Here is my "what's in the Box" review of the Caldercraft Mary Rose kit.

Just wish I could add text and a picture which I know is possible via Photobox but as that site seems to "delete" pictures after a certain period I will stick with the method of posting I know (so a bit of text followed by all the pictures).

The Mary Rose Kit is part of the Heritage range of kits produced by Caldercraft here in the UK. One of the most obvious differences between these Caldercraft kits and many of the offerings from other manufacturers is that they are CNC cut rather than laser cut. CNC uses a computer controlled mechanical cutter to produce the parts on the fret. What you will usually find with this is that a whole lot more sawdust appears in the packing than you would ever see with a laser cut kit. That said you will find that the gap between the part and the fret is wider so it’s a whole lot easier to get a knife blade in to remove the part (but on some of the main hull components a heavy blade or possible a fret saw will be required due to the thickness of the wood. Some of the parts making up the hull structure are produced in 5mm Ply

Some thoughts on what is supplied in the kit:

1. The kit arrives in a rather colourful designed box. Size of the box
on the kit I have is 62.5 cm x 21.5 cm x 8 cm. It weighs in at
approx. 4Kg. I was fortunate enough to get my kit in April 2014 for
£190.25

If you are familiar with Caldercraft kits you will know that the
boxes are usually very thick card for both the bottom and top of the
kit. With this one you get a very thick card lower tray but paper
thin top to the box. This might be an issue if you buy online and the
parcel is sent with just a brown paper outer wrap.

2. While the outer packing carries a picture of the Mary Rose from a
painting showing the ship decorated with a colourful paint finish no
details are provided in the kit of how to produce this so the end
result (while still very nice) will be a plain wood finish. The
picture used on the box front is as per the following link:

http://www.3hconsulting.com/sitesmaryrosemain.htm

3. Some of the retailers offering this kit refer to the inclusion of a
book about the Mary Rose written by Stuart Vine BSc. The actual book
forms part of the instruction manual and is a 16 page double sided
document entitled "the History of the Mary Rose".

4. All of the various canon are produced in cast white metal (there is
no turned brass in this kit which Caldercraft have used in similar
priced Heritage and Nelsons Navy kits such as the Endeavour and
Bounty kits. That said however with see these items painted black and
as the castings will require just a quick clean up not really an
issue in my view.

5. Apart from the CNC cut panels there are several large bundles of wood
strips in Lime wood, Tanganyika and Walnut. The planking strips for
the decks is a little ragged along the edges in my kit so will
either need some additional work or replacement to get a neat finish
to the deck layout. Dowel rods for the masts and yards are all nice
and straight.

Some of the various detail parts have been CNC cut out of Walnut ply.
The piece in my kit have has gun port covers and stair case sides
sadly has approx. 1/4 of the ply as a darker shade. It is slightly
noticeable in the below pictures but to the eye its a bigger colour
difference than the picture shows.

6. Construction of this kit relies on the modeller being able to work
from plan sheets (8 in total) along with some basic notes in the
instruction manual (I would not agree with retailer listings that
state a "comprehensive" manual but thta is just my view as I do know
some kits are even more limited in this area.) For anyone that has
made a ship kit before this may not be too much of an issue but be
aware you will not get the detailed picture instructions as in (for
example) the Deagostini HMS Victory build.

These plan sheets are large (plan 1 measures 115 x 83 cm) so you will
need a large wall (or as I use a plan holder) to be able to use
correctly. Bear in mind many of the measurements for various parts of
the build are taken directly from the plan sheets.

7. Caldercraft used to pack the fittings in a little red card box
(always liked that for some reason). They now get packed in a bubble
wrap bag (again not going to affect the build but not as "pretty
looking"). These parts are a mixture of very well produced blocks and
dead eyes, cast white metal parts. The amount of etched brass is very
limited in this kit and is mainly for the rudder hinges, parrel mast
parts and gun port hinges. Look after this fret because it is
available to buy on its own but at approx. £20.00 ( ).

8. Rigging cords are provided but looking at what is included within my
kit I have a strong feeling there is not much allowance made for
waste.

So all in all a very important model of a very famous ship. To the best of my knowledge a unique model in that it’s not being produced by any other manufacturer (unless you include the recent Airfix 1:400 injection model http://www.airfix.com/search/?q=mary+rose).

Overall a very nice, well thought out kit.

And now for the pictures:

Steve

Hope all is well.

At this stage its a no to a build diary on this one. WHile I still have a job and a wage coming in I have been putting kits away for the future.

What I have just started (and really want to see through) is the Occre Revenge kit so planning on starting a build diary of that one in the next day or so.

Just thought this review might be of interest to anyone (know Jase is considering)intending to purchase. I really like to know what I am getting for my money having had some rather "empty" boxes arrive over the years.

Kind regards