Here, as promised, are some photos of my finished Revell yacht America. A very pleasant build, and a great kit to get back into sailing ship model building.
All comments welcome, good or bad.
Tory
A very clean and crisp build.
Scott
A job well done. Where is it going now that it`s finished ?
Funny you should ask.
Every fall my company (Fisher Price) has an “art” auction to benefit a children’s charity. This year’s charity is the Ronald McDonald House. In years past I’ve donated models of ships, airplanes and even a super hero, but the most succesfull has always been ships. So once again I am submitting a ship (the last one was the USS Olympia which sold for a little under $200). I’m hoping that someone will be taken with the America enough to shell over some big bucks for this worthwhile cause. We’ll see…
Thanks for the kind words.
Tory
Great job! And what a good idea for making room for the next project.
Fred
Boy thats Sharp. I love building the America, my kit survived the “Storm” once built, it will probally sit in my den next to the reading chair. Can you please write an article for the BB on how you made the sails?
Jake
Thanks Big J.
No need to write an article as the sails are those that came with the kit. They are some sort of textured vinyl material with the stitching printed on. The only thing I did was add the reef points using little bits of rigging string. Otherwise they are box stock, even the color.
Looking real good, you did a very nice job.
Michael
Outstanding model in every respect. It sure would be nice if Revell would reissue the kit. It makes an excellent beginner’s subject: a relatively large scale, not a great deal of rigging, and not much repetition. And if anybody doubts that the result can be a thing of great beauty - just take a look at those pictures.
Boy does that bring back some memories! I built the same boat in 1974, a few months before Courageous first defended the Cup. Yours definitely looks a lot better than mine did. The natural wood parts look pretty convincing. Nice build of a classic kit! [tup][tup]
Thanks to all for the kind words on my America.
I couldn’t agree with jtilley more, Revell should really consider re-issuing this kit. It is a perfect kit to bring modelers into (or back into) scale sailing ship modeling. A very simple build, minimal rigging (to be sure, I sent to Bluejacket for their rigging diagram, and Revell didn’t simplify anything) and a very attractive subject.
And with all the rekindled interest in sailing ships from the recent “Pirates” movies, they really missed the boat (pun intended) on this one.
Well, the good news is that these kits are going pretty reasonable on eBay, I just watched one go for $26.00, I’m certain a re-issue would be priced double that.
If you have the opportunity, I highly recommend this kit.
Tory
Tory
Very nice model well done.I couldn’t agree with you more about a reissue it would be great.Several years back when I started going to the IPMS Nats.at the Revell booth they always had a wish list.I started writting down reissue the Kearsarge.After a couple years the guy running the booth said we’ve had a lot of request to do that and in a couple of years it was reissued.So guys if we sent Revell a bunch of E mails perhaps it can happen again.
Rod
With those sails, you must have found an earlier issue of the kit…
The first issue of the kit included those nice sails, plus a removable fin keel. The model could be built as a pond sailer-- it was the best boat in my fleet as a boy-- I used to dail it a lot on lakes and ponds. I think this was the 1969 or so release…
In the 1970s, I remeber seeing the model re-released as a “Civil War Blockader”. This was at least nominally accurate, as the America was part of the Union Navy during the Civil War. This version of the kit was not advertised as a pond sailer…
In the mid 1980s, I remember seeing the kit again on store shelves-- this time on one of the boxes with the big yellow Revell stripe. At this point, the box said it included vaccum fomed sails, and there was no mention on the box about it being “adaptable for use on water!” like the first release did.
In my stash, I have the Civil war version of the kit, which is missing the triangular removeable fin keel of the first release. I also have the box, sails, and masts from a first issue kit- one of those ebay specials where someone built the hull and never finished the model. Over time the hull was lost, but the box with the remaining parts survived. I considered myself lucky to get a set of the original printed sails for such a low price…
One of these days I’ll build the model as an RC conversion-- knowing how well she sailed as a pond sailer, I’m sure she’d make decent RC boat as well, and a nice looking boat for the mantel…
I’d definitely echo jtilley’s statement about the suitability for beginners. If this kit was still on the market, it is the one I’d recommend heartily…
(Note: All of the release dates are from memory-- and I’m pretty sure that, as a kid gowing up in rural Vermont, we didn’t always see kits in the local stores as soon as they came out… If my dates are off, I hope jtilley will correct me…)
My personal recollections of the kit are no better than rcboaters, but here’s what Dr. Graham’s Remembering Revell Model Kits has to say about it.
