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[Thorleif]

Hello everyone, this is my first post and I am posting from the frozen north, or to be more precise, a "small" place called Shetland.

My main interest/hobby is actually diecast models like cranes, trucks and mining machines etc but long before I found that world I was, and still am, obsessed with oil ships.  I especially like the big anchor handlers and have some great personal dvd footage of this work here in Shetland but my question is, is there such a thing as a "simple" plastic(kit) model of the Bourbon Orca, Olympic Hercules/Pegasus or Balder Viking?. 

I'm beginning to think that there isn't because I just can't find any of them so could anyone tell me what it might cost me to have one custom built to a scale which would have the model about 15 or 20 inches long?.  Also, is there a company in the UK who make(such) custom models?.

I must apologise for my basic termonology but my maths is so poor that the scale calculations just leave me lost .

Sincerest thanks for any help or advice.

Thorleif

[Philipsparker]

Thorleif - Welcome to the forum. Soon you will be glad you live in such a remote place as it means you won't bump into any of the people you'll meet here 

Anyway - can you post a picture of one of the boats you are interested in ? Without being familiar with the exact prototype it's difficult to say what is available. However if you want a model built, there are people out there (including me) who can help BUT it will be horribly expensive. Most RC model boat kits are fairly basic, nothing like a normal plastic kit, and so take a long time to build. This pushes up the cost as you are paying for the builders time. For a large, detailed model you can figure on over a hundred hours of time.

One alternative would be to keep an eye on eBay - scale boats turn up regularly and go for (IMHO) very little money. Certainly nothing like their true value if you take the building time into account. You might get lucky and find something suitable.

Best of all, we can suggest kits for you to build and provide all the help you need to build them.

Phil

[boatmadman]

Thorleif,

I am fascinated by Bourbon Orca as well, I havent been able to locate a kit. I also approached the builders and owners for a linesplan, neither would release them on confidentiality issues.

So, I am currently developing a set of lines using a software package. This, while not being the Orca, will look very similar. Whether it performs ok remains to be seen.

Ian

[Thorleif]

Hello, and thanks for your kind replies .

I forgot to say that I'm just looking for a static, but full ship, model - nor rc.

Here's a couple of pictures of the ships in question.  If I'm honest my first choice of a model would be the Bourbon Orca!. 

Oops, one more edit; here's a link to an existing Bourbon Orca model.....

http://www.tugboats.de/bourbon_orca_e.html

[dreadnought72]

Good 'eavens. What's the theory behind having a bow like that?

Andy, soimewhat surprised.

[cos918]

hi there. I will say very good luck to you on getting any plans as the ship yard are say a very big NO NO on this boat ,shame. Some one to build this, you could be looking at £1000s. If you go to RC group forum and look in boat and search X bow you will find what people have done on getting models of this boat. As for kit of oil rig supply vessels there are a few out there but the tend to be of the smaller and older types not like the big modern ones you show in your photos.


john

[Thorleif]

Yes, the thinking behind the new style bow is that it reduces "slamming" in big seas, and it seems to work.  However I've heard some comments that "it's not a proper ship" but I beg to differ!.  I think it's amazing and revolutionary!.

If you type in Bourbon Orca on youtube you'll get a video showing her ploughing through heavy seas and overtaking a Skandi supply ship.  I would have posted the link but my computer is playing up .

And yes, I've also detected during my search that the ship yard/owners are very no, no about releasing the plans/drawings. 

What a shame indeed

[Arrow5]

Red Hamish on this forum is roughly in your area . Involved somehow in North Sea oil supply ships , send him a PM.   Donald Smith is a professional model maker to the oil industry and shipping based in XXXX,Inverurie, Aberdeenshire ,XXXX tel XXXX. Expect to pay pro price.

Post moderated. It is unwise to put someone's address and telephone number in the open Forum unless you have their express permission to do so. If you have such permission I apologise and will readily help you to reinstate the post. Otherwise it is best to invite interested Members to contact you by PM seekling contact details.


Roger in France
Moderator.

[nhp651]

Actually, Roger, Donald smith is a professional name for a company headed by donald smith who employs a number of builders and his telephone number, address and email/ web site is openly available on any search engine for the international world to see.
he is not an individual.

[Proteus]

and a Member of the forum  or was.


Proteus

[Roger in France]

Thanks for putting me straight. I guessed that may be so but we do need to be careful. I will gladly have the post reinstated if arrow5 contacts me.

The Moderators are very twitchy today as Mayhem is "under attack" from outsiders with more than a dozen membership accounts being created for illicit purposes and having to have the posts and accounts deleted. We have, we hope only temporarily, had to impose severe controls on new members signing up. We are having to look closely at all kinds of things and are burning the candle at both ends to ensure the Sites integrity and the privacy of members is not compromised. I started deleting stuff at 05:00 this morning!

Roger in France
Moderator.

[Arrow5]

I`m sorry I have transgressed the Forum rules but as nhp651 pointed out I merely looked in google for a company that I knew of and had some minor dealings with in the past. I did not ask permission from these people and as saying goes "better safe than sorry". Please moderate or delete my post as you see fit. I can forward by PM to interested party.

