Silkspan Source and New Ammo: Feedback Needed

Discussion in 'Vendor News' started by KeriMorgret, Jul 14, 2015.

  1. KeriMorgret

    KeriMorgret Facilitator RCWC Staff Vendor

    Joined:
    Jul 15, 2009
    Posts:
    609
    Location:
    Seattle, Washington
    tl;dr
    We have found a source for silkspan, but we need a minimum order commitment from you to be able to order. We've also found uncoated ball bearings, as some ponds have problems with allowing BBs with platings.

    This is an update from Stephen, so please read the "I" as him, not me.

    I finally got everything nailed down to where I can put in an order for silkspan and ammo from the manufacturers. I can now take pre-orders for both of them. Assuming enough pre-orders come through, I will be picking up 00, GM, and SGM weights of silkspan. All of them will be in either a wide roll or individual sheets. For the 00 weight, I will also be getting long strips (I know I can get 4" and am trying to get 5"). The sheets of silkspan will have roughly the same area as the old K&S material (roughly 6 square feet per sheet). A single long strip of silkspan will be 13' (a sheet equivalent), which is enough to sheet a ship. I am fine with pre-orders being a mix of sheets and strips.

    Pre-Order Page for Silkspan and Ball Bearings | Strike Models

    Ammo: I have a manufacturer lined up that will custom make ball bearings at a size of 0.172" diameter (4.375mm specifically). I can go a little larger than this if we get a general consensus, but we cannot go too close to 0.177. Fast gun style cannons choke on that size. The nominal lot diameter is +/- 0.001" for the grade I'm getting (grade 200). The ball-to-ball variation is supposed to be in the range of +/- 0.0002". The cost of this ammo is more than from Walmart, but less than double. I will also be putting in an order for 3/16, 7/32, and 1/4" sizes, and the batch prices are lower than they were before. The ball bearing order will only go through if the silkspan order also goes through.

    Since I am using this pre-order time to determine what the demand is, we will have the page up for the next month. For those people putting in pre-orders, we will be refunding the postage immediately for the ammo and silkspan and will be shipping those items for free once the shipment arrives. If we do not get enough interest, we will refund everyone's pre-order money. We have found that it usually takes 3 months to get everything made, paid for, shipped, and cleared of customs. So, we will not have stuff really ready for this season, but will be ready for build season.

    If all goes well with some upcoming testing, I will also have a waterproof low-profile servo that will be going onto this page as well.

    If there are any questions, please feel free to email me on or off list, or call me.