NOTE: This list was originally provided by the Nautical Research Guild. It is provided as a service to model builders, and the listing of the businesses does not infer an endorsement of the products or service by the Nautical Research Guild. Specific references can be obtained by applying directly to the business.
| Kits & Materials: |
| Ace Resin (John Nitka) 7481 E. 30th Street Tucson, AZ 85710 | 602-886-8051 | "At this year's IPMS Nationals, I ran across
a vendor which seemed to have a very good
product - both the RTV rubber and the resin.
The rubber I have been getting (Dow-Corning
3110, I think) seems to be similar to theirs,
but the resin seems a whole lot better than
anything else that I have worked with. John Roll" |
| A.D.M. Model Supplies P.O.Box 162491 Altamonte Springs, FL 32716-2491. | Ultra Pro-Shape is a plastic material, which can be used for carving, turning, etc. A small sample of Ultra Pro-Shape and a brochure can be had for <I think> $3.50 | |
| A&M Wood Specialty, Inc. 358 Eagle Street North P.O. Box 32040 Cambridge, Ontario N3H 5M2 Canada | 519-653-9322
519-653-3441 FAX 800-447-9344 Orders ONLY WWW | They carry an extensive line of all kinds of woods including boxwood (Castello and English), pear (swiss and domestic), ebony, lignum vitae, cherry, holly, etc. They publish a quarterly inventory sheet. |
| Alumilite Corp. 225 Parsons Street Kalamazoo, MI 49007 | 616-342-1259 616-342-1299 FAX | Casting products, low viscosity resins; new product: $PINcaster-9, machine for casting parts in plastic and low-temperature metals |
| Ambroid (Manuel Usle) P.O. Box 38 Springfield, VT 05156 | 802-885-9244 802-885-9223 FAX | They make other things besides model airplane glue, for which they are best known. |
| American Art Clay Co. 4717 W. 16th Street Indianapolis, IN 46222 | "Brush'n Leaf" liquid metal finishes | |
| American Science & Surplus 3605 Howard Street Skokie, IL 60076 | 847-982-0870 800-934-0722 FAX WWW | Mica sheets - for windows, etc.; LOTS of other stuff too. |
| Artistry in Veneers, Inc. 450 Oak Tree Ave. South Plainfield, NJ 07080 | 908-668-1460 908-668-4317 (FAX) | Veneers, including Pear, Ebony, etc. Catalog $1.50 |
| Auto-Etch P.O.Box 12921-A Philadelphia, PA 19108 | Home etching system | |
| Badger Air-Brush 9128 W. Belmont Avenue Franklyn Park, IL 60131 | WWW | Well-known name in air-brushes |
| Balsa USA P.O. Box 164 Marinette, WI 54143 | 906-863-6421 906-863-5878 (FAX) WWW | High quality CA glues...lower allergy symptoms. |
|
Beadalon 440 Highlands Blvd. Coatesville, PA 19320 USA | 1-866-4BEADALON (423-2325) (Toll Free) 1-610-466-6000 (International) 1-610-384-7260 (FAX) WWW Authorized retailers | Wire rope ready to go
Some models call for wire rope rather than fiber based rope for rigging. I recently came across a product line that may meet needs for prepared wire rope. It is made by Beadalon, a Pennsylvania firm in business since 1976 manufacturing specialty wires used in the making of jewelry. Their nylon coated wires come in 7, 19, and 49 strand formats in 11 diameters ranging from .01" to .036", and 13 colors ranging from black to bright stainless steel. They also offer crimp beads and crimp tubes in sizes associated with wire diameters for seizing loops, along with crimping tools to match the bead and tube sizes. An adjustable and/or resetable crimp is available in the form of a screw set crimp ("Scrimp") that comes with its own screw driver - they look a bit bulky, but may be suitable for some situations. Wire is sold in 100 foot spools, crimping beads and tubes in small plastic bag packs, and the tools in blister packs. Cost of wire per spool is in the $5-10 range depending on number of strands, diameter, and finish. NOTE: I found Beadalon products on racks at my local Michael's craft and hobby shop. They are likely carried at, and/or orderable from, jewelry oriented craft and supply shops. Beadalon apparently does not retail directly to consumers via the net, but online vendors are numerous - do a Yahoo, Google, or other search using "beadalon" as the search term. {Mike Graff} |
