lost manual for revell "pedro nunes"

Let's see - largely out of curiosity - if I can remember the differences between the Revell 1/96 Cutty Sark and Thermopylae (assuming the Pedro Nunes kit to be identical to the latter, except in plastic colors and decals).

1. They gave the Thermopylae a new figurehead - a beautifully sculpted Greek warrior, to replace Nanny the Witch. (The original Revell version of Nanny, to this Dirty Olde Man's eye, is a better-looking specimen of feminity than the figurehead now on the real ship.)

2. They replaced the Cutty Sark's after deckhouse with a totally spurious hatch cover. (The tabs on it fit into the slots that had located the deckhouse bulkheads.)

3. For some unfathomable reason, they took the studdingsail booms out of the Thermopylae kit. (That one makes no sense. Both ships carried studdingsails.)

4. The deadeyes for the Cutty Sark''s lower shrouds and backstays were located inboard of the bulwarks, with short chainplates riveted to the inside of the iron bulwark plating. The Thermopylae's were mounted on top of the bulwarks, with more traditional-looking chainplates mounted to the exterior of the hull. Revell made a half-hearted effort to depict that distinction, by moving the deadeye-and-lanyard assemblies of the Cutty Sark from the pinrails to the tops of the bulwarks. (For really eccentric kit collecting nuts - you can get a hint about the date of a Cutty Sark kit from the bulwarks. I believe Revell modified the molds when the first Thermopylae appeared, in 1960. From then onward, there are little raised lines on top of the bulwarks to locate those deadeye-and-lanyard assemblies. A Cutty Sark kit without those bumps on top of the bulwarks must have been produced before 1960.)

5. The Thermopylae, of course, had a different decal sheet, flag sheet, and instructions.

That's my recollection of the differences. Maybe scottrc, who has the actual models, can correct me.

I suspect I'm one of very few people on the planet who have the slightest interest in such things, but this sort of stunt really bugs me. The Thermopylae/Pedro Nunes scam constitutes outright fraud on the part of a manufacturer. Not as bad, I admit, as Revell's recycling of H.M.S. Bounty in the guise of H.M.S. Beagle, but the Cutty Sark and Thermopylae were very different ships. Using the hull of one to represent the other is about as deceptive as calling a B-17 a B-24, or a Lancaster a Halifax, or a Sherman tank a Pershing (or, for that matter, the U.S.S. Missouri the U.S.S. North Carolina). But the sailing ship kit manufacturers don't seem to care.

I have built two Thermopylae's, one Cuttysark, and had a Pedro Nunes kit until I sold it at a swap meet since it is in much demand and to me, is just a high priced Thermopylea kit. All my kits were issued in the early seventies. All three kits were identical in every detail. My Cutty Sark was from a 1972 issue and the only difference in it from the Thermopylae was the deckhouses and molded ornimentation in the hull. Other than that, to me, they look the same. I could easily use any of the instructions to build either kit.

My Thermopylae instructions are pretty ragged up with building notes and other signs of heavy use, but my Cuttysark plans are like new. Since they have that dark grey background, these instructions do not copy, scan, or fax very well. E-mail me if you think you can maybe try to use a photocopy.

I wish I could help more so this is just some ideas in case you cannot get a fresh set of instructions for your Pedro Nunes.

Scott

Actually it went the other way around. The first in the sequence was the Cutty Sark, which was originally issued in 1959. A few years later Revell made some changes to the kit and started selling it in a box labeled Thermopylae. The real Cutty Sark and Thermopylae, unfortunately, were only generally similar to each other. (The most obvious difference was in the shapes of their bows and sterns. The Thermopylae had a rounded forefoot, rather than the sharp angled forefoot of the Cutty Sark, and the Thermopylae's stern was much more delicate in profile.)

The real Thermopylae eventually was sold to the Portuguese, who operated her as a schoolship under the name Pedro Nunes. The Revell kit with that name on it is, I believe, identical to the Thermopylae kit except for the decal sheet and the colors of the plastic. It isn't a scale model of the Pedro Nunes; it's a Cutty Sark with some detail changes.

Revell made some of the best sailing ship kits ever produced. Unfortunately the company also perpetrated quite a few scams on the public. This is one of them.

Regarding the instructions - I'm afraid I have no idea how to solve the problem, beyond suggesting that a copy of the instructions from the Thermopylae kit would work just as well. Just be sure they're for the 1/96 scale Thermopylae. Revell pulled the same stunt one other time, reissuing one of its smaller-scale Cutty Sarks in a box labeled "Thermopylae."

1/96 Pedro Nunes has been reissued with modifications under the names Cutty Sark and Thermopylae. Maybe the plans of those kits could help you if you can get your hand on them.
JTileey could probably tell you more about those kits...

Cheers & Welcome to the Forum!

i tried mailing revell 2 times but never got a reply.

Try Revell themselves, they should be able to get you a new one easily. (In theory). You'd have to use their "Missing/broken parts" form. I tried a search and can't find any on e-bay, or even any rigging plans, but then it wasn't an extensive search. Good luck!