A tale of two Wasas my Airfix Kit Review of the White 1985 & Red 2015 Mouldings, which is better?

[@Flakmagnet1701]

the Wasa museum is an amazing thing to see. If you are ever in Stoickhom...do NOT miss it. The preservation is amazing, and I don;t think there is anything quite like it anywhere, it is so complete.

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

It is on my bucket list.

[@t3rmin8r10]

I got the kit when I was a kid-pretty soon after the first release!

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

you must be old like me ;)

[@johnpope515]

Good morning Harry great take on the Airfix kits i don't build trains, planes, automobiles or ships just military and Sci-fi but do enjoy my Sundays watching your videos have a great day and thanks again

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

Thanks for watching and commenting John…

[@cosmarendy8417]

Thanks for sharing Harry.

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

My pleasure Cos, thanks for watching

[@johnclarke25]

Great review of the kits,i belive airfix did a special book about the wasa in the size of the annuals,might be usefull on ebay.

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

Thanks for the info John

[@I16RATA]

The VASA-museum is very cool. I was there arrround 10 times, because it's so close to my job. They were salling those white boxes in their souveniershop before.

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

I would love to go see the Museum myself… but sadly now old, poor, and too fat to fly… I may have to save up for a cruise.

[@flybobbie1449]

I remember the climbing rigging on these kits, the bits cut off if trimmed makes great small brushes. Like small bristles inside.

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

Your teeth must stay very clean ;)

[@brenstratters2026]

Ooooo, AaaaH, VASA. Big fan of the real thing having seen her a couple of times. The intricacy of the transom on this kit is fabulous. Thanks for this comparison Harry, All the best matey.

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

Good on you Bren, thanks for watching

[@Unquietrecords]

Making the red box version at the moment. I'm a complete beginner, this is my second model ever (first was Revell's HMS Victory) and I almost gave up! I am learning a lot watching your videos though, it keeps me motivated.

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

Great to hear… ask any questions if you get stuck or need some advice

[@davidjennings9128]

What beautiful detail model kit I would love to build however two things that is holding me back ,I’ve never build a sailing ship ,and I feel it’s a bit overwhelming lol

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

It can seem so until you realise each section is like a model in itself, repeated over and over. You make one cannon, then repeat a few dozen times. You make one mast, and repeat 2 more times. Same with the rigging. To consider it all is daunting. But you just rig one thing at a time. Then have a break and do the next thing. It all takes time and is no weekend build, but with patience you get there.

[@alanmorris8783]

Was a is an amazing visit. Preservation is incredible, you can visit the lower decks with all the restored and recreated paraphernalia showing life on the ship. Figure the modern versions are much better than the victory mostly due to the massive demand for the victory than “Jonny Foreigner “ ships like the Wasa.

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

The Airfix Victory kit’s demise is the result of it’s popularity after half a century.

[@garymarkham2165]

Interesting look at the kits Harry, not seen either versions before. Walked around the decks of the HMS Victory in dry dock in Portsmouth in the late 1960's with my father. Was surprised just how small the internal spaces were, the lack of room to work the cannons. The ship was fully fitted out WITH masts and folded sails, not the sawn off empty shell I saw recently. I agree with you on having the newer instruction sheets. My 1995 issue Heinkel He-177 has the complete paints numbers, you remember the early Airfix tins of paint ? Yeah, try matching those numbers to modern paint codes (I did, but only just, lol). Look forward to your build of these, -cheers, Gaz 🇰🇷🇦🇺

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

I use an App called iModelkit which lists most model paints and does quick comparisons. You can also colour pick from a photo then find a paint colour to match, or what to use to mix the colour from your own paint stock. It has been a big help in getting better colour matching when painting my kits.

[@ssanneru]

Minor nitpick re yardarms - they are the very outermost section of the yard, essentially the little bit that sticks out beyond the outermost top corner of the sail. The studdingsails (much later than Wasa of course) are set on the studdingsail (stunsail) booms, which in effect extend the yard.

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

Oooops… I have been spar counted. Yes you are correct. Still the misuse of “yard arm” for the “yard” is widespread in the modelling community, and I was guilty of this transgression for many years until I was told it was the extended part at the end of the “yard”. Maybe I misunderstood assuming it was the sunsail boom. Never the less you never hoist a pirate from the middle of the yard, to avoid all the blood, poo, and piss falling on the deck. Hopefully I got that bit right?

