Thank you hermank for the additional recommendations.

Greg 👍

Thank you, Roy. As usual a very comprehensive and helpful reply.

Greg 👍

Hello Ron, Thank you. Yes, it looks a nice kit. I have looked at Dumas kits. They seem to be good. I did recently email two retailers asking if the Dumas Ace Racing Sloop Kit was suitable for RC as it is not mentioned in any description I have read about the boat. Unfortunately I did not receive a reply from either of them.

Greg 👍

Hello Dave, Thank you for the helpful information. It is always good to get a RC boat builder's opinion than a salesman's.

Greg 👍

Another possible supplier for starters is the German agent for peba kits manufactured in China( where else) and Graupner let their models manufactured here
They got different scales 1/20 -1/32-1/50-1/200
They are an on line shop
Hobby-lobby modellbau
Gerda Petrichor
Hope this is usefull

Hi all do not forget Kyosho they are as good as the Graupner kits were. I have made a couple of Billing kits and the early ones had a lot of mahogany which is not an ideal modelling material. Later ones have moved to I think lime wood for planking.
They are in new hands now so there may be something new to expect? I believe a re-visit to Mercantic is planned.

Frequently the fittings kits for various models provide cheaper dedicated parts and if you have full size plans then build the boat hull from scratch.

I recently had the fittings kit for the Nordkap through my hands and I sold it for £100.00 as the new and now unobtainable one is listed at £153.00. It went to a very happy chappie in Ireland! (Club funds).
An early boat for me was the Graupner Condor as in my harbour. I bought the plans and built from scratch and found it far cheaper to buy the fittings kit from Graupner. In those days Bassett-lowke was for the very wealthy, e.g. one stanchion £1. that's about £20 now. Just look and copy that is my way!

Several plans like my Gracia have had their plan numbers ignored and now have a different model on them as I found. But there are Graupner plans out there and they are very good where there is no ready made hull with the kit.

I have mentioned before but the laser cut wood packs from Sarik are a good starter. It is clear other manufacturers are available as they say. Silence also speaks!

Regards

Roy

This is a nice kit!

https://www.dumasproducts.com/?product=winter-harbor-lobster-boat-kit-1274

Hi Greg
When I started building model boats Billing kits were very popular and well within my price range. I built the Mercantic, Hjejlen, and the progress junior kit. The first two were plank on frame but the last a plastic extruded hull. Motorised and sailed all but the Hjejlen.
Enjoyed all the models but the wood supplied was, in my opinion, not that easy to use, certainly not for a novice. However I did manage to complete all the models and enjoyed sailing two. I also had the Krabbencutter junior kit and sold it to a model rail enthusiast (another of my hobbies) for his 00 gauge layout.
As hermank says Graupner and Robbe dominated the market for many years but sadly are no longer trading. Krick are well known and produce some good kits. Trouble is they only trade within the EU and will not ship outside their boundaries. Some kits are available from UK suppliers but stocks can be limited and at a premium.
dave976

The pleasure is all mine. When you have a question or a problem just post it on the forum and you get information and different views from all over the world

Thank you hermank. Yes, very useful.

Greg 👍

When I started modelboatbuilding I have made a number of boats if the German company called Graupner unfortunately they went bust.The advantage of their kits was that their plans were extremely good,detailed and comprehensive for a starter. They other manufacturer I could recommend is Krick. The easyest thing is starting with a hull in pvc or polyester
Hope this “advice” is usefull