Revell Germany USS Kearsarge

I haven't seen this German version, but my guess is that it's a reboxing of the American Kearsarge kit. It and the Alabama were in fact on the market simultaneously. (I remember getting them for Christmas and birthday presents when I was in elementary school.) They did share quite a few parts, but I'm pretty sure the hulls were made from different molds.

The bible on this subject, Thomas Graham's Remembering Revell Model Kits (which I highly recommend as both a fascinating history and a fun exercise in nostalgia for olde-timers) says both kits were originally released in 1961. Graham describes the Kearsarge as "today's most sought-after Revell sailing ship," with an estimated going price of $130-$150. It has some relatively minor accuracy problems, and, as I understand it, represents the ship as she looked well after the Civil War, but is generally a really nice kit. A beautiful - and these days rather unusual - model could be built from it.

Here's a link to a comparative review of the Kearsarge and Alabama kits from SteelNavy.com:
http://www.steelnavy.com/Alabama&Kearsarge.htm

The articel seems to say that the Alabame kit was developed form the Kearsarge- that the hulls of the two kits mate perfectly.

I guess the key question is: Do the orignal Kearsarge molds still exist?

I don't know for sure, but my guess is that they do. The two kits were in circulation side-by-side for quite a while back in the sixties. My recollection of them is not fresh by any means, but I think the usual statement that the Alabama hull was a modification of the Kearsarge one is a little over-stated. The hulls were quite a bit different; I think they were designed in such similar fashions in order to accommodate other parts of the kits that were, in fact, identical.

It's a curious story. I'm glad the Kearsarge is coming back into circulation; it was a nice kit. I should emphasize again that my memory of both kits is unreliable. These days my 54-year-old brain often thinks it clearly remembers stuff that in fact exists only in my imagination.

I have both models in my collection. There is a definite difference in the hulls.Now in my humble opinion Revells Alabama hull is more like the real Kearsarge than Revells Orginal Kearsarge kit.So if you want to make a more accurate Kearsarge use the Alabama Hull.Now I was told by once by a Revell employee that the orginal Kearsarge molds are not around.So I'll be interested to see what is in the box.
Rod

When researching for my Alabama build, I had a hunch that the hull lines reflect the Kearsarge. It will be interesting to see what hull is in the new kit.

Any information on price and availability. I heard figures around $100 to $150.
Scott

oh and I thought you were talking about the Essex Class carrier USS Kearsarge.