[@ssanneru]

@@HarryHoudiniModels Yup. Hoist them out to the yardarm, keeping the deck clean! Blocks on the yardarms are also useful for keel-haulings, you don't want the perps to foul anchors and wales and guns and other sticky-outy bits on the hull. They might even bleed on the paintwork otherwise, when hauled out of the water on the other side. Most inconsiderate.

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

we certainly can’t have the gilding tarnished with blood can we?

[@ssanneru]

@@HarryHoudiniModels Don't be silly man, gilding is expensive you know!

[@miketuggle9273]

I have a strange sudden craving for a VB right now. lol. All I got is an oil can size of Fosters, I guess that will have to do.

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

Go the VB… only tourists and wankers drink Fosters mate

[@miketuggle9273]

@ hahahahaha.

[@jefthing]

I wanted an Airfix MkIV Blenheim so bought a ‘recent-ish’ kit in their new grey plastic. It was awful, nothing fitted so I dumped it. I managed to get an old light blue version from the 70s and it went together well. So if I want an Airfix kit now I try and get one from the time when they coloured their plastic (so up to the early 80s).

[@jefthing]

PS the real Vasa is really creepy!

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

The old plastic I feel is always superior and the kit prices can be a lot cheaper.

[@amyschry4129]

Great comparison video Harry! I'm like you, love the sailing ship kits and wish that manufacturers would produce more of them. How does the Revell kit of the Wasa compare to these two kits, I know that they're in different scales. Do you have any opinion on Revell's re-issue of the HMS Beagle? Some people claim that it's just a reboxing of their Bounty kit. How do I go about ordering your jigs for dead eyes and ratlines? Tom S.

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

The Revell Victory is about the same size as Airfix kit. Old sailing ship models were pretty much box scale, so the quoted 1/180 is dubious. Revells kit in 1/220 scale has open cannon ports with interior decks to mount cannons on. I would say it is a cleaner less flashy moulding than the half century worn out one from Airfix. Although Germans making British warships just doesn’t seem right! LOL Yes the Beagle by Revell is just a cut and shut version of the Bounty. Same kit with a raised quarter deck. The masts and basic hull shape are identical. However as the Beagle was a smaller ship than the Bounty they had to fudge the scale to their regular 1/96 as opposed to the Bounty’s 1/110. Creative marketing! Rigging Tools available here: houdinimodels.com/harp/

[@garymarkham2165]

Ah, not looked at the Imodeller paint comparison charts, would be a great help. I still have the original Airfix paint catalogue here which lists a staggering 43 colours...... if you get stuck on a colour i could always consult the list etc, haha, cheers Harry, thanks for your reply, Gaz.

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

I think it’s only available for iOS www.id6.ch/NewId6/imodelkit.html

[@garymarkham2165]

​@@HarryHoudiniModelsInteresting, a big thankyou Harry 😁😁👍👍👍

[@Andy.Gledhill.Models.]

A great comparison mate. I believe that both kits come from the same 1971 tooling. The plastic in the newer kit will probably be better quality. They update the instructions and decals, flags etc. I must admit that I have recently been thinking of getting one of these old Airfix ship kits. Probably either HMS Victory or the Golden Hind. I think this Wasa would possibly be to complicated to paint for me. Its a very long time since I looked at good old sailing ships like this.

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

Yes the injection is still from the original 1971 tooling, however the plastic formula and box colours changed over the years. Usually White boxes have the best quality dark brown plastic for the moulds that was used up to the early 80’s by Airfix. Later in the mid 80’s to 90’s the kits were produced at an old Heller factory with poor cheap Heller plastic, usually a light brown or grey. The black plastic kits in Brown boxes of the early to late 70’s are some of the best. However the modern Airfix grey plastic from India does not suit the old Airfix toolings so many reboxed Red kits in the 21st century suffer from poor injection, short shot parts, and excessive flash. My Red box Wasa is surprisingly the exception. The new Vintage Classic kits from Airfix try to address the issues of half century old toolings by refurbishing the moulds and using plastic formulas more suited to the old tooling.

[@nickbutler7935]

Use the glue supplied Harry, it will save time with some of the rigging!!. Cheers from Blighty and thanks for the 'comparison.

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

You must be sniffing your model glue Nick. The polystyrene cement in the Wasa kit wont glue cotton cordage LOL

[@rogerbowen5753]

Fair to say that some reissues fare better than others. Nice to see that Airfix are addressing earlier issues and doing better jobs with their reissues of earlier kits. It'd be nice if they offered a decal replacement service for older kits. I like the 1/24 Mustang, but, it no longer comes with the decals for This Is It which was the best look for the kit.

