Civil War Steam Ship
U.S.S. Kearsarge
Revell, 1/96 scale
S
u m m a r y
|
Stock Number
and Description |
Revell GmbH 1/96 Scale Model Kit No.
05603; Civil War Steam Ship U.S.S. Kearsarge |
Media and Contents: |
741 parts (681 in reddish brown
styrene, 40 in white styrene, 10 pre-formed ratlines, 3 paper flags, 2
in black styrene, 2 cards of tan thread, 1 bobbin of black thread, 1
length of steel chain, 1 length of copper chain) |
Price: |
MSRP USD$121.95
(available
for USD$108.96 from Squadron.com) |
Scale: |
1/96 |
Review Type: |
First Look |
Advantages: |
Relatively clean redo of the
original kit from 1961, now provides double figure set and two kinds of
chain |
Disadvantages: |
Some modelers will balk at paying
1200% markup over 1961 prices (BUT beats the eBay alternative!); new
instructions are awful in regards to painting |
Recommendation: |
Recommended to Civil War ship fans
and nostalgic "baby boomers" who grew up with Revell |
Reviewed by
Cookie Sewell
Revell's 1/96
scale USS Kearsage is available online from Squadron.com
I can recall the circumstances surrounding getting several very big
and very unique Revell kits when I was a kid. I got the CSS Alabama as a
reward for spending an entire Sunday cleaning up after a fire in a
department store, and got the "coffee can" Space Station for moving from
elementary school to junior high in 1960. The USS Kearsarge was one I did
not get so lightly, and after finding one at the local department store
(where as family we got a 33% discount on toys and models) I decided to earn
the money for it.
My grandmother was more or less a "soft touch" and would give us small jobs
to do around her house for a few bucks, but my grandfather was Alsatian
German and would not put up with anything short of a full day's work. It
took me a good six weeks to earn enough to buy the last remaining Kearsarge
for a then princely sum of $6.65 so I was thrilled the day I got it. I put
it together over the rest of the summer, but alas, the next year I dropped
it and could never get it to look quite the same. After stripping off all of
the "good bits" it went down in a local pond under a hailstorm of fire from
a Daisy Model 111. I still have a few of them even after 42 years.
Needless to say I remember this kit fondly, and was delighted when Revell
re-released the Alabama. But shortly thereafter, the word went out on
numerous websites that the Kearsarge would not be joining it. Even the
unofficial Revell biography ("Remembering Revell Model Kits" by Thomas
Graham, Schiffer Publishing 2002) notes that in 1962 the same molds were
used. But others indicated that the Kearsarge molds were modified to create
the Alabama kit (and the reworking tooling can still be seen if you look
closely inside the hull) and thus the Kearsarge was no more. As a result,
prices for an unbuilt Kearsarge skyrocketed over the years, with some kits
demanding well over $300 on the Internet. Even one half-build and rather
gluey mess I saw about a year ago in a hobby shop went on consignment for
$95.
Happily, Revell of Germany has now solved the problem and re-released the
Kearsarge. I have heard several stories as to how they did this (one being
they duplicated and then re-re-cut the Alabama molds, so there is now a set
of each one in existence) but the result is the same, and other than some
flash on this kit it looks very much the same as the original.
Now there are some differences to this kit, such as the fact that the number
of parts and colors of plastic have changed and the hull no longer comes
pre-coppered. Whereas the original kit came in four colors – black for the
hull and metal work items (e.g. guns, anchors and stacks), white figures and
mast details, reddish brown wooden parts, and a yellowish tan color for the
decks and boat details, now it comes with only the hull halves in black, the
figures in white, and the rest in the reddish brown color styrene. Also, the
directions have been redone (were the originals lost?) in the rather insipid
"point and stick" style of all other Revellogram kits, one thing I have
never found very impressive. (One thing Revell seems to have forgotten is
that many of us learned the basics of machines from their directions as all
parts were called out by number AND name –makes it easy to remember which is
the main, mizzen and foremast, and which yards are which. Very helpful when
you're 13 and a lot more when you're 56!)
The parts come oddly bagged, with the hull haves doubled bagged in a
separate insert that fits into a diagonal shelf inside the box. (Which is
about 15 x 36 x 5, not a small object!) The rest of the parts are below the
insert and all but the former yellow tan parts are in one big bag; those
parts (e.g. the decks, boat floors, and some upper masts and yards) are in a
separate bag inside the big bag. The thread and ratlines, as well as the two
types of chain, are inside another separate bag.
I had forgotten how much different from the Alabama this kit was. Alabama's
parts breakdown looked like this: 653 parts (2 in black styrene, 20 in creme
styrene, 41 in white styrene, 570 in dark grey styrene, 10 vacuformed
off-white sails, 6 pre-formed ratlines/shrouds, 1 section coarse brass
chain, 1 section fine brass chain, 1 spool black cotton thread, 1 spool tan
cotton thread, paper flag sheet. Revelll of Germany have faithfully fixed
all of the changes, and the extra boats, foredeck, ladders, four-bladed
screw, upper masts and yards, and foredeck gun are all back. Some have some
more flash that perhaps they did back in 1961, but the kit is all there and
looks good.
But overall the instructions are the kit's weak spot, as they are very hard
to read and find the color flags for the various parts of the ship, and that
lets it down. The boxtop art appears correct for the Civil War paint job on
the ship (and matches the 1961 version of the kit) but the ones in this kit
appear to be from a later date. Admittedly, at least one website notes the
Kearsarge kit was done from later plans and may be as she was about 1885 and
not 1864. The rigging part is about as clear now as it was then, so I am
assuming that is unchanged!
Overall, flaws and all, this kit is an old friend and one I am glad to see
re-released at what is a much more affordable price than the original
versions go for today. (Note that I picked up my kit from D&J Hobby & Crafts
out of California for $93 plus $6.95 for domestic US UPS shipping, so it can
be found at less than retail. But not for $6.65!
Recommended
Review Copyright © 2005 by Cookie
Sewell
Page Created 03 April, 2005
Last updated 02 April, 2005
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