November 2013 Newsletter

November 2013 Newsletter




Catalogue: Our catalogue of ship model fittings is still available. This is a handy reference guide to the various fittings that are available for your model ship.



Check out Cast Your Anchor’s new website; http://www.castyouranchorhobby.com/. We specialize in the nautical hobby. If you can’t find it, we can.



Model Ship Kit Manufacturers:



Cast Your Anchor will be representing some new manufacturers of model ship kits. These manufacturers are usually only available in Europe and very difficult to obtain in North America. The lines will be Model Slipways, Caldercraft, Deans Marine and Euro Model. Examples of the ship model kits that will be available are the Aziz Tug Boat, the Wyeforce Tug Boat, the Puffer, the HM Schooner Pickle, the Clyde Puffer, the Bulldog, the Inflexible and many many more. Stay tuned to our website!!



The Scottish Maid:



Back by popular demand, Artesania Latina’s Scottish Maid. Check it out.



Help Desk:



Cast Your Anchor, Canada’s only nautical hobby store specializing in ship models has established a new HELP DESK to provide our customers with answers to making your modeling experience enjoyable. The purpose of our help desk is to trouble shoot problems or provide guidance about products such as ship model tools, ship model kits, ship model books and of course, our favorite, ship model fittings and parts.



MacGyver: Let’s talk about tools for ship model building.

At Cast Your Anchor, we are keenly aware that enthusiasm for any hobby can wane after which the hobbyist is stuck with a bunch of expensive tools they no longer need. We try to convince the novice builders that they should spend as little as possible on tools and to try to “MacGyver” a solution for their building needs. Using a piece of plywood and some nails, you can create a template for rat lines or a jig for wood bending. Marettes are great for forming coils of rope. A small screw can be used as a clamp for attaching the bulkheads to the false keel.

If you “MacGyver” solutions for your build, let us know your secrets. We’ll pass on your techniques to the rest of our customers so that we can all learn from each other. Ok – they won’t remain secrets but we’re sure you’ll get a warm and fuzzy knowing that you have helped your fellow ship model builder.





Building the Bounty: DONE.

Lady Smith: Next up is the Lady Smith Yorkshire 1906 English Fishing Steamer by Constructo. I like this vessel because it represents the crossover from sail to steam. The Ladysmith was built at the Cochrane & Sons shipyard in Selby, Yorkshire in 1906. It had a steel hull and an alternating triple expansion steam engine capable of generating 69 bhp fed by a coal-fired tubular boiler producing steam at 180 psi and so enabling it to reach speeds of up to 12 knots. Trawler designs adapted as the way they were powered changed from sail to coal-fired steam by World War I.

You’ll notice that the Lady Smith had a steel hull. The kit provides for a wooden hull so my first challenge will be how to convert wood to steel – always a challenge



TIME TO START THAT NEW BUILD