About catopower

Ship modeling since 1993.

New Kits from Krick of Germany

Posted on December 6, 2017 by catopower

For those of us who like to play with our ship models, Ages of Sail is carrying some more kits from the German maker, Krick, and just announced these three today, all designed for RC operation.

These kits all come with a fiberglass hull, but the sailing yacht, the Antares, apparently has a lot of laser-cut wooden parts, including a deck with the planking pattern laser-etched onto it.

Krick also makes a few static models, one of which appeared at the South Bay Model Shipwrights meeting in Los Altos, where a members is building a kit of a side-paddlewheel steamer from Krick.

Ages of Sail

Those modelers out there looking for a nice RC project to work on so you can take it out onto the lake in the Spring may want to take a look at what we just listed from the German manufacturer Krick. There are three kits we’ve just added, and we have more from Krick that we’ll be adding in the next couple weeks.

Krick HE 4 – Police Boat

Krick Tugboat Neptun

Krick Cutter Yacht Antares

Haven’t decided what to ask Santa to bring you yet? There’s still time to order yours so it’ll be under your tree. Then again, you may just wanted get started on one and leave some room under your tree for other goodies!

Check out the new Krick items at: http://www.agesofsail.com/ecommerce/krick-models/new-items.html

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Lunch and Models at the St. Francis Yacht Club

Posted on November 20, 2017 by catopower

This year, the Hyde Street Pier Model Shipwrights club didn’t have the usual annual BBQ due to schedule conflict among members. We put it off a couple times, and next thing you know, the weather isn’t good for it. So, instead, we decided to have a club sponsored lunch. There were a couple possibilities, but since Paul Reck is an associate member of the St. Francis Yacht Club, we decided it would be a nice location for our club lunch, and so we scheduled the lunch to follow our November meeting.

Lunch at the St. Francis

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Gunboat Philedelphia, 1776 – Model Progress Update by Paul Reck

Posted on November 9, 2017 by catopower

HSPMS member Paul Reck shares some photos showing his progress on his 1776 Lake Champlain gunboat Philadelphia, which he is building from scratch in 1/24 scale, based on plans purchased from the Smithsonian.

Paul Reck showing his progress on the gunboat Philadelphia at the October meeting. Member Dan Canada at left.

The original boat was built on Lake Champlain as part of a small fleet of boats by Benedict Arnold in 1776. The project was a race to hold off British plans to move into the Hudson River valley. The boat was lost in the Battle of Valcour Island later in the year, but the loss of this and the other boats of the fleet was a strategic victory for the Americans, as it held off British plans until the end of the campaign year, when it became too late for the British to carry them out for another year.

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Amati Swedish Gunboat Build – Part 6

Posted on November 9, 2017 by catopower

Member Clare Hess posts his latest update on building (and modifying) Amati’s Swedish Gunboat kit. This is a small, inexpensive kit that is short on instructions. Not ideal for beginners, but a nice kit for experienced ship modelers looking for a simple project.

Ship Modeler

Following our meeting in October, it was clear it was time to finish up the Swedish Gunboat build. We’re down to three active builders of this model from the five that started, which isn’t too bad. One of our builders decided to finish his up as a gift for someone, and the other is a beginning ship modeler who is anxious to get to his next project. I’m also ready to have a project actually reach completion.

Rigging and Sails

I shaped the masts and the two lugsail yards some time back. I originally added a ball to the tops of the masts as shown on the kit plans, but replaced them with a thinner pole after looking at the photos of the museum model. The presence of the pole creates a shoulder at the top of the mast, that helps secure the shrouds and stays. While modifying the masts…

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October Meeting Postponed One Week

Posted on October 21, 2017 by catopower

Today was supposed to be the regularly scheduled meeting of the Hyde Street Pier Model Shipwrights. However, due to injuries and other issues among several members, we decided it best to postpone the meeting for one week. That puts the October meeting on Saturday, October 28th, at our usual 9:30am time.

Member of the Hyde Street Pier Model Shipwrights were emailed the announcement yesterday. Hopefully, they checked their email and didn’t waste a trip.

So, next week, we’ll check in on Paul Reck’s progress on his scratch built model of the 1776 American gunboat Philadelphia based on plans from the Smithsonian. We’ll also be discussing plans for a proposed holiday party, which is something of a replacement for our annual barbecue, which didn’t pan out this year.

Hope to see you there!

Beautiful Corel Wasa Build

Posted on September 28, 2017 by catopower

Ages of Sail just shared some photos of a beautiful build of the early 17th century Swedish warship Wasa, built by a ship modeler on the forum Model Ship World.

Ages of Sail

There’s a lot of great ship modeling work that’s available to view on the Internet. Here’s a really beautifully done model of the Swedish warship Wasa (or Vasa) based on a kit from the popular Italian manufacturer, Corel.

The 1/75-scale model was built by ship modeler Frank Moda, Jr. and completed last year.

Mr. Moda enhanced the look of the model with the use of gold leaf, making his model look like a treasure piece. He also made use of some after-market parts to further enhance his work, though as you can see, his work really doesn’t need any enhancing.

Rigged with a suite of flying sails and furled sails, this model is a real masterpiece.

Corel kits can be a real challenge, and the Wasa is one of the most complicated of them all. You need to be good at reading plans to take this model on. Don’t expect…

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The Passing of a Ship Modeler: Milton DeGroot

Posted on September 27, 2017 by catopower

Honoring our fellow ship modelers seems like a good thing to do. Here’s a note about a local ship modeler from the East Bay who passed away earlier this year.

Ship Modeler

Having been an active ship modeler for about 25 years and having been involved in clubs, online forums, and such, it is an unfortunate aspect of being part of the ship modeling community to see so many friends and fellow modelers depart. This is particularly true in ship modeling, since so many of us don’t become extremely active in the hobby until after retirement.

Recently, I learned that fellow ship modeler Milton DeGroot, someone that I had spoken with on the phone a couple years ago but never had a chance to meet, had passed away. I had heard through my connection with Ages of Sail about his passing, so I volunteered to help collect together some of his collection of wood and fittings to take to a local ship model club meeting. Visiting his home, I had a chance to meet a couple members of his family and to…

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