Reviews : Revell-Monogram U.S.S. Arizona Battleship

U.S.S. Arizona Battleship
Revell-Monogram U.S.S. Arizona Battleship
$18.39

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5-Star: 14 (27 ratings)
4-Star: 7 (11 ratings)
3-Star: 8 (3 ratings)
2-Star: 1 (0 ratings)
1-Star: 1 (1 ratings)

Reviews

Not for beginners.
I just finished putting one of these together. Some say this is a good kit for beginners but I don't completely agree with that. The reasons are that, this being a late 50's revision, the molds have seen a LOT of use and as such I encountered problems with my kit. Several sprues looked to have had mold halves that had slipped 1-2mm causing the halvs of individual pieces to be offset. On some parts this did not cause an issue but on others it took quite a bit of trimming, filling, and reshaping to make the part look and fit right. this was especially true of the anchor chain reels. This kit also suffers from some old assembly methodology which REALLY stands out when you go to put the superstructure together. You'll note that the pieces meet halfway up the bulkheads leaving with a bunch of oddly misshaped windows and nasty seam lines that need attention. And beyond that the quality of the details in the molded pieces is average at best. Coupled those issues with the fact that the hull halves didn't fit together correctly and had to be braced, clamped, and then filled and smoothed and I believe this to be a kit for the intermediate or better modeler. Now with all that being said I did find this to be a fun kit to build. And once it's done a fairly good representation of the ship overall. But I did spend most of my time fixing problems. But the kit was cheap so it's really just a practace of getting what you pay for. you could buy two of these kits for what the next least expensive kit costs. And that one is probably 1/700 scale. And anything in 1/350 scale will set you back anywhere from $50+ depending on manufacturer. So would I personally buy this kit again? For $15, ABSOLUTELY! But I wouldn't buy it for a young modeler or somebody just starting. Wait till they have a few kits under their belt before handing them one of these. In the right hands this can be a really nice build with a dirt cheap buy-in.
USS Arizona BB-39
This kit dates back to 1958 and has been re-issued numerous times so the molds are a bit worn from 65 years of use. Gold Medal Models makes a photoetched set specifically for this model and it is worth every cent. The hull comes in two halves and will need some work along the seam to ensure a good fit and I reinforced mine with some sheet plastic. I removed the molded rails on the hull and superstructure to make way for the photoetched parts since the GMM parts are tailored for specific areas so you must pay attention. The fighting tops are upper and lower halves with slots representing the windows but there is no surface detail to speak of but the GMM set has wrap around panels with etched relief detail for the main and fore top exteriors. The Arizona had two gun director platforms added to her bridge that are not in the kit as well as two gun tubs on the main deck. I added these using some photos from a friend's collection to figure out their placement. The lattice work signal arms are included in the set and they are delicate so if you don't have a photoetch folding tool get one for this. You won't regret it. I built this model in memory of all those who have gone before and those who will follow. I made the pilgrimage to the Arizona over forty years ago and the knowledge that over 1,100 brave men are still entombed there is a testament to the price we pay for freedom.
Good Kit For Beginners
The USS Arizona is probably one of the most popular battleships engraved into the public's mind. Destroyed at Pearl Harbor in the famous attack by Japanese forces, the battleship's wreck today remains a popular destination for any and all Americans. This kit represents the ship as it looked after it's 1930s re-build, and can easily be made to look as it did during the day of infamy. (By the way,the biplanes were not in service during the Pearl Harbor attack.) The kit comes with injection molded plastic parts colored grey. The railings are molded on but do not look bad. The decks stack much like a cake, and the tripod masts also snap together easily. The deck plank engraving looks great and painting is strait forward and easy. The Hull comes in two peaces that are glued together. There is some flash, but it was easily removed and it did not effect the mold process. The detail on the plastic parts are crisp and easy to paint. none of the parts where too fiddly and the whole ship came together in one night. I highly recommend this kit for beginners. Once built it makes a very attractive model of the famous battleship and one which you can proudly display.