It appeared initially in1969, with the kit number H-361. According to Dr. Graham, the scale was 1/56. (I’ve noted some errors in the ship scales in the book; that seems a little on the big side.) It remained on the market under that number till 1974.
In the latter year it was reissued under the name “Civil War Blockader,” as part of Revell’s “Bicentennial Series,” with the kit number H-372. According to Dr. Graham, the changes were the addition of three swivel guns on the rails and a lengthened bowsprit and foremast. (I have no idea what the changes in spar dimensions were about. Maybe the America really did have a longer bowsprit and foremast during the Civil War; I don’t know.) He says it stayed on the market under that name and number through 1976.
Rcboater may well be right about the kit’s having reappeared in the eighties. Dr. Graham’s coverage stops with 1979.
I remember it as a nice, basic kit - great for beginners. My only criticism of it (and it’s not a big one) was that (if I remember right) the representation of the copper sheathing on the hull wasn’t quite up to the standards of earlier Revell kits. The “plates” were represented by raised outlines, whereas on most earlier kits they were molded to look like they actually overlapped. If I were building it today, I’d probably sand all that detail off and plate the hull with adhesive-backed copper; as in so many other respects, this would be a great subject for learning how to do that.
Let’s see this one again, Revell. Maybe it could be reissued as a tie-in with the next *America’*s Cup regatta.
First of all, that’s a really fine job on the America, Tory. Be very proud. She’s really a beauty.
Second of all, John:
That America kit had 1/56 scale on the box. I remember because I had the kit several years ago. Mine had the nicer copper pattern on the hull. I measured out the hull and then compared its measurement with Art Montgomery’s drawings he did for Bluejacket’s kit as well as a few other America drawings I had seen over the years. The actual scale of that Revell kit was closer to 1/64 scale, actually about 1/62, if I recall rightly.
In my old Revell catalogue they have the Civil War blockade runner listed with those “weekend” kits of the Mayflower, Constitution, and the Cutty Sark. Boy, that catalogue really takes me back to my days as a kid at the local hobby store. 
Russ
Once again, thanks for all the kind words on my America, from what I’ve seen of the work done by the members of this forum, this is high praise indeed!
rcboater - My kit is an original issue, I believe. It came with the clip on keel (which I saved and have no use for, it’s yours if you’re interested, shoot me an email at: mucaroto@mattel.com).
jtilley - Form the research I did on the America, I believe that the model represents her as she was at the time of her historic race. However, photos of her in later years show an extended bowsprit with a second jib added and a taller foremast with the addition of a topsail. This may have been her configuration while she was serving in the Union Navy. And you are correct about the copper sheathing, it isn’t up to Revell’s earlier attempts (if you look closely at the photo I posted of the stern you can see it is nothing more than raised lines and rivets). Since I wasn’t going for an award winner on this build (lol) I didn’t bother to rework them.
Russ39 - I think you might be right about the advertised scale. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to calculate it because I’ve found nothing but conflicting information on how long the actual ship was. And since the bowsprit was made longer in her later years, it really screws this measurement up royally. I’m satisfied to go with 1/56-64 scale!
Just a quick update for anyone interested.
I mentioned that this model was to be auctioned off at my company’s annual charity auction. Well, this was held last night.
Final winning bid: $170.00
Not as much as I hoped it would bring, but it could have been worse.
The president of my company won it, so if nothing else, it should go some lengths towards improving my standing with him!
Goshawk, your company president got a fantastic bargain. I hope he appreciates it, but the bidding really should have gone higher - a lot higher. But I gather all the money went to a good cause.
maybe you could get more, with a web auction, and the free advertising you got in this forum.
Michel
Thanks John, I think so too. He probably knows he got a bargain being that he is British and has a good sense of history and craftsmanship.
And the money will go to a good cause, a children’s charity specifically. The big plus is that our company will match dollar for dollar all donations over $25.00, so the $170.00 my America raised will result in a $340.00 donation.
And from what I can gather, he will be displaying it proudly in his office, where it will be seen by all the corporate big wigs!
It’s all good.