wrong scale?

[antonivs_01]

When I opened the css alabama revell`s box I had two different sets of figures, each set had a plastic bag with 40 figures in it.

The problem comes with each set appearing to be on a different scale:

One set has a figure height of 17mm-18mm, which at a 1:100 scale is 170cm-180cm is very close to 1:97 which would have heights of 163cm-172cm

The other set has a height of 23.3mm-23.4mm, it is impossible for it to be 1:96 scale, especially when I compared it to the HO scale, which is 1:87, and the figure is bigger!

I think the scale is 1:76-1:72, and on the other hand, the figures are identical to those of the Spanish galleon or the English Man O' War

Which leads me to think that the Spanish galleon and the English Man O` War are not really at 1:96 scale, probably the closest scale is 1:72 or 1:76

The length of the Spanish- English Man O` War Revell´s galleon that I have is 74.3cm at a 1:96 scale, giving an LOA including bowsprits of 71.72 meters!, it is supposed to be 1580, which makes it larger than the San Martín a (Spanish flagship of Armada or Armada`s Spanish flagship?) with an LOA including bowsprits of 58.3 meters.

On the other hand, adjusting the scale to 1:76 gives 56.77 meters, which is more consistent with a Spanish galleon of that time.




Image of a Spanish galleon from the late 16th century, LOA including bowsprit of 55-56meters


Cuando abrí la caja de revell del css alabama tenia dos set de figuras diferentes, cada set tenía una bolsa de plastico con 40 figuras en él.

El problema viene con que cada set parece estar a una escala diferente:

un set tiene una altura de figuras de 17mm-18mm, lo que a escala 1:100 es 170cm-180cm queda muy cerca de 1:97 que tendría alturas de 163cm-172cm

El otro set tiene una altura de 23.3mm-23.4mm, es imposible que sea escala 1:96, sobre todo cuando lo comparé con la escala HO, que es 1:87, ¡y la figura es mas grande!

Creo que la escala es 1:76-1:72, y por otro lado, las figuras son idénticas a las del Spanish galleon o el English Man O` War

lo que me lleva a pensar que el Spanish galleon y el English Man O` War no están realmente a escala 1:96, probablemente la escala mas cercana sea 1:72 o 1:76

La eslora del galeón español de revell que tengo es de 74,3cm a escala 1:96 arroja una LOA incluyendo baupres de 71.72 metros, se supone que es de 1580, lo que hace que sea mas grande que el San Martín, el barco insignia de la Gran Armada con una LOA incluyendo baupres de 58 metros

Por otro lado, ajustando la escala a 1:76 arroja 56,77metros, lo que es mas coherente con un galeón español de esa época.



Imagen de un galeón español de finales del siglo XVI, LOA incluyendo baupres, de 55-56 metros aprox.

 

[AndyA]

I wouldn't place too much faith in the accuracy of Revell's figures. The cost of tooling for injection molding would make it tempting to use figures from another model that are close enough to the needed scale. In the case of the CSS Alabama you should be able to find dimensions of the actual vessel and use those to determine the scale of the model. When you use the sizes of figures in calculating scale, remember that humans vary quite a bit in size. The difference between a person who is 5 feet (150cm) tall and a person who is 6 feet (180cm) tall is 20%. Fair winds!

 

[antonivs_01]

Hello AndyA

Thank you very much for your response, I do not use the figures to determine the scale, but they did have me measure the boat, to see if it adjusted to the real measurements

In the case of the Beagle, Alabama and Cutty sark, they are very similar, but in the case of the Man O' war there is more than 8-10 meters of difference with the real model at the scale that it is supposed to be.


The scale of the Alabama is quite close to the dimensions of the real ship, the scale model has an LOA, not counting the bowsprit, of 67.8cm, which gives a LOA at 1:96 of approximately 65 meters, which is quite close. to the real model

The Beagle, which is an adaptation of the Bounty, has a difference of +-1.5 meters of LOA with respect to the original at 1:96 scale, which makes it very close to the real ship in that aspect.

