Many thanks TD and Chum!!! I love this site!
😉👍

Great that you located Pat M. If he is no longer producing those fittings on his own he might be able to lead you to someone who does. He has many irons in the fire so it may be a bit before he responds.

Excellent! I hope that he will help you.

Just found him and wrote him! 😊

This is awesome TD! Let me see what I can find out and will report back.
Thank you!
😊👍

Jump,
That is Pat Mathews. I think he shut down his Shapeways store even before they went toes up. He was sick of the $ increases. You can find him posting on RC Groups as patmat2350. He posts in Scale Boats and Dock Talk.I am not able to say if he will still do custom printing, but you can't hurt asking.😊

Hey TD. His Shapeways shop was mathewsmodelmarine. I can’t locate him now, maybe you know of him, I would be thrilled to find out. Here is his link/article:

https://matthewsmodelmarine.wordpress.com/2016/05/05/new-fittings-for-the-sterling-42-chris-craft-corvette/

Jump,
Who were you referring to that sold the parts thru Shapeways? A few of them, as you probably know, have gone private so their parts are still available, if one can contact them.

There was only one prototype of that Chris Craft ever built, but the one Stirling chose to model, and it has had tremendous popularity. Many beautiful models have been built. And I am sure yours will be one of them in the future!

Looks like the season to be building good luck to everyone hope all your kits fit as well as you hope .
Philuk👍

Enjoy your new build. 👍
Scamp

Hi
I too have a Stirling kit build of a Chris Craft Cruiser. The Catalina, I was given it during the Covid pandemic, with the hull and cabin built. I didn't like the cabin much so re-made most of that but the hull was OK. It was a very satisfying project, and I think I now have the "bug".
It was my first, and so far, only boat build, but, I have just purchased plans for a Windermere paddle steamer. I now need to clear enough space to build it.

Hi Chum!
You are not misinformed, Sterling kits are 85% balsa and when they get this old they wood gets very, very dry, with lifted and furry grain. The die cutting is rough and at times barely clean. As the joke goes, Sterling Kits, "the industry leader in die-crushing." But, although the frames are thick and rough, they build straight, and are robust from the keel up. However, something of this size will require machine sanding and lots of dust masks!

As for aftermarket parts there was one gentleman who had a 3D set pf printed parts of the almost 2 pounds of "white metal" parts. Sadly, he is tough to find now and hasn't reappeared on the now reforming Shapeways site; if it is, in fact, reforming.
Fortunately, there are some good build blogs out there as you mentioned.

For now, my Sterling American Scout, is getting ready for its tub/ballast tests and is dominating all of my effort. Although I am having a blast with the challenge. Detailing the Corvette in 1:10th scale will be far easier than in 1:100 scale American Scout.
Time will tell. Just happy to build.
😉👍

Congratulations, that builds into a great boat! I love mine.

Well now it will be a challenging build that will look spectacular when finished. I’m probably misinformed but weren’t the Sterling kits mostly balsa? I’ll be interested in your take on the overall quality of the kit. I believe there are sources for replacements for the white metal fittings. I can give you info where to find build documentation for others who have completed this kit if you haven’t already found them.
I’ll be watching progress.