Review - Right On Replicas · RoR Step-by-Step Review 20130307* RMS Titanic 100th Anniversary...

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RoR Step-by-Step Review 20130307* RMS Titanic 100th Anniversary Edition 1-400 Revell 85-0380 Kit Review

At the beginning of the Twentieth century, steamships were the fastest means of travel across the mighty oceans. The White Star Line, a British company wanting to be the leader in that endeavor designed three new ships for carrying passengers from England to America. These ships, the Olympic, the Titanic, and the Gigantic were to be the largest ships ever built at the time. In 1909 the keel was laid for the Titanic and the Olympic simultaneously and then on May 31, 1911 they were launched within 4 hours of each other. These ships were then outfitted with the most eloquent furnishing available at the time. The interiors rivaled the most luxurious building, castles and homes in Europe. For Royal Mail Ship Titanic (RMS) Titanic though, the luxuries were not to be enjoyed for long, for she started her maiden voyage on April 10, 1912 and on April 14, 1912 at approximately 11:35 pm she struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic. Two hours and forty minutes later she was gone, along with some 1500 passengers and crew who thought the RMS Titanic was truly “unsinkable”. For the Modeler: This kit is a 100th anniversary edition of the RMS Titanic in 1:400 scale. It consists of 262 parts molded in white and black. Finished length is over 26 inches long. The instruction booklet is quite detailed, but lacks written text so diagrammatic interpretation is necessary. This kit goes together very well. The length of some of the pieces tends to cause some assembly issues but they can be overcome by using superglue instead of model cement. The instructions lead you in building sub-assemblies and then attaching them which makes for a better built model and also makes it so much easier to detail it.


Photo 0a shows the box art with a vivid recreation of Titanic’s fateful maiden voyage. Also there is a paint chart in the booklet but it is for paints available in Europe. You can use the paint chart on the side of the box as a guide it just doesn’t tell you which colors replaces the color code called for in the booklet. The pieces are nicely contained in three thick bags. This kit includes thread for rigging, the decal sheet, instruction booklet, and some nice added memorabilia.

The main colors used in this build were… Hull: 2733 Ford engine red, 2721 classic black,2720 classic white..... Krylon Gloss white spray for the top of the hull and deck structures. Deck: 1167: flat tan with Polly Scale Oak Wash Deck Fixtures: gloss gray, gloss white, Stacks: fs13538 Chrome yellow and Model Master, gloss black

Photo 15 shows the diagrams in the instruction booklet. Interpretation of pictures is needed as there are very few written words in this booklet. Photo 200 shows the call out in the instruction to cut off tabs, pins or other pieces during assembly. Failure to do this will cause severe fit issues with the model.


Some helpful hints, clues, guides for the builder. You will need super glue You will need a very sharp knife You will need a large, level work area You will need tweezers You will wish you had a third or fourth hand at times When the instructions say “remove the tab”

remove it or you pieces will not fit Paint everything you can before you start your build Detail your sub-assemblies before assembling

them to the hull Patience is a virtue and a necessity Detail your windows and portholes before you

get too far along

Photo 26 (left) shows two of the white sprues. NOTE how clean these parts are. I found little to no flash to remove and the only detailing was where the runners connect the parts to the sprues. The right photo shows the rest of the sprues, again nice and clean, BUT you will notice the runners are quite large on some small parts a very sharp knife is needed throughout this build.

Photo 23 shows the pieces of the hull which is nicely detailed to show the iron plate construction. The 3 small “H” shaped pieces are supports to stiffen the hull once assembled

I started out by washing all my pieces and letting them air dry. I then gave everything a thin coat of grey primer. I assembled the hull and prop shafts (7-8), rudder (11-12) and bilge keels (156-157) and painted them with grey primer and set aside for a day or two. Steps 2-5 The hull went together very well; the keel was the only part that required any sanding/filing to get a nice smooth finish.


Photo 31 shows the rudder and outer propeller shafts installed. You can fix the rudder or leave it positional as I did for detail. Before the glue sets insure your propeller shafts are even with one another.

Photo 33 shows the bilge keels installed to the hull.


Photo 41 shows the stern after painting the hull Titanium black and fiery red with gloss white on the upper parts of the sides.

Photo 38 shows the bow after painting. Starting step 6, I found there are many holes that have to be drilled out on different pieces, this needs to be done at this time as well as attaching the referenced guide wires. When attaching the lower deck (14) to the hull you must ENSURE it is seated all the way down in position otherwise the other decks will be misaligned too.

Photo 41a Also pay attention to the fact that the ends of this deck (14) are painted wood color and the center is gloss white.


Photo 46 Install the lower decks. Looking astern NOTE the guy wires (thread) on the deck, install them when and where the instruction booklet shows because you will not get a second chance to install them cleanly. Due to the large size of the pieces I found it prudent to use superglue to join the deck to the hull in order to get it flush and level with its intended position. Glue a couple of inches at a time, let it set then glue a couple more inches.

Photo 48 shows the full length of the lower deck installed in the hull


Photo 47 shows the beginning of the bow assembly. Note the horseshoe shaped press mark I forgot to remove prior to assembly, it is gone now though. Build steps 7 thru 10 straight forward by the book, build a sub-assembly and then attach it to the ship.

Photo 57 shows the completion of steps 9 and 10. The ability to detail each sub-assembly really makes this kit stand out from the rest. In step 11, install the sub-assembly to the ship.


