US Coast Guard Barque Eagle

Here is another thread which discusses the various kit options.

/forums/483814/ShowPost.aspx

Thanks fellows for the info. I did find the the wood kit that Jim is talking about.

George

George,

  This link will bring you to the previous discussion:

/forums/182311/ShowPost.aspx

  As always, Mr. Tilley provided some great insight.  I also asked about the Eagle, as I have the Constructo kit (from Italy) in my stash as a retirement project.  The kit is advertised as:

  This is a 1/185 scale, 3-masted, static wood model of the USCGC Eagle - United States Coast Guard Training Ship from Constructo.  Designed for Intermediate to Advanced Modelers.

FEATURES:  This kit is of the highest quality, using top quality materials of wood and brass parts.  All parts are grouped and bagged individually.

INCLUDES:

  5-different types of wood

  Detailed brass and cast metal parts

  3-colors of strings for the sails

  Materials for sails

  Two detailed plan sheets

  One set of illustrated instructions with photographs of the most important stages in the construction.

SPECIFICATIONS:  Length:  22" (56 cm).  Height:  13½" (34 cm).  Width:  5¼" (13 cm).

  I bought it about 5 years ago, for $85 (sorry, I do not remember who I ordered it from).  Model Expo had Constructo kits advertised in its magazine some time ago, but there are none in my latest copy.  An internet search for "Constructo" may turn up a distributor, if the kits are still in production.

  Good luck.

Jim

We've discussed this ship several times here in the Forum; if you do a forum search on the word "Eagle" you'll find quite a few interesting posts.

Bottom line:  quite a few plastic kits representing the Eagle have been released over the years.  Most of them, unfortunately, have been based on inaccurate plans (due in most cases to an honest misunderstanding that dates back to the 1950s).  With one exception, all the plastic Eagle kits' hulls are too short by about 20 scale feet.  Whether that's important or not is up to the individual modeler.

The one exception - that is, the only plastic Eagle with an accurately-proportioned hull - appears to have been the 1/200 version produced by the Japanese manufacturer Imai.  That kit, unfortunately, was only on the market quite briefly, back in the late seventies or early eighties.  Imai has long since gone out of business. Some of its kits have been reissued by other companies (usually at sky-high prices), but that one appears be extremely rare.

Imai issued another, smaller Eagle on 1/350 scale in the mids-seventies.  That one, I believe, is still available under the Academy label.  (Or maybe it's the Minicraft label.  I get those two companies mixed up.)  If you can live with the fact that the hull is too short (the discrepancy doesn't amount to much on that small scale), it's not a bad little kit.  I've seen several nice-looking models based on it.

Unfortunately these aren't good times for the plastic sailing ship enthusiast.  It seems like the Eagle ought to be a popular modeling subject, but the manufacturers have almost turned their backs on this part of the hobby these days.

Good luck.