However, the Sanish Man O'war has a LOA of approximately 60 meters, at that scale, which gives, with the bowsprit about 74 meters, the lengths of the Spanish armada galleons at that time, 1580, in which the San Martín was the flagship, it did not exceed 58-60 meters with bowsprits included, however at a 1:76 scale the length matches, that is what made me think that the ship is not really at a 1:96 scale.

 

[Kurt Konrath]

The models box should tell you what the scale of the ship is normally.

 

[AndyA]

The models box should tell you what the scale of the ship is normally.

Yes it should, but sometimes expediency may overtake accuracy. As Ronald Reagan said "Trust, but verify." Fair winds!

 

[antonivs_01]

Good afternoon


Hello Kurt and Andy, you are both right with the scale, in fact on the box it says 1:96, and until now I had believed it was 1:96, when I opened the Alabama box and saw the two sets of different figures, I started to suspect and when I started measuring the galleon, well it gave inconsistent measurements, so that's why I thought
that the galleon was on a different scale.

at a 1:72 or 1:76 scale for example, everything is perfect and consistent with the galleons of the represented time.

 

[AllanKP69]

"Trust, but verify."

I love that old saying and as you wrote President Reagan did use this phrase on several occasions. The rest of the story is that he was told about this old Russian proverb by Suzanne Massie, a scholar of Russian history. doveryai, no proveryai (доверяй, но проверяй)
Allan

 

[Jimsky]

I love that old saying and as you wrote President Reagan did use this phrase on several occasions. The rest of the story is that he was told about this old Russian proverb by Suzanne Massie, a scholar of Russian history. doveryai, no proveryai (доверяй, но проверяй)
Allan

yep, spelled correctly, confirmed!

 

[Kurt Konrath]

yep, spelled correctly, confirmed!

Thank you Jimsky, we can get you a job on X as fact checker for Russian comments.

 

[Donnie]

It is a fact that building models (and especially plastic) has matured among adults. And us adults "see" the model through different eyes. As a young kid, (I will say most) often just built the model "as is" and did not labor much on painting, detailing, (and certainly didn't know much at all about scale). So if we look back lets say when Revell started, who was the audience? was it mostly for kids, and how many adults were involved back then? I would say hardly any. So, if Revell was molding models for a lesser age of modelers, then the focus was on that. Now that us adults (from that era like me), we take the Revell kits a lot more serious - so we have a different perspective - however, Revell has not changed - we have. Back then a young one would not even know about the details, but we do.
For instance, one of my first ship models that got me started back modeling ships was the Lindberg "Captain Kidd" - - - which in fact at the time, I did not know that the model resembles the Wappen Von Hamburg - but the kit is named as "Captain Kidd" for the kids sake. So, now, 15 years later in building ships, I look back on that "Captain Kidd" which I still have on the shelf and think grinning to myself "Boy, are most all those parts wrong - funny, even the plastic one piece shrouds." Back then I did not know any difference. However, as an adult, and having more nautical knowledge we will modify (bash) the kit and put on more lifelike elements to it. I am not sure if I am making my case or not. But, the same goes for the figurines and such. From Revell's and a childs perspective, nothing will be recognized as being "wrong", but as an adult, we now have a learned mindset that says "no, something is not qsuite right here" But Revell is not worried as they know the audience. In other words, Revell's audience has grown up and not the models !!!

 

[Dave Stevens (Lumberyard)]

Revell's young audience is actually still there. so carry on

 

[Jimsky]

Thank you Jimsky, we can get you a job on X as fact checker for Russian comments.

thank you for the offer, Kurt. How much you will pay?

 

[antonivs_01]

Good night

I see that the post has had many responses.

Kurts, Jimsky and Allan, in my country there is a saying that says: "No te irás a la cama sin saber algo nuevo", "you will not go to bed without knowing anything new", with your permission I will stick with the Reagan´s President quote, it is very appropriate for the case.

Donnie, I completely agree with what you say, when we are kids, everything seems perfect to us, I suppose Revell takes advantage of this and makes kits, which share common parts, which would not be the same in reality (for example the Alabama/Kearsarge cannons, the shape of the ship's hull or masts.

I think that when we become adults, the kits lose a certain charm and we see many imperfections, perhaps it would be good to return to that time when everything seemed perfect to us