At steps 12 -13 you’re building and installing the foredeck

Photo 65 shows the completion of steps 12 and 13. Paint the bollards upper half brass.

Photo 68 shows the foredeck attached to the hull. Fitment between deck and hull is excellent!


Photo 71 shows steps 14 thru 18. Building the aft deck and the rear railing was the first real obstacle to overcome. The deck mounts just fine, but the railing comes as one long straight piece that has to be bent around the stern of the ship. The instructions call for using HOT WATER but not BOILING water. This definition is not too precise and after destroying my first railing (which Revel so kindly replaced) I improvised and used NO water just superglue. I started at one end and glued a little at a time till I reach the other end. This method produced a bad finish because I could not completely match the contour of the hull but from a display distance it is not noticeable.

Photo 79 shows the rear railing in place. The railing comes as 1 straight piece that the book says you should warm in warm water to shape over the stern of the ship, but even then the mounting lugs do not match up and the railing is difficult to match to the contour of the stern. Also notice the ladder does not line up at all.

Photo 82 shows another view of the rear railing. Throughout the build, the instruction sheet is very clear and concise as to part location and orientation most of the small step between here and the conclusion follow the booklet with no surprises. The ladders (47, 48) between decks do take a little finesse to get the pieces to line up correctly and the cranes, you must remember there are 2 different assemblies and they are not interchangeable on the deck mounts.


Photo 93 shows the front cranes positioned.

Photo 98 shows the rear cranes positioned


Photo 102 shows assembled 2nd deck positioned over bottom deck, there is a bulkhead on each side of the hull that will align flush with this desk when properly placed. When you get to step 29 MAKE sure you cut off the pins as shown in the instructions. At this point all that is left is to build the top deck and then attach it to the hull. Building the top deck will be completed prior to attaching it to the ship. Everything from ventilation pipes to smokestacks and guide lines. Each piece goes on just as the instructions show there are no surprises or tricks needed here until you get to the guidelines on the smokestacks. But I found a neat little gadget that will get you through this in a heartbeat.

Photo 202 shows a needle-threader that can be found in almost any sewing kit or purchased at a dollar store for a dollar. Poke the threader thru the hole, stick the thread thru the wire and pull the threader and the thread out the hole and move on to the next hole.


Photo 110 shows the right side of the completed top deck with the stacks tied down.

Photo 111 shows a top view from the front of the completed top deck.


Photo 112 shows how I used 1 continuous thread to lash the stacks to the deck.

Photo 116 shows looking along at deck height at the stacks and guide wires.

Photo 118 shows details of the top deck assembled before being installed to the hull.


Photo 115 shows the left side of the completed top deck.

Photo 119 shows the guide wires and the deck rails of the top deck. After finishing the top deck comes the fun part of attaching it to the ship without breaking it and of your handiwork. I started at the back and glued about 4 inches at a time and once all was glued I left it set upside down on the stacks for a day to dry.

Photo 113 shows the front mast assembled to the deck with ladders attached. NOTE: I found the ladders were actually molded with the details on the inside so I filed the mounting pins off and super glued them on backwards to get the details to show.


Photo 125a Attach the 4 lifeboat stations (blue arrows) along the top deck left and right, they will only fit in one direction. The front and rear masts are the (red arrows). After the glue for your masts has had ample time to dry it is time to tie your rigging off. All of the lines you attached to the decks at the beginning of construction will now be attached to either the front or rear mast. Following the instruction booklet makes this task a snap. Just do not over-tighten any of your lines or your masts will look like a snake.

Photo 128 shows rear mast with rigging attached


Photo 125 shows front mast with rigging attached. After you finish the masts you will need to make your radio antenna which is strung between the tops of both masts.

Photo 130 shows the propellers and rudder in place.


Add your decals and you will have a worthy piece to add to any maritime collection. The dark blue arrow shows the 3 Screw warning decal, this goes above each propeller on the left and right and also centered on the stern (red arrow). The light blue arrows show a close up of the gold stripe decal as it comes around the stern and the water depth marks on the rudder. {I have to lower my waterline, the joint of red and black paint, because I put the red up too high}. The black should be below the first white numbers of this decal. The white arrow shows the stern name plate and home port unfortunately for me it took me over an hour to place this as I was working with a completed ship and had to be careful of the rigging and mast. They were very difficult; also they are hard to see against the black. I also destroyed my gold stripe with all the water I used to get those two tiny decals on. I really suggest painting and decorating the hull at the very beginning of the build.

Photo 215 shows the bow of the ship with the front water depth gauge, the front name tag and the gold stripe decal. The name plate does not show out very good against the black hull background.


Revel scores a 10 on the WOW meter with this one. Not only is the kit a joy to build, it is extremely realistic. Plus all their help with my broken parts throughout the build ensured I have a quality showpiece for my collection. While it took a little longer to build than I had anticipated, This kit is rated a skill level 3 I’ll have to agree with that for the patience level and the fact the instruction book is diagrams and not words but do not let that scare off the enthused modeler looking for a challenge.

Here is the assembled display stand with decals affixed. I painted mine a medium tan just to be a different color from the ship. It makes for a nice contrast.

Review - Right On Replicas · RoR Step-by-Step Review 20130307* RMS Titanic 100th Anniversary...

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Transcript of Review - Right On Replicas · RoR Step-by-Step Review 20130307* RMS Titanic 100th Anniversary...