Lindberg Chris Craft Constellation

[Junkman]

Just found out that it seems to have hit the shelves. But look at what price:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-20-CHRIS-CRAFT-CONSTELLATION-BOAT-KIT-LINDBERG-70814-SUITIBLE-R-C-/260885480741?pt=Radio_Control_Vehicles&hash=item3cbdfc8525

Is this really what they sell for? Seems awfully expensive for something made with a 50 year old tool.

I would have expected it to be in the Exterminator price bracket?

[Draggon]

Geez thats expensive. Stevens International has the list price advertised as $199.99.

[RickRollerLT1]

Maybe if we wait a little bit, Ollies or Tuesday Morning will have 'em for $19.99! LOL

Edited November 4, 2011 by V-spec

[Chuck Most]

A bit too spendy for me, not to mention it's in a scale that's inconsistent with much of my collection. If it had halfway decent interior detail I might spring, but I've never seen one of these up close. Sure looks nice in the box art photo, though.

[Aaronw]

I saw one of those on ebay for close to $200. I was hoping that was just someone trying to unload an original before the reissues came out. It is kind of outside my area of interest, $99 and I might stray over to a boat, $199 is outside of my comfort zone unless it turns out to be a really interesting kit. It is 30" long so maybe the price isn't that out there after all if it is decently detailed.

The good news for Lindberg I don't think we are the target audience, I'm guessing this will be of more interest to the RC guys..

[Dr. Cranky]

Crazy prices, that's for sure.

[Edsel-Dan]

If Ollie's gets that next year, or in 2-3 years, It May be as low as $49.99, But would not be $19.99

They had a few of the 1/8 Bob-Tail T. It was either $49.99 or 59.99!

I think the "Blue Devil" Destroyer was $39.99

[Dr. Cranky]

I've never build a model like this . . . I would not know where to start or what to do with it.

[Art Anderson]

I've never build a model like this . . . I would not know where to start or what to do with it.

The Lindberg Chris-Craft Constellation is a HUGE model, for starters! IIRC, the tooling is that of a MARX (MARX Toys was the "Mattel" of the 1920's through the early 1960's--if it was an action toy, MARX had it!). This was designed from the outset as a motorized scale model, and when Lindberg acquired the tooling in the early 1980's, they updated the engineering (mostly internal) to accommodate a twin Mabuchi 540 (the same series Mabuchi DC motors that powered the hobby grade RC cars of the 80's) motors, with gear reduction, propellor shafts and 2-blade screws, all designed of rradio control.

The boat is actually quite durable, with the hull being at minimum, 1/8 thick styrene (perhaps as thick as 1/4" on the bottom, for additional weight, and was designed to carry two 6-cell, 7.2V NiCad battery packs. While there is no interior detail (the large windows are screened off with injection molded plastic venetian blinds), the exterior is very nicely done, and it's actually quite accurate as well.

I have the kit from Lindberg's 1985 reissue, not yet built, and it was costly even then--I seem to recall (and I stocked the kit in my hobby shop "The Modelmaker" then) $69.95 MSRP. I suspect that the price point was determined by the expected sales, which would have been far less than say, a 1/25 scale car kit, and the tooling had to be so large as to require more than one tool base, perhaps 3 injection molding presses to produce.

One of my friends did build up one for radio control about that time, and I had the opportunity to run it, in a park pond in suburban Chicago--the thing looks incredibly realistic, especially as it rides in the water, and at full throttle, planes very much like the real thing. All Dave did besides building it, was to install a 2-channel radio control unit, an electronic speed control, and of course, the two 6-cell battery packs.

Large scale boats such as this have always been far more expensive than the model car kits we like to build, but once built and a radio installed, they can be a ton of fun, especially in a public park setting, where they really draw a crowd of spectators.

Art

[Maindrian Pace]

I worked at a HobbyTown in the early '90s, and we had a few of those over 2-3 years. Not a big seller, but when the right customer walked in and saw it, he had to have it. One customer built one and R/C'd it, and built a really cool tow rig for it using a Tamiya Clod Buster body (mid '80s Chevy pickup, 1:10 scale) converted to a dually with hand made fenders, a custom 2wd chassis, aluminum wheels, and scratch built boat trailer. It was top notch, BIG, and caused a real stir in the parking lot at speed.

-MJS

[f1ford48]

heres mine -from the original MARX tooling. this yacht has a lot of potential- it is 1/18-1/16 scale and has a sharpness that you can only get with styrene-nice detail right out of the box. add some detail painting and patina to that and this is what you get.

[gasser59]

That is really cool looking. Love to one run.

[David G.]

Wow, that IS cool!

David G.

[the goon]

That kit's been around for ages. I've seen quite a few built over the years. It's a good starting point for adding detail. Lindberg's been threatening to reissue it off and on for years. They also have a sport fishing boat in 16th-14th scale that the rc boat builders (where I come from) keep waiting to be brought back out.

Mark