Lindberg skill level ratings

[Robert Taylor]

Question:

 

Regards Lindberg kits. I know they issue theirs with a skill level, I have only seen levels 1-3, is there a higher level with lindberg kits? If not how would their skill levels compare to say Revell who have a level of 1-5? Just curious as i couldn't find any real information on Lindbergs Skill level ratings. Maybe some of our American modellers could shed light on this?

Thanks in advance Robert

 

[popeye the sailor]

not many go above a 5......  I think that it actually depends on the modeler.   there is a lot to be said about determination.......if a person really puts their minds to the task,  they can successfully build a model.  I've built many plastic models in my day.....though I wish my skills were up there along some of the more accomplished modelers.  my start into wooden ship modeling,  began with an old kit of the Nordkap.  it is one of Billing's expert kits and being an older kit,  it wasn't laser cut.  yet,  with little skill dealing with wood {ships},  and the determination to build it......here it is  

I believe that the skill levels simply convey the degree of detail that the model possesses....a beginner might not attain the degree,  but will be able to build the model.  but anyone with some modeling skills,  will be more successful.  the other key traits are skill and experience.   I have never paid much attention to skill levels.......I'm curious why your interested in them.  if you really like the subject,  and your determined to build it.........I want a front row seat in what your building  

[Robert Taylor]

14 hours ago, popeye the sailor said:

not many go above a 5......  I think that it actually depends on the modeler.   there is a lot to be said about determination.......if a person really puts their minds to the task,  they can successfully build a model.  I've built many plastic models in my day.....though I wish my skills were up there along some of the more accomplished modelers.  my start into wooden ship modeling,  began with an old kit of the Nordkap.  it is one of Billing's expert kits and being an older kit,  it wasn't laser cut.  yet,  with little skill dealing with wood {ships},  and the determination to build it......here it is  

I believe that the skill levels simply convey the degree of detail that the model possesses....a beginner might not attain the degree,  but will be able to build the model.  but anyone with some modeling skills,  will be more successful.  the other key traits are skill and experience.   I have never paid much attention to skill levels.......I'm curious why your interested in them.  if you really like the subject,  and your determined to build it.........I want a front row seat in what your building  

Tbh, it was more out of curiosity regards different Manufacturers across the board, be it Lindberg,  Revell, Airfix etc... Guess I just wondered if there was or should be one standard levels of skill ratings across all Plastic model ship building or should it stay the same regards different  Manufacturers interpretations. 

At the moment  I am nearing the completion of my First Pyro Kit: The Santa Catarina Do Monte Sinai, to which you can find a log on here.

I also have a couple  of other finished logs in Revell's 1:96 English Man O'war and Airfix 1:72 Golden Hind.

These really are my first 2 Kits in nearly a 40 year hiatus, so I am bk learning again. I will say this though the Santa Catarina do Monte Sinai kit even though smaller is imho the same levell as most of the Airfix Classic ships series and better mouldings than quite a few other too. I suppose that's when I first started thinking  about  level ratings on model kits as I never really took much notice before and definitely wouldn't let it restrict me from buying a particular kit.

Edited February 8, 2021 by Robert Taylor

[popeye the sailor]

I like the sails........reminds me of something I tried a while ago.

https://wenzelswharftips.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=35&action=edit

 

it really is a toss up.......use the vac sails or go rouge and make cloth sails.  I find the use of cloth sails to be somewhat different between plastic and wooden kits.  most wooden kit are at a scale where cloth doesn't appear out of scale as much.  unless the plastic model is a larger scale,  the scale thickness issue with the smaller kits,  is more visible.   then again,  I've never concerned myself with either  

 

I've got the Revell Gorch Foch,  which is a skill level 5.  I've also got the Monogram Bon Homme Richard and the Linberg Captain Henry Morgan...both are a skill level 3.   in the hands of a beginner,  I'm sure any one of these would be a very nice model.........but if one has the experience and knowledge,  then the detail they possess can be brought out.  it like what my bass teacher told me.......anyone can make music   

[popeye the sailor]

this one I got as a Christmas gift from my grand kids a few years ago.   I felt that I couldn't disappoint the little guys,  even though it's a snap kit   

 

http://seymoresblogs.blogspot.com/

 

I did more rigging than was shown in the instructions.

Edited February 9, 2021 by popeye the sailor
extra text

[Rcboater Bill]

Lindberg ship kits are old, old molds- from the 1960s, primarily.  A lot of their sailing ship kits are old molds acquired from long-gone companies, such as Inpact and Pyro.  The are basically equivalent to old Airfix kits from the same era.

 

Revell (USA) sailing ship kits are just as old in many cases, but usually with some more detail and parts than equivalent Lindberg kits.  In an age of simpler, affordable kits aimed at younger modelers, Revell also offered the bigger, much more involved kits like the big USS Constitution and Cutty Sark.

 

But as the late renowned ship modeler Dr. John Tilley posted on Fine Scale Modeler in the early 2000s,   Revell hadn’t done a new sailing ship kit since the early 70s, and had been out of the sailing ship business for longer than they were ever in it….  (and Lindberg is even worse off.)

 

If you are interested in reading quick reviews of the old Revell and Lindberg ship kits, “Rajen’s list” is still a valuable resource.  ( You will quickly get a sense of how terribly inaccurate many of the Lindberg kits were!)   It was in its heydey in the late ‘90s and early 2000s, but “Modeler Joe” has picked up the torch and updated it somewhat.  

http://www.modelerjoe.net/shipmodellist.html

 

It may sound like I’m dumping on Lindberg, but as a boy 50 years ago, I built a bunch of them and enjoyed them.  Some  of the old Pryo molds they acquired  still aren’t bad- the Steam Paddle Revenue Cutter Harriet Lane and the Lightship Nantucket, for example, are still decent kits- simplified detail, but the general shapes are correct and a decent foundation for whatever scratch building or other improvements you. may wish to add.

[Literalman]

"old, old … from the 1960s": hmm, yes, that's when I was building plastic kits as a kid. Mostly Revell, as I recall. I started on wooden models when I was in my 20s: a couple of kits and a scratch build. I have a mostly untouched Model Shipways Harriet Lane still in the box, and I will attack it again one of these days. Being old, old, and retired about a year, I have more time but less energy and eyesight not as sharp; however, I intend to do it.