Has anyone had experience purchasing from the UK based Deans Marine? They have a hull that I'm interested in but I wonder about the shipping cost, commuication etc. being that they are overseas. Also the currency conversion, dollar against euro. As an alternative is there a distributor here in the US that carries Deans items? Thanks in advance. Merc.

http://www.westbourne-model.co.uk/ they sell deans stuff and will ship

You can also get Deans Marine from http://www.loyalhannadockyard.com/ in the US

You can also get Deans from Gold Coast Hobbies in Long Island. But the main question is why? These kits have to be some of the worst on the market. Talk to Barry at Westbourne in the UK and he will steer you to better kits, but if you must have a Deans he will sell one to you for less then you can get it in the US. Also hate to be negative about a US supplier but you can purchase any kit sold by Loyalhanna direct from the UK for less then they sell them including shipping. I get all my UK manufactured kits direct from either Westbourne or Alans. Keep in mind that you don't pay VAT so it offsets the shipping costs.

Got an email from deans today. The hull that I'm interested in would cost about 100 dollars U.S. but the shipping would be almost double because of the size. I'm going to try Gold Coast as I have delt with them in the past and have even visited the store. These guys at Gold Coast are the best imho. Honest and they dont try to sell you a bunch of crap that you dont need. They are also modelers which makes it very easy to ask questions and get correct answers. If your visiting NY and have a chance to do so, check them out. Thanks, Merc

FYI:

Harbor Models carries the Deans line. I have ordered from there in the past with no problem. Shipping runs around $25-35.00


Pete

I recently bought the Robert E Peary kit from Deans Marine. The quality was extremely poor and I will never buy another kit from them ever again. I can send you photos if you like. Please email me for more details if you like.

Deans models have a very bad reputaion if you talk to guys at my local pond having said that one chap builds excellant models from these kits but he throws most of the kit away!

Wow, old thread Steamup but valid information. I've never heard anything pro or con about Dean's before but have always browsed their lineup wondering what it would be like to own one. If scalerc and Sunny1 are still available, I would love to read or see a detailed review.

Cant give you detailed review of a kit. I tried to build the Robert E Peary several years ago and the kit quality was so bad I gave up on it. The parts are very poorly molded that I asked Deans to replace them. They refused, said the kit was perfect and that I must of damaged the parts. Wound up selling the kit off on ebay as it was just to frustrating to try to build. I have built several Caldercraft, Model Slipway and Mount Fleet kits with no major issues. If you are really interested in Deans Marine have a chat with Westbourne Models in the UK. They will recommend a good kit for you based on what you want to build and the level of challenge you want. They sell Deans but when I asked they recommended other kits unless I was diehard on the subject. You can find some magazine reviews on some of their kits and they will basically say the same thing parts quality is poor. Also if you want to buy a kit give westbourne a fair shake. I have purchased several kits from them and the cost was very reasonable. No VAT and shipping costs were reasonable, but this was several years ago so not sure how much shipping went up.

Here's a fairly thorough review or at least some sentiments shared: http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/rc-s...-any-good.html

Can't say I've seen any praises whatsoever for this outfit but they do have a varied product range and some exorbitant prices for the poor quality of kit that you receive. I was only curious and will steer clear of that mess. I like the sort of thing they offer, European fishing trawlers, steam drifters, tugs and the like.

Try Model Slipway kits or Caldercraft they make nice kits. If you want something a bit larger and more challenging you can always try a Mount Fleet kit. They are very detailed and tend to be a bit larger. If you go this route make sure you get it direct. I have found that ordering direct from the manufacturer is less expensive then getting it from a US distributed although Harbor Models is pretty close to equal. Pays to do the research. Keep in mind that if you can take the VAT off the price it makes the kit with shipping quite attractive.

Stay clear of Loyalhanna, they have a great selection but their prices are way over the top. In some case you pay nearly double. Not sure how they stay in business unless people just assume that having something shipped from the UK is to expensive. Do the leg work and you may be surprised.

Funny how someone strongly recommended Loyalhanna to me several weeks ago and memory served that there was something very unappealing about the site. And yes, having revisited the site with this new recommendation in my head, was again reminded by you that it was the high prices. Jogged my memory. Quite a selection there to be certain but the site itself isn't all that good; not enough illustrations especially in the fittings department. Hard to tell what you're buying.