Not sure where to put this, so here's a good a place as any.
Via email to Mayhem....Dear Martin,
I have a tale of Brass Strip and Modelling that might interest you and your members.
Around 21 years ago down at the old Steve Webb Model shop – not long after we had firth opened - a
customer came in and was very pleased to see a K&S stand. I remember being pleased because John McLeod
the Ripmax Representative had sold me the whole stand and at the time it was a bit beyond the budget of
the new shop. Most of my own money had gone on the Lease and the Rent and the shop fittings. I’d bought
as much stock as I could and now I needed to sell some to get more!
I remember this moment because about 3 months open I’d yet to sell anything off the brass stand. The customer
didn’t buy any on that occasion and for the next few years he’d come in on a weekly basis and price up the brass
and occasionally buy a few strips. He became the regular strip brass customer. He usually bought just a few pounds
worth and to this day – he continues to call in and price Brass up or buy brass. Never a load, just a few bits. He’s
said many times how pleased he is that the shop is ‘here’ as without it he’d not have been able to do his modelling.
Skip to this months Model Boats magazine ( Go slow boats as I call it).The September 2008 edition, page 64 and
Karen Foy describes how her Uncle BRIAN TURNER created the ripple effect in brass on his model HMS Superb. I
read this article with interest, thinking it must have took this modeller YEARS to make this model. I didn’t ‘twig’ it
at first, then I realised BRAIN TURNER was my brass customer – it had took him some time. I thought about 17
to 18years! According to the article the model is now finished and is Twenty years old. That’s about the time span
of the weekly visits to the shop buying brass strips from the K&S stand.
Of course he isn’t the only customer that buys of that stand now a days and yes the Ripmax Rep was right – it was
a stand we ‘needed’. Brian must have the prize for the most regular weekly customer!
You have to see the model to believe it. It’s the most amazing scale model I have seen.
And thanks to my shop – he perfected the ‘starved dog effect’ and it only took Twenty Years.
It’s hard to explain the feeling when a customer achieves something like this, especially when for the first 12 years
we knew him only as the ‘brass strip man’ and that’s a title he carries in the shop until this day. Especially when brass
strip needs ordering – we always make sure we have enough for the ‘brass strip man’
There’s a pic of the article at this link.
http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k361/servoboy/turner.jpgIt feels a bit like the end of an era.
Last week I met Brian in the shop. I am not in the shop often now a days and he has a ‘natter’ with me. He said
that if the shop wasn’t ‘here’, his boat project would never have happened. He’d started it off while he was still
working and could only spare 2 hours per night and then more recently he retired and put more time in on the
project. A project he put at taking over 2,000 hours in building time. Now that is not a READY to GO model by any
standards. I felt quite emotional talking too him, there’s a connection between me and the Brass Strip man I would
find hard to explain. I just thought I’d share it with you as I think it’s an amazing story and that’s a story of just one
model! Imagine if there had been no Steve Webb Models, there would be a lot less modelling stories like this one.
I have been asked how much money in brass strip. In truth I don’t know. I could take a guess at £1500 to £2000 –
it would take a few pounds per week to achieve this over 20 years!
Brain the brass strip man is not one for shouting out about his talent. It was many years knowing him – before I knew
he was making a ship model, so you may not know about his model. I tried to find better pics
Hope you are well Martin. I just thought I’d share that with you! I don’t know if you have seen his model – it’s awesome.
Best Regards
Steve Webb -
www.stevewebb.co.uk -
www.servoshop.co.uk