Revell 1/96 Constitution

Welcome to the Forum!

I think the price differences between the various kits you're looking at are probably due to one of two factors. Either the dealers bought them at different times, or one is from Revell/Monogram of the U.S.A. and one is from Revell of Germany. The kits imported from Revell of Germany tend to be more expensive.

In any case, they're all made from the same molds. There may conceivably be some differences in the color of the plastic, the amount of flash, and stuff like that; it's possible that the plastic in one will be of a slightly different consistency and hardness than the other. But the parts will be identical in shape, size and number.

My advice would be to take a good look at the boxes, and if you're confident that the cheapest kit hasn't been banged around significantly, buy it.

It's grand old kit, and a fine basis for a scale model. Unfortunately it's been around for quite a while (since 1965, to be exact). I haven't built one for many years, but people who've bought the kit recently have mentioned problems of warping, flash, etc. that almost invariably are found in old kits. You should be prepared to do a considerable amount of cleaning up of the parts. But if attacked with patience and care, this kit can produce a beautiful model.

One other thing to bear in mind. You're going to notice some pretty significant differences between the kit and the ship you visited in Boston. The Revell kit is based on some research the Smithsonian Institution did years ago; it represents the ship as (the Smithsonian thought at the time) she looked in 1814. (More recent research has cast a few doubts on the Smithsonian's plans, but I think they're generally pretty good.) The Constitution has been modified many times since 1814. During the past twenty years or so the people in charge of her have gotten rid of some of the more obviously modern anachronisms, but they still have some way to go. You'll notice, for instance, that the carvings on the stern of the model are much different from those on board the real ship. There are also some differences in the deck furniture and armament.

There's room for argument about some of these features. If this is your first model, though, and you want it to represent the ship as she looked in her days of glory, my suggestion is to stick with what the kit says. If you want to dive into the archives and do a lot of research you'll probably find some aspects of it that you want to change, but if you build it out of the box you won't go far wrong.

Good luck. It's a great hobby.

Thanks jtilley, I used to do a lot of kits, when I was younger, but now in my thirties<sigh> and with a little one on the way, I'm looking at doing something that I can do "as and when" the time is there.
I've seen on ebay, several "old" kits pre 1980s, that I was looking at, though I was worried that perhaps the different kit numbers meant that the level of detail was different, IE deck/hull lines etc.
I've put the link in for the store that I saw the two kits on:
http://www.everstoystore.com/evers/catalog.cfm?dest=dir&linkid=51&linkon=subsection&start=41
About half way down, you'll see the two 1/96 constitutions from revell.
Yes I've read a fair bit about the changes made to her over the years, seems that not one of her captains could stop the urge to "mess" with the design,lol

Seems you could well be right, just went to the Revell.DE site, and indeed everything looks the same, I guess the number is different for the US market.

I just checked the Revell/Monogram (U.S.) and Revell-Germany sites. The kit numbers used by the dealer whose site you looked at are RO398 and R5602. The number of the Revell/Monogram kit is 398, and that of the Revell-Germany one is 5602. We've discussed this several times in the Forum; there's no doubt whatever that they're the same kit.

I seem to recall that one Forum member, writing some months back, said he'd forked over the extra money for the German kit, hoping the plastic would be better or that in some other way it would justify the extra expense. He was disappointed. In fact, if I remember correctly, he reported that the German plastic was a little softer, and suffered from more warpage, than an American kit he'd examined.

My suggestion: buy the cheaper one. But first, see if you can find it locally and save the expense of getting it shipped. It's quite a common kit in hobby shops and toy stores that have model departments. (I saw one in the hobby and craft chain store here in Greenville, NC a couple of days ago. If it can be found in Greenville, it can be found anywhere.)

Regarding being in one's thirties....Take it from a 54-year-old: the thirties are a great age. And congratulations on the little one. Again - good luck, on several fronts.

I few months ago, I bought a Revell Germany kit and sent it back. The amount of flash and soft plastic wasn't worth the $100.00. I have built both a 1968 and 1976 issues of the kit and these were really nice. I just picked up another 1976 issued kit off ebay for $15 and didn't regret it. I also found another old release at the Goodwill store for $3. So shop around. A used kit, if the internal bags are still sealed, can be a good investment.
BTW, I too am an old codger of 37.

