Need Mercy! The USS Mercy that is!

To my knowledge the only hospital ship kit produced is the old Revell U.S.S. Haven, which came out in the late 1950s. (I built one when I was in grade school; I guess that dates me.) It was re-released as the S.S. Hope in the early '60s, and again as the Haven, in a reproduction of the original box, in the Revell/Monogram "Special Products" series just a few years ago.

I'd have to do a little digging, but I don't think this class was identical to the Mercy. The Haven was in fact an Army hospital ship; I believe she was built during World War II. The Revell kit represents her as she appeared when the kit was released - with a helicopter deck on the stern.

Sorry I can't be of more help.

I apologize for taking so long to reply. I had lost this thread and finally took time ot search it out and find it.

I have the Haven and the Hope, although I got the Hope secondhand so she's a mess! I may try to redo one of them into the Mercy, as the superstucture seems pretty similar. I'll be doing alot of research to see how I can at least make it close.

Thanks for yor reply jtilley. You've given me some good informationand I apreciate your posting it here. I't might be awhile before I try this, but once I do I'll keep you posted on my Progress.

In trolling through my increasingly wretched memory I've recalled a couple more hospital ship kits - though neither is directly relevant to your project. Revell marketed a U.S.S. Repose for a while; it was just the Haven kit in a different box. And Hasegawa has the WWII Japanese hospital ship Hikawa Maru in 1/700 scale. It's a nice kit - a converted NYK Line ocean liner. (Hasegawa sells another kit depicting the same ship in civilian garb.)

Hospital ships aren't frequent model subjects, but they're nice ones. The white paint, red crosses, and red or green stripes really jump out on a shelf full of grey warships. And few vessel types have made a more significant humanitarian contribution to the history of warfare.

What a lovely thought
Kath