Due to the problem I have had over the last two and a half months my time to work on projects has been reduced. What time I had was devoted to filling orders of which 64 have been shipped during this time. This is another long post cover many things, but are all related to filling orders, finishing projects and workshop move. If you need any of my parts shipped to you prior to April 2011, I advise you order now as I likely will not be shipping again until late May.
Here are the projects I had hoped to complete by the end of this year, unfortunately it looks like the end of January for some and others as late as the end of February.
Projects finished.
Panther Cupola, 15 sets made and shipped.
88mm Wicker Ammo Case, 25 sets made and shipped.
Tiger 2 Intake Grills, 9 sets made, several shipped others wait for completed orders.
Tiger 2 Grill Step Plates 6 sets made, 2 sets shipped other waiting for completion of orders.
Unfinished projects work in progress.
TT40 Tiger 2 Engine Exhaust Grills Set of 2
Wire mesh and ring rod in stock. Jig for shaping wire mesh made. Biggest problem I have had with this part is shaping the wire mesh as the wire is to hard to shape around the rod ring without deforming the ring. I have solved this problem by heating the wire mesh which softens it. Have done some test shaping of mesh in the jig which works. Still have to work out how to bend the mesh over the ring and secure it. May mean bending each wire one at a time. 10 sets to assemble.
TT41 Tiger 2 Engine Intake Over Grills Set of 2
All photo-etched parts and wire mesh in stock. Have to make jig to bend wire mesh in shape so all parts are uniform. Then assemble 12 sets.
Projects at prototype only level. With the low number of confirmed orders on these parts I may be taking a loss at the beginning in producing them. But I will make them and hope the orders increase once they are available.
Tank Kubelwagen Cold Starter. (5 confirmed orders)
Most masters made, still have many parts to modify with new information I have obtain since making the first prototype parts. Artwork for photo-etch parts to be drawn. Molds to be made. Likely this will be an end of February early March completion.
Goliath Tank Trailer. (6 confirmed orders)
Most masters made, still have parts to make as masters for molding. Artwork for photo-etch parts to be drawn. Molds to be made. Likely this will be an end of February early March completion.
Panther IR Scope (No confirmed orders, have about 5-6 interested customers)
Only prototype made, nearly all parts have to be made as masters for molding. Artwork for photo-etch parts to be drawn.
Panzer II Parts. (12 sets)
Have offer most of these sets also in resin to test the market. Most of the parts are the same as the PzIII and PZIV so I have them in stock. However have to make resin casting molds for the parts offered in resin. There are also a few parts that need to be molded for metal spin casting. To date I only have one confirmed order for some of these parts so they are not on my priority list.
Tiger and Panther Cupola Periscope Prisms. Possibly available by the end of January.
These will be available in clear resin to start with, may be produced as a real working glass optics, but at the moment it is difficult to have them made to fit the current white metal housings. The real grass ones are precision cut and the two part metal housing vary very slightly in size depending on casting conditions. I have to put my thoughts into the production of the housing and I do not have time at the moment.
The clear resin prisms will be made in two parts so they will fit into any of the current white metal housings. These will look like the real thing, but not work as a periscope. The idea is the two parts will be glued into the two metal housing and then the two parts fitted together as shown in the pictures below.
I have to make masters for casting. Problem here is getting the glass finish surface on the window areas. Plan on making the masters in acrylic and buffing to surfaces. Have some experimenting to do. The first picture show a real glass sample without polished surfaces.
Just received a batch of photo-etched parts urgently needed to fill orders. I have also spun cast 60 lbs of white metal into parts to fill orders and stock my shelves. Investment cast bronze parts are due in stock anytime now. I have made up hundreds of basic simple sets ready to ship. My plan is to continue assembling and packaging parts to fill orders as I get them, by the middle of January I should be able to ship orders within two weeks in most cases. My reason for this is I want to be able to clear all orders before making the move as I will likely have to close up shop for about a month. Plus I want to reduce my inventory as much as possible before the move.
Photo-etched parts. Extras available for orders
White metal parts, just a few of the large items cast.
Add the work above, plus over 30 orders I still have to fill and move my workshop by the end of March is going to be difficult, but not impossible. My priority for the next three months is filling orders, finish projects and then the move. My current lease on my workshop ends on April 1, 2011, by which time I hope to have moved. However if it is not possible I have worked a deal were I can stay in my current workshop on a month to month basis.
Here is why I have to close my business for one month at least to make the move. Around one week to prepare and pack my workshop, one week to load, move and unload, one week to set up the new workshop and a week to cover anything that might not go according to plan. I have a 1100 square foot workshop full to the brim. Anyone wanting to take a vacation in Las Vegas to help is welcome. Might be some good stuff to go cheap.
My workshop and contents. I really do not look forward to packing all this stuff.
Regards
Mike