3D Ship Files / Kickstarter

[HenryTurner]

That is fine Henry. Im so used to having to mend booms and masts on Ares ships that a lanthorn ot two would not bother me at all, but I can see that from your viewpoint with a reputation to build up, you would not like an adverse press at the onset. I think that offering the models at the 1000th scale will be a good move on your part for those of us who wish to complement our fleets with those ships not covered by Ares. I am especially keen to get my Dutch Fleet underway.
my best wishes for the New Year to you.
Rob.

Speaking of the Dutch, I've had a bit of a Dutch day!

A customer who I sold some prints to when I (briefly) offered to fulfill physical orders, sent me these pictures of my Dutch 74 - he has it fulfilling the role of Hornblower's HMS Sutherland in this diorama:



And, furthermore, today I began work on a Dutch frigate for my Anglo-Dutch range:



The final somewhat exciting bit of news, too - I spoke at length with a model manufacturer and he was really urging me to consider commissioning resin/pewter production of my ships and selling physical products. He walked me through how he did it himself and, well, it all seems rather achievable! I'm sorely tempted to make my next naval Kickstarter an attempt to weigh-in with generic ships - perhaps starting with, say, a Leda-class, Temeraire and Tonnant.

However, I'm not sure if that'd be of interest to you guys? I'm assuming that my value is more as a potential provider of niche ships that Ares hasn't covered - and that's rather at odds with producing ships with mass appeal that will sell enough to cover their production costs. I'm happy to do both, however, as it doesn't seem like digital design and selling physical miniatures are mutually exclusive occupations :)

[Diamondback]

Speaking of the Dutch, I've had a bit of a Dutch day!

A customer who I sold some prints to when I (briefly) offered to fulfill physical orders, sent me these pictures of my Dutch 74 - he has it fulfilling the role of Hornblower's HMS Sutherland in this diorama:



And, furthermore, today I began work on a Dutch frigate for my Anglo-Dutch range:



The final somewhat exciting bit of news, too - I spoke at length with a model manufacturer and he was really urging me to consider commissioning resin/pewter production of my ships and selling physical products. He walked me through how he did it himself and, well, it all seems rather achievable! I'm sorely tempted to make my next naval Kickstarter an attempt to weigh-in with generic ships - perhaps starting with, say, a Leda-class, Temeraire and Tonnant.

However, I'm not sure if that'd be of interest to you guys? I'm assuming that my value is more as a potential provider of niche ships that Ares hasn't covered - and that's rather at odds with producing ships with mass appeal that will sell enough to cover their production costs. I'm happy to do both, however, as it doesn't seem like digital design and selling physical miniatures are mutually exclusive occupations :)

Henry, that might be another opportunity for you, as I mentioned in our email. Even within those there are variations and room to be different--the basic Leda is a straight copy of a French Hebe but there was also a "fir-built" version with a squared-off stern I don't expect to see anytime soon, the Cydnus class. Temeraires you have the Duquesnes (minor improved), Cassard (Large 74 version) and Pluton ("shallow-draft model") versions along with the British Pompee and America clones and the direct-ancestor Annibals, and there's the two variations of Tonnant-Bucentaure. Guess what I'm trying to say is, even within the "commodity classes" there's still room to do your own thing and carve a niche for yourself there too.

[Bligh]

I like your Dutch 74 Henry. Is that any specific ship or just a generic type?
Rob.

[HenryTurner]

I like your Dutch 74 Henry. Is that any specific ship or just a generic type?
Rob.

It's an early kit of mine which I intend to redo, I just attempted to give it a new lease on life by updating the deck fittings and planking to be more in-line with my current models. It's a hybrid kit that's got two stern options included to allow for the printing of either Washington or Prins Maurits. I wouldn't say it's a totally accurate model, but it roughly corresponds to the 74s like Vrijheid.

By the way, everyone, here's a rather daft question I ought've asked earlier - is there anything I should do on the 1/1000 sculpts to make them visually compatible with Ares' ships?

Looking at the ships, I see some have spars across their spar decks, with boats stowed as if the ships aren't in combat, and there are also the large flagstaffs on the stern - is there any consistency with this stuff? I assume people won't want me to put a large flagstaff, but how about flag poles - are they needed for attaching paper ensigns for gameplay purposes? As for spars and boats - it's always been my policy to not include them because the spars would be taken down and the boats trailed behind the ship in combat. But will that make my models stick out?

[Bligh]

This is only my personal opinion Henry, but I prefer the ships trailing like Redcoat does his. By the time ships got to the distance they are on our play mats they would have cleared for action anyway. As for flag staffs, although it is useful for those of us who do not rig our ships, in reality when in action most ships that I have seen in artwork fly the flags run up on lines, and this would seem to be the norm for those who rig their ships, but I'm sure that my shipmates will want their sat on this shortly.
Rob.