HMS Bligh
Revell - 1/250

By : Steven P. Allen

The recent discussion on the SMML about HMS Bullen suggests to me that I ought to review the Revell HMS Bligh/Buckley-class re-issue. Although I am not building the kit as Bligh (or even as Buckley: I'm converting her to an APD), I'll relate my impressions of the kit (and that of Tom's Modelworks PE set for it, too). If anyone's interested, I may chime in later about the conversion process.

For the time it was mastered, the kit is pretty good. In general, flash is minimal, parts are attached to the sprues at places amenable to filing. Sink holes are just common enough to annoy, especially given the texture moulded into the surfaces (see below).

The one-piece hull's shape is much better than earlier Revell kits; the only problem is that the sheer is horizontal till alongside the bridge, then takes a sharp angle up (no graceful curve). It shares raised weld lines with the Lindberg Rudderow kit, though Bligh's are not as pronounced. The waterline is another raised line, so sanding off the weld lines before painting will take it off, too. The kit has one rudder (didn't the real DEs have two?); the shafts could stand replacement as they aren't really straight; the props are OK but thick.

Revell tried to "get real" by casting handrail stanchions on the superstructure; they are clunky but good for the time. The instructions say to "rig" them with black thread, but they have a sort of "blob" of plastic at the attachment points; this would make for either bulky knots or railing levels too high or too low. The stanchions could not be moulded on the main deck edges, so Revell cast them on strips designed to be fitted into "gutters" moulded into the deck edges. The main effect this has today-thankfully, Tom's PE railings are great-is to create two gaps rather than one to be filled along the deck edges. *Sigh* While the bits are cast onto the deck, the chocks and accommodation ladders are cast on the railing strips. Therefore, all four-bits, chocks, ladders, and stanchions-are too far inboard. Replacement parts are in order here for the perfectionist.

Part fit is fair to good. Gap filling is complicated by the raised weld lines; vertical gaps are few and easy to fill, while the horizontal ones-those lines along the deck edges-will be harder. The mast is a good one, for plastic: it's straight and clean. Tom comes through here with radar, antennae, and details. Same with ladders/companionways: the kit's are good for old plastic; Tom's are excellent, and his instructions are clear about application.

The real downfall of this kit is the weapons suite. The guns are really clunky, though, to Revell's credit, they are all individually cast, and they include a 5" loading machine(!). H-R has the guns in 1/256 scale metal (I have mine on order from the Floating Drydock; I'll post an update when I get them). The K-gun racks are moulded into the deck; they are thankfully easy to remove (do watch out for the bits nearby). Tom includes both these and DC racks, though you'll have to make DCs from .060 rod. (Interestingly, this .060 dimension is also used in the instructions for the 1/350 scale DE PE set, so they may actually need to be larger.) It may be possible to fit the PE racks over the cast in racks, but I don't know about the result. I'd really like to see some fast-sinking DCs, but I haven't found any in this scale.

The Instructions are printed in 392 different languages (I think English is among them), and they include excellent working drawings, very much unlike contemporary Revellogram domestic kits (no text, lousy pics). Paint notes are based on specific paint mixes and focus on the RN colours; I could wish for more info were I building the RN ship, but a regular builder of RN ships may not need more. Also, each modeller has his own favourite set of paints, so I could wish for a better idea of what the mixes are supposed to look like. The decals-hull number and a flag-look usable, though I've never tried to use a decal flag. As with the railings, the instructions call for thread for rigging; if fine enough thread is used, it may work in this scale.

In sum, the kit would be a good box build for an easy project for a novice (and come out looking better than one might think); it has, moreover, lots of potential, despite the uncommon scale. Tom's PE really help, and the necessary work to make a real looker of the kit is not beyond the skill level of anyone familiar with plastic. Modellers used to resin kits that are essentially exercises in painting will probably not be happy: there's carving and shaping to do here. Still, given the cost of those resin kits, I think this one is a fair value, and all that work is part of the fun to me. I have nothing but the highest praise for Tom's set.