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

Airfix used to supply replacement decals. Have you tried contacting their spare parts department?

[@rogerbowen5753]

@@HarryHoudiniModels Not had cause to yet, but, a friend got some old kits yesterday and he could make use of it.

[@steveday6671]

I remember having that kit in the very early 80s. but my memory says the airfix vacform sails were less white and more "age yellowed" then. also when did they stop doing the molded ratlines? all my airfix ships came with pre done black plastic coated ratlines.

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

After the Irish/US consortium take over Airfix in the 80s and production moved to the old Heller factory in France, many of the nice extras Airfix used to include were dropped. The Heller rigging loom replaced the plastic coated fibre ratlines, which was a more traditional way to rig the shrouds with ratlines, but not as accurate as the ones Airfix used to supply.

[@steveday6671]

@@HarryHoudiniModels Thanks for taking the time to explain :) I used to have the Wasa and the Royal Sovereign in the large scale. I do remember the plastic coated ratlines were a bugger to keep taut, they always tended to sag.

[@Hunslet3796]

Great video, Harry. As you sead, not many new tool sailing ships in the last decade, although Zvezda have announced a new tool of the Mercury, wil you be having a look at that one when it comes out?

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

I would love to review that kit if someone wants to send me one.

[@kevelliott]

The kit I bought in 1984 (just finishing it now!) has full colour box art, with yellow sides. The plastic is great - no bendy yards - and the sails are sort of pre-yellowed. Don't know if I'll use them yet.

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

The yellow boxes, like my Saint Louis, are often Asian releases from the 80’s, which is not a bad thing. The plastic on my St Louis was very nice and my vac form sails were also a little yellow.

[@Claymore5]

Have just ordered the Great Western - hope that's as good as the read box Wasa looks....

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

From what I have heard the Great Western Vintage Classic is a nicely cleaned up moulding, but being a much different type of ship does not have all the decorative detail like the Wasa.

[@Lambonights]

Have no worries, that is also a great kit. I bought a brand new one from Airfix last month. Perfect it is.

[@barrybautista4781]

Not mine it was a right pig spent ages cleaning up parts and bad moulding and fit. Just need to do the rigging.

[@neilhughes9310]

I remember reading (maybe in the Fred Hocker book, but I cant be sure) that the Wasa was sailing with only 4 sails when she sank. This may have been common practice until a ship reached the open sea. Unlike most of the rest of the ship they did not survive over 3 centuries in the Baltic. All the other sails were found almost intact in a locker on the ship. I would also recommend the Revell kit (if one can be found at an affordable price) as it is based on the fully restored ship. It features full cannons all to the correct various sizes on partly open gun decks. Bizarrely the detail on the old Airfix moulding is crisper than on the Revell, but less 'accurate'. Thanks for this video. I'm tempted to buy a Vintage Classic boxing now.

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

The Revell kit was tooled 40 years after the Airfix kit, and yes in that time the Wasa was restored, so you would expect the model to have better accuracy and more options with modern CAD tooling. As for sail rig, it is common for large ships to only hoist the lower sails in harbour for slow steady departure. The top sails are only deployed when fully at sea. If the Wasa had been fully sheeted then a mere breeze would have blown her over!

[@ssanneru]

On a square rigger like this, as a minimum you typically set the main and fore topsails, reefed if necessary, plus some headsail - the spritsail at this point in time, jibs or forestaysails later on - and the mizzen. This gives you a decent amount of propulsion (topsails) and control over steering (headsail and mizzen). You steer with the sails really, the rudder is for fine adjustments; large rudder deflections act as a brake and you don't want that. Courses are usually added later, they are trickier to control than the topsails, and topgallants are set only if the wind is light and you need the speed. Topgallants are more vulnerable than the topsails, very prone to damage or outright loss if the wind gusts. The spritsail topsail is more of a steering sail than anything, when you really want to force the bow downwind, and the mizzen topsail similarly helps to force the bow upwind so is typically set when you are sailing against the wind. The model of Wasa sinking in the Wasa museum shows her carrying main and fore topsails, mizzen and fore-course. It would seem that the spritsail was not needed on the particular heading she was sailing.

[@paulcorrigan649]

Cor blimey Harry. I'm desperate for a Wasa.

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

Not something you should say out loud in public. I will give away the Red Box kit, now I have the White Box Wasa. But it might cost a few shekels to post.

