The production fittings are inspected no less than three times before they find their way into the kit box. Then the primary and secondary masters are stored safely away so that if the production master moulds begin to wear, new ones can be made with the assurance that they will exactly replicate the originals. Master fittings are typically made from hard brass and used to produce a number of secondary masters in white metal which are in turn used to make the production masters. Builders who wish to customise their models can always substitute alternatives from the after market if they wish, but quality control by Model Slipway is very good though. Lawrie has gone to a lot of trouble to find an alloy mix which will preserve fine detail on smaller fittings without exhibiting shrinkage on larger items as the metal cools. For the majority of fittings in the Model Slipway range, white metal is perfectly okay and never less than adequate. While this is sometimes not seen as being the ideal material for certain items, for most small manufacturers it is the only practical option as production runs could never justify the huge cost of investing in injection moulding equipment. There are less obvious factors too, such as the need for the box to fit in a standard international cargo pallet otherwise the shipping costs could approach the value of the kit itself – something which is very important given that around 80% of production is exported, mainly to Germany and the USA.Īs with many kits these days, the majority of the fittings are of white metal. Basic stability is also important, while building to a reasonably large scale means that most of the fittings on the original ship can be replicated on the model and are large enough to be robust when constructing the model and in practical use. Customers like models they can fit into a standard car and can be managed and launched by one person. There are of course practical considerations as well. He replied that he follows his instincts and if the original vessel appeals to him then there is probably a viable market for it. Lawrie’s extensive all round engineering and technical knowledge enables him to turn his hand to almost anything, while Jackie’s is the business brain handling administration, accounting, advertising, website and packaging, plus a lot else besides.īefore diving into the production technicalities I asked Lawrie how he comes to choose the prototypes selected for development into kits. My first impression on seeing the well laid out factory unit that the company operates from was: ‘How do they manage all this between the two of them plus one part timer who moulds the GRP hulls?’ However, it swiftly became clear that Lawrie and Jackie are a very efficient and well organised team.
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