| Belmont Metals, Inc. Attn: Phil Karmel 330 Belmont Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11207 | 719-342-4900 WWW | Britannia metal $12 + in bulk |
| Berea Hardwoods (Warehouse) 6367 Eastland Rd. Cleveland OH | 216-234-7949 1-877-736-5487 (toll free) WWW | specializing in unusual woods, but also a good source for more mundane species. The proprietor is fun to talk to. |
| - or - | ||
| Berea Hardwoods (Office) 125 Jacqueline Drive, Berea OH 44017 | 216-243-4452 | |
| Burman Industries 14141 Covello Street Suite 10-C Van Nuys, CA 91405 | 818-782-9833 818-782-2863 (FAX) Email WWW | The company sells primarily to people who create monsters, special effects, etc., for the entertainment industry. They carry a wide variety of foams, silicones, urethanes, and other material that could be applied to ship modeling. Write for catalog |
| Circuit Board Supplies, Inc. 820 Maple Lane Bensonville, IL 60106 | 708-595-7570 | Copper foil in bulk |
| Clotilde 2 Sewsmart Way B8031 Stevens Point, WI 54481-8031 | 800-772-2891 | source for silk thread |
|
Constantines Wood Center of Florida Inc. 1040 E. Oakland Park Blvd. Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33334 | 800-443-9667 954-561-1716 (within Florida) WWW | Specialty wood for crafts; known for Veneers. |
| Craft Woods 2101 Greenspring Drive P.O. Box 527 Timonium, MD 21093 | 800-468-7070 | Carving woods, tools, books, etc. -- free catalog |
| Detail Associates Box 197 Santa Maria, CA 93454 | U.S.A. Brass wire in various diameters, down to at least .006", packaged in 12" lengths, usually 12 pieces in each polyethylene bag: indispensable to the plastic or resin modeler | |
| Detail Master P.O. Box 1465 Sterling, VA 20167 USA | Model car accessories: photo-etched stainless steel parts, turned aluminum parts & fittings, and wiring. Quite a bit of this is of interest to the ship modeler. The wiring is available in many colors (black and white being the most useful), is very malleable, and is available in diameters down to .0075" | |
| Eager Plastics 3350 W. 48th Place Chicago, IL 60632 | 773-927-3484 | Casting materials, resins, RTV, etc. |
| Edmond Scientific Co. 101 East Gloucester Pike Barrington, NJ 08007-1380 | Gears, motors, etc. | |
|
Eisenbrand Inc. Exotic Hardwoods 4100 Spencer Street Torrance, California | 310-542-3576 800-258-2587 (Orders) 310-542-2857 FAX WWW | Exotic hardwoods, including boxwood, ebony, holly, pear - prices look reasonable. |
| Evergreen Scale Models 18620-F 141st Ave. NE Woodinville, WA 98072 | 425-402-4918 425-402-7948 WWW | "Evergreen Scale Models is the world's largest producer of styrene plastic shapes, strips, and sheet materials in metric and inch sizes. You can build clean, accurate models using Evergreen Scale Models products. Available at hobby shops everywhere." |
| Exotic Woods Inc. 2483 Industrial Street Burlington , Ontario, Canada, L7P 1A6 | 905-335-8066 905-335-7080 WWW | great stock of marine, Finnish, and Baltic plywood plus basswood, boxwood, holly, sycamore, mahogany, walnut, pear etc. |
| Flagship Models 2204 Summer Way Lane Edmond, OK 73013 | 1:700 photoetched warship fittings | |
| Floquil-Polly S Color Corp. 206 Milvan Drive Weston Ontario M9L 1Z9 | 888-476-5597 888-742-4198 FAX | Model ship scale colors; they will send you catalog and order form if you give them a call. |
|
J. Hewit & Sons Ltd. Kinauld Leather Works Currie, Edinburgh, EH14 5RS Scotland, UNITED KINGDOM. | 315-662-3356 WWW | British Supplier for bookbinders. Marked "Linen Sewing Thread - natural
- off-white - 100% pure linen - coated in beeswax for trouble-fee sewing"
Comes in 50g hanks up to 250g spools. Many years ago I was given several hanks of linen thread of this same type by a bookbinder. Each line is about a metre long. I still have it and have not been able to use it for rigging. Because of the substantial amount of beeswax it is very stiff and does not "fall" naturally into a natural curve suitable for rigging. In its new un-touched state it looks good, but the threads open up if there is the slightest amount of opposite twist, leaving lumpy and an unsightly and unmanageable line. In addition the beeswax prevents it taking any sort of stain. I tried washing it, drawing it through a rag containing Varsol (white spirits) and through acetone to try to remove the wax, but without success. Other than that, it's perfect. {Ray Peacock} |