[@peterforden5917]

Against her Dutch shipwrights protest's,the king insisted upon having a second gun deck, probably due to the losses against the Danish navy, if you want to know more look up the sinking of the Göta Lejon .

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

I did say this, although in a humorous discourse, in my video.

[@DayTwo-w8n]

The problem I've had with some of the older kits from the 1960s-1980s is the plastic has problems. I'm working on a Revell Porsche from 1961 and the plastic is brittle. I've had cracks develop in the body as I assembled it. Anyways nice review.

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

Not all manufacturers used the same formula for injection moulding. Old Revell kits are quite suspect and often brittle.

[@judebrad]

GR is Greece. When I first bought an Airfix ship, the colour reminded me of a chocolate eater egg. Not like the newer moulds .

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

Thanks Judebrad, of course it is Greece. When I dry fit the Airfix St Louis it so much looked like a big chocolate ship that I wanted to bite into it!

[@123cyr]

S for Swedish, which seems appropriate for this kit.

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

Ah yes of course… thanks

[@viking1236]

But can you source an original kit, I seem to remember this being available in the 70s or is the 85 version the same? Edit 1971 release.

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

Yes, as I said in the video, the original tooling was 1971, since then all kits are made from the same mould just with new boxings, but those old 1970s Brown Box original kits are now very rare, and would be very expensive if you could find one.

[@viking1236]

@@HarryHoudiniModelsyes the curse of commenting before the end of the video! Keep up the good work

[@brianartillery]

The Wasa. The Swedish Mary Rose.

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

Well not really. The Mary Rose was launched in 1511, was a small Carrack, served for 34 years, then sank in battle in 1545, and was raised in 1982. The Wasa was launched in 1628, over 100 years later, was a large Galleon, served for a day then sank when blown over and finally raised in 1961. Sure, both are now restored museum ships, but that’s about all they have in common.

[@guidor.4161]

Same same, but different, as they say in India 😂

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

Yes memsab… this is so

[@HO-bndk]

The ship that sailed 1200 metres along and 32 metres down. 🤨

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

Yep. That’s all she did. How embarrassing

[@yellowcake1320]

Well Wasa do you know.......all things aged are better quality Haryy you can attest to that Hi Bask my love

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

Bask says meow… which translates to “do you have any fish”

[@voncrumb]

how's the hms prince coming along?

[@voncrumb]

good review btw, nice to know that the re-release kit is decent

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

The Red Box looks good, but the plastic is a little softer than the White Box mouldng. As for the Prince, I want to get some more done on the St Louis first, then can return to that one.

[@potrzebieneuman4702]

1300 metres, that was how far it got before it decided to lie down and have a 300 year sleep about 120 metres from shore.

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

Sad fate for such a glorious ship…

[@TheHateSpeechChannel]

I'm having fish fingers for tea 😅

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

haters gunna hate… enjoy your meal

[@xxxtrathin3809]

Half joking but have you ever seen a gunpla model kit? They’re surging in popularity.

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

I have seen them but am too old to get excited by cartoon robots. I grew up with Astro Boy and Gigantor. Even Transformers are after my time. Sailing Ships are my thing, especially old kits from the 50’s and 60’s.

[@xxxtrathin3809]

@ that’s understandable.

[@davegreenwood7575]

I love looking at a box...irritates the crap out of the wife though. 🙄

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

scratch and sniff mate!

[@nielschristianwithmller138]

S for Sweden 😅

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

Makes sense… they sunk the ship after all

[@johnmcsorley1763]

You'll have fun painting all those carvings ........Not .......trust me ..I know😢

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

I use Posca Paint pens to pick out the details. Worked very well on my St Louis and is so much easier and faster than using a hairy brush.

[@billevans7936]

If I had my health.....oh man

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

Never let anything hold you back… build a ship now!

[@sammy_dog]

Wasauup Harry that ship Wasa piece of crap sinking just after launching the Swedes should just stick with flat packs I say if they insist on building ships they should just stick with their long boats they did the job back in the day

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

Yes it was all some much easier with grape and village

[@garymarkham2165]

​@HarryHoudiniModels I tried explaining your comment to the "Trouble and strife" but being Korean, she thinks we all have been at the glue too long ! She also asked if you had been a Viking when you were younger ! -Didn't we all ! Haha, cheers 🤪🤪🤪.

[@HarryHoudiniModels]

I have Danish ancestry…. I enjoy pastry!

[@sammy_dog]

@@HarryHoudiniModels hmmmm Apple Danish