C.S.S. Alabama

JPL_ ,First let me you to the Forums. Revell has produced the Alabama, I think it's out of production at this time, but from what I've seen in these forums it can still be found. I built one myself back in '90-'91, unfortunatly it met a terrible fate in a move. Good Luck and again .

thanks for the welcome and response bob!

Hi -

So far as I know there have been two commercial kits representing the Alabama. Revell made a plastic kit back in the early sixties. One of the biggest kits of the time, it was outwardly impressive (I practically swooned over the one I got for my twelfth birthday), with a length of about three feet and the then astronomical price of $12.00. In terms of accuracy it was pretty awful. It was, in fact, a modification of the U.S.S. Kearsarge kit Revell had released a year or so earlier. It's been reissued several times, but so far as I know is currently out of production.

The only other kit I know of is a plank-on-frame wood one from one of the European manufacturers; I don't remember the company's name, but the kit is available from ModelExpo (<modelexpoonline.com>). I haven't laid eyes on this kit, but serious scale ship modelers have big reservations about those manufacturers. Their products tend to look nice from a distance, but generally are of highly dubious historical accuracy and made of questionable materials.

I wish I could be more helpful, but those are the only two Alabama kits I've heard of.

The Revell Alabama appears on ebay from time to time. I have not seen it go for under $100.00. Rumor has it the Revell Germany may re-release it, but again, may be around $100.00.
It is an easy building kit. I'm re-rigging mine after it was dismasted by a 14 lb feline and then crunched during a x-country move.
Model Shipways also used to make a solid hull kit. Again, check ebay and do a search for "CSS Alabama".
Scott