OK. So which ships from Anchor Bay would YOU spend your money on? Be as specific as you can and let's hear WHY you want that one.

They obviously aren't going to be making any more 'generic' ABs so "Any Lightship" isn't a good answer.

I'll start off with the Lightship DIAMOND SHOAL. You can read about the sinking of this ship at: http://www.HarbourLights.com/lightships/ls_diamondshoal.htm

John

[Note: This message has been edited by JTimothyA]

Living in the San Francisco Bay Area, I selfishly want the San Francisco Light Ship

I get the feeling that the contributors to this forum tend to lean toward having AB concentrate on lightships. I understand since we are lighthouse wackos. However there are other ships of historic interest that I would like to see. Examples are: the Maine, the America (as in America's Cup), Seraphis, C.S.S Alabama (Confederate raider), the Monitor, the C.S.S Virginia (Merrimack to you D***Yankees), Calypso, Turtle (first sub - just show water), Mississippi River Boat.

As I reread my list I notice a leaning to the south. I'm sure someone else can counter balance my selections with ships that would be of more interest in the north or the west.

From atop Bryant Mountain in Alabama waiting for my ship to come in.

I vote for the Nantucket Lightship mainly because I live in Massachusetts and visit Nantucket each year or so. Besides that it's red!

That's the word from the East Coast, home of the Nantucket Lightship, and it's only 15 degrees but it ain't snowing!

Alan,

Just so you know you're not alone. These posts are from 5-24-98:




Fortunately we managed to decline Jutland and Actium. Then there's this one from 11-20-98:



Rgds,
Das ReBoot

Thanks Tim,

I just caught the HL wacko disease in July of 98 and was not aware that others were as clear thinking as I am. Seriously, there are a lot of ships that are important to history and would not be too big to be well done by Anchor Bay. (We don't need the Titanic). After my previous post I get to rethinking my opposition to generic ships. I think a model of a Liberty Ship would be a nice piece. Perhaps an actual ship with an interesting history could be used. It would be a nice tribute to the men who sailed and died in these ships.

I'll keep a pot of grits on for you.
AB in Ala-Bama

Back to the original question, I have bought the Huron Lightship and would buy the CGC Mackinaw and the Edmund Fitzgerald. Simple reason; courtesy of my CG career, I've been aboard all of them (only for a few minutes, and in the case of E.F., thank goodness not the wrong few minutes).

Rich

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>>I just caught the HL wacko disease in July of 98 and was not aware that others were as clear thinking as I am.<<

Use the Search and thread scope (Show topics from last N days) features. I suspect many folks would be surprised at the subjects we've touched upon since the start of these forums. Although today we poke fun of some of the AOL posts, we used to have some good discussions with that venue and sometime I wish we could have captured those threads for posterity.

Rgds,
__
/im (Eat Grits Think Clearly)

Although I originally started buying Anchor Bay ships because I was intrigued by the Lightships and their place in lighthouse history, I must admit that there are only so many "unique" lightships that can be produced. I don't think that I would buy a duplicate of a lightship with just another name on the side. However, I do think that I would be interested in a representative model of a class of ship that has a history, or level of importance, such as a Liberty ship, a lighthouse tender, a coast guard cutter, ect.

Although I don't think there is a big market for a lot of ships every year at the current selling prices, I do think there is an ongoing market for well done models produced in a limited fashion. I would hate to try and make a decision which to buy (lighthouses versus Anchor Bay) based on what I could afford, if Y & A were to release the same number of lighthouses and Anchor Bay ships each year. I do agree that opening the market to other areas like Civil War models will bring in a new group of collectors and create sales, but it may cost the financial loyalty of the collectors like myself who would like to, and have in the past, collected all of these wonderful pieces.

I hope that the line survives, expands and gets better, but not at the cost of the loyal collectors whom it started with.

Ships will never capture my imagination in the same way or to the same degree as lighthouses, but I may buy an average of one Anchor Bay each year. I hope Younger & Associates finds a way to produce a tasteful and realistic version of the Edmund Fitzgerald, ideally paired some way with Whitefish Point. The Civil War ironclads I would buy as gifts for family.

Having only one Anchor Bay piece in my Y & A collection (Huron) and not having much desire to purchase any of the other pieces already done, I must say that I would buy a version of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Living on the coast of Lake Erie and remembering that dreadful day the ship went down it would be hard not to buy it. I have a lot of great memories of being a kid, sitting on the pier fishing with my grandpa and watching the lake freighters come in to port, the Fitzgerald being one of them.

In my previous response I mentioned that opening the Anchor Bay market to other areas could bring in other collectors, but at a cost to existing collectors. This comment was more general in nature and not specifically directed at the Civil War pieces which I would probably purchase. I think that the original premise of the question posted was to solicit marketing input by Y & A for the Anchor Bay line, and this is how I took it when I responded.

There are two points that I was trying to get across. First if Anchor Bay was to release 10-15 ships per year at $120-175 each and I was already buying 15-20 lighthouses per year at $50-100 each the financial impact would be felt. The Y & A object is make money, but I think that Anchor Bay started as a supplement to the lighthouse line, as shown by the emphasis on the lightships. Secondly by expanding the line to other areas, such as military ships, you could create a following of people for those areas, but would these people be interested in collecting all of the issues, or just an occasional model that interests them. This is fine if you are only interested in selected market sales, but ignoring those that are interested in collecting the entire line if they already have a financial commitment to the lighthouses line. It would also be a risk for Y & A to try and guess how many it could sell without over producing.

My point is that I like many other serious lighthouse collectors would like to collect some, or all, of the Anchor Bay ships and enjoy them. I have purchased the AB line primarily for the lightships, but have also bought the others since they were interesting examples of a class of boats/ships and have allowed me to expand my collecting arena. But if they were to expand the line to produce a wide number of ships, 10-15 per year, and get away from the lighthouse empahsis and cover all types of vessels that I may not be interested in, I would be forced to back off my purchases. This is what I mean by forcing the loyal collecting base they started with, lighthouse fans, to make a financial committment one direction or the other. In my case the committment would be to lighthouses since I already have a great financial commitment there already and really enjoy the product. If the goal is to produce a expand to a collectable line that is moving away from lighthouses and is as costly to procure as the lighthouses, I think that is the way it should be marketed. If so then AB should be marketed seperately and be segmented from the lighthouse line and this forum which was IMHO created for the lighthouse collector.

Well, being from Indiana, I'm more familiar with corn than I am with lightships. I love the ones I have seen so far and would be pleased with any that are produced in the future. As for other ships, Probably my first choice would be the Edmund Fitzgerald. If any ship deserves to be honored for its place in history, "Big Fitz" should surely be close to the top of the list.

I like the Fitz, too.

I've also always been a sucker for the tall ships; I'd love to see some of those produced. Especially if they're in scale with your average HL.

Every six months or so I post this link... One of the premier sites for fans of Lakers and Great Lakes shipping and its history.

Boatnerd

Currently featuring a most excellent virtual tour of the Huron Lightship. Be sure to check out The Fog Horn Room!

Fans of the Fitz should check out the "Edmund Fitzgerald Interactive Explorer" from ISE. I bought this a year or so ago when it first came out and its really pretty neat. Edmund Fitzgeral CD-ROM

Rgds,
__
/im

[This message has been edited by JTimothyA (edited 02-13-99).]

Hey Tim - liked that site a lot! Thanks.

John