Scale Plastic & Rail

1:460 Revell Atomic Cruiser USS Long Beach

Manufacturer: Revell

Scale: 1:460

Manufacturer Reference No: 00022

Description: Atomic Cruiser USS Long Beach

RRP: £14.99

This is the second of the "Revell Classics" line of kit's I've come across, the first being the Corporal Missle and Launcher if you're not aware of what this line is about here's the Revell description of the line

"The Revell Classics Line is a limited re-issue of select model kits from the 1950s/60s or 70s. In order to ensure that this model kit resembles the original product as closely as possible, the packaging was made true-to-style using the previous original illustration as well as original decals. The construction manual in multiple languages contains detailed assembly instructions. This model kit was produced using the original mold that was manufactured more than 30 or 40 years ago. Insignificant deviations from the original model kit (formation of burrs or slightly imperfect fit) can be attributed to the fact that the mold was not used for a long period of time. Your Revell Team wishes you much enjoyment and success with building your model."

So from that you can see that these are re-issues of the original kit with the original box art from the same moulds so don't expect too much it's certainly no re-tool, just a pure old nostalgic re-issue. I'm not sure of the original release date, there is a date stamp on the single piece hull of 1988, but the kit certainly looks older and the quality certainly backs up an older date. One thing to point out is the scale is slightly bizarre at 1:460, this is due to the kits age, manufacturers used to make the kit fit into a standard sized box, I guess the guys at Revell found out that the USS Long Beach fits in when at 1:460.

What you get in the kit is as follows, 4 sprues, a single piece hull, single piece deck, 8 page A5 instruction book (in 22 steps inc painting), small decal sheet and a gummed paper semaphore flags with the alphabet. As you might expect from a Classic kit the casting and accuracy (fit) is woeful, there's not too much flash, but where it is is on all the delicate items, such as radar arrays and communications antennas. Obviously I can't really comment on the kits accuracy to the actual ship but I'd be surprised if it was correct in every detail, I'm sure Revell weren't allowed up to a nuclear powered ship with a tape measure!! The helicopter supplied as part of the kit really made me smile, it's shown on the box art as a Sikorsky H-19 Chickasaw (Westland Whirlwind), the ship itself didn't carry a helicopter as it had no hanger, it only had a landing pad on the stern. It should look like this:-

The supplied looks like this - I think it looks more like a Sikorsky H-5 Dragonfly if it bears any resemblance to a real helicopter at all!

Onto the radar array, poorly moulded with plenty of flash and some ejector pin marks to boot, I don't look forward to cleaning this up and due to the scale it will prove hard to find an aftermarket replacement.

The decals are quite well printed, but you don't get much, interestingly the date on these is 1968/2010 so is this the real date of the kit?

Right so what do we think? Well first of all lets take into consideration this is a classic kit marketed by Revell as "Historical Revell model kit" and probably dating from 1968, that's 42 years ago!! So yes we can't rip the kit to pieces for it's standard, it's a shame the scales so funny as it can't easily be compared to another model, however as it's so basic (Revell have it as its highest skill rating of 5 due to the 136 parts) and the cost it's a nice starter ship, bear in mind this is a limited edition run of 5,000 units. I'm looking forward to building this ship as I've never really ventured onto the water before.

Overall 6/10 - Shows how things used to be for a fair price, but lacking quality

Revell kits are available from most Highstreet Hobbyshops and Online retailers, many thanks to Revell of Germany for providing the sample used for this review