I used to follow this forum closely but haven’t done so in years. It’s nice to be back!
I just bought an MPC HMS Victory from an auction. It’s clearly a rebox from another maker, but whose, and in what scale? I haven’t received the kit yet but the longest box dimension was 13" so it’s probably in the 1:200/1:250 range. It has vacuform sails with the lower courses furled and the Revell-style plastic thread ratlines, so that might be a giveaway.
I’m trying to decide whether to build her as Victory, or Royal Sovereign under Collingwood at Trafalgar (Blue Ensign, cool!) or whether that would be too much work. I know the RS was slightly smaller and had 100 guns instead of Victory’s 104 guns, but that’s not a deal-breaker for me. It’s my first sailing ship in ages, as I usually model 1/700 warships.
It certainly looks like the Airfix 1/180 kit, comparing John’s link with the parts shot to the Airfix instructions on scalemates. The stand matches. The only real difference I see are the shrouds/ ratlines, where the Airfix kit had the dreaded Heller loom.
I have both kits. The MPC kit is simply a rebox of the Airfix kit, which was common for MPC to do. They also released several of the Airfix 1/600 ships such as HMS Repulse and KGV.
By the way, Bill, my Airfix HMS Victory must be an older version. It does not have the dreaded Heller loom. I hate that thing!
Yes that looks like the Airfix one to me. I built it (sort of!) when I was about 12, and it had the horrible pre-formed ratlines. I bought it again last year (still in the stash), and the “loom” looks like a definite improvement. I’ve read a few reviews, and it seems that it works fine if you follow the instructions[*-)]. So there’s something to look forward to, then![whstl].
Incidentally, Lord Collingwood was born near where I live, and he has an impressive monument at the mouth of the River Tyne. His estate was a bit north of here and, everywhere he went, he planted acorns, so that there would be oak trees from which to build ships in years he knew he would not see.
The only thing worse than the loom or the preformed stringy shrouds are the plastic molded ones. I know it is more work, but doing them yourself on the ship is the most realistic. And kind of satisfying when you are done.