[nhp651]

I wouldn't bother, arrow......only the super rich can afford Donald Smith's models....mind you it's nice to look at them.
I only wish I could charge  tenth of his prices

[Thorleif]

I wouldn't bother, arrow......only the super rich can afford Donald Smith's models....mind you it's nice to look at them.
I only wish I could charge  tenth of his prices

You're not wrong.  Just this week I enquired about getting a smallish scale(20 inches) long model of the Bourbon Orca made by them and the quote I got was no less than £4500....

[Arrow5]

Well I suppose if your main cilents are big players in the shipping and offshore oil industry then that is the prices you can command. Nice stuff though , what I`ve seen.  Thorleif have a go yourself , save a small fortune

[nhp651]

Thorlief, you get the plans and I'll make you a BIG  scale model for that plice. In fact I thought they would be much dearer than that. as small scale stuff is harder to produce than larger scale. 4.5K isn't bad at all.

[Thorleif]

Yes, I maybe would've tried myself but model building just isn't my forte and I wouldn't know where to start, espescially with an X-Bow hull!.  I kept the scale down thinking that would help keep the cost down, and for the sake of display purposes.

The only slight problem with £4500 is that there's one too many 0s on the end .

Oh, could I also ask, what does the term GA mean when it comes to ships and models?. 

[Arrow5]

.if it is on a plan usually means "general arrangement"  ie details could change.

[Bryan Young]

Well I suppose if your main cilents are big players in the shipping and offshore oil industry then that is the prices you can command. Nice stuff though , what I`ve seen.  Thorleif have a go yourself , save a small fortune

Does'nt it all come back to a member asking how much you spend building a model?  If (just for arguements sake) I spend £1000 building a working model that could take perhaps anywhere between 1 and 2 years to complete. But I do it as a sort of hobby. If you are doing the job as a proffessional then you need to cover expenses ...not least the cost of living and making a bit of a profit. I would have thought that £4,500 is pretty cheap really.
But there you go, if you really want a model of this thing then you will have to learn how to do it yourself. Welcome to the world of "scratch-building".
I presume we will be getting lots of queries about "how to do" thingies from you soon? BY.

[Philipsparker]

Well I suppose if your main cilents are big players in the shipping and offshore oil industry then that is the prices you can command. Nice stuff though , what I`ve seen.  Thorleif have a go yourself , save a small fortune

Does'nt it all come back to a member asking how much you spend building a model?  If (just for arguements sake) I spend £1000 building a working model that could take perhaps anywhere between 1 and 2 years to complete. But I do it as a sort of hobby. If you are doing the job as a proffessional then you need to cover expenses ...not least the cost of living and making a bit of a profit. I would have thought that £4,500 is pretty cheap really.
But there you go, if you really want a model of this thing then you will have to learn how to do it yourself. Welcome to the world of "scratch-building".
I presume we will be getting lots of queries about "how to do" thingies from you soon? BY.

Bryan's right - to work out how much a model is worth take the cost of ALL of the bits (kit, mechanicals, R/C, detailing bits, paint, glue etc.) then work out how long you spent building the thing, including any research, multiplied by £10. The figure you have arrived at is still low (the £10 includes your overheads, you'd be lucky to come out with minimum wage) but gives a better idea.

£4500 sound quite reasonable to me for a top quality, scratchbuilt model. If there were a suitable kit available then the price would come down but that's because the kit manufacturer has spread the R&D billl over a number of models.

Time to dig deep or take up boat building. It's not as difficult as you might think... 

Phil

[Shipmate60]

You are mistaking the COSTS of a model instead of what it is worth.
It is worth what someone will pay for it.

Bob

[Colin H]

Phil,

I think you are a bit on the cheap side at ten pounds an hour to include all overheads. We have to pay `on books` plumbers more than that.

At a guess to make any kind of living wage you would have to charge £20 to £25 at least.

Colin H.

[Shipmate60]

So an Airfix Spitfire is now worth £250-00, sorry dont think so.

Bob

[Colin H]

Bob I don't know about plastic model planes but I do know about being self employed.

You need to be on £20-00 to £25-00 per hour otherwise it is just not worth it.

Now if you cannot sell your product at that sort of price thats an entirely different thing. Make another product.

In my trade I am considered fairly competitive at £40-00p for the first hour or part thereof and £25-00 per hour thereafter.

Without wanting to upset anyone I find that employed people have very little idea of there employers hidden costs.

Anyway we are going to get told off for being off topic. Sorry guys

Colin H.

[Philipsparker]

I think you are a bit on the cheap side at ten pounds an hour to include all overheads. We have to pay `on books` plumbers more than that.

At a guess to make any kind of living wage you would have to charge £20 to £25 at least.

Colin H.

I know, but even the £10 figure has scared at least one Mayhemer. The guy who fixes my car will charge around £40-50 per hour. Less for a longer job perhaps but still more than the tenner. Modellers and the public in general are very happy to earn at least minimum wage, but unwilling to pay out for anyone else to do the same.

Phil