CASADIO/Revell – Miniships
These
plastic kits from Italy first appeared in Britain in 1972 and were sold by a
number of different distributors in several countries. Hence their association with names such
Almark, ESCI, Modelpower and MPC in the USA. In Britain
they were sold at a discount to members of the 1,200 Model Ship Society.
As
Casadio they were sold unpainted but already assembled in a plastic bubble
pack. The idea being that they could be
‘unplugged’ for detailed painting before permanent assembly using a polystyrene
cement. The models included transfers
for the ship’s pendant numbers, adequate assembly instructions and camouflage
schemes.
USS Enterprise – no. 401/71
USS Yorkton no. 402/71
USS Wisconsin – Iowa Class Battleship – no. 406/71
(my thanks to Mark Walton of Indiana for sending me these
ships)
As
can be seen from the above different models of the same class had small
differences that allowed individuality to be introduced. In particular the US aircraft carriers
reflected their use and conversions e.g. the Enterprise has more guns than the
Yorktown which was sunk earlier in the Pacific War, while the Hornet comes with B25 bombers which were carried in
the ‘Doolittle Raid’ on Toykyo in 1942.
Another differences included the different height position of the
elevators in all three. Finally they
came with an adequate number of aircraft, some with wings folded, which could
then act as a source for other carriers – I used some for my Life-Like
Lexington.
USS Hornet – Aircraft Carrier
Just as the carriers had individual difference so did the early battleships. The American ships came with differing number of AA guns in the main turrets as well as different arrangements for the planes at the stern, including the substitution of helicopters for aircraft.
Apart
from those shown above the range included WW2 Japanese and Italian battleships,
with others planned. The underside of
the base listed twenty-seven ships in
all: the ten in the then current production, another five which were later
produced by Revell and twelve which as far as I am aware have never been
produced by either. The later group
include four French: the battleships Jean Bart and Richelieu, the aircraft
carriers Clemenceau and Foch; one British, the carrier Ark Royal and the
American carriers: USS Forrestal, USS Ranger, USS Saratoga, USS Independence,
USS Coral Sea, USS Midway and the USS Franklin D Roosevelt.
All
these models were welcome additions at the time and indeed are still sought
after. The only negative criticism that
has ever been made is that they are rather high out of the water; positively,
these models are most acceptable, ideal for wargaming and a goldmine of spare
parts for the modifier/scratchbuilder.
RM Vittorio Vento (with apologies for the paint
scheme)
The
production was taken over by Revell at the end of the seventies. I first came across the Revell kits in 1978
when they were already well established.
As mentioned, Revell
expanded the range to include the German and British battleships from the
original list.
IMS Yamato
The original range manufactured
by Casadio was:
the American aircraft carriers
Enterprise, Yorktown, Hornet;
the American Battleships
Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin and New Jersey;
the Japanese Battleships Yamato and
Musashi and aircraft carrier Shinano.
The Italian Battleships Littorio, Imperio, Vittorio Vento and Roma are mentioned as being produced by Casadio despite their names not being on the underside of the base above. [Naval Wargames – Barry J Carter, David and Charles (1975) and A Guide To 1/1200 and 1/1250 Waterline Model Ships – Kelvin Holmes 2004 Edition available on CR-Rom – see ‘News’]This list differs from that on the Galerie Maritim web site. The later I thinks is the list as actually produced by Casadi:http://www.galeriemaritim.de/cgiin/Adaptor/none/www.smartsoft.de/70003/Navy&supplierId=1000240 The numbers on the web site are 411, 412 ,413 and 414, replacing those above. This does seem likely given the fact they originated in Italy and that I bought a Revell version in 1978 with the Casadio logo of a circle with a quarter segment missing and the words ‘Mini Ships’ ‘ Made in Italy’ stamped on the hull.
A feature common to many of the Revell ships well into the late eighties although it is always difficult to know how long stock has been store. Later produced models show the same area stamped out but with the logo and writing erased.
The Revell range was expanded
with:
the British Battleships: HMS
King George V (H 2419), HMS Prince of Wales (H 2420) and HMS Duke of York (H);
and the German Battleships Bismarck and Tirpitz
HMS King George V
In addition to the original list
the German Battlecruisers: Scharnhorst and Gneisenau were produced.
Scharnhorst
The early Revell kits had
catalogue numbers starting H xxxx (see above for examples) while the current
series sold as ‘Miniships’ has numbers starting 06xxx (see below for examples)
From 1999 on Revell made further
additions with full hull versions of RMS Titanic (06819), Aida (06820) and more
recently Queen Elizabeth 2 (06821).
They may still be seen as good
value for money, an excellent pathway into the world of 1/1200 scale ships. They are well thought out in design, allow
easy and accurate painting and are straight forward to assemble.
Liners: Titanic and variants, Aida
and QE2