My new one commissioned by my boss, the Airfix Wasa, I bought it off ebay and I’ve no idea how it was stored but its warped to hell, its been a real pig to get it together, didn’t do it as per instructions as i could not get the deck atattched and level so glued the hull front together then when the glue set glued the rear the glued the deck a bit at a time using loads of masking tape to hold it till dry.
Broke lots of these bits on the top rails (whatever they are) so will have to make some new ones.
Thats tough when that happens to a kit. It will feel like your fighting it all the way through the build. The Revell 1/72 Wasa kit to be a better detailed kit did you check that out at all?
Airfix does still list the Wasa in its catalog - price $50.
I believe the Revell version (which isn’t in the current catalog) is in 1/150 scale. I’ve never seen one in the flesh. Those who have say the two kits are about equal in overall quality. The Airfix one reportedly has sharper “carved” details, but the Revell one has full-length guns on the lower deck - rather than the “dummies” of the Airfix kit.
I have always wanted to do this Kit but will watch yours with interest. It is a great pity you had all that work to do but you have done well with is so far…Cheers Mark
I believe that you are doing a great job in straightening out that warp.
Concerning the differences between the Airfix and the Revell kits of the Wasa, I have both on my shelf and can offer the following points.
Both hulls are cleanly molded with precisely the same lack of molded-on wood grain on the planks.
The gunports are quite different, although the dummy ports on the Airfix kit are deeply recessed. The gunports on the Revell kit are open, and the kit provides full-length cannon barrels, but the gun carriages on the Revell kit are molded onto strips of plastic that run the full length of the gun decks. There is a solid wall immediately inboard of the carriages that would leave no room for any gun crew to exercise the guns. This, to me, is a big distraction that must go away when I build this kit.
The Revell kit has a single-piece that contains the main deck, half deck and poop deck where all of the topside decks snap into place, while the Airfix kit has all decks as separated, individual pieces. The Revell kit reminds me of the old Pyro kits with this feature, although it is a little more cleanly and finely molded than the Aifix kit. Plank details are well molded on both.
The topside railings a very different on both kits, Airfix having a more ornate arrangement while the Revell kit railings are plain.
The wales are separated more widely on the Revell kit. Both kits show a total of eight wales.
The Revell kit has more detailed and finely shaped gun barrels.
The Revell kit has solid plastic shrouds and ratlines, while the Airfix kit contains the Heller-style shroud and ratline loom on which to make your own.
The chains on the Revell kit are really nice, while those on the Airfix kit are rather plain.
Boat detail on the Revell kit is better, being very crisp, excellent planking, benches,oars, and internal detail.
Both kits have what appears to be equal hull lines and dimensions. Both are excellent kits.
Thanks for all the replys and for the comparrisons between the 2 kits (personally I think the moulding on the Airfix kit is brilliant Far and away better than the royal sovriegn(although before I bought this kit I thought that was great)I cant comment on the Revell kit as I’ve not seen it but I belive the airfix kit is a bigger scale)
anyway I’ve decided to display it on the turn with the gun ports open and water just starting to enter, I think that’s a fitting setting.
The Revell websites are something of a maze. If you go to revell.com, you’re taken to the website of Revell USA. You can then click a “Revell Germany” button on the left side of the screen. That takes you to a (supposedly complete) listing of Revell Germany’s kits. That site doesn’t mention the 1/150 Wasa kit.
If, on the other hand, you go to revell.de, you get directly to a site operated by Revell Germany, and it’s quite a bit different. At least two ships are listed there that aren’t on the other site, including the German SAR ships Berlin and Hermann Merwede, and the Wasa.
What hoops one would have to jump through in order to get one’s hands on a Revell Wasa I have no idea. But revell.de apparently does still stock it.
Hi all a little update, well after exhaustive research(20 mins on google pooped for the rest of the day now) the Airfix kit is a little wrong the little sticky up thing on the top of the rails do not exist(thats great as I thought I would have to make some of those as I broke some whists struggling to get the warped hull together, also there should be another gun port on the second tier down sternwards of the last on on the model, roughly where the little slot is on the kit, I may add it when I find out what purpose the slot is for also the ornamentation above the top rail dose not exist neither does the ornamentation between the rails. not tremendous problems so should be able to sort them.
These are the little sticky up things which I’ve now removed.
Hi all Airfix missed a gun port on this so I’ve been racking my brains trying to think of a way of making one and I think I’ve got it.
first I covered on of them with bathroom sealant to make a mould then I tried to make a resin casting but it was so thin they kept breaking when I tried to get them out, so I thought I need something more flexible so being as how it was so thin I thought just acrylic paint, but that was too flexible and wouldnt come out of the mould so then I thought How can I stiffen it up a bit so I put a thin smear of superglue over it, hey presto it came out, here is the result, I may make another mould and try again as this is a bit chunky probably because of the number of times ive tried using it but at least I know it works.
