Review: CSS Alabama Re-Release
AMPSOne
653 parts (2 in black styrene, 20 in creme styrene, 41 in white styrene, 570 in
dark grey styrene, 10 vacuformed off-white sails, 6 pre-formed
ratlines/shrouds, 1 section coarse brass chain, 1 section fine brass chain, 1
spool black cotton thread, 1 spool tan cotton thread, paper flag sheet); retail
price $65
Advantages: Re-release of an old favorite; molds not too badly deteriorated
(see text)
Disadvantages: Lots of ejector pin marks, only an approximation of the original
ship
Rating: Recommended
Recommendation: for all fans of this old favorite who don't like paying eBay
prices for originals
When I was 13, two of the things which were tops on my Christmas list were the
two 1/96 scale Civil War ship kits released by Revell to celebrate the
centennial of the US Civil War: the USS Kearsarge and its legendary opponent,
the CSS Alabama. The first one was $9.98 and the second one $11.98, which made
them out of the league of someone lucky enough to get $2 for mowing a lawn. But
Santa was on a budget that year, and Christmas came and went without either
ship gracing the spot under the tree.
Two months later, the family owned store where my father worked (as part of
the family) had a fire (put out by the sprinkler system ) which ruined one
section of the storage inside the building. My uncle called for family to pitch
in, and so I spent five hours lugging out soggy shoes and bras from the back
rooms on the 2nd and 3rd floors of the store. My uncle was very happy with the
help and as a reward for pitching in my father brought home the CSS Alabama two
days later. Needless to say, I had a very happy time putting the beast together
and it was always one of my favorite models, and even graced my mother's dining
room table for a short while.
I noted that Revell rereleased the CSS Alabama about 11 years ago, but at that
time I was getting ready to retire from the Army and had no room for one. By
the time I got settled, all of the re-released kits were snapped up and thus
nowhere to be found.
Prices for the Alabama, and the rarer Kearsarge, were astronomical by 1999.
(There is an urban legend, with probably a great deal of truth behind it, that
Revell trashed the molds of the USS Kearsarge to get the CSS Alabama. They
share a lot of parts and the hulls are nearly identical. However, both kits
were offered at the same time in 1961, so think it was more likely a
pantographed mold rather than a re-working.) Prices of $125 to $250 for either
the original or the re-release were becoming common. I had to seriously think
about that, after seeing an original 1961 CSS Alabama for sale for L65 ($97) at
Plastic Past-Times in Poole, Dorset, six weeks ago.
Returning home, lo and behold, Revell-Monogram re-released the kit for $65.
Admittedly this is a 40% jump over the 1989 re-release at $46, and 540% of the
original 1961 price, but compared to eBay, I'll take it!
Many older kits have suffered badly over the years, due to running the molds
long past their amortization period. I was surprised to open the box and
discover that the Alabama has fared better than most, and much of the original
detail is still sharp and impressive. The model is now in a slightly modified
version of the original "Frameable" box art carton with a John Steel painting,
but it no longer comes in "Five Colors" of styrene. (The original came in dark
grey, grey, dark brown, white, and a greenish tan for the decks.) All of the
original parts are still included, along with the 20 figures that came with
both the Alabama and Kearsarge kits and the vacuformed sails and pre-formed
ratlines or shrouds.
There are some serious ejection pin marks, however, and some are extremely
unpleasant to remove. At least one is smack in the middle of one of the deck
gratings, which will make a very long and unhappy evening to remove. Modelers
who have a few sailing ships under their belt may wish to replace a number of
the parts with either brass or metal, such as the deck eyebolts for rigging.
Likewise, the cord provided for rigging is very thick and needs finer thread
for the running rigging of the ship. (Revell noted that in the rigging
instructions, but I could swear that they provided it anyway in the original
kit.)
Overall this is a big model – done up, it goes about 38" x 20" x 8" (965 x
500 x 200 mm) less its two plastic stands. The use of the sails and pre-formed
ratlines is a matter of taste (most ship modelers toss them upon opening the
box) but for more lubberly ship builders like me they're fine, and my wife
likes ships with the sails up.
One big problem with the kit which many people have pointed out is that it
really isn't a true model of the Alabama. What Revell did was amortize the
molds by cutting an accurate set of molds for the Kearsarge and them massaging
them to look like the Alabama (hey, in 1961, who knew?). All of the pertinent
features are here, but published plans show the actual vessel with more sheer
(swoop at either end) and the kit, like the Kearsarge, is nearly flat. Also,
the Alabama had a number of exotic features like rig which could be changed at
whim to fool pursuers, as well as a retractable stack and propeller. The latter
is featured on the kit (it also is a "working" feature) but not the former or
the rig flexibility. (The real vessel was also recently found to have four
flush toilets below decks, a first for the times.) Also Revell's painting
directions do not match contemporary sources which give quite a different
picture of the famous cruiser, the actual ship being black overall with bare
wood ("bright" and "drab" shades being noted) and sporting red, white and guilt
trim.
But what the heck, it DOES look impressive on a mantel or a shelf where it can
shine, and even at $65 in this day and age is a bargain!
Cookie Sewell
AMPS
(This kit was purchased from Model Expo for $56 + shipping and arrived in
approximately 10 days from the date of order.)
Jinxx1
my vault. The details are greatly appreciated.
dver...@dospalos.org
bought both the Constitution and the Alabama. I had the Cutty Sark way
back in 1972. Well anyways, I did the Constitution and wore out my
shipbuilding craze. The Alabama has been sitting in a closet, or
under the bed for the last nine or ten years. Here's the hook....
I'll trade it to somebody for a kit or kits they don't want or figure
they're never going to build.
The box is a write off. I'll cut out the pictures and send them
along if you wish. The hull had been glued, and some other
pieces(cannon, etc.) The sails are still present but one has some
damage(shot holes?) Rigging and chains still bagged( those chains
look mighty tempting for my 1/35 armor) and the ratlines are still
here. I believe all the pieces are with it, considering the wife
has been tossing her shoe collection on,in, and around it for this
many years. I can take a digital pic or two if needbe.
I'll trade it for 1/35 armor, and aircraft in 1/144, 1/72 and 1/48.
I'll cover boxing and shipping of this kit.
Email if interested. Thanks, dverderb-at-dospalos-dot-org