You Get What You Pay For, Part II
I recently did a review for the Revell-Monogram USS Missouri and my issues with the Arizona are identical. I've discovered over the last two years that when it comes to model warships my overwhelming preference is 1/350 (or bigger) scale. Since the Arizona and Missouri are smaller scale, some of the parts can be very tricky to handle, and with my rather plump fingers it was mandatory for me to use tweezers and needle nose pliers for the smaller parts. If you're an experienced ship builder, this kit is not going to impress you very much. On the other hand, if you are new to the sport or maybe getting back into it after a long hiatus, it's not a bad purchase because at least you're not dropping a fortune on it. I think it might be that Revell-Monogram are not the same force they used to be in the model industry back in the 1970's, and their quality assurance seems to be where the company has made the most cuts.
Awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am currently working on this ship. it is good in size and I love the stands that comes with it. I also love the amount of detail that is on this ship. I will be posting pictures as I am done. the ship is already molded in a light grey but of coarse I like to go all out so I air brushed it a gunship grey and could have gotten by with just a normal grey or like a ghost grey. hey make it you own if you want to and just put your touch on it. I would very much recommend this to anyone. even if you are a beginner with painting and glue and such you will still be able to do this with ease directions are very well shown and paint schemes as well if you want to follow and make it look like it did in real life. RIP to all the soldiers that fought on this ship and sunk with its glory in Dec 7th 1941 the historical Attack on Pearl Harbor.
Bad Form
I purchased this kit from a brick and mortar store in NJ, to replace my previous kit which was destroyed by a visiting demon child. I began my usual form and painted the base items first then began assembling to find that the two primary hull segments were so severely warped that it could not be joined as directed or used. I purchased another one and it too had the same problem of warped primary hull segments. I contacted the manufacturer, REVELL GERMANY, and informed them of the problem. They took my name and thanked me for my call and support. That was over 3 months ago and to this day I never received replacement parts or a coupon or even a simple apology. I wish that the actual manufacturers provided the same quality Customer Support and Responsiveness as Hobbylinc does.
1935 arizona
the kit was one of my 1st and to my surprise came out great the turrets and casemate guns worked and she floated what more could a bath tube captain ask for. This kit has only to hassles the hull is a two piece it will require rubber bands to give it a good seal along the seam. after that puddy and paint seal any left over gaps. the other hassle the ship is in its 1935 condition NOT the 1941 condition you will note the missing heavy duty lattice work signal yards on the front tripod. That said the finished product is very nice and gives the kid confidence to move on to bigger challenges.
Great Large Scale Kit for Easy Detail
I bought this kit at a local hobby store in North Carolina as a vintage box, and Hobbylinc sells it for half the price. I now shop at Hobbylinc for all my scale models. This model has few parts for an easy build phase, but the mold is old and you'll need a few clothespins, a good blade, and some decent tape. FYI, make sure to remove all the tape residue before painting the model. There is great detail in this, and with a few home-made washes, and a flat varnish, you'll be able to recreate a nice scale model to show your friends.
USS Arizona Review
As per many of the reviews, many of us were weaned on this kit. I have always been satisfied with the traditional Revell kits. Good functionality (moveable guns, cranes, etc.), how you paint the kit provides the satisfaction. I built this kit as a novice, and many years later revisited it and upgraded the painting of the kit with the result of a very satisfying model. Everyone should add this kit to their repertoire. And, given the opportunity, visit the memorial at Pearl Harbor.
Excellent Bargain
This is an older kit and takes all the usual modeling skills to build. Test fitting, filing, flash removal, putty and sanding and patience will bring you to a fine replica. The gallery photos our fine brethren have shared with us attest to that. For the price, you just can’t go wrong. I believe there is photo etch available for this kit, if you care to go that extra mile. The scale that it is makes it a nice size for your shelf and lends to readily visible details.
Basic model kit
I have built this model 3 times on my own, and now a 4th time with my son. It can be made in to a nice looking ship but really needs help in the way of removing flash, sanding down part halves to help them fit right, and those molded on railings are pretty funky looking! There are better, more detailed models of this ship to be found, but this one is a basic, fairly simple one to build, it just takes patience and a decent paint job, and you will have a fine little model.
Excellent model
For the price, you get an excellent model. This model takes tedious amounts of work and has many small pieces, over 130 pieces together. If you're new to modeling ships, I might recommend trying out Revell's USS Missouri model first, it has around 70 pieces. This Arizona model is a great build. The only issue I had with it is the rigging. The directions are very clear up until the last page on how to do the rigging, other than that, good product.
