I have had some good fortune today. A kit that I thought was to be just a fond memory, has now turned into a future reality. I speak of the U.S.S. United States, 1:96 scale, made by Revell. I bought her back in the late 80’s-early 90’s from a shop, long since closed down. she was a stunning ship, wide in girth and measuring 37 inches long from stem to stern and 27 inches high to her flag. the kit was an absolute joy to build, seamlessly joining together, by it’s artist’s loving hands. after she became a reality, she was placed on her new berth, to be viewed by all who would look. one day, it was brought to the attention of the builder, that his creation was in peril. when i saw it, needless to say, I was ashamed….she was completely covered with cobwebs and dust. the process to clean her up was quite an arduous task to say the least, as the surrounding area and I was overcome with flying dust. then the idea of allowing the outside breeze to aide me in her maintenance came to mind. it worked great, the breeze gave me an advantage! once the problem was worn down to a manageable degree, I had decided to let the breeze that was wafting between the houses, do the rest of the task. I then left to do other chores that i had belayed, in order to attend to her maintenance. the end result was that the wind suddenly picked up and blew it over the railing and onto the asphalt below, shattering it to pieces. I was devastated’ to say the least.
since then, I had not been able to find another one……and Revell had since discontinued most of their large scale ships…..all seemed lost of ever finding another one to take her place. it wasn’t until just recently, that a new-found friend of mine, who is living in Honolulu, saw one on e-bay. he alerted me….and the chase was on. there was no “buy it now” on it, so I had to rely on the dreaded “bidding war”. I don’t use this form of tactic, in buying my kits. to me, it’s barbaric and underhanded in the way they run the proceedings. but Carl, my friend in Honolulu, had a handle on the situation and instructed me, how to handle it. I knew just how “rare” this kit was, and prepared a bid that was equitable enough to insure a win.
I figured that I would put in a bid of $81.50…..a 90% shot that I would win……my wife was livid when she found out . in the last minute of the auction, I hit the “bid” button and when the last ten seconds were ticking down, I hit confirm…..within a few mere seconds, I was the proud owner of the ship! I found out later that I didn’t have to pay the $81.50 that I had bid, instead, I saw that all I owed was $33.75….plus the shipping! I was awestruck…..I just couldn’t believe that the top bid for her was so low!
originally, I had paid $89.99 for the first kit. this kit very well could have topped out over $150.00! these people, in my opinion, had no clue, as to just how rare this particular kit really is. ever since her demise, I have been looking through numerous websites, spending countless hours, trying to find another kit of this scale. all I have been able to see are the 1:150 scale versions of her. I can tell you this; if you ever get the chance to purchase one of these kits, you would have in your possession, one of the finest kits that Revell put out. I failed to mention, that this kit….so it says…..is still wrapped in plastic……it is “untouched” by human hands. the only other thing that I am relieved of….is that I didn’t have to sub-let a space in the doghouse with my buddy!
I wrote this article on another website. I have changed the text and restructured it in a way that it will not mimic the original story. I felt it prudent that I should also post it on this site as well for three reasons.
1) I had written the initial blog about the demise of The United States.
2) I met Carl on this site. without his help, I would not have gotten an invoice today concerning this ship and I still would be looking for it.
3) this is perhaps the most important reason. this is the way you would want to see a site develop. people come and go on this site. some never return. the search for the Cutty Sark decals is how i connected with Carl. we e-mailed one another and through this exchange, we have become friends. for this chap to extend a hand from over 1/3rd of the globe, is an extraordinary gesture at it’s best. I thank you Carl, more than words can say! I can still see plenty more miles in my travels, and I hope I meet more people, just like you. for those of you who come and go “we’ll leave the light on for ya.” {old New England saying}
since then, I had not been able to find another one……and Revell had since discontinued most of their large scale ships…..all seemed lost of ever finding another one to take her place. it wasn’t until just recently, that a new-found friend of mine, who is living in Honolulu, saw one on e-bay. he alerted me….and the chase was on. there was no “buy it now” on it, so I had to rely on the dreaded “bidding war”. I don’t use this form of tactic, in buying my kits. to me, it’s barbaric and underhanded in the way they run the proceedings. but Carl, my friend in Honolulu, had a handle on the situation and instructed me, how to handle it. I knew just how “rare” this kit was, and prepared a bid that was equitable enough to insure a win.
I figured that I would put in a bid of $81.50…..a 90% shot that I would win……my wife was livid when she found out . in the last minute of the auction, I hit the “bid” button and when the last ten seconds were ticking down, I hit confirm…..within a few mere seconds, I was the proud owner of the ship! I found out later that I didn’t have to pay the $81.50 that I had bid, instead, I saw that all I owed was $33.75….plus the shipping! I was awestruck…..I just couldn’t believe that the top bid for her was so low!
originally, I had paid $89.99 for the first kit. this kit very well could have topped out over $150.00! these people, in my opinion, had no clue, as to just how rare this particular kit really is. ever since her demise, I have been looking through numerous websites, spending countless hours, trying to find another kit of this scale. all I have been able to see are the 1:150 scale versions of her. I can tell you this; if you ever get the chance to purchase one of these kits, you would have in your possession, one of the finest kits that Revell put out. I failed to mention, that this kit….so it says…..is still wrapped in plastic……it is “untouched” by human hands. the only other thing that I am relieved of….is that I didn’t have to sub-let a space in the doghouse with my buddy!
I wrote this article on another website. I have changed the text and restructured it in a way that it will not mimic the original story. I felt it prudent that I should also post it on this site as well for three reasons.
1) I had written the initial blog about the demise of The United States.
2) I met Carl on this site. without his help, I would not have gotten an invoice today concerning this ship and I still would be looking for it.
3) this is perhaps the most important reason. this is the way you would want to see a site develop. people come and go on this site. some never return. the search for the Cutty Sark decals is how i connected with Carl. we e-mailed one another and through this exchange, we have become friends. for this chap to extend a hand from over 1/3rd of the globe, is an extraordinary gesture at it’s best. I thank you Carl, more than words can say! I can still see plenty more miles in my travels, and I hope I meet more people, just like you. for those of you who come and go “we’ll leave the light on for ya.” {old New England saying}
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