Developing a new line of HO scale fishing boats. Any interests?


C

cuxhaven

New Member
Hi there,

I am a scale modeller and I am into boats and the harbour theme, as well as scenery and diorama. I found that there aren’t many small but affordable boat kits on the market for the HO scale so I am considering developing a new range of HO scale fishing boats. I would like to have your opinions on these new products before I actually invest in the expensive injection moulds.

Here are some preliminary 3D pictures of the fishing boats. More details will be added onto the models later.

4kxs0z.jpg

2eqcnfb.jpg

2lj4zf7.jpg

5e91s6.jpg


Some basic parameters of the kits are

1. At least a trawler and a Krabbenkutter (shrimp boat) depicting North European boat style - such as traditional boats used in Germany, Denmark or the Netherland in the period of 1930’s to present.
2. 12cm to 13cm (4.7 inches to 5.1 inches) in length.
3. Plastic injected kits to make sure they are easy to assemble and affordable.
4. Multicolour parts. Not painting needed if they are used for railroad scenery but painting schemes will be provided with a good choice of decals of boat names and flags.
5. Waterline model with a detachable boat bottom.

I am currently talking to several injection mould makers to see whether they can make tools for the kits and so far the technical part seems not to be a big problem. Then it comes to some essential questions - are such boat kits welcome by fellow modellers? Will the demand be big enough to make some profit or at least to recover the tooling and material cost?

I assume the main markets will be Germany, other continental European countries and UK, US.

Any comments or critiques to the idea, the 3D models and market perspectives are welcome. If the input can be country-specific it will be better. Thank you very much.

PS to the moderator: forgive me if you think posting this post in this section or this forum is not appropriate. Please contact me if you want to delete this post or move it to another section. Thanks.
 
The current Model Railroader magazine mentions waterfront modeling as maybe being a trend, so that would be good news to you. Frankly, I have no idea have no idea how many you could sell. Having a small waterfront on my layout I would like to see more boats that would look at home on the Great Lakes. There seems to be a better selection of European styles than American types. Your designs do look foreign to my eyes. Good luck with project whatever you decide to do.
 
Welcome to he forum. I'll agree one thing that's needed is some decent boat models. You will most likely find a market for these model boats in Europe but for North America these models wouldn't be very accurate models. The few that are available (well in my honest opinion are very overpriced for use on a model railroad) because they are very accurate models of past or present ships meant for display. Most are too big anyway.
Fishing boats in North America vary in size shape depending on the decade, the task and the location to fish. For someone modelling the 1920's up to 40's your hulls could be converted to fishing schooners used on the East coast. After that time period I can not honestly see any use for them on this side of the pond. Boats on the Pacific coast are again different. Here on the East coast the Cape Islander hulls are very popular but they also vary in length and width depending on the area to be fished. Here's a few links to save me a lot of typing

Cape Islanders and others along the Atlantic coast Canada to Mexico
https://www.google.ca/search?q=Cape+Island+Fishing+boats&client=firefox-a&hs=PkE&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:eek:fficial&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=BvrWUr3LOqTjsATD04HABQ&ved=0CEcQsAQ&biw=1152&bih=695#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=-bjH5YYEvnQHLM%253A%3BJsONuUoPVNW0oM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.gov.pe.ca%252Fphotos%252F1024x768%252Fph_tig_boats01.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.tourismpei.com%252Fnorth-cape-coastal-region%252Ftignish%3B1024%3B683

Cape Race National Sea Trawler note: there is a Lindbergh Model that can be converted to this type
http://www.mvcaperace.com/img/history_1_n.jpg
Spanish Stern Trawler (there are few if any side trawlers left today)
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/Pino_Ladra_29.jpg

Two National Sea Trawlers Stern Trawler on the left and side trawler on the right
http://digitalcollections.library.ubc.ca/utils/ajaxhelper/?CISOROOT=fisherman&CISOPTR=58&action=2&DMSCALE=10&DMWIDTH=512&DMHEIGHT=412&DMX=0&DMY=0&DMTEXT=&DMROTATE=0

Great Lakes commercial fishing boats
https://www.google.ca/search?q=Great+lakes+commercial+fishing+boats&client=firefox-a&hs=1kw&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:eek:fficial&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=OiLXUs_bK8jMsAT1woCwBA&ved=0CEYQsAQ&biw=1152&bih=695

And we haven't even tackled the Pacific areas, so you can see there is a market for model boats Cape Islanders by far the most popular range from 24 ft too just under 50 ft and likely to be found anywhere where there is rough water so for the North American Market I'd suggest Cape Islanders (they also use these for shrimp fishing in the Gulf of St Lawrence) Stern Trawlers and Factory Freezer trawlers are today's choice. The factory freezer boats are too big for layouts and are rarely in port anyway. I hate to discourage you but European models will not sell very good over here. That's just my honest opinion (I could be wrong) Most modellers see possibilities in anything as long as it is close to scale. I have two Lindbergh "North Sea Trawler kits" one will be modified to National sea type, the other I'm doing some considering of using it to build a stern trawler and that will be a very big conversion. I wish you the best of success with your proposed en devour but please consider a Cape Island Model as they can be found anywhere from Labrador Canada to Mexico in the numerous small harbors all along the coasts

Cheers
Willis

Oops! forgot the Great Lakes fishing boats
https://www.google.ca/search?q=Great+lakes+commercial+fishing+boats&client=firefox-a&hs=1kw&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:eek:fficial&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=OiLXUs_bK8jMsAT1woCwBA&ved=0CEYQsAQ&biw=1152&bih=695
 
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I want to encourage you, however my layout is planned to take place in the mountains. I do like the idea of harbor related layouts and really would like to build an old, wooden, tall ship when my modelling skills improve.
 