| Fred Hultberg Fotocut Labs, Inc. Erieville Rd. Box 120 Erieville, NY 13061 USA | 315-662-3356 | Photo-etched kit and parts packs (mostly aircraft), as well as custom etching; photo etching from your camera-ready copy |
| Fowler's Miniatures in Wood 18175 Blue Tent School Rd. Nevada City, CA 95959 | 530-478-9819 | A dollhouse supplier, but also carries a variety of woods. Can also do custom milling of your timber. Free wood price list. |
| Gold Medal Models (Loren Perry) Route 2 Box 3104 Lopez, WA 98261 | Email WWW | GMM ship fitting and decal scales start at 1:720 and end at 1/96 scales, but the bulk their offerings are in 1:700, 1:400, 1:350, and 1:200 scales, for WWII and modern ships. |
| Gilmor Wood Co. 2211 N.W. St. Helens Road Portland OR 97210 | 503-274-1271 503-274-9839 (Fax) 1-888-667-3979 WWW | large variety of unusual woods, such as 16/4 pear, etc. $100 minimum order. |
| Grandt Line Products, Inc. 1040B Shary Court Concord, CA 94518 | Plastic nuts, bolts, washers, turnbuckles, and other fittings in a variety of sizes | |
|
Groff and Groff Lumber, inc. 858 Scotland Road Quarryville, PA 17566 | (800) 342-0001 (717) 284-0001 (717) 284-2400 FAX WWW | They cater mostly to furniture builders, carvers, and turners, so the
kind of stuff we modeler's are likely to buy are in their "scrap bin" category
and their prices don't (yet) carry a modeler's premium. I bought
some apple, domestic pear, swiss pear, bloodwood, ebony, and
walnut from them at very nice prices (e.g, $5./bf ..not for ebony,
of course). Note, they sell stuff in carpentry sizes, so if you don't have a good table saw and thickness sander, forget it. They sell it rough or planed (extra cost), but reasonable. I've dealt with these guys and found them to be honest and reliable. {Boris Beizer} |
|
HobbyMill (Jeff Hayes) | Just wanted to fill everybody in on a source for milled wood
and wood billets that I have found. I am a participant in Bob
Hunt's Rattlesnake practicum which suggests some replacement
wood. Bob let me know that the wood package was available from
Jeff Hayes at HobbyMill. I ordered the package, just received it and
am just thrilled with it. The wood is beautiful and the milling is exquisite. Although he offers a Rattlesnake package and some supplemental wood for Bob Hunt's Fair American kit, his main business is milled wood for hobbyists. He can supply stripwood in a number of dimensions 24" long in Boxwood, Holly, Bloodwood, Swiss Pear, Cherry, Walnut, Mahogany, Aspen, and Yellowheart. In addition, he can supply milled sheets 2" and 3" wide in multiple dimensions in Boxwood, Holly and Swiss Pear and milled sheets 3" wide in Cherry, Mahogany, Aspen, and Walnut. If you are a scratchbuilder or simply want to replace your kit wood with something nicer, you should contact him. Unfortunately, he only supplies wood to the US. {John F. Smith} | |
| The Hook and Hackle Company 7 Kaycee Loop Road, Plattsburgh NY 12901. | 800-552-8342 800-248-8342 (Canada) | fly-tying stuff, source for small silk thread for rigging; catalog. |
| H-R Products (John Seaton) P.O. Box 67 McHenry, IL 60051 | WWW | Manufacturer of white metal castings of naval fittings; 1:1200 to 1:12 scales |
|
Injectorall Electronics Corp. 110 Keyland Court Bohemia, NY 11716 | WWW 800-878-7227 631-563-3388 631-563-3389 FAX | Photo-etch Supplies |
| K&S Engineering 6917 W. 59th Street Chicago, IL 60638 | 312-586-8556 | Sheet & formed metal shapes, drills, taps, dies -- Catalog $1.00 |
|
Lauriks & Associates 3790 El Camino Real, #103 Palo Alto, California 94306-3314 USA | 1-650-949-1096 1-650-948-5512 (FAX) WWW | Linen thread for lacemakers -- and rigging. Their thread can also be
ordered on line. Reasonable cost and shipping is fast.
