I was in the local shop yesterday, and noticed that they had the new Academy 1/700 scale RMS Titanic kit.
The box top claims it is an all new mold, with “awesome detailing”.
The box sides had a couple of photots of the completed model-- what really jumped out at me was the detail photo of the stacks. They looked to be covered with huge rivets-- like one of the old 1960s era Revell or Airfix 1/72 scale aircraft kits. The other detail parts I could see looked rather chunky as well.
I was thinking about buying it, but these phots make me decide against it- it just didn’t look like it was worth close to $30 (US).
Has anyone here see the inside of this kit? Any comments?
Whether this “new” kit is the same one or not I have no idea. I suppose it’s possible that Academy has produced (or borrowed from some other manufacturer) a totally new, slightly larger kit. But I wouldn’t want to spend good money on it without finding out for sure.
The good news is that, according to Mr. Usher’s review, the 1/720 kit is pretty good. It looks to me like a fine candidate for slicing off at the waterline, to eliminate the problem he spotted regarding the screws.
I sure wish somebody would produce a series of state-of-the-art 1/700 (or 1/720) liners. The potential list of beautiful, historically important subjects is endless. Imagine a 1/700 *Lusitania, Queen Mary, Aquitania, Imperator, Isle de France, United States…*Well, we can dream.
I should have looked on Great Models before posting- they have both the 1/720 and the 1/700 scale Academy Titanic kits listed. They list the 1/700 kit as being in pre-order status, I’m a little surprised the local shop already has it.
What’s nice about the Greatmodels.com listing is that it has links to two different previews. Having now read them, the kit sounds better than I thought…
Well, this is interesting. Squadron Mail Order also is advertising an Academy 1/700 Titanic, and offers a photo of the finished model. It certainly looks like the photo in Mr. Usher’s review - but on my monitor I can’t see enough detail to make out the screws. (They should be an indication of whether the kits are identical. Mr. Usher noted that, in the 1/720 version, the outboard shaft fairings are noticeably too short.) The kit number listed for the 1/700 version on the Squadron site is one digit away from the one for the 1/720 version in Mr. Usher’s review. Squadron doesn’t sell a 1/720 version - but does have a 1/400 one.
The two reviews to which rcboater was kind enough to link us don’t really resolve the question. Neither of them comments on the earlier 1/720 kit.
I guess we’ll have to wonder about all this until somebody gets hold of the two kits and compares them side by side.
It does seem a shame that the manufacturers, having ignored the Titanic for so many years (according to Dr. Graham’s book, the Revell decision makers thought long and hard before producing theirs, because “who wants to build a model of a ship that sank?”), now seem to be unable to recognize that any other ocean liner has ever existed. But I guess we should be grateful for any high-quality ship kit that comes along - and this one, whatever its origin, seems to fit the bill.
That seems to answer the question! Many thanks, Mr. Usher. I imagine the 1/720 kit will now disappear.
I think there have now been at least eight Titanic kits in styrene. (Probably more; I can’t claim to have kept track of them.) Come on, manufacturers - show some nerve and give us a different ocean liner!
And to think I almost bought it last week when ordering an IJN liner from Aoshima – I looked at this Titanic and wondered how clunky it was and waffled for several hours.
Description: MERCHANT SHIP DETAIL SET (1/700) Railing in several styles, vertical ladders, railing for stairways, crane details, lifeboat rigging, life preservers, special ratlines for Titanic and Lusitania.
SCALE AVAILABLE: 1/700
Fits all 1/700 scale model of ocean liners or freighters. Includes parts for Titanic and Lusitania.