Plastic sailing ship model kits

I remember building several of these models when I was kid. Revell always made the most detailed and accurate kits. Heller wasn’t available in the US as I recall. At least I never bought a Heller kit. many of these kits are the same ship with different names or from different manufacturers using the same molds from the 50’s and 60’s.
 
As are many Revell sailing ships . . . The most consistently accurate ships came from Airfix in that they never played that game of bait and switch, using an accurate model of one ship and selling it as another. Perhaps the most egregious was slightly modifying the Revell HMAV Bounty and marketing it as the HMS Beagle. Or, using the excellent Revell Cutty Sark to market the Thermopylae, of the Revell USCG Eagle as the SMS Seeadler. I could keep naming others. I have been writing all of the major manufacturers of the need for new plastic sailing ship kits with no success for over 10 years. We really need a concerted effort from all of us to do so.

Bill
 
I am currently building Revells "Bounty". The model is from 1985 and sadly not quite up to the standard of their latest tanks etc. But it is still ok. Hellers models takes me back to childhood. They had this series with small scale ships like Santa Maria and Cutty sark etc. Me and my brother loved to build those. Low prize and easy to build was a good start to a lifelong interest. Today the manufacturers don´t seem to be so interested in making new models.
 
I get a lot of satisfaction with taking the few plastic kits available and making the corrections and modifications necessary to make them serious models. For example, I am currently working on the old Revell 1/96 CSS Alabama in which I have relocated gun ports, made surgical alterations to the hull to make it more accurate, and am scratch building the deck furniture because the kit parts are so inaccurate. I have replaced the guns as well, and have taken the necessary steps to provide an eight degree rake to the masts. When I am done, I will have a much more accurate CSS Alabama than the kit provides. It will be more than simply being a clone of their USS Kearsarge.

The Bounty can be an excellent kit! But, its clone, Revell's HMS Beagle is a fraud. It does not represent that ship in the slightest.

Anyway, that is my soapbox, for what it's worth.

Bill
 
I get a lot of satisfaction with taking the few plastic kits available and making the corrections and modifications necessary to make them serious models. For example, I am currently working on the old Revell 1/96 CSS Alabama in which I have relocated gun ports, made surgical alterations to the hull to make it more accurate, and am scratch building the deck furniture because the kit parts are so inaccurate. I have replaced the guns as well, and have taken the necessary steps to provide an eight degree rake to the masts. When I am done, I will have a much more accurate CSS Alabama than the kit provides. It will be more than simply being a clone of their USS Kearsarge.

The Bounty can be an excellent kit! But, its clone, Revell's HMS Beagle is a fraud. It does not represent that ship in the slightest.

Anyway, that is my soapbox, for what it's worth.

Bill
I hope you post pictures. Considering the Beagle one can remove the name and call it something else. Just not the Beagle. :D
 
I just came across this forum entry of Plastic Sailing Ship model kits.

I made a small study of the plastic Sailing Ship Kits available over the years. There are a lot of kits, over 400. But, as Bill Morrison said, many are re-issues with different names, or a few additional parts added to create a "different" model or re-use of the same basic hull with a change to the listed scale and call it a new ship model. I think the last new sailing ship kit Revell did was Batavia in 1996. Love to see a new Airfix kit at 1/144. I have noticed that Aoshima has re-issued several of the big IMAI kits including Pirate Ship and Susquehanna so maybe there is hope.

That list I made is now up to 20 pages, With an average of 23 plastic sailing ships listed per page.
Nino
 
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