Thread is specified with the notation of DD/n - like 40/2 - where DD is the diameter and n is the number of strands that make up the thread. The diameter is specified much the same way that wire diameter is specified. That is, the larger the number, the smaller the diameter. A specification of 120 is about .005 inch or so and 40 is about .01 inches as close as I can measure. I have found no chart that relates the specification to the actual, measured diameter. Anyway, they make excellent thread although it is a bit hairy, but not as much as cotton which is down right bushy. The sizes I have found most useful are 120/2 and 80/2. They have left- and right-handed thread. I am not sure you can use it straight off the spool; the texture is a long, slow twist and not the tight, rope-like twist. I use it as the strands to make up my own rope. There is absolutely no sheen to it at all and its little imperfections (bumps and slight diameter changes) add to its character. The rope looks amazingly real. I think the natural and ecru are the best colors to use. They also have bleached (white) and of course you can dye it to whatever shade you need. |
| Lace Place De Belgique 800 S.W. 17th St. Boca Raton, Fla. 33486 | 407-368-0808 | Linen thread for lacemakers -- and rigging. |
| Lehman's Hardware and Appliance Inc. PO Box 41 Kidron, OH 44636 | 888-438-5346 WWW | Mica. |
|
The Lumber Yard for model shipwrights (Dave Stevens) 6908 Stadium Dr. Brecksville, OH 44141 | 440-526-2173 WWW | Pre- and custom-cut hardwoods - pre-cut framing timbers for HAHN models; Details - SASE; Catalog $4.00 |
| Masterpieces in Miniature P.O. Box 387 Medford, MA 02155 USA | Photo-etched brass ship parts and fittings in 1:96 and 1:192 scale | |
| Metal Buyers Mart N15 W22218 Watertown Rd. Unit #3 Waukesha, WI 53186 | 708-628-8620 1-708-628-8747 FAX | This source has an excellent variety of brass rod in numerous shapes and cross sections as well as nickel silver along with many others. They also carry phosphor bronze sheet which makes into great scrapers for shaving wood. The catalog is $3.00 and contains a glossary and table concerning the various metals and what they can be used for. Pricing is reasonable and is configured for small purchases. |
| Midwest Products Co., Inc. 400 S. Indiana St. Hobart, IN 46342 | WWW | Wood; Model boat kits |
| M.L. Condon Company Inc. 250 Ferris Avenue White Plains, New York 10603 | 914-946-4111
914-946-3779 FAX | They had some very small billets of European box (1 ½” x 1 ½” x 12”) the last time I was there which was about a year ago. The quality of the wood was inconsistent, meaning it would be ok for small stuff like bitts and deck gear or fine carving work but not framing timber or planking. I can not remember the price. {Thomas Wyker} |
| Modellers Shipyard P.O. Box 406 Nowra, NSW 2541 Australia | Write and ask for a price list. They have a selection of different woods. | |
| M. V. Products P.O. Box 6622 Orange, CA 92613-6622 USA | silvered backing in a great many sizes: just the thing for searchlights and navigation lights | |
| Nancy's Notions, Ltd. P.O. Box 683 Beaver Dam, WI 53916-0683 | 800-833-0690 | |
| Newarkv
6473 Ruch Road P.O. Box 27030 Lehigh Valley, PA 18002-0730 | 800-736-6783 | source for silk thread |
| New England Reprographics 80 Mid-Tech Drive West Yarmouth, MA 02673 | 1-800-244-8887 (MA only) 508-790-1114 508-790-3432 FAX | "Imperial Blue" DRAFTING LINEN! current
prices: 24 x 36 inch sheet = 13.63/sheet; 36 x 20 YARD roll(yes yard)= 350.00; and 42 x 20 yard roll = 375.00. Accepts mail-order. |
| Northeast Hobby Products (Jim Gilliett) Stedman Industrial Park, Units 3 & 4 225 Stedman Street Lowell, MA 01851 | 508-459-7900 508-459-6200 FAX | Cyanoacrylate glues |