Oh, I forgot to mention, cuxhaven - very nice job modeling up those two boats. What software are you using?
 
Thank's NScaler, I do have a model (not built yet) Cape Islander. However it being too simple does not conform to the main characteristics of the Caper mainly having a high flared Bow which is necessary for the boat to tackle high seas and a low waist so the fishermen can work hand lines and traps. LOL the cabins can range from none to whatever is desired and most are different. The flared Bow is a definite requirement as it prevents the boat from plowing into a wave after a deep trough. LOL the first time out in a rough section of the Atlantic it looked like about a 30 or 40 foot wall of water and I asked the fisherman if we were going through that, when he said yes I almost pooped my pants (Reason they wear rubber boots I guess :D ) but the boat just cut into it and rose with the wave not a drop of water came inside. That boat was a 35 footer. So with this in mind I'll redo the model I have (It's basically card stock) I don't know if the fellow who marketed them is still in business because I haven't seen him at the model rail shows in the past few years

Cheers
Willis
 
Cuxhaven

May I suggest looking into using 3d printers instead of injection molds? I'm no expert on this subject but it would seem that costs would be cheaper per unit on a small run.

Mike
 
Hi, I wasn’t expecting so many feedbacks so quickly. Thank you all for your inputs. It might be better if I put all my responses here in a single post.

To Gary B: What you mentioned is very encouraging. I checked the magazine’s website and found the series of the Rice harbour layout. I am going to register as a free member and have a look. I chose to develop some European style boats first because I used to live in Europe and where I developed a passion for HO scale scenery. If the first project is proved to be successful I intend to do some American style boats as the subject is interesting and the market should be as big as that in the mainland Europe.

To Willis: Your post is very helpful to me. I came across some American style fishing boats while I was doing research on internet. I did notice the peculiar type of the Cape Islander boat but I didn’t know the name of the type. Now you told me the name of it and also its popularity. I appreciate you pointing a right direction for me. Like I said if the first boat(s) can be successful I will consider making some American boats for the US market.

I actually have a folder with nearly 100 pictures of Pacific shrimp boats in my project folder along with other 700mb of pictures/plans/drawings of fishing boats and other small boats. I will take some time to do more research on this type. So far I can say the fishing gear is kind of more complicated that trawlers/draggers and European crab cutters (like what you can find in the harbour of Cuxhaven, Germany).

Can you send me a picture of your Cape Islander model kit with the dimensions? I can PM you my email address.

I wish I could have chance get onboard to real fishing boat and go for a fishing trip. But so far I only went to a few harbours in Europe.

To Railrunner130: The boat kits I design are small (about 40’ in reality) so they can be used in a lake or a river near a railroad line or a highway. I intend to allow the boats to fit small layouts.

To Kevin the conductor: I use Pro/Engineer 5.0. Many mould makers use this software so the transfer from my model to their works can be smooth. J

To Mike: I did investigate the possibility of using 3D printing. But so far I didn’t find a satisfactory 3D printing solution. The cheap FDM printers cannot produce models with very smooth surface and the resolution is low. Parts printed by high-end laser 3D printers are far better in terms of surface texture and resolution; however the unit costs may go as high as couple of hundreds USD for a model boat like mine. However before the steel injection moulds are made we will print 1:1 ratio model parts with a laser 3D printer to check the fit of all parts.

Best,

Kevin
 
To Willis: Your post is very helpful to me. I came across some American style fishing boats while I was doing research on internet. I did notice the peculiar type of the Cape Islander boat but I didn’t know the name of the type. Now you told me the name of it and also its popularity. I appreciate you pointing a right direction for me. Like I said if the first boat(s) can be successful I will consider making some American boats for the US market.
Click to expand...
Not a problem send me a private message with your email address
Cheers from Nova Scotia
Willis
 
It looks like the fellow is still in business and has aided more models since the last time. Looking at his Cape Islander you can see what I mean no flared bow, and the waist is too high for a work boat. However his instructions say to shape the hull and wheelhouse the way you want as rarely are two of them the same.

http://www.modelingmadeeasy.com/images/cape_island_boats.jpg
cape_island_boats-261x195.jpg

And the main link to the website http://www.modelingmadeeasy.com/

I will email the dimensions to you

Cheers
Willis
 
Stoker said:
Another option that model manufacturers use these days is to have an original 3D printed, which you then clean up and use as a master from which you can make silicone or urethane molds from and cast the item in resin. If you are actually interested in making money from this project this is probably the way to go, unless you think you are going to sell 1,000,000 of these, then injection molding would be the way to go.
Click to expand...

Hi Stoker, I am looking at the possibility of making resin models. Thanks!
 
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