Welcome to the forum.

Scott

I agree with scottrc about used kits. Check your neighborhood garage sales. There are a lot of mothers cleaning out their childrens' closets. I have found a few kits ( ships and cars ) for a few dollars each.

thanks guys, yes Ebay was my first port of call, I'm looking at a sealed kit on there from 1971 atm, damaged sails, but I would not put plastic sails on anyway.
Due date for chaos to be born is Dec30th :) not sure whether to be excited or terrified yet,lol

As a father of eight (8) kids my sage advice is


BE AFRAID....BE VERY AFRAID!!!!!

Ric

QUOTE: Originally posted by richter111 As a father of eight (8) kids my sage advice is BE AFRAID....BE VERY AFRAID!!!!! Ric

8!! christ alive man, did you not learn after say 2 or 3?
I guess you must have the lottery or something lol, 8 kids and a hobby! lol

Well, after more searching and taking into account the advice here(thanks guys). I have got a sealed, still in shrink wrap heller 1/100th HMS victory, not quite the constitution, but being a brit, I guessed I should really do a ship of empire anyway. The constitution kit I was looking at, is quite old and has likely been bashed somewhat, so I may be saving myself a headache, only to gain one in the shear size and complexity of the victory!!
Wish me luck, I shall be picking up the kit morrow, and I'll start getting my bits and pieces together. I'm sure I'll have a great deal of queations, most of them basic, so bear with me pls.

Since you will have a newborn in a few months, when you get your Victory, start building the cannons, with only ONE HAND. This will give you something to do productively on the Victory while holding junior during those 12am, 2am, 4am, and 6am feedings. Plus, your wife will have a more supportive perspective towards your hobby

Scott

lol, good idea.

Well I picked the kit up this morning(local seller)
<gulp> me thinks intentions were good, but ability may be lacking....I've just had a scan over the 2107 parts and the instructions(there's a joke!) This could be a very....very steep learning curve!

Vapochilled, you've just bought what is by fairly common agreement the most sophisticated, complicated, and advanced kit in the plastic ship model industry.

It's a beautiful piece of workmanship, capable of producing an absolutely stunning model. It also, unfortunately, holds some traps for the unwary and/or inexperienced. The instructions, for instance, are awful - especially the English translation, which apparently was written by somebody who neither understood French nor had attempted to build the model.

I always hesitate to make suggestions like this; it's not for me to judge the determination or skills of a modeler. But you might want to consider tackling a smaller, less elaborate project first. To do even an adequate job on the Heller Victory takes hundreds of hours - even upwards of a thousand. A few dozen hours spent on a smaller, less daunting kit might be an excellent investment - and in the process would give you and your family a nice model.

If you do decide to take on the Victory, though, do keep in touch with the Forum. Several members have built it, and can offer lots of practical suggestions.

Good luck.

Have no fear, I think this forum is going to see more of me than my wife does!
I just been and got paints and glues etc, the chap in the shop, was extremely helpful(Z&Z hobbies,hamilton) and he took a step backwards, as he's not heard of anyone managing to finish it,lol.
1500 hours @ 3 hours a day, is a dammmmm long time,lol, I of course never expected it to be a week long build, but I fear I may have just bitten off a little too much, so I think I'll certainly take my time.
Just glancing through the "instructions" showed me that a degree in marine engineering and at least two tours of duty on a tall ship are required in order to rig it! the actual build hold no fear for me, but all that string,lol!
I have just ordered "an anatomy of a warship/victory" from amazon, at least that will give some clue as to the rigging<sigh>
In the past I have done RC flight both fixed wing and rotary, along with many plastic kits, but certainly they were never built, nor intended to be of such grand scale or detail.
I think my first step given the shear size of this thing, will be to arrange the workshop, the origonal plan of using the kitchen table may, I fear be a little impractical, given that the table is of the correct scale to use onboard this model,lol
Thanks all for the warm welcome, I look forward to participating here, and hopefully with help and hand holding we'll get through this.