So, I know of two different Golden Hind kits…Revell and Airfix.
Any thoughts or preferences??
I like the style of the older ships, and I think it would make a nice companion kit to the Vasa…
Anyone?
David
David:
I have the Revell kit and I had the Airfix. The Airfix kit is larger but the Revell kit, IMO is better detailed. The original boxing had figures of Sir Francis Drake and a few of the crew. The re-boxings didn’t. Heller re-released the Revell kit under their own label in white, rather than the original brown, plastic which made it easier for painting but the moldings aren’t quite as “crisp” as the original Revell release. The original Revell release had the cut-to-size vinyl (plastic covered thread?) ratlines whereas I believe the subsequent releases had injection molded ratlines. My advice, for what it’s worth, would be to locate an original Revell release (H-324 issued in 1965 & has a nice painting of the ship on the box cover) or one of the earlier re-releases and build that. It’s not that the Airfix kit is bad, I just think the Revell kit is better. On a side note, I bought the kit when it first came and it took me over a month and a half of saving my allowance to get the $3.00 ( plus tax of course) that the kit cost. Then it turned out to be more work than, as an 11 year old, I was willing to do so it sat in the closet for another 2 years before I started it.
Steve L.
David,
I built the Revell version many (many) years ago but have never seen the Airfix version.
However, from what I’ve seen here and some other forums, the Revell kit is considered to be one of the better sailing ship models produced.
I don’t have one in the stash right now but I’ve been looking for one myself, I’m just not willing to pay some of the prices I’ve seen a few go on ebay.
Adrian
Thanks, guys! I always appreciate the suggestions and input…
I do have a question: I’ve heard many people recommend original or at least early release versions of kits…is there any concern or considerations for building a kit that was made 30-40 years (or more) ago? Does the plastic get brittle, or does it react differently with the glues? Just curious if it changes anything to build an old kit??
Well, I found an original release of Revell’s Golden Hind kit…the one with the painting on the box, mint, still wrapped in cellophane! Found it on eBay for an ok price…better than some other ones (there is one priced at 90 bucks?!?-yikes!)
Looks like I found my next build! After the Vasa’s finished, of course!
David
The Revell kit is easier to build out of the box but I’ve always felt the Airfix kits were better if you planned on doing a fully rigged model as there was less stuff in the way. That said I really like the Revell kit . Out of the box if you use the blocks and thread the kit is supposed to come with. It makes a nifty model of a small galleon.
Yes, the smaller kits deifnitely seem to become crowded with respect to rigging…it can be difficult to access the line terminations! I knocked off a previously tied line AND a yardarm today while doing some rigging on the Wasa! 
I’m looking forward to building a bigger scale kit…I’ve been eyeing the 1/96 revell constitution, and the Heller Victory kits…they seem to be of high quality, and there just might be a little more elbow room for working on them! They also seem to be quite bit more complicated…not sure if I’m ready yet for that kind of a challenge…regardless, I suppose once I see a good enough deal for either of them, they’ll end up in my stash…which only includes two kits so far!!!
That’s great news! A real highlight of that kit is the figure set. Revell made fantastic little figures in their sailing kits at that time although not consistently. IIRC the Constitution figures also sail the Kearsarge…
But the figure of Drake is really cool. I’ve love to see a photo of that again, for old times sake. Good work, man.
The problem is that with the bigger kits, they just create the need for more detail. The law of “cubes” apply, which is that as you double the scale, the monster is twice as long AND twice as tall AND twice as wide, giving you EIGHT times as many things to deal with. And rigging them with really well made blocks and ropes gets very expensive. It’s worth it, but I’ve spent two years on Victory and will probably spend three more, and I plan to stop at the lower masts. It just gets so freakishly and numbingly repetitive. If you’ve ever wargamed and had to paint up a division, it’s like that.
I’ll tell you this. There’s a great Airfix Heller Victory specific site by Pete Coleman. You can completely and vicariously build the model there just by reading through it. I’ve spent many an enjoyable hour doing that. be sure to give it a look.
For what it’s worth, I have both an original release Revell and the Heller re-release; they are identical except for the white plastic used by Heller. The Heller molding is just as crips as the Revell. I would go with either one.
Bill
FYI Revell also made another version of the same kit labeled as a Spanish Galleon with only one piece changed, namely the stern piece that has the emblem of the Golden Hinde is replaced with a St Maria emblem. Otherwise its identical, they didn’t even change the crew moldings.
If one cannot find the original Golden Hind kit this one seams to crop up on ebay all the time and would be a great way to get essentially the same kit
You know I never really thought of it like that…but it makes sense that the level of commitment becomes much greater, and like you said, more detail means exponentially more time spent on the little things! And it certainly sounds like out of the box goes out the window once a serious effort begins! Lots of aftermarket hardware seems to be the only way to go…
I’m planning to do a major kit one day, but maybe I should hold off until I reach retirement! Meanwhile, I’m still learning a lot (I impressed myself yesterday by assembling very nice-looking multiple line section of running rigging!), and I have a list of 3 or 4 more regular kits I want to build, thanks to a lot of internet browsing and suggestions from you guys!
I’ll definitely check out the link!
Dave
Interesting…you know, someone else mentioned to me that the Heller release was similar…I already bought the Revell version, but I wonder if the lighter-colored molding from Heller would have been an easier surface for painting…I believe Revell’s is a pretty dark styrene…
Also, I heard the old Revell (maybe the Heller, too?) has the shroud/ratline assemblies that are made of coated string, instead of the crummy inj molded ones?? I’m kinda interested to see how they look…but I’ll tell you, I rigged the shrouds on my Vasa (no ratlines, though) and it wasn’t that tough…didn’t even take very long, even though there are something like 40 shrouds per side…they go up so quick, nothin’ to it…the running rigging is WAY crazier to install than any shrouds I can imagine…I suppose if I had to do the ratlines, it would become a chore…but many people have suggested that ratlines are unnecessary in a 1:150 scale kit…
Here I go, rambling again!
Funny…I’ve seen that Spanish Galleon kit for sale, and I thought it looked familiar…
Uhhh…yeah, so I checked out some of the Heller Victory builds on that other forum, and I’ve come to the conclusion that:
a) I’m a total newbie, and I have a LOT to learn.
b) That kit is WAY out of my league! Holy smokes! I can’t believe how incredibly well-made those things are…if you guys are able to build kits to look like that, my hat’s off to you! Amazing. Just amazing.
So, I’m thinking I’ll continue to cut my teeth on about 500 more kits before I achieve the level of skill to undertake something like that! haha
I built the Revell back in the late 70’s and later in the early 80’s the Ghost Pirate Ship version of the same kit, the only difference was the addition of an optional bow piece with an eagles head and the model was molded in black and came with a bottle of glow in the dark paint.
I currently have a Heller copy that is in a tan color, no figures or thread for the rigging,