February GOTM

[chrissyinbkk]

As a fellow U.K. resident do you mind if I ask, did you get hammered with with customs charges as well when your kit arrrived?

We all do here mate....

[Fretworn]

HI Guys & Gals. Just finished my FTD-1M kit. This kit was a gem to build. As i'm in the UK had to use Crimson Guitar dyes for the colour with 15 coats of poly on the top. Wiring a bit tricky to install but not too bad. Guitar plays well through a Maui 5 amp via a Zoom G5 board. Guitar set with a lowish action and gives great sustain. Would definitely recommend this kit.

Hi Dave, so you can be considered by the judges can you provide the other photos asked for in the instructions. Don’t want to have you disqualified on a technicality.

[BuffaloGhost]

We all do here mate....

I certainly did.


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[blinddrew]

I certainly did.


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Yeah, tax + customs charges + extra postal handling fee. It's quite a chunk to factor in.
Worth it though

[AndyKilburn]

Here's my first build, hope you like it. All stock apart from the saddle trapeze which I replaced and also the truss rod cover which I made myself by cutting out and shaping a sheet of 2mm perspex. The finish is 3 coats of royal blue stain, 6 coats of finishing oil then a couple of coats of Renaissance wax. Took several attempts to get the finish right and both the front and back were fully sanded back at least twice to start again from scratch but I'm over the moon with how it turned out.

[Brendan]

Comp closed - will open a new one soon.

[Brendan]

Sorry for the delay in the results - work had me out of town for a few days...

So the feedback - again - I can't express my gratitude to the lads who month in and out provide feedback. There are a group of about 14 who are involved - and I try to post when I've got over 5 results. Judging takes time and there is no reward for a judge beyond the thanks of the forum... Entrants - please check the rules for entries - as above, it takes time to judge and its unfortunate if your guitar is undersold by not meeting the photo requirements so it can be judged effectively.

BakersDozen’s PRS-1H
Love the elegant simplicity – zebra striped pickups, natural colours, nice and glossy, cool headstock logo, etc. Only thing that clashes slightly for me is the knobs – but not sure what would work here…
classy build, the colour goes well with this shape and the finish and upgrades look great.
The colour really suits this build, further enhanced by the narrow dark edge burst/accent. The dark edge is a little uneven in places, understandably, but the overall effect is excellent. The stain variation on back actually adds to the look for me, and works well with that beautiful top. The neck, headstock and logos look great. Some nice upgrades topping off a fine looking instrument. Intonation?
Nice natural tones with just enough stain to show off the grain. Looks like a veneer on the headstock and love the logo and faux carbon fibre on the truss rod cover. Some very tasty upgrades too.
All of a sudden I desire toffee! Beautiful guitar. I like your subtle mods, although I kind of wish there was a little more “meat” left on the headstock.

Sharpy’s GR-1SFG
Nicely finished – overall sharp effect. Great work! To me it looks slightly unfinished without a logo and it’d be great to have an update to the truss rod cover to link in with the rest of the theme for the guitar.
love the colours and the finish, this is a stylish looking GR well done ! Gold hardware looks tops !
I love the look of this from the front with the gold hardware or from the side, but seeing the gold neck and sides with the maroon/wine front and back starts to clash a little for me in the photos. This leaves me torn as I really do love it from the front. I would have loved to see the headstock shaped just to add a touch more character. Overall a very nice, albeit conflicting, looking build.
Interesting colour scheme that turned out good with a strong 50’s retro vibe. Close up of the top appears to be showing some timber pores and not sure if that was intended. Squared off headstock looks a bit blunt in comparison to rest of the build and it would look great with a logo. Top effort for a 1st build.
The mix of crimson and gold is unique. I would have loved to see some shape to the headstock to go with the curvy body.

Coganite’s TLA-1S
Love how you have a bit of flame coming through the spalted maple. Nicely finished and a great outcome… Is the neck pickup set up right – from the photo it seems somewhat recessed.
looks great the spalted top and ash body. Pity there was a bit of glue on the top. Nice looking tele !
The top has almost a burnished metal look about it with the flame, spalt and purple stain. Fantastic. The nice blonde neck with the purple and black hardware all work together well to produce a very cool look. Nice job with the Soapbar cover mod for the neck pup, but it looks like you need some black in the pickup rout. Tasty build.
Light purple stain looks good and not overpowering the spalted top. Top job on shaping the headstock and good to see your own unique logo too. Very clever idea to use a P90 pickup cover in the neck cavity to allow you to show off more of the body. Stock parts are generally OK but suggest it may look better with plastic removed from back of tuners.
That’s one of the most successful purple stains I can remember seeing. I’d probably lose the plastic saddle for the neck plate so it doesn’t overhang the body.

Richy17’s JTL-1
Awesome classic retro vibe to this guitar. I like the little things like the serial number on the back of the headstock, etc. Trying to think of some constructive criticism and not sure I can find any!
love the reshaping and the colour goes well. Cool mods and upgrades. The pickguard shape gives it a great flow. Well done !
Tele, surf, grunge machine... a bit of everything in here producing something unique. Not a colour I'd normally go for, but I love this with the grain showing through and perfectly matched with the large white pickguard. It's modern 60's in my mind. Drilling string-thru holes is tough and although they're a bit wonky here they don't detract too much. The slightly aged look of the neck and headstock, block 'inlays', logos and vintage tuners just suit the look of this perfectly. Great mods and a vision realised. Wow.
Wow, what a gorgeous looking guitar. Stunning grain on display through the Turquoise coloured finish. White scratch plate, aged tint on neck and fret board with block inlays all complementing one another. All is forgiven on the string through ferrules as the rest is superb.
I’ve never been a fan of the shape of these kits, but you have redeemed it with your thoughtful redesign & a great colour that suits it perfectly. I would be proud to own this guitar.

Dave the Pom's FTD-1M
So much to like here, but can’t give much feedback as its missing a couple of photos!
not enough photos to see it in detail, but the one pic I could see looks pretty good
A good looking build and the colours suit the kit nicely. It's a shame there aren't more photos to actually judge it.
Only 1 photo to look at which shows what looks like a good attempt at a dark blue burst finish on the body & headstock. Good to see a logo too but unfortunately we cannot see enough (back, sides and a front close-up) to judge the whole guitar.

AndyKilburn’s RC-1
Nicely done – simple and classic logo, nice consistent colour and gloss – overall a great guitar!
the royal blue goes well with the white guard, are the tuners upside down on purpose ? Cool looking axe
A nice, clean and elegant RC. The blue works well for the kit and with the white plastics, although perhaps a touch patchy on the headstock (the wax maybe?). Unfortunately, the tuners are flipped and installed on the wrong sides, so there may be some tuning instability in the long term. The custom TRC looks good with a nice logo. Great neck colour and classy overall look. Nice job.
Good first build that looks pretty close to Riccy Midnight Blue. Hard colour to get right, particularly on what looks like basswood with just a hint of grain poking through. Would have liked to see back of neck in same colour as I always reckon set neck guitars look best done that way. Bonus points for making your own truss rod cover and personal logo.
Really impressive. Great colour. The back-to-front tuners distract me though.

[Brendan]

And the runner up:

BakersDozen's PRS-1H


And the winner -
Richy17’s JTL-1



Congratulations to all entrants - these guitars are all of a very high standard!

[Andy40]

Big congrats to Bakers Dozen and Rich17 well done guys and beautiful axes

[FrankenWashie]

Congrats to all entrants! Well done to Bakersdozen and Rich17!