Ordering from England

The bulkheads are up, so now it’s a matter of waiting for balsa for the filler blocks. In the meantime I’m working on the margin plank of the gun deck; that deck gets its own series. Hans asked what he should picture a cutting plotter to be. It’s a Brother Scan ’n Cut, which my wife uses to cut out images you can iron onto clothing. Today I saw that the thing also cuts through thin wood, so I want to give that a try. For all I know the blade will snap off on the spot, but then nobody can say I didn’t try.

Peter asked where in England I order. That’s Cornwall Model Boats. The Diana itself cost about 350 euros less there than in the Netherlands, with 18.50 euros shipping for a 10 kilo parcel. Now I’ve ordered all sorts again: 1x tanganyika sheet of 1x100x1000 mm, 15x tanganyika strip of 1x4 mm and 8x balsa block of 25x38x300 mm. The balsa blocks are for the filler blocks at bow and stern, the tanganyika for the decks. Shipping from England: 5.50 euros, whereas in the Netherlands you soon pay a standard 6.95 euros (at the Kombuis, for instance). The whole parcel came to 32.50 euros including shipping. Another problem, incidentally, was that I couldn’t really find this kind of wood in the Netherlands. Hans remarked that he had also bought watercolour paint in England for nearly half the Dutch price. So hopping across the border pays.