Revell Germany 1:96 USS Constitution:

I've never seen one opened, but it has to be the same molds as the US kit. I'm not sure what R-G could do to improve the kit- better packaging, better flags, maybe?
IMHO, the R-G version of the kit can't be worth the rather significant price difference over the Revell US boxing, at least for those of us in North America....

I seem to be experiencing a sense of deja vu...maybe because I just visited the Drydock Models website. Fancy meeting you here, Greg.

The Revell Germany Constitution is essentially the same as the American version - just more expensive. The kit has been through several reboxings over the past thirty years or so. Sometimes it has sails; sometimes it doesn't. (If the one you buy has sails, I recommend throwing them in the trash before leaving the hobby shop. While you're at it, throw out those abominable plastic-coated "shrouds and ratlines" too.)

It's a good kit - one of the best on the market. A fine basis for a serious scale model.

Most - but not all - Revell Germany ship kits are just reissues of American Revell ones. The Dutch sailing merchantman Batavia, for instance, seems to be an exclusively Revell Germany product. I note with horror, though, that Revell Germany is about to reissue the old Revell "H.M.S. Beagle," which is an aberration based on the firm's ancient H.M.S. Bounty. And I think the Revell Germany Gorch Fock is a reboxing of the Revell U.S.C.G.C. Eagle. On the other hand, the Revell Germany new releases include the U.S.S. Kearsarge - one of the most sought-after Revell kits ever. And the two newly reissued merchant ships, the Savannah and Hawaiian Pilot, are great exercises in nostalgia.

Yes, I thought that the FineScale community, being the more "plasitc" oriented community, would also be a good place to get a few opinions on the matter at hand ;-)

Once again thank you for your input, it is invaluable.

Best,

-Greg

I hate to say this, but I bought one at the crazy inflated price ($106.00 shipped US). Guess what? Same old kit in a different box, with the same old flashing and injector marks. But even worse was that the German kit used a softer plastic, which would have been a pain to work with in the masts and spars.

I repackaged the kit and sent it back since I found and old 1976 version of this kit at the Thrift Store for $3.

Scott

Scott,

I have checked eBay and it appears there are a number of renditions/editions of the Revell USS Constitution Kit... at least the packaging seems to vary ... I've been able to locate at least 6 different ones.

The question is... which packaging represents a "good" edition of the kit?

Best,

-Greg

I haven't looked at the kit in years, but my guess is that the "edition" doesn't matter much. It may indeed be that Revell Germany is using a slightly different plastic - but I suspect different batches of the stuff from the same source are different. Logic suggests that an older kit may have less flash and other molding flaws. On the other hand, the older the kit, the more likely it is to suffer from warpage and other problems that come with age.

If I were thinking about buying one of those kits I'd try to get a good look at it first. If I couldn't, I'd be inclined to buy the one with the lowest price and hope for the best.

Incidentally, the first Revell 1/96 Constitution I ever built cost me $12.00 in 1965. That was the full retail price - or maybe the retail price minus the small discount offered by F&R Lazarus Department Store, in downtown Columbus, Ohio. That price made it one of the four most expensive plastic kits on the market (the others being the Revell Alabama, Thermopylae, and Cutty Sark (with sails; without sails it was $2.00 cheaper). The original issue of the Constitution didn't have sails; when the "with sails" version came out a couple of years later it cost $15.00. I feel old.

I got my Constitution kit off ebay for $20. Produced forever, ther's a zillion copies of the kit out there. There's no reason to pay retail for it these days...

This kit is all over the place and so are the retail prices. Today I saw it on one site for about $48 or $49, can't remember where but I remember the price. I noticed it while looking for something else. Out of curiosity I checked six retailers sites and was surprised to see it at $121.50 at two of those. Internet Hobbies has it for $56.00 I was surprised to see that much difference in price.

If someone wants one now and doesn't want to deal with bidding on ebay only to have someone outbid them by a dollar just before the auction ends, keep searching the web. It's on sale out there somewhere. Sorry, I can't recall where I saw it for under $50.

I can't imagine why anybody would price it at $100+. What's the deal here? I can get it at my local shop for $70, won't have to pay shipping, and if something's wrong we can deal with it right then and there.

Ok, I'm exhausted from this week's honey-do project and I'm rambling on.

When I bought the RG edition, I was going through a "gotta check it out" moment and had the credit card handy.

Boy was that a lesson. Kinda had to resist not doing the same thing when they released the Kearsarge. I'm sure it will be had much cheaper by being on sale somewhere.

Scott

Built the rog version first...sold that one, and picked up the american revell at a local hobby store for 42 bucks...guess what? same exact kit. I didn't notice a difference in flash or plastic quality (both are bad).
About halfway through the am revell version, doing some modifications to make it a sister ship of the Constitution for a friend of mine...the USS Miskatonic (HPL fans out there?)
A looooonnnnggg but very rewarding build...that all being said, stick with the cheaper kit.

greg

What worries me about this kit, however, is that rigging must be a nightmare, what whith all the plastic masts that become very thin at the tops... how do you deal with that? Are the masts relatively sturdy. I know you can re-inforce the thicker mast bits near the deck with a rod insert, but what about the tops though?

Greg, how did you manage it?

Best,

-Greg

Greg,

You replace the upper mast with thin wood dowels, you need to tapper the tips a bit, and drill a few guide holes through them, but they work perfect. When painting them you can give them 2-3 coat will seal them up and cover the wood grain.

I've never needed to reinforce the lower masts' and just use a good liquid cement such as weld-on 3 and work them slowely together to make a strong bond. Give them a few coats of paint and there done. You might want to add the anti-boarding pikes at the base of the mast as an add-on, but they work fine.

Jake

Jake has a good point...using the kit pieces is crazy...if you are going to rig it, they pull and bend like mad. I used the kit's stuff as a master for wooden dowels, with styrene accents...it sounds harder than it really is.
I've always reinforced the masts with brass rod though...just paranoid, perhaps, but I don't want to be tightening a line and have the whole bloody mess collapse, either !
Len Roberto did a pretty good write up on this subject on Modeling Madness...you might want to check that out.
Good luck on yours...I am hoping to get to the masts in the next week !
greg

I just found out where I had seen this kit for a lot lower than usual retail price. It's $45.99 at Tower Hobbies. www.ship-models.com