chris watton

Hello, I am looking for someone who can translate my English instructions for the new Victory Models /Amati kits into Italian language (in Word format) If there is anyone interested, please contact Mr. Marletti for further details using the following email address; amati@satnet.it Thank you, Chris Watton (Amati)

Hello, We have uploaded a complete set of instructions in Italian language onto my wife's Vanguard page. http://www.onlinehobbysite.com/shop/index....p;productId=152 The file is in PDF format and is a full translation, including the histories of the ships. Ciao, Abbiamo caricato una serie completa di istruzioni in lingua italiana sulla pagina di mia moglie Vanguard. http://www.onlinehobbysite.com/shop/index....p;productId=152 Il file è in formato PDF ed è una traduzione completa, comprese le storie delle navi. Chris

I like the looks of the Palinuro, a very attractive vessel. I will show the MD, and see what he thinks. I have always found it strange that most of the best model kit manufacturers are Italian, but have very few Italian subjects for their customers! Are there plans available for the Palinuro? (very important if I was to design the kit of her) Krick produced a plank on frame model of the Gulnara - I know this because I built one to write the instructions for the UK market. I will be going back to the UK for a lot of this year, but will keep an eye on these forums.. I will do a Google translate of what I have written, and see how bad the translation is; Mi piace l'aspetto di Palinuro, una nave molto attraente. Mi mostra il MD, e vedere che cosa pensa. Ho sempre trovato strano che la maggior parte dei migliori produttori di kit per modello sono l'italiano, ma sono molto pochi soggetti italiano per i loro clienti! Ci sono piani a disposizione per il Palinuro? (molto importante se è stato quello di progettare il kit di lei) Krick prodotto un asse sul telaio del modello Gulnara - Lo so perché ho costruito uno di scrivere le istruzioni per il mercato britannico. Cheers, Chris

Ciao, Sorry I haven't responded in a while - but have been working long hours over the past weeks, and I don't get home until 7.30 in the evening (later sometimes, when Trenitalia decide to delay/cancel my train home!) I thought that the UK was bad for snow and bad weather! Italy beats it, but has much better summers! I apologise also, because by now I should be able to speak Italian, but we have UK TV here and people at Amati speak to me in English - I will make more of an effort to study the great language. Wolf58, if you want to try a Fly but are unsure of the complexity, I am always on hand to help (You can contact me via my profile), and my boss can translate from English to Italian, so that you can understand. (I have almost completed the Sister ship, pegasus, which has even more detail and all new brass etched parts - the instructions go into even more detail - my boss is going to kill me when he realises how much English he has to translate into Italian! :s12: We may do the Roma at some point, but not for a while, we have so many projects we first need to finish. I think the problem for WW2 battleships is that less people want them, compared to the period ships. Plus, when people choose a battleship, most will buy the equivilent plastic kit. However, it would be nice to have a really well detailed Italian subject. We shall definitely be doing a large scale Roman galley, at a scale to suite some of the best produced figures (and perhaps a carthaginian one to go with it). Chris

Thank you for the warm welcome. Secondo Marchett - no need for apologies regarding criticism, comments, both good and bad help us to make the next kits even better. Many years ago, I built a few Mantua kits, including the Sovereign of the Seas, which I 'redesigned' as best as I could to make it look like the real thing. Since then, I have tried to design kits as I would like them to be, as a modeller - which means adding as much detail as I can get away with, both seen and unseen. I remember my very first plank on frame kit, a Billings Bounty. You had to cut out and carve the decoration yourself (!!) and the boat was a block of wood which you had to carve! That is the complete opposite of how I think a kit should be. I always listen to what modellers say, good and bad. With this in mind, the kit of Pegasus I am now completing will have many changes from the Fly kit - this includes new photo etched stunsail boom brackets, instead of copper strip, a lot more blocks, rigging a proper hawse rope, photo etched copper plates (as in Vanguard), a ships boat, stowed on spare spare in-between the gallows, more drawings and twice as much written instructions. (Although I don't think Amati will be happy having to translate so much English into Italian :s02: ) The Vanguard was four years in development, but the total time was about one full year, with minor changes along the way. (At the last minute, I was asked to include sail template and sail rigging plans) When you talk of Roma, is this the Italian battleship from World war 2? What about a very detailed model of a Roman war galley, complete with catapults, corvus etc? (I have studied Roman history a lot) Each subject is chosen carefully – as soon as I seen the plans for the Swan Class, of which Fly is one, I knew this would be perfect, as it would be a perfect size, attractive hull shape, nice decoration, a full deck of guns and ship rigged – everything most people want from a model (and their wives like it too!) Some subjects are chosen because they are famous, as a modeller, I would prefer to build Collingwood’s Royal Sovereign, rather than Victory, but the truth is, famous subjects outsell anything else (although I think the Fly has been the exception to this rule) What plank of frame period ships would the Italians be interested is seeing?

Hello, and thank you very much Vespucci for your kind words. Vespucci kindly gave me a link to this fine forum. I then showed the forum to the managing Director of Amati, Sergio Marletti today. He must have liked it because he was reading the Bismarck and Vanguard threads for over two hours – he was very impressed by the level of workmanship. I design the Victory Models kits and Amati kits, I live in Masio (in-between Asti and Alessandria), and commute to Torino each day. We (my wife and family) moved here from the UK last year, because of the work with Amati, and we love it here (Although we have been snowed in for almost a week!) I started the designs for Vanguard back in 2004, when I was in the UK (I have been working for Amati since 2001). Overall, the development was well over a full year’s work, from initial research to finalising the drawings, laser cut and brass etch files, and of course, building the prototype to ensure the parts fit and work as they should. It is the drawings for the plans that take the most time, over two thirds of overall development time were dedicated to these, as I now how important (as a modeller myself) drawings are. We changed a few things for Vanguard shortly before the release; most notable is the main material, which is now high grade MDF. I tested this with another new project, the Surprise, and it worked very well, and was much easier to sand. The copper plates were changed right at the last minute, and this is due mainly to Sergio Marletti; he is an absolute perfectionist (he also applies the final touches to the plans and instruction layouts – no matter how well I think I have laid everything out, he always manages to make my efforts look amateur!), and insisted we design a better way of simulating the copper plates, which we did using photo etched parts. These are a lot more expensive than standard pressed copper plates, but for a kit like Vanguard, it is the end result that matters. I note that the etched brass ships wheel was mentioned. It is never easy deciding on the best material for certain parts. When I look at original navy Board models, the wheels are usually very finely crafted in ivory. The best material to achieve this kind of fidelity is photo etched brass – wooden or cast metal wheels always look too over scale. We have to be very careful when using cast resin parts for kits, as modellers in certain countries absolutely hate any kind of plastic in a wooden kit. This is not a view I share at all, and believe any appropriate material should be used if it gives the correct end result (I even used plastic profile strip for some models I have made, when they were painted) We have a lot of new developments for the future, the next being a Sister Ship to HMS Fly, the HMS Pegasus. After this, we should have a very detailed and accurate Elizabethan galleon – this will have all fully detailed gun decks (which are staggered and a nightmare when designing!), even the stern chaser deck is included, along with all cannon and carriages, no dummy barrels. I would like to have enough time to complete the 64th scale prince one day, too! If you have and questions or need information, I am always happy to help whenever I can. Ciao Chris :s10: