Greetings All,
After many years of building armor and aircraft, I have decided to return to my roots and get back into ship building. In my earlier years I have the Revell Eagle (twice), Bounty (twice), Constitution (the 1/96th one), Lindberg Harriet Lane, Sandpiper, Aurora Bluenose, Viking Ship (complete with horned figures!), Heller Viking Ships, and several WWII-era USN/USCG ships to my credit. I have been following the forum for about a year getting a lot of good information and ideas. I have 3 specific questions about 3 projects I am thinking of doing.
1. I would first like to build the Golden Hind as Drake sailed her. I am looking at the Revell/Heller 1/96 or the Airfix 1/72. Both seem like fairly accurate replicas that are fairly easy to build. My question results from a comment by a gentleman on another forum. He stated that the Airfix 1/72 had an anachronistic feature of Drake's coat of arms on the stern which was not there during the circumnavigation. I have Googled both models and have seen both built. It looks to me like the Revell kit has the Drake crest and the Airfix kit has the Golden Hind crest. Am I missing something or has the gentleman got his manufacturers mixed up? I understand that the ship was originally named Pelican and was renamed Golden Hind half way through the voyage, so the Golden Hind crest may not be completely accurate either, but that is the kit I would rather build.
2. I am seriously interested in doing a Monitor/Virginia diorama. From what I have read, the Pyro/Life Like/Lindberg kit is a non-starter, if only because the boats are in different scales, making a diorama unrealistic. That leaves Verlinden 1/200 waterline or Flagship 1/192 full hull. Flagship seems a little pricey. Are they worth it, or are the Verlinden kits satisfactory for a diorama setting (ie – no full hull needed)?
3. The Lindberg Blackbeard Pirate Ship (nee Royal Sovereign/Sovereign/Sovereign of the Seas) has caught my attention. But the scale is variously given as 1/250 (which would make the model 6" long) and 1/130 (which would make the model 12" long). I read the description of the kit on an on-line site and it is said to be 15" long. I assume 1/130 is correct and 1/250 is an error along the lines of the Heller "1/200 Golden Hind" which is a rebox of the Revell 1/96 kit?
On a different note, there are lots of British/French/German/Pirate/Norse ships out there. Are there ANY good plastic models of American Age of Sail warships other than the Connie, Kearsarge/Alabama, Taney, and Susquehanna? I have seen a USS Hancock mentioned but can find NO clues to her existence anywhere. I am not considering the Revell Bonnie *** a GOOD model.
Thanks for any guidance you can offer and keep up the excellent work.
And oh by the way…
If anyone is interested in modeling US Coast Guard subjects, please check out my website at coastguardmodeling.com.
And if you note any omissions or errors, PLEASE let me know so I can correct them