ss United States
This is the Glencoe 1:400 scale ‘Big U’ by Thomas Richter.
Bow shot on waterline display
Side view on waterline display
Glencoe compared to the Revell 1:600
The US showing the full hull
The US at sea. Note the smoke coming from the 2nd funnel
Comments: When I opened the box of the Glencoe kit I was disappointed. I expected it to be a vintage kit, but not that out of scale. The dimensions are all wrong (too wide / short for the length, forecastle to short, area before the breaker out of scale, upsloping stern, porthole arrangement, etc., you can go on forever, nothing is really right) and the lack of detail is frustrating. I had planned to make it RC and with the lower hull being out of scale as well it offers enough space for the equipment.
I do not really know why I started it, but maybe it was the Debris Field inspiring me to make the most out of this model. Looking back a conversion to the America might have been a real option, but there was enough to do anyway.
I started off by sanding down the rails, thinning out extra plastic on the superstructure (as the model was top heavy) and cut off the strange upsloping line at the stern. Fitting the RC was easy, so I also added to smoke generators and a turning radom. After her maiden voyage about two years ago I found her to very unstable. Even the slightest wind would make her heel over. So I threw out all the ballast and fitted it below the keel. I made a display case with a waterline look (which I also use to carry the model around), so the deranged lower hull does not matter, and out on the lake you can not make it out as well. As a waterline model I did not look that bad, so I decided to add some more effort to the model.
Last year I finished adding rigging, P/E rails and the flags. So now in 2004 the United States sets out again. And I must say it is an eye catcher and I am asked a lot of questions on the ship when I take her out. Let us hope the story of the real ‘Big U’ also continues with NCL.
TR ~ 04 / 04