Revell Constitution - differences

There is a description of converting the 1/96 scale USS Constitution to the USS President in the Kalmbach book How to Build Plastic Ship Models by Les Wilkins.

Bill Morrison

Joe:

The Constitution, United States, and President were built to the same plan, but they all had some cosmetic differences. 

The only 1/96 scale kits of which I am aware are the Revell Constitution and Revell's United States. The United States was a reboxing of some sort of the original Constitution kit (I think) with some changes to try and get it to represent the United States. That kit is no longer in production, but you can find it in some places where they sell old kits.

I have never heard of a 1/96 scale President or Constellation.

Russ 

What are the differences between the 96th Constitution, United States, and was it the President?

Wasn't there a 1/96 Constellation also?

Thanks 

Having just recently finished a pre-65 vintage Consitution, I highly recommend that anyone tackling this kit do NOT buy the current version.  The vintage kits are works of art.  I have 2 constitutions and a United States in 1:96, all vintage.  Molds are crisp and clean with little to no warping and the included rigging string is awesome.  And there is a lot of it.  Plenty of rigging line to complete the ship and have a lot left over.

The current model, on the other hand, uses cheap rigging line that is difficult to work with, and the mold is now old, leading to a model with a lot of flash and warped parts.  Skip it if you can.

Spending the extra money on EBay is more than worth it in the end of things...

Grymm

Thanks to all for your feedback!  I just wanted to be sure on this since I didn't know if the two Revells shared molds or developed them independently. I will be getting the Monogram kit.

Thanks again, Rick

I agree. They are precisely the same kit.  I would opt for the Monogram kit because of the reasons cited.

Bill Morrison

Russ is correct:  both kits come from the same mold.

I haven't seen either of them outside the box in many years.  Other modelers report, however, that Revell Europe (which, apparently, is what the former Revell Germany officially calls itself now) has had some serious quality control problems with its big-scale sailing ship kits in recent years.  There are disheartening reports of soft, overly-flexible plastic, warping, and incompletely- or defectively-molded parts.  There are also reports that the recently-sold examples of the "American" version are in fact molded in China or Korea.  That may imply a considerably higher standard in terms of plastic quality and overall quality control - or maybe not.

None of the above, I'm afraid, helps Rick much.  If (gawd forbid) I were in the market for one of those kits at the moment, I'm not sure which one I'd pick.  If possible, I'd take a careful look at it before spending money on it.  Otherwise, I'd be strongly inclined to buy the one that cost least.  I don't think there's any direct relationship between the quality of the kit and the price in this case.  If I had the chance to get an old one, molded back in the sixties or seventies, for a reasonable price I'd be tempted to go that route.

Rick:

I doubt there are any differences in the kits. One is made in Europe so it is more expensive because of the weak dollar. I am pretty sure that is why the difference in price. The kits are the same design though.

Russ