AG/Germany 1/142 North Sea Trawler

There is a build up of one here. Not really a build up so much as seeing it built.

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=173262

I looked up the kit in Dr. Graham's Remembering Revell Model Kits.  It apparently originated with Revell-Britain (which made a few of its own kits in those days).  Its first American appearance came in 1971, under the name "Russian Spy Fishing Trawler Volga."  The very early seventies were, arguably, the bleakest period in Revell's history - when the company seemed to be on the verge of going out of business or, at least, abandoning the concept of scale modeling.  There was nothing the least bit Russian about that model.  I have a vague recollection that one of the American manufacturers (either Revell or Pyro, I think) converted a fishing trawler into a "Russian spy ship" by including a pair of silly-looking "radar masts" in the form of cardboard cutouts that were supposed to be placed on the deck of the otherwise unmodified trawler.  Gawd.

None of this implies that there's anything wrong with the kit.  It's generally gotten pretty good reviews from modelers - including RC enthusiasts - over the years.  It undoubtedly could serve as the basis for a serious scale model.

I remember seeing the boat "Russian Spy Fishing Trawler Volga" as a kid in the 1970s at the local store I got my models at.  Thought it was a weird thing to model.  And in looking for boats that might go well with an N-scale railroad I had debated this model as well, but railroad modelers are infamous for scale accuracy issues, so I passed on it thinking 1/142 and 1/160 were just too far apart.

  Built two of those last year...a moderate kit...very bad detail, some odd assembly bits...for a couple of bucks more, you can get the Meteor, which delivers much more bang for the $.

Didn't someone else do a similar vessel - perhaps Pyro?  I was interested in getting hold of either one just for something different.  It's not a bad looking kit for its era, but not as a spy-trawler.

Michael

I built the Revell-Germany "Meteor" in the spring this year [2005]. I found it to be an extreemly good kit.

My recollection is that Pyro did indeed make two fairly large (18" or thereabouts) fishing vessels.  one was a trawler, rather similar to the Revell one we've been discussing but (I think) a little bigger.  I believe it was based on (i.e., pirated from) the Model Shipways trawler Hildina.

My recollection of the other Pyro kit is extremely vague.  I think it was a tuna fisherman - and, again, may have been pirated from a Model Shipways wood kit.  I vaguely remember building it when I was quite young, and not liking it much.  That may, though, have been due to the fact that my taste for seafood hadn't developed yet.

Both of these were 1950s kits.  If memory serves (as it frequently doesn't nowadays) they weren't bad for their time, but that time was long ago.  I think Lindberg may still be selling them; it seems like I've seen the trawler in a Lindberg box fairly recently.  My guess is that either of them - like the Revell kit - could be turned into a decent scale model, but that it would take a good deal of work.

It's a shame that so few modern civilian ship kits are available these days.  It's occurred to me more than once that the manufacturers may be missing an opportunity.  Kits with movie connections have, as I understand it, done reasonably well in the past.  But I suppose an Andrea Gale from "The Perfect Storm," or an Orca from "Jaws" (hey, man - dig that 1/48-scale shark!) would be too much to hope for these days.