| Northeastern Scale Models, Inc. P. O. Box 727SE Metheun, Mass. 01844 | 508-688-6019 | Laid-up decking, shaped lumber - 1/4 & 1/2 round, double-bead, stripwood; Catalog - $1.00 |
| Octopus - Wood for Musical Instruments (Muzaffer Yeltekin) Bursa Karayolu 10. Km TR - 16414 Inegol - TURKEY | +90 224 731 32 76 +90 224 731 32 78 FAX WWW | Wood, primarily for musical instruments, such as boxwood (both European and Turkish), etc. Appears to be a good stock, but expect long shipping times. |
| On the Fly 3628 Sage Drive Rockford, IL 61114 | 815-877-0090 | Fly tying materials...including silk thread - 3/0 is 0.003" diameter and so on up to 12/0. |
| Paper Arts Studio (Shari) | Small sheets of mica in 0.5 ounce bags for $5.50. The size of the sheets can range in size, but if you are looking for a specific size, they can sort through the bags to find what you need. | |
| Pelican Wire Co., Inc. 6266 Taylor Road Naples, FL 33942 | 813-597-8555 | Nichrome wire for laying up wire rope |
| Phoenix Model Company P.O. Box 1539 Brooksville, FL 34609 | 352-754-8522 352-754-1882 FAX WWW | all types of models, some non-main-line manufacturers, modeling tools & paint, 15-25% sales, FREE catalog, online pictures. |
| Plastruct 1020 S. Wallace Place City of Industry, CA 91748 | 800-666-7015 | Sheet and shaped plastic |
| Photofabrication Engineering Inc. 500 Fortune Drive Milford, MA | They do a nice job and generally supply in 18" x 24" sheets. As a general rule, if you send them the artwork, it will cost about $250 for the first sheet (set up fees, art fees, etc.); after that, sheets are about $30. -- {Al Ross} | |
| Plano Model Products 2701 W. 15th St., Suite 113 Plano, TX 75075 USA | Photo-etched stainless steel walkway in several patterns, in model railroad "N" scale, suitable for large naval or merchant ship models (1:192 and larger), and other etched brass products. | |
| Precision Scale Model Engineering 33 Harding Street Milford, MA 01757 | 508-478-3148 | Tools, gears |
|
ProSona International
South African Office: | WWW
27(0)11. 465. 71. 02 Tel & Fax | This company was founded in 1994 with the purpose of
adding value to the export of indigenous timber specie from
Southern Africa and Madagascar. They presently employ a team
of qualified and trained specialists in forestry, wood processing,
and ecosystem protection. Offering:
|
| European Office: C.P. 4 - 1025 St-Sulpice Switzerland | 41.21.691.48.43 Tel & Fax | |
| ProSciTech PO Box 111, Thuringowa Qld. 4817, Australia | WWW | Mica: Various sizes and shapes. |
|
Pulsar (Frank Miller) 1447 Sandalwood Place Clearwater, Fl 33750-1713 | 727-524-1225 WWW | They supplied the special materials required for photo-etching and provided excellent instructions. {Kelley Hannan} |
| Roll Models, Inc. PO Box 27066 Golden Valley, MN 55427-0066 | 763-545-0399 763-545-0899 FAX WWW | Plastic Models and all Related Items! Bought and continues making tools from Waldron Tools. |
| Roman Barzana 8102 N. Sheldon Rd. #1308 Tampa FL 33615 | 813-882-4925 (6:30-10 p.m. EST) | Fine woods for the serious artist |
| Robin's Bobbins Rt. 1 Box 1736 Mineral Bluff, Ga 30559 | 404-374-6916 | Linen thread for lacemakers -- and rigging. |
| The Scale Shipyard (Lee Upshaw) 5866 Orange Ave. # 3 Long Beach, CA 90805 | 310-428-5027 | Makes fiberglass hulls for both the Gato & Balao class subs of WW II in 1/8"=1', 1/4"=1' and 1:72 scales. These are hulls with the fiberglass conning tower, cast resin dive planes and cast metal guns and fittings, a lot of scratch building is required to build these and they are for the more advanced modeler but plenty of novices have built these, they have good accuracy and the 2 larger boats are suitable for R/C. It should be noted that these are not kits. Their submarine-only catalog is available for $3.00. The full catalog of the surface ships in these same scales is available for $6.00. |
