Stratospheremodels Posted September 18, 2017 Share Posted September 18, 2017 (edited) TOOLING & MOLDS of STRATO's Largest Sci- Fi KIT FOR SALE ! I am PUTTING UP FOR SALE ALL THE TOOLING AND MOLDS OF MY LARGEST AND MOST SPECTACULAR SCI-FI MODEL KIT: The TROPICAL FISH CRUISER (Angel Fish, or Sharlin Cruiser) from B5. For those who are not aware, Stratosphere Models have produced a line of some of the largest popular B5 Sci-Fi kits during several years, many of which are still available. The model is nearly 3 FEET TALL, and 3 FEET LONG ! (1 meter tall by 1 meter long !). It is a mixed media kit, mostly vacform but now include several large resin parts (the upper and lower fins). The new all resin fins are a RECENT UPDATE and their molds are still NEW. Website: http://www.picturetrail.com/stratospheremodels It is one of the crown jewels of Stratosphere Models and is my most expensive and most profitable product on my catalog. The previous vac version kits have been selling like hotcakes on Ebay by dealers where they reached prices between 300 to 350$US each. I have been selling the recently updated version with all resin main fins for 499.00$US. (I have had to turn down clients recently as i can no longer produce the kit because i can no longer obtain replacement parts for the special 2nd stage pump from the manufacturer of my vacform machine. Due to my heavy investment in 3D CAD and many upcoming kits i have not had the chance to invest in new vacforming equipment. So i've decided it is time to find a new home for this spectacular kit). The basic design of the kit required more than 6 months of work. An additional 2 months and a half was added a year later to update the main fuselage ribs (which were considerably beefed up to accurize them) plus other details. It took 2 more months to design the new all resin fins and their molds. The new resin fins can be cast with translucent resin so you can light them up to replicate the window lights seen on the CG spaceship. These new resin fins are very nice. Asking price for all the tooling and molds is 9.5K $ US. (The actual value of the tooling is much higher, calculating that i spent 40 hours a week minimum (i often had 10, 12 hours work days), 4 weeks per month, multiplied by 10.5 months at 10$ an hour (most per hire modelers in N. America charge more than double that fee), so in reality the tooling and molds are worth 16800$ minimum). Only inquiries from serious companies will be considered. Buyer may have to provide proof that he can cover the payment. Payments accepted are postal money orders, bank transfer (bank draft) or Paypal (if you choose Paypal, you will have to add 3.5% to the total to cover the Paypal fees. Payment for the tooling and molds will have to be made upfront, upon which all parts will be carefully packed and shipped. Shipping cost is not included in the main sales price and will be calculated and charged separately based on the actual shipping weight and packing cost. Most of the tooling is fragile so the utmost care will be taken to protect them for shipping with strong boxes or crates as needed. All packages will be insured to their full value. Due to the fragile nature of several of the tooling and weight (silicone molds are heavy), several boxes will be used to protect and ship the lightweight and heavy items separately to avoid risks of damage. Everywhere possible registered mail will be used. No shipping to P.O. Boxes, only residential adresses or your main place of business where you are present during postal/delivery business hours will be accepted. No return or exchanges, the tooling and molds are sold as production ready. Any potential shipping claim will be dealt with via Post Canada's regulations or whichever company will be used to mail the tooling. Shipping tooling/molds in separate packages will also ensure that you can obtain full coverage in case of damage to individual packages so as not to go beyond the maximum insurance value for a single box. I still have several vacform castings in stock which i will include with the sale. Some of them, the largest ones, may have 5% errors of vacforming, meaning a few soft corners, but are still very much usable as back-up. They are the last ones i have in atock. All the small vacformed stock parts are perfect as i still can vacform them with a smaller version of my vac machine without need for a 2nd stage pump, so they are perfectly formed. I'm adding the large parts as backup, just in case. If you are not familiar with vacforming large parts i will provide the buyer with information free of charge based on my 23 years of experience so you can make them successfully. I do have a professional high vacuum pump which i've used for other purposes and which i no longer need which could be used as a 2nd stage vac pump, however it would need custom fittings to couple it with your vacform machine. Because it produces a very high noise level i couldn't use it where i live. If the buyer is interested i could sell him this pump also or i could even include it with the deal (to be negociated)(it's very heavy, so it would be shipped separately). It's still new and have only been used 3 or 4 times. With the accessories coming with it (vacuum gauges and hoses) it have a value of nearly 500$. The main fuselage tooling, the tail, plus several of the smaller parts are made of wood and fiberglass. The set also include several permanent tooling molds which are made of a special composite made by Stratosphere Models (you cannot buy that material commercially off the shelf. Included with the sale i will provide you with the method to make and replace this tooling if needed. It is an excellent low cost tooling to vacform smaller and medium size components and it resist heat very well and is easier and less expensive to make than commercially available specialized heat resistant materials (and no, it's not plaster) and it is resistant to potential damages during demolding. Take note that i am not selling any of the trademarks of Stratosphere Models or Temporal Rift in this deal. I am only selling the tooling and the molds for the Tropical Fish Cruiser. Photos of the tooling and molds will be emailed to prospective buyers upon request. You can contact me at : stratospheremodels@yahoo.fr Stephane Stratosphere Models Edited February 4, 2018 by Stratospheremodels Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Stratospheremodels Posted February 4, 2018 Author Share Posted February 4, 2018 UPDATE: The new all resin fins are Very nice. Not only that but they are also a LOT more accurate than the old vacform fins which have been retired a few years ago : these new super-accurized resin fins now have the correct curved "cow-boy legs" shape when seen from the front, like the real thing (the old ones had no curve at all). The NEW lower resin fins are also much bigger in the upper part. Another big plus are the 2 spindle shapes on each lower fins which now look a lot nicer and symmetrical because you no longer have to deal with vacform fin halves, cutting, sanding or alignment, now it's all perfect right away from the start, no filling involved, no risk of splitting thin vac halves when attempting to fill them with polyurethane foam. Plus the NEW resin fins make for a MUCH stronger model, not to mention more accurate. Stratosphere Models Website : http://www.picturetrail.com/stratospheremodels Email : stratospheremodels@yahoo.fr Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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