by JWintjes » Tue Aug 04, 2009 5:43 pm
krgf15 wrote:New to sailing ship models, and wonder how do the airfix kits such as the Vasa compare to the Heller offerings?
Thanks
Depends on the individual kit.
Heller offerings range from really nice (Victory, Belle Poule etc) to outrageously poor; Heller had a really nasty habit of recycling hulls.
As for the big Airfix ships, Prince and Vasa are among the best, certainly at least as good as anything Heller has on offer. The decorations on the Vasa are very nice indeed. Royal Sovereign is usually considered to be not so good; however, the basic dimensions look reasonable, and the decorations are - within the limits of the technology of the time - quite respectable.
Of course, depending on what you want there are other options. Revell has a very respectable late 16th c. warship, which is variously sold as Golden Hind, English Man O'War or Spanish Man O'War. With maddening confusion, Revell also sold a four-masted Hollywood prop as English and Spanish Man O'War, but these are no true scale models.
As for something different, you might try the new Academy Cutty Sark, which is a very good kit.
Jorit
[quote="krgf15"]New to sailing ship models, and wonder how do the airfix kits such as the Vasa compare to the Heller offerings?
Thanks[/quote]
Depends on the individual kit.
Heller offerings range from really nice (Victory, Belle Poule etc) to outrageously poor; Heller had a really nasty habit of recycling hulls.
As for the big Airfix ships, Prince and Vasa are among the best, certainly at least as good as anything Heller has on offer. The decorations on the Vasa are very nice indeed. Royal Sovereign is usually considered to be not so good; however, the basic dimensions look reasonable, and the decorations are - within the limits of the technology of the time - quite respectable.
Of course, depending on what you want there are other options. Revell has a very respectable late 16th c. warship, which is variously sold as Golden Hind, English Man O'War or Spanish Man O'War. With maddening confusion, Revell also sold a four-masted Hollywood prop as English and Spanish Man O'War, but these are no true scale models.
As for something different, you might try the new Academy Cutty Sark, which is a very good kit.
Jorit