be big enough to glue over the inside…

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Building a Beginning Billing Boats Kit, Dana Fishing Boat – Part 5: Hull Details

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The build of the Billing Boats Dana continues. At $69, this is one of the least expensive of the Billing Boats (or any manufacturer’s) kits. It’s something of a bridge between plastic model building and wooden model ship building as it features at ABS plastic hull and deck, with wooden parts added and fittings in brass, wood, and plastic.

You can find the kit at Ages of Sail here: https://www.agesofsail.com/ecommerce/billing-boats-ship-kits/beginner/dana-fishing-boat—billing-boats-bb200.html

catopower's avatarShip Modeler

The Prop

After painting the hull and adding the prop, I went ahead and decided that I didn’t like the position of the prop. Now, you may not care enough about it to want to change anything, but it was bugging me. Now, I may be wrong, but I’m glad I made the changes.

The prop points downward. On a real boat, this would drive the bow downwards, which may be the whole point. The boat may be more stable, operating with the bow not riding up above the water. But, the images of the completed model don’t seem to have the prop pointing down quite so much.

The main issue here is really that the shape of the rudder assembly prevents you from mounting the prop in a “nicer” fashion – the top of the prop hits the wooden frame. Really, all you need to do here is shave…

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Ages of Sail at IPMS Silicon Valley Scale Modelers 2019 Classic

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The Silicon Valley Scale Modelers will be holding their model show again, the SVSM 2019 Classic on Saturday, March 17th, March 16th, 2019, and Ages of Sail will again be there.

Ages of Sail table at the Silicon Valley 2017 Classic.

The South Bay Model Shipwrights club is also expected to have a table there, and will likely be located right next door again, making for a whole ship modeling section at the event.

South Bay Model Shipwrights members manning their table next to ours at the SV 2017 Classic.

This is officially an IPMS event, which is the International Plastic Modelers Society. However, they include models of all types, including ones of resin, paper, and wood. Expect to see an increasing number of ship models and this and future events, as the South Bay Model Shipwrights takes a more active role of getting out in front of the public to support the hobby of ship modeling.

http://www.svsm.org/contest/svsm-2019-classic/

We’ll be sure to bring lots of stuff for all to look at and purchase. Hope to see you there! Ω

New Kit from Amati -1/32 scale Fifie

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While Amati has been busy with development work on their fantastic new Orient Express Sleeping Car kit, we haven’t seen a new ship model kit from them for a little while, until now.

Amati’s latest kit represents a type of traditional fishing boat developed on the east coast of Scotland, and mainly engaged in the herring fishery. These boats characteristically featured a plumb stem, a long, straight keel, and wide beam – a configuration that made them very stable sailers.

Amati’s Fifie motor fishing boat is the latest release and, like the rail-bound previous release, this kit is a nice big 1/32 scale. At this large scale, the plank-on-bulkhead wooden model kit measures over 27″ long and just over 17″ high. As part of Amati’s Victory Models Line, it has been extensively researched and carefully designed. The kit features Amati’s highest quality materials and includes color illustrated step-by-step building instructions and detailed plans in English.

Amati’s newest addition to the Victory Model Line has been designed specifically for any type of model maker, and as such it is a perfect kit for those who want and expect a little more. All fittings, masts and rigging have been researched using contemporary sources and the most up to date reference material avaliable to make the kit as accurate and as detailed as possible. The kit contains laser cut keel and frames, Amati wood and metal fittings, step by step color building instructions and detailed plans in English.

This is a beautiful kit that lists for under $300, and you can find it on our online store here: https://www.agesofsail.com/ecommerce/amati-kits/victory-models/scottish-fife-(amati-1:32).html

 

Holiday Shipping Deadlines

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Please pay attention to the following dates to ensure your packages are delivered before Christmas:

USPS Priority 12/20
USPS Priority Express 12/22
FedEx Ground 12/14
FedEx Home Delivery 12/17
FedEx Express Saver 12/19
FedEx 2 Day 12/20
FedEx Overnight 12/21

Black Friday / Cyber Monday Sale!

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Shop at Ages of Sail starting Friday, November 23, and take advantage of special Black Friday / Cyber Monday sale pricing.

Add one or more items to your shopping cart, then enter discount code BF18 and you’ll receive 10% off your order. Plus, all orders over $200 will automatically receive free standard shipping (up to a $40 value).

Visit our all new online shop now: http://www.agesofsail.com

ALL NEW Ages of Sail Site

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Ages of Sail has finally sailed into the modern age with a newly designed website. The site’s new modern look is all part of a push to make it more accessible to customers who are increasingly using tablets and phones to do their online shopping.

With the new site, you get a cleaner look, but retain access all of the great products we carry, including wooden ship model kits, multimedia kits, RC models, tools, fittings, books, plans, paints and more!

To celebrate the grand opening of our new site, we are offering free standard shipping (* up to $40 credit) on any order of $200 or more. The discount credit will appear automatically during checkout.

Things get busy as we get closer to the holidays, so make sure to buy early to avoid the rush and to make sure what you want will be in stock!

SHOP NOW

NRG Conference, Oct 25-27 in Las Vegas

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The Nautical Research Guild’s annual conference is coming up fast and Ages of Sail will be there this year!

Model display and vendor room, San Diego conference, 2016

This year, the conference is at the Palace Station Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. If you haven’t yet registered, there’s still time to make the late registration date. But, even if you miss the late registration, you can still pay at the door, it’ll just cost you a bit more.

Details on registration and hotel can be found on the NRG website: https://www.thenrg.org/nrg-2018-conference.php

The last conference we attended was in San Diego in 2016, so we’re really looking forward to the event. Please stop by our vendor table and say ‘hi!’ Hope to see you there. Ω

Amati’s HMS Vanguard – An Out of the Box Review

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One of the finest ship model kits is the 1/72-scale kit of the British first rate ship of the line, the 74-gun HMS Vanguard, from Amati’s Victory Models line. This kit measure 46″ long when built, and 35″ high. This is a very advanced, very detailed kit with lots of photo-etched parts and castings.

There’s nicely done review of the kit on the NRG’s Model Ship World. Read it here: https://modelshipworld.com/index.php?/topic/18418-172-hms-vanguard-1787/&tab=comments#comment-586165

You can find this kit on our ecommerce site here: https://www.agesofsail.com/ecommerce/amati-hms-vanguard-am1300-04.html

Check out the other kits of Amati’s Victory Models line: https://www.agesofsail.com/ecommerce/amati-kits/victory-models.html

Model Boats on Parade – September 16 in San Francisco

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Check out the variety of RC model boats at Spreckles Lake in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park tomorrow. If you feel left out, we’ve got plenty of kits suitable for RC operation!

https://www.agesofsail.com/ecommerce/rc-capable-kits.html

catopower's avatarShip Modeler

Sorry, I know this is a very last minute posting, but I was just reminded that the San Francisco Model Yacht Club is holding its annual model boat event tomorrow, Sunday, September 16, 2018, at Spreckles Lake in Golden Gate Park.

The event setup begins at 9:30am. It’s open to the public and should go on most of the day. The club will have its clubhouse open, so you can view various boats on display that aren’t out in the water. Plus, you’ll have an opportunity to see all kinds of powered RC models, some small, some VERY BIG, plus RC sailboats. There’s even a group that does free sail racing, where the boats, powered only by the wind, are pre-set to guide themselves across the lake.

Here’s the informational flyer from the SFMYC’s website:

Get set for a fun and interesting day in the park! Ω

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