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Scored a Imai 1/120 Cutty Sark! CHEAP

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  • Member since
    February 2003
  • From: Lacombe, LA.
Scored a Imai 1/120 Cutty Sark! CHEAP
Posted by Big Jake on Friday, August 14, 2009 9:17 PM

Finally won something good this week off ebay

Ebay Number  170370561685

1/120 scale Imai Cutty Sark for only $20.50. It's a wonder I got it so cheap, usually they go a lot higher.

Johh Tilley Has said good things about this model.

 

 

 

  • Member since
    July 2009
  • From: Jacksonville, Florida
Posted by Vagabond_Astronomer on Friday, August 14, 2009 10:29 PM
You will be pleased with it!
"I have loved the stars too dearly to be fearful of the night..."
  • Member since
    May 2003
  • From: Greenville, NC
Posted by jtilley on Friday, August 14, 2009 10:41 PM
Great buy on a fine kit!  In many (though by no means all) it's better detailed than the big old Revell one.  Just be sure to take a few minutes and fix those cargo winches and the booby hatch.

Youth, talent, hard work, and enthusiasm are no match for old age and treachery.

  • Member since
    February 2003
  • From: Lacombe, LA.
Posted by Big Jake on Saturday, August 15, 2009 7:57 AM

Sometime today when I have the time I'll do a search on the BB to find whats been written on the topic of the Imai version. I had the Kit in my collection when Katrina hit "I think".  I don't remember seeing it when we salvaged the other models out of all the muck.

I remember it has a one piece deck and the detail is a "little" better on some things. I'll take some pics and post what I find.

John, any ideas on the cargo winches and hatch? 

 

 

 

  • Member since
    May 2003
  • From: Greenville, NC
Posted by jtilley on Saturday, August 15, 2009 10:48 AM

We've discussed this kit - and compared it with the big Revell one - several times in the Forum.  (When I did a search on the phrase "Imai Cutty Sark" a minute ago, I was surprised to get more than 200 hits.)  The problems with the winches and the booby hatch are covered in this relatively short thread from 2006:    /forums/650801/ShowPost.aspx .

Both those problems are easy enough to fix.  Slice one end off each cargo winch and swap the parts, so you get one winch with one cable lifter and one winch with none.  (A glance at the Campbell plans will show what I'm talking about.)  And a few minutes' work with some styrene sheet will fix the booby hatch.

The Imai kit does have a number of points in its favor over the Revell one.  The maindeck is, indeed, molded in one piece; the major problem of concealing the joints between fore, midships, and aft sections (one of the bigger challenges of the Revell kit) isn't there.  The planking seams, on both the deck and the hull, are, if I remember right, countersunk rather than raised lines.  (The countersinking is, perhaps, a little overdone, and the butt joints in the deck aren't right, but a good paint job could make those deck parts look mighty impressive.)  The paneling on the sides of the deckhouses is much better represented in the Imai kit.  (Imai shows the panels in pretty accurate relief; Revell just makes raised lines around them.)  And Imai, if I remember right, represents at least some of the carving on the bow and stern in three dimensions.  (Revell represents all the carvings with decals - albeit excellent ones.  I think the old Airfix kit is the only one that shows all the carvings in three dimensions - including the ones that wrap around the stern.)  And I think the overall shape of Imai's hull is a bit more accurate (though I'd have to compare the kits with the drawings to be sure). 

The big old Revell kit does score on several important points, though.  The Imai kit's upper spars - largely because of the smaller scale - are a little heavy; Revell's are closer to the mark.  Revell did a better job with the trailboards, making separate pieces for them.  (Imai's trailboards are molded integrally with the hull halves.  The Revell kit has those wonderful crew figures.  And, above all else, the Revell one is just plain bigger - which, in addition to making the finished product more impressive, makes the job of rigging simpler. 

The bottom line:  both of them are nice kits, perfectly capable of being turned into serious scale models.  If, heaven forbid, I were thinking of building a model of the Cutty Sark from a kit, I'd probably pick the Imai/Aoshima version.  But that's a personal decision.  (I would certainly choose any of the plastic Cutty Sarks - including the Airfix and Minicraft ones) over any of the awful HECEPOB ones.)

Youth, talent, hard work, and enthusiasm are no match for old age and treachery.

  • Member since
    February 2003
  • From: Lacombe, LA.
Posted by Big Jake on Saturday, August 15, 2009 12:07 PM

Hi John,

Thanks for the link, I'd not had a chance to search for it yet.

 

(Been busy painting, we had the front of the house stucco'ed and I'm painting facia today, before the soffet and facia get covered with siding.  Made one hell of a differance in appearance, and low maintaince to boot).

 

Jake

 

 

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