I usually post my non-sail ship models on Modelwarships.com, but with
the recent discussion of the Revell kit reissues I thought I'd post
this one here first.
This is the recently reissued Revell kit of the seaplane tender USS
Currituck (previously also issued as USS
Pine Island. The
scale is about 1/420, close enough to 1/400 for me! It includes a PBM-2
Mariner flying boat in the same scale, which is actually quite detailed
and accurate in appearance (more so than the ship itself...)
It's an ancient kit (early 1960s or late 1950s I think) and its age is
very obvious from looking at the kit parts. However IMHO the reissue
shouldn't be dismissed as just for collectors or nostalgic modellers
who built the original in the 60s - with some work it can build an
impressive model of an interesting and unusual subject. It's certainly
the only seaplane tender kit I know of and it's unlikely Trumpeter will
be releasing a 1/350 example any time soon!
As a guide, the overall quality of the kit (fit, level of detail, etc.)
is very similar to the USS Montrose/Randall and Glasgow T2 tanker kits
also currently available. In fact there are many similarities between
the moulding style and parts breakdown of these 3 kits (the
superstructure parts that are divided horizontally through the
portholes, for example), and they're similar in scale - presumably they
all date from the same late 50s/early 60 period.
The most annoying fault of the kit is the flat-bottomed hull, which is
halfway between waterline and full-hull. A lot of Revell's earlier ship
kits have this "feature". It can be fixed by either sawing the hull off
at the waterline or carving a new lower hull from wood, though I ended
up doing neither of these :rolleyes:
Really I should have waterlined it, but when displayed on a stand the flat hull isn't too noticeable.
I added various extra details and bits including railings (cut-down
Heller parts), 20mm AA guns, 5" gun and director details, anchor
chains, crane cables, etc.
The ship is painted in its WW2 camouflage scheme. I've since found that
during WW2 this class had heavier AA armament (more 20mms, mostly
fitted on the sides of the superstructure) so it is not strictly
accurate, but looks a lot more interesting than the post-war overall
grey scheme. (If I'd known beforehand, I'd just have scratchbuilt the
extra 20mms and gun tubs)
Similarly, the PBM-2 Mariner flying boat is painted in a WW2 two-tone
blue scheme with grey lower surfaces. The gun barrels were replaced
with fine brass wire. Oddly the "stars and bars" decals had no white
areas so these had to be painted in. I also added a Curtiss Seahawk
seaplane from the similarly scaled Hasegawa Iowa-class (which has 3)
As the model represents the Currituck during WW2, it is moderately
heavily weathered, using drybrushed acrylics and oil washes. This is
the first time I've used oil washes on a ship model smaller than 1/250
scale and it works surprisingly well, particularly for representing the
rust streaks on the hull.
Rigging is very minimal as I don't currently have any rigging material
thin enough for this scale, hence I just added a few lines to give an
impression of rigging.
Anyway, whilst it's not near the standard or quality of a new-tool
1/350 kit, I'm pleased with the final result and it makes a unique
addition to my ship collection. I'd recommend this kit to anyone who
doesn't mind putting the time + work into improving a 50-year-old kit.
As mentioned before, it's similar to the Revell Montrose and T2 tanker
kits so if you've built one of those, you know what to expect! Generic
1/400 PE and/or resin parts for AA guns, radar, railings, boats, etc.
would go a long way towards improving this kit, if they're within your
budget.