I am looking for an “Andea Doria” kit, preferably in a 1/350 - 1/400 scale. I’ve tried searching through web sites listed in FSM, but no luck so far. If anyone has any info on where I could purchase such a kit, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanking you in advance. Bob.
One of the most dangerous things for anybody who professes to know about the history of anything to do is to claim certainty that something didn’t happen. It would be silly for anybody - least of all me - to claim he or she knows about every single plastic kit that’s ever been produced by anybody. Having said that, I’ll stick my neck out and offer the following assertion (subject to correction by anybody who has some contradictory evidence): there is not and never has been a plastic kit of the Andrea Doria.
That assertion isn’t as bold as it would be with most other phases of the hobby. There simply haven’t been very many ocean liner kits (apart from the inundation of Titanics - five or six - that we’ve experience in the last 25 years or so). Revell used to make a United States, a Brazil (reissued as the Argentina), an Oriana, and a Queen Mary. Airfix made a Mauretania, a Queen Elizabeth, a France, a QE 2, and a P&O liner whose name escapes me at the moment - all on 1/600 scale. And a long time ago Pyro made an American President liner. To my knowledge the only 1/350 liners have been the Titanic, the Lusitania, and the QE 2. (I think I vaguely recall also seeing one or two smaller cruise ships in 1/350 from a Japanese company.) Glenco has reissued a couple of ancient ITC kits representing the United States and the France. And Hasegawa and Aoshima contributed a couple of pre-WWII Japanese NYK liners to the 1/700 “Waterline Series.” Two new Queen Mary 2 kits are on the way: one from Revell in 1/400 and one from Airfix in 1/600. That’s about it. I imagine I’ve left out one or two; maybe some other forum members can correct me. But I’m about as sure as one can be about such things that there’s never been an Andrea Doria - certainly there’s never been one on 1/350.
I suspect the ship is represented in at least one of the vast ranges of 1/1200 cast metal liners. Many of those products are really remarkable in their detail and accuracy. But not in plastic. Unfortunately this is an extremely small segment of the hobby business, and the manufacturers rarely cater to it.
You might want to try the website of Pacific Front Hobbies; it’s just possible that somebody has issued a resin Andrea Doria kit. Sorry to be so pessimistic. I happen to think liners make beautiful - if demanding - model subjects, and their historical significance is undeniable.
Good luck.
Thank you very much for taking the time to reply in a very authorative manner. I did look at Pacific Front models, but no luck there. Scratchbuilding looks like the only option left, but that would be a mammoth project as there is not many reference materials on the Andrea Doria. Looks like it’s bakc to work on the Titanic model. Thanks again for your time and effort.
Bob McFarlane.
Taubman Plans Service (www.taubmansonline.com) offers a set of plans for the Andrea Doria. I haven’t seen them, but the brief description on the web certainly implies that they’re detailed: they’re on the scale of 1/32"=1’ (that’s 1/384) and spread over (if I remember right) fourteen sheets. They’re also expensive: $140.00.
The plans of the Stockholm (the vessel that rammed the Andrea Doria) are considerably cheaper: $40.00.
I strongly suspect there’s at least one pre-built model of the Andrea Doria in 1/1200 or 1/1250 scale. As I said earlier, some of those things are really detailed and attractive. The Steel Navy website (www.steelnavy.com) has a 1/1200 section with some links. That might be worth checking out.
Sorry I can’t be more helpful.
You also might try searching for a paper kit. I haven’t seen any, but I wasn’t looking for that particular subject, either.
-Devin
Excellent idea. Those paper kits can produce astonishingly convincing models.
The premier Andrea Doria model, of all time, I nominate the huge model constructed for GHOSTSHIP, a rather overlooked horror film of, oh, 2 years back but the ship model for the ANTONIO GRAZA, based onthe Doria, was most impressive.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=4248&item=3178452986
This is an e-bay auction for plans for the liner Conte de Savoia. It’s just to get you in the door. I checked the seller’s (davesdrydock) other auctions and he doesn’t have the Andrea Doria up for sale at this time, but you can save the sellers store “PLANS N THINGS” to favorites and keep checking back. I purchased several ship plans, including the Andrea Doria, from him a while ago, so he does get it in stock from time to time and his BUY IT NOW price is definately affordable.
Good luck
Those of us interested in Ocean Liners are working in a desert. The model companies almost completely ignore this segment of the hobby because it would almost certainly be a dead loss for them.
I have been searching for ages for a kit of the Normandie-she was probably the most beautiful liner ever built.
I had to settle for a smaller but nicely detailed die cast that is now out on the market.
I fear that the Doria will have to be a scratch build job of a lifetime.
As I can recall, the Andrea Doria tradegy was a great embarrassement to the Italian shipping concern and they did all could to prevent anyone from reproducing their sunken ship in any way, including plans, models or any information concerning the ship. I think a model will have to be scratch built once those ‘rare’ plans are located.
(I’m retired @ 69 and remember the collision well) Gabe Curtis
To FIGHTERFAN: The NORMANDIE is available in paper/card form from “papercard models Int’l” Leave a message here if you can’t find their exact address. Gabe Curtis