| Sig Manufacturing PO Box 520 Montezuma, IA 5171-0520 | 515-623-5154 515-623-3922 FAX | Cyanoacrylate glue |
| Small Parts Inc. 13980 N.W. 58th Court P.O. Box 4650 Miami Lakes, FL 33014-0650 | 800-423-9009 303-558-1255 (catalog) 303-557-7955 (service) | Gears, shapes, parts, screen, hypodermic tubing, drills, etc. |
| SnJ Model Products P.O. Box 292713 Sacramento, CA 95829 USA | Bronze paint and polishing powder for ships' propellers: airbrushable only | |
| Snyder and Short Enterprises 9175 Keifer Blbd, #223 Sacramento, CA 95826 | several sets of World War II ship color paint-chips; US: 2, Japan: 1 | |
| Special Shapes Co. (Wally Findysz) 1356 Naperville Drive Romeoville, IL 60441 | 630-759-1970 630-759-1978 FAX 1-800-51-SHAPE (Orders only) WWW | Small etched brass and structural shapes -- catalog $1.00 |
| SPI Supplies | WWW | - sells mica at their website. They sell research quality mica at US$8.00 for 10 1.5mm thick 50mm x 75mm sheets (or 2"x3") |
| Ron Stetkewicz, miniaturist HCR-1 Box 61B Cairo, NY 12413 | 518-622-8311 | Photo etching from your camera ready copy |
| Stock Drive Products 2101 Jerico Turnpike Box 5416 New Hyde Park, NY 11042 | 516-328-3300 | Belt drives for R/C |
| Testor Corporation (Nancy Rainwater) 620 BuckBee Street Rockford, IL 61104 | 815-962-6654 815-962-7401 FAX WWW | Model paints, airbrushes |
|
The Twining Thread 255 NW Coast St., P.O. Box 485 Newport, OR 97365 |
541-265-2166 541-265-2164 FAX WWW | Thread (for rigging); supplier of Linen thread. (Charles Sim says that the "30/3" measures .015-.018", (the "50/3" measures .011-.014" (the beige is the smaller), the "80/3" measures .011", and the "100/3" measures .009".) |
| Utica Thread Co. Inc. 458 Danbury Road New Milford, CN 06776 | 860-355-8558 860-355-5301 FAX 888-UTICACO (8842226) WWW | Thread (for rigging); supplier of waxed, silk thread. |
| Van Dyke's Restorers 4th Ave & 6th St. PO Box 278 Woonsocket, SD 57385 | 605-796-4425 1-800-843-3320 (orders only) | primarily house/furniture restoration supplies, but some odd item hard to find elsewhere -- such as MICA...useful for model ports, windows, etc. |
| Von Huene Workshop, Inc. 65 Boylston Street Brookline, MA 02146 | 617-232-6288 | Boxwood! $3.00/pound, $45 minimum, + postage. This is a maker of musical instruments, such as recorders; this wood is of excellent quality, but consists of pieces he can't use - off cuts, slabs, pieces with knots and splits; still a great source - our club bought 40+ lbs and resold individual pieces to members at $.20/oz. |
| Waldron Model Products | Bought by Roll Models, Inc. | Punch and die set, useful for punching out disks in six sizes for hatches, trunnion caps, tampions, and a myriad of other fittings from styrene and thin gauge brass, aluminum, and copper |
| Warner Woods West (Lloyd Warner) P.O. Box 100 440 West Old Highway 91 Irvins, UT. 84738 | 435-652-4400 (eve. & wkends) | Domestic & Imported woods, pre- & custom cuts - single, double triple blocks. Also has taken over the line of linen thread formerly provided by Unicorn Books and Crafts. Details - SASE |
| Woodcraft 210 Wood County Industrial Park PO Box 1686 Parkersburg, West VA 26102-1686 | 1-800-225-1153 (credit card orders) | Their basic catalog contains lots of nice tools. They now have BOXWOOD (South American) at ~$21 board ft, and Pearwood at ~$18 board ft - both in limited size blocks, apparently intended for turning. |
| Woodland Senics PO Box 98 Linn Creek, MO 65052 | dry transfer lettering | |
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