Saturday, November 29, 2008

December 08 Newsletter

Welcome to RatLines!


Cast Your Anchor wishes all of our friends the best this Holiday Season

We have thoroughly enjoyed speaking with all of our friends over the past year here at Cast Your Anchor and that you are enjoying the art of model ship building. If you find some time this holiday season try to visit the Art Gallery of Ontario and take in the Thompson Collection of Model Ships. A trip well worth it.



Evolution: Cast Your Anchor will be announcing some exciting new changes to our business in the New Year. Stay tuned!

Santa Specials: Just in time for Christmas: We would like to tell you about all of the specials that we have in our store but they’re too numerous to mention. Come on down and enjoy the sights and sound of Cast your Anchor. We look forward to seeing you.
Web Site: Visit our new website at www.castyouranchorhobby.com. We offer information directed solely for model ship builders. You’ll find useful tips, a wide variety of kits, tools & parts for all your shipbuilding needs. We even have a Scratch Builder’s section. What comes after the foghorn?


Ship Model Books

Although there are a number of ship model books available in the market place if you can find them, there are a few that are the most helpful with this hobby. Cast Your Anchor is a new and innovative hobby store located in Toronto Ontario Canada. It is Canada’s only hobby store specializing in the art of ship model building. We have summarized three of the best books that we recommend to our clients.

The Ship Model Builders Assistant by Charles G. Davis is one of the best general books on this hobby. This was the first of three books written by Charles Davis. “ Indispensable for the serious model builder, this book offers hobbyists a true understanding of the masting, rigging, and most important fittings of the American clipper ships and packet ships of the Great Age of Sail. It also represents a treasury of important information for the naval and social historians, sailing enthusiast and students of Americana. Enhanced with over 270 clear, detailed drawings of ships’ components, this volume gives the model builder a deep understanding of the workings of a fully rigged and appointed sailing ship.”

Ship Modeling Simplified by Frank Mastini is a wonderfully detailed book on ship model construction. This book is based on the great Canadian schooner Bluenose but the information and described techniques of model building easily carry over to any ship model you are considering to build. “ Here is the advise you need for a trouble free start in an exciting hobby”. This book addresses choosing the right kit for your abilities, how to decipher complicated plans, setting up an efficient workbench and buying the right tools, painting, decorating and displaying your finished model. There are very clear pictures and illustrations of everything from planking to rigging.

The Art of Rigging by George Biddlecombe. “This book was originally compiled for the use of students in a Naval Academy and it is believed by modern experts to be the best manual ever produced on rigging the sailing ship. At the present time there is a constant demand from builders of ship models for a good handbook on rigging – comprehensive as to details and yet simple to understand. “

In addition to these types of books on ship model construction, you can also find books with specific information concerning the model you are building. As an example, Saga of the Great Fishing Schooners, Measured Drawing by L. B. Jenson offers details of the schooner Bluenose that can help you add more realism to you model. In addition to this book, there is a DVD call Take the Helm that gives an excellent visual interpretation of building this model. The point is that every kit has some detail of the original vessel. You can add detail to make you model very unique and once you are finished your model, you can rightly call yourself a scratch builder.

Reference library: Cast your Anchor is building a reference library that is for the use of our customers. It is professionally catalogued and will be expanded as time goes on. In addition to the modeling books we carry in the store, our library includes reference materials related to specific ship models.

www.castyouranchorhobby.com
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January Issue of Ratlines: Adhesives

Saturday, November 01, 2008

November Newsletter

Welcome to RatLines!


What??? No Hobby Show!

Cast Your Anchor feels very sad not seeing all of friends and customers at the Toronto Hobby Show. We are so sad, that we want to entice you to come into the store for a visit or at least give us a phone call. Here’s the deal. Until November 15th for every $100 you spend we’ll give you $10 back. Unbelievable you say! Well you are one of our few inner circle members that will receive this email. Just let us know that you saw our offer and we’ll make it happen Scotty.


Web Site: Visit our new website at www.castyouranchorhobby.com. We offer information directed solely for model ship builders. You’ll find useful tips, a wide variety of kits, tools & parts for all your shipbuilding needs. We even have a Scratch Builder’s section. What comes after the foghorn?

Fall Events: Cast Your Anchor will be participating in the Kingston Road Village Santa Clause Parade on Sunday November 9th. Come on out and have fun!

Speaking About Santa: Cast Your Anchor is has been gearing up for the big event. Let’s face it, there’s going to be snow here soon. What better way to hibernate inside this winter by building your dream ship. Cast Your Anchor is well stocked right now. We look forward to seeing you.






The Story of Cast Your Anchor – Part II

In the midst of my model ship anxiety a family move returned us to Toronto. A search for a retirement plan (something positive to do, involving other like-minded people) and an investment opportunity led to the seeds of an idea. I would create the hobby store that I had so desperately needed – a place where modellers could meet, trade ideas, swap tips and techniques while working on their model ships.

The Ontario Science Centre’s Model Shop is closed now and one of the last artisans has retired to Lunenburg – home of the well-known Canadian Schooner - Bluenose II. But it became another dream of mine to re-create that atmosphere and thus Cast Your Anchor set sail in Toronto in November 2003!

Our very first foray into the nautical hobby world took place at The Hobby Show, held at the International Centre in Toronto’s west end. My family joined me in fulfilling this dream, choosing our company colours, making signs, packing and unpacking boxes, even setting up table displays.

Our first sale was a package of pipettes and we wondered if we had anything else hobbyists would be interested in. We had little to worry about! Before the first day was over we had sold a number of kits, tools, and fittings and were hearing “so glad to see you – someone needed to do this”, “hi, my name is Jack and I build models, can I come and see your store?”, “where are you located, what are your hours”, “I’ve been wanting to build a ship but didn’t know where to go for help”.

So anxious to set sail at Cast Your Anchor that we moved into an incomplete building, our first few months were filled with wallboard dust and no running water. But we made it work. A business focused on, and dedicated to, creating a positive modelling experience for any model ship builder. We gained experience, tapped into a network of dedicated modellers who shared their tips and techniques and we accumulated a wealth of knowledge that we want to share. Becoming experts in the hobby has been an arduous journey but like those who sailed the originals of our models we are adventurers, open to challenge, and dedicated to assisting our customers in completing their ship of dreams.

December Issue of Ratlines: Ship Model Books