SCALE MODEL NEWS

IN 2017, WE REVIEWED the 895-part Revell 1:72 scale kit of the  Black Pearl , as seen in the Disney movie saga  Pirates of the Caribbean . The kit we show here is a smaller 1:150 scale version of the same ship, though it still comes with 112 parts. Mat Irvine:  The 1:150 scale  Black Pearl  is supplied to assemble using the Revell ‘easy-click system’ in which the parts simply snap together. They don’t necessarily need cementing, though that can always prove an advantage if you wish the finished model to stay completely firm and solid. Although basically a snap-together model, the  Black Pearl  is still a fairly complex build. As with its larger sibling, components such as the sails are injection moulded parts, which are thicker than true-scale, but are far easier to deal with than vacuum-formed parts, which is the usual method for the unfurled sails of galleons. Despite its name, the components of the  Black Pearl  are not moulded in all-blac...

  PIRATE KITS HAVE ALWAYS done well for model companies, both as figures and ships, so issuing the star vessel from Pirates of the Caribbean , the most successful pirate movie franchise ever, has to be a good move. Mat Irvine: This kit from Revell Germany actually originated with Zvezda in Russia, and the parts are still made there. However this is a re-boxing, with evocative box-art and a new instruction booklet. Oddly though, these are not in colour, like other recent Revell Germany kits. Plenty of components ( below ) to keep a nautical modeller busy. This can only be a quick review of the kit as, with almost 900 parts, it’s not exactly a ‘quick build.’ However, construction follows the usual approach with galleon kits. This can basically be split into two sections, the ‘easy bit’ meaning assembling the main components. Then comes the ‘hard bit’ which is the rigging, and this will almost certainly take at least three times longer than the main build. Completed model pictures ar...