1:400 scale ‘Esso Glasgow’ by Revell Germany
Kit # 05221
Review by Onno Heesbeen
Model Specifics:
Manufacturer: Revell Germany
Skill level: 3
Type: Water line
Scale: 1:400
Size: 40.1 cm
Price range: 10,99 Euro’s ($13.50 US / $18.00 Canadian)
Special notes: This kit is moulded in white plastic, and her hull is one piece.
The Esso Glasgow is one of the few merchant ship models out there and it is freshly available again. The original Esso Glasgow is a designated ‘type T2’ oil tanker, and there were about 520 of these tankers built for numerous companies. Since the 50’s this model kit has been released a couple of times under different names. Revell chose the Esso Glasgow for 2004 release, and other than a specially designed decal sheet and box the model is the same as previous released versions.
As noted, the Glasgow model is 1:400 scale and has a total length of 40.1 cm. A distinct feature is that the model is rendered as a water line, or flat bottom. I find this to be an advantage because I like to make sea dioramas of my ship models, and this way one will not need to cut away the underwater hull. The flat bottom can look a bit awkward to people who like to display a static model, nevertheless there are two stands to place the model on for those not keen on building a ‘sea-going’ diorama.
The model is richly detailed with deck equipment, piping, vents and cranes. The hull has thin raised lines to suggest hull plating, and most of the details are moulded on instead of being lose parts. A minor point is that the model has excessive flash which needs to be cut away. Another disappointing feature is the moulded railings. Real railings have a transparent look while the model railings are a massive strip. At 1:400 scale they easily could have had extra, open railing parts.
The box shows a nice painting of the ship. (For the liner lovers: in the distant background the box art also shows the 1959 Bremen.) There are 7 photos of the model on the side panel of the box, but they show a poor paint model that does not have an appealing effect. I would have expected that Revell had people more capable of building an eye-catching model for presentation.
The decal sheet has three decals of the ship’s name, two decals of the Esso logo for on the funnel, an Esso flag and several hull markings. There is also a separate paper sheet with signal flags. The instruction manual has a brief history of the ship written in German and English. The instructions for building, rigging and painting are relative easy to follow.
Overall I think the Glasgow is a nice model for those who wish to build other models then those of warship. She has classic lines that to some extend can be found in passenger ships of the same era. The kit is not too difficult, but I would not recommend the kit to first time modelers, you do need some basic modeling experiences in my opinion. The more experienced modeler can also enjoy this kit and add as much details as he wants. The kit is not expansive at all and I would recommend buying it even if you are not planning to build it in the near future.
Overall Rating: 7 out of 10
OH ~ 03/04