Revell Container Ship Columbo Express 1/700

Picked mine up this weekend. Generally it looks pretty nice; no warpage and very, very minimal flash. The raised line for the waterline fades away amidships, but this is in the flat slab section and it should pose no problem masking a straight line in this area. Hull halves test fit well.

Containers stacks are flat pieces so it'll be a bit of work to make every-day stacks.

There are lots of modern tug designs out there.  It looks like it's pretty common to have one in front and one the back, both pulling in opposite directions.  Here are some examples of tugs and The Colombo Express...

Dave

The Foss tractors are 78 ft long.  I know this because I asked one of them once.  I used to use the length of a tug to help estimate distances and clearances when we were trying to shoehorn our ship past one of the big Maersk ships in Tacoma.

http://www.foss.com/equipment_fleet.html

http://academyphotos.net/photogallery/displayimage-464-Tractor-Tug-Wedell-Foss.html

That's pronounced WEEdle Foss.   In 1/700 this shouldn't be too hard to scratch build.

Fred

Hugh from Loose Canon showed me one of his tugs.  It's older than what i had in mind.  I'm looking for a modern day tug that would look appropriate with these giant modern container ships.  Here's an example of what I had in mind.  I haven't seen this done in 1/700 scale.  If anyone knows different please let me know.  If I could get my hands on some dimensions perhaps I could scratch build one. 

Also be careful on variants of the Colombo.  They are all a little different in hull and superstructure.

I picked this kit up at ScaleModelWorld, Telford, for £7 cheaper than it sells for (equiv. to 28% off the price) in my LHS.

One of the first things I did, when I got home, was check at Shipspotting.com for photos of the real thing. There are many, and of the Colombo Express's sister ships. All show an astounding variety of colours and loads.

Check for yourself here... http://www.shipspotting.com/modules/altern8news/

Use the Advanced Search facility so you can restrict your search to photos only.

At our ship club meeting today I talked with my friend Hugh Letterly about finding somebody to do some container logo decals.  He thinks he may know somebody so I'll leave it in his capable hands. 

That was a great reference!  Competitor contianer markings aren't necessary (Maersk, APL, etc.) but consolidator and private containers would be great.

This will be fun!

Dave 

It begs for somebody ( not me   )  to do a dockside diorama with a scratch built container crane boomed down over an open hatch......

Different container logos can be had, but I don't know how much detail one could get on home made decals in 1/700.

See this:

http://www.fotoreisverhaal.net/containers/summary.html

Fred

PS  I also like the idea that the kit contains decals to make several other ships of the same class.

As soon as I saw this one I knew I had to pick it up and make one for our office.  We're in the logistics business.  Even in 1/700 scale it's huge at just under 19" long.  Just doing a quick check among the usual suspects I don't find any interest so far in after market or even decals for the containers.  I'm hoping that will change if enough people inquire.

The containers are too perfectly stacked.  I'm going to have to investigate cutting the containers up to get a more natural distribution.  A full load of company containers is just too unusual, although it would be no problem to mask off and paint containers in different colors.

There also seems to be no interest in doing a photoetch set either.  However really all you need are 3 rail photoetch sets with stairs to do this one well.  I found that the railings run the entire perimeter of the hull except for the bow but doubled up on the stern.  There is also some railing required for the mast on the bow.  Then rails are required for the bridge structure too.  I figured that 3 sets of the White Ensign Models 3 rail set and ladders would do the trick nicely so I bought four.    Throw in some PE sailors for good measure.

I think there's lots of opportunities for adding detail.  For example steel music wire can be cut down and placed on the ends of the containers for door locks, rigging can be added for container support and the bow mast supports.  I think I'll scratch build some cooler units for the ends so we have some refers on board, etc. 

I'm thinking of cutting down the hull and making it a waterline model.  Throw in a couple of modern tugs (if I can find some) for good measure perhaps.  Still haven't decided on that yet.  Hmmm... this might end up being two kits! 

Overall a very nice kit and I'm looking forward to putting it together.

Dave

Not the same class; I live in Seattle and it was one of the first things i checked when I read the announcement ;)

You are spot-on with the load comment, but I imagine it would have been a trademark and copyright nightmare to get all of the logos....

I haven't seen an actual kit yet, but it looks like a nice one from what I've seen on the web.  Revell Germany really puts out some refreshing subjects.

I also see the 1:1 versions docked in Seattle regularly.  I'm not sure they are the exact same class, but the same company.  I've been meaning to stop and take some reference photos if I can avoid arrest by Homeland Security.  :)

One thing I notice is the kit includes container stacks that represent a full profile load of all Hapag-Lloyd boxes.  That's not very realistic, and it would be a good idea to mix up logos and colors on the containers, and maybe cut the container stacks down somewhat.

Fred