PT Boat Forum
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Topic: Future project help.? |
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PeterTareBuilder2
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Posted on: Sep 3, 2013 - 2:03pm
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Quote:
Thanks Frank, You guys have all been around for a while and you've seen how Italeri worked with you on the Elco Boats, and you have positive.feelings. I really respect that. Here is a large company that is approachable, and if they weren't I would not even be trying to push them a bit. I'm not even thinking about sending letters to Revell or Trumpeter or anyone else. I'm new to this Forum and I did't go through that positive process with all you folks. I've sent two letters to Italeri.with no real reply, I've had broken parts and a couple months ago I sent for replacements to their distrubter with the bar codes and stickers they requested, and nothing, not even a Sorry we can't help. So I'm batting a big ZERO with them on communicating and service, and I have at least $3000 of there kits in my closet. On top of that I'm getting request for models of Higgins Boats for the guys who served on them. I don't really want to say no and I don't want to charge $1200 a boat and take forever in man hours when Italeri may have one on the horizon that will go for under $200, and I can do a build for for them under $500 in a short time. I would be embarested to take some of these projects on and charge for them to only find out a kit will be out before I could even finish them. That is why I want to push the wheels and gears of a big corperation to get some information or even a product out, I'm sure they have employee's there that want the same. My experiance is there are mangers with very little forsight. I would like to finish these requested boats while the vets are still around to enjoy them. I'm sorry if I ruffeled a few of your feathers. I'll be keeping my hopes to myself in the future.
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Ahoy there mates.
To paraphrase Oddball in Kelly's Heroes, "Think positiv thoughts. Think beautiful thoughts. The 77' Elco and the 78' Higgins will be here."
I think there's an excellent chance that a 77' Elco boat, perhaps a gunboat, will be released by Italeri to take adavantage of the recent renewed interest in JFK. I wonder if Italeri is aware that JFK commanded such a boat?
THen again, Italeri might release a Higgins first. After all did the public know of any famous person who used a boat like PT-596? Yet Itlaeri released that kit before the other 80' Elco.
One thing I found interesting is that Lindberg was so helpful in sending me parts I offered to buy from them in order to refurbish a 1/32 scale PT boat model that had lost some parts over the years and to build an earlier variant of the boat in their kit. Italeri sent mefigures, 20 mm guns, spare magazines, many deck fittings and the brass tubes and brass prop shafts. Ironic thatthe company with the worst kit has the best customer service when it comes to broken or missing parts.
I'm going to keep hoping that Italeri will release a 77' Elco and a 78' Higgins. At least with their other releases of 1/35 scale coastal forces boats we have reason to hope for these other boats in styrene.
Cheers from Peter
"Give me a fast boat for we want to get out of harm's way too." |
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Will Day
TOP BOSS
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 Posted on: Sep 3, 2013 - 4:06pm
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FSM magazine has an interesting article this month on the eventual development of "dial your own models" (sort of) where you can just send in your specs and get the exact piece you desire. I doubt if it will be in our lifetime and I'm sure it won't be cheap.
Will |
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David Waples
TOP BOSS
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Posted on: Sep 3, 2013 - 6:33pm
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It's early but it will be in our life time. It's happening now. I attended a very interesting seminar on 3D printing. The cost has come down dramatically. I would say within 5 years there will be a segment of the market which will allow you to order a model and configure it the way you want it. As the databases grow so will the options. Take a look at Shapeways. When you send something for them to print it can go into a community database. You can go there and order something printed 3D in resin. One of the things they showed us in class was imaging faces and printing scale figures of real people. Perhaps in 10 years Frank can print an entire PT Boat crew that looks like him!
The challenge is doing the design work. As the software advances so will the time required to create a project. I joke with Jeff Davidson that we'll be able to press the print button and out will pop his beautiful drawings in 3D.
Stay tuned and watch it go.
Dave
David Waples |
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Roy Forbes
TOP BOSS
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Posted on: Sep 3, 2013 - 7:43pm
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Now that is funny Dave. I'm not sure what I would enjoy more. An entire crew of Franks or just one Frank and the rest all female !!
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David Waples
TOP BOSS
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Posted on: Sep 3, 2013 - 9:09pm
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It's early but it will be in our life time. It's happening now. I attended a very interesting seminar on 3D printing. The cost has come down dramatically. I would say within 5 years there will be a segment of the market which will allow you to order a model and configure it the way you want it. As the databases grow so will the options. Take a look at Shapeways. When you send something for them to print it can go into a community database. You can go there and order something printed 3D in resin. One of the things they showed us in class was imaging faces and printing scale figures of real people. Perhaps in 10 years Frank can print an entire PT Boat crew that looks like him!
The challenge is doing the design work. As the software advances so will the time required to create a project. I joke with Jeff Davidson that we'll be able to press the print button and out will pop his beautiful drawings in 3D.
Stay tuned and watch it go.
Dave
David Waples |
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David Waples
TOP BOSS
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Posted on: Sep 3, 2013 - 9:10pm
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We need to keep it real. There would be no women on Frank's boat. :-)
Dave
David Waples |
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David Waples
TOP BOSS
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Posted on: Sep 3, 2013 - 9:25pm
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oops! duplicate post correciton
Dave
David Waples |
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David Waples
TOP BOSS
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Posted on: Sep 3, 2013 - 9:26pm
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damn, wrong button! :-)
David Waples
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David Waples |
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Bob Butler
MASTER
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Posted on: Sep 3, 2013 - 10:43pm
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3D printers sound really cool at first. After thinking about it for a while I don't know if they will be good or bad. Gluing your fingers together and searching for dropped parts in carpet probably won't be missed. But how many skills will be lost. Before calculators came out I was really good with math, now I suck at it. How about the pride you feel when you do a really great job on a really bad kit or a fantastic job on a great kit? It's going to be interesting for sure.
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David Waples
TOP BOSS
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Posted on: Sep 4, 2013 - 4:54am
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3D printing even allows for color printing. That said Bob for guys like us we wont just order up a finished model. We're builders at heart and will continue to be that way. But imagine being able to go to a parts bank and say I need this part for my project, have it designed and/or printed and shipped to you. Or think about that Vosper. Maybe you could go to Italeri and say I want that same boat with these changes. There are lots of interesting possibilities, some we'll see but maybe reserved for future generations of modelers. But there's no doubt it will change the hobby as we know it today and I suspect it will be for the good.
Dave
David Waples |
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