Not for beginners!!!
This was my first ship build in the modeling world, and being the novice ship modeler that I was at the time. I took on this challenge thinking it would be easy. But it turns out I was wrong, there are a quite a few small pieces and I lost a few and made a mess of the model. BUT! After bettering my abilities with more models I came back to this one and perfected it on my second try! LOVE the model and the american dreadnought type battleships!
USS Arizona
Overall this was a very good kit to assemble. There were a lot of small parts to assemble and paint. I might have been a little better at building it if I worked on them for awhile, however this was the first model that I assembled in over 60 years. It was fun, however the decals were small and were extremely difficult to attach. I would recommend this model for any future build.
Good model for painting techniques
Overall, this was a pretty good kit. It had one or 2 small parts that were missing. The detail was ok. The hardest part of the entire model was putting the 2 parts of the hull together. I had to put some significant pressure on the hull halves in order to get them to mate properly. Painting the model wasn't hard, it's a good model to learn some painting techniques.
Good for a first model, except...
The pieces where rather thinner and broke VERY easily. I first built it as a beginner, and the instructions were easy-to-follow. However, the model was sort of a reck by the time I finished. I have now been building models for 4 years. I came back for a second pass and was a little tricky (mostly the quality). Good for beginners.
This is my second time building this kit
This kit is an ok build, although some parts can be annoying... Yes, this is my second time I've built this, the first time, I shot, this time, I plan on making an epoxy base eventually, I do have a lot I'm working on at once, but this kit did go together fine, both times. You shouldn't have any issues.
Nicely detailed kit at a great price.
Overall a pretty good model. Although, I would have given it 5 stars but it does come with a few flaws like the both parts of the hull don't fit together properly, they had some gap which I had to fill. Also, I couldn't get the foremast to fit correctly to the deck. Otherwise, it was fun to build this one
Revell USS Arizona
I have not built a model ship for over 35 years. The last one built was probably this same kit. The molds are ancient. It was still a fun kit to build. The hull was a bit tough to get together since the seem was so long. Since the molds are so old, there was a good bit of flash around the pieces.
Built this as my first model, loved it!
This was the first model I ever built, and it really made me love modeling. I'd say it's good for beginners because it has a relatively simple paint and decal job. However, the fit tends to be atrocious. Buy some cheap bar clamps and clothes pins from amazon to help you glue it together.
Excellent Kit
Over the years, I have built this ship at least three times. Love the fact that the turrets and big guns move, some of the smaller guns move, the cranes move and one of the catapults. A few aspects of the model even will give you a bit of a challenge to keep the moveable pieces moving.
USS ARIZONA
I really enjoyed building this model. Had a few fit issues and of course there are things I would like to change about the model. But overall for the price and design of the model. I thought everything turned out very nice and I'm proud to have it on my model display case.
USS Arizona
This is a really good kit. Fun to build. The molds are from 1959, so there is quite a bit of flash to remove and there are some fit issues. The biggest problem was the hull had a slight warp that took some time to work out but other than that this was an enjoyable project.
Back in the saddle
It has been 20 years since my last model build and never a ship. My wife bought me one for Christmas and I enjoyed it so much I have now built 4 models as well as a diorama. It was easy to build and had just enough details to keep me hooked. Loved it!
Great looking, well packed
The model came super fast. It was well packaged and looks great. This company is a pleasure to work with and takes pride in getting you the order asap and great care to make sire it arrives undamged. Will be working with many more times in the future.
Nice detail on this size scale model.
The detail for this size scale model is great. I can't afford to purchase the really large size model ships because I want to build money different ships. So, for this particular model the amount of scale is really good.
NOSTALGIC KIT
This must be like the 6th time I've built this classic kit. I believe the kit was originally released to coincide with the opening of the Arizona memorial. One of Revell's best releases.
Excellent
Ordered this kit spent a while researching what the Arizona would have looked liked on December 7 1941 put a lot of detailing into it.
The Original beast
This is the same 1959 kit, with very little changed. it was perfect for my intentions, which was to make a small battleship movie
not a good model
a few of the parts did not fit that well and the place where place the turrets fit horribly.
Great beginner
Nice build for the beginner modeler, some detail but not complicated.