REVELL QUEEN MARY 2 LUXO-LINER MODEL AWARD

SMN shipping news:

According to the ship’s owner, Cunard, the luxury liner Queen Mary 2 is: “the most magnificent luxury ocean liner ever built. Her every detail harkens to the Golden Age of Ocean Travel, while providing one of the most modern luxury cruise travel experiences on Earth.” Wow, that’s breathless prose for you - but just for once, this ship might live up to it. And the Queen Mary 2 makes a fine model subject too, as the pic above shows.

Queen Mary 2 model competition

The QM 2 is a popular scale model subject, with offerings in various scales from several kit companies, including Airfix, Heller and Revell. However, it’s the Revell kit we’re looking at here, as modelmaker Ralf Ohlweiler has won a Revell-sponsored competition for the best Queen Mary 2 build. You can see the quality of Ralf’s work in the pictures, and his effort gets a decent reward, with a two-day trip to Hamburg, Germany. In Hamburg, there's a meet-n-greet for Ralf with the Revell product development chief responsible for the QM 2 kit. After that, Ralf will have a stem-to-stern personal guided tour around the Queen Mary 2, guided by the ship’s chief designer, Stephen Payne.
  

Entries in various scales

Competition entries were wide-ranging, the youngest being an eight year-old girl, which is nice to know, as lady modelmakers are not that common. Entrants sent pictures of their models, built in 1:1200, 1:700 and 1:400 scales, and overall results were very impressive, according to the jury. Ralf’s model impressed not only for the best construction, but also for its care and attention to detail, and the impeccable quality of the paint finish.

The nine runners-up came from all over Europe, and as far away as Turkey. They each receive a Revell model kit.

A liner of delights

Some more about the Queen Mary 2, which is a large and beautiful ship - and hugely impressive if you’re near enough to see her ‘in the metal.’ Queen Mary 2 has 14 decks on which cruise passengers can relax and unwind. The ship deliberately harks back to the golden age of transatlantic liners, with over-the-top public areas that positively drip opulence. 

There’s much more - extravagant dining rooms, five swimming pools, a dance-the-night-away ballroom, a theatre, lounges, and (ideal for this writer) what Cunard claims as the only planetarium at sea. And if you need to take your pooch along, no probs - Fido can stay comfortably in the ship's kennels. The Queen Mary 2 offers seven-day luxury cruises between Europe and the US. The SMN considered response? “Yes please”, if someone feels like giving away a free trip!

Some Queen Mary 2 stats:

• * Five times longer than Cunard's first ship, Britannia which measured just 70 m (230 ft) long. 
• * 34.4 m (113 ft) longer than the original Queen Mary, launched in 1934. 
• * More than twice as long as the Washington Monument is tall. 
• * As long as a line-up of 41 double-decker London buses. 
• * QM 2's whistle is audible for 16 km (10 miles). 

Queen Mary 2 kits here.

Other Queen Mary 2 kits include the currently unavailable Airfix version. For an account of the (difficult) build, visit Romsey Modellers here.

More detailed cutaway ship illustrations here.

More at Revell here.

Visit the Queen Mary 2 and her myriad attractions at Cunard here.

And here's the real thing - isn't she a beauty?!

1:700 SCALE QUEEN MARY 2 LINER KIT FROM REVELL

This ocean liner kit makes a nice change from the fleets of warships on offer - it’s Revell’s 1:700 scale take on the Cunard vessel Queen Mary 2. According to Cunard the real ship is the “grandest, most magnificent ocean liner ever built”. Ooer, that’s some claim, though inspecting the Cunard website does make the QM2 and her sister liners look pretty amazing, so we won’t quibble with the hyperbole here. And at 345 m (1132 ft) long, with a 151,400 tonnage, she’s a mighty ship indeed.

As for the kit, 1:700 has quietly achieved a ‘standard scale’ status in recent years, and gives an impressive but manageable size for ships like the QM2 - she scales out at some 494 mm (19.4 in) long. The kit has 323 parts with a two-piece hull, and plenty of detail that includes eight launches, 14 lifeboats and a pair of speedboats. The funnel includes the signalling horns which, by the way, can be heard for 16 km (10 miles) on a quiet night!

Overall then, an interesting model for liner lovers. However, a ‘kit of kits’ waits in the wings for some manufacturer. Just take a look at the interior detail in the cutaway drawing above. Wouldn’t that be a totally droolworthy item in kit form, especially if it had LED lighting and even some nautical sound effects!

ps. If you take your terrier on a QM2 voyage, your pampered pet will receive not only the services of a special Kennel Master, but also a complimentary gift pack of animal goodies. Hey ho, meantime for the SMN crew it’s beans on toast for lunch...

The pictures above show:
1 Revell 1:700 scale Queen Mary 2.
2 Cutaway view of the QM2.
3 The QM2’s Grand Lobby.

Visit the Cunard QM2 site here. There’s also a link to a webcam on the ship’s bridge which refreshes every minute.

The 1:700 scale QM2 will be available shortly from model stores and online suppliers. Meanwhile, the QM2 is already made in several scales, which you can look at here.