Revell Model Kits: Lineup, Skill Levels and Scales

What Revell makes

Revell makes plastic model kits and the paint to finish them. In our Amazon US data, the Revell model kit lineup covers five kinds of subjects:

• Cars and trucks, at 1:24 and 1:25
• Aircraft and helicopters, mostly 1:48 and 1:72
• Ships and submarines, from 1:350 down to 1:700
• Armor, at 1:35
• Snap kits, including Star Wars and Star Trek lines as the listings name them

There are paints too: a brown matt enamel in a 14 ml tin, a black matt Aqua Color acrylic in 18 ml, and a paint set of RAF WWII aircraft colors.

The grid above holds every Revell listing we track. It's a long grid. The notes below walk through it by line, using the facts each listing states. Where a listing leaves a field blank, I leave it blank too.

How to read a Revell box

Two numbers matter more than the picture. The first is the scale. A 1:24 car is one twenty-fourth the size of the real one. The second is the skill level, 1 to 5, from Revell's own chart.

Most Revell listings also carry an item number. You'll see two styles in the grid: numbers like 85-4522 and five-digit numbers like 05804. Our research notes show the grid includes Revell of Germany items, such as the 05804 Titanic. Same brand name, different catalogs. For the record: I file them by scale, not by catalog. The shelf doesn't care where the box was printed.

Revell skill levels, explained in one place

Revell's level page describes five levels. Here's the short version:

1. Level 1: for children. Few parts, and they connect easily.
2. Level 2: easy-click, for ages 10 and up. Colored parts snap together and get stickers.
3. Level 3: an unassembled plastic kit. You need glue and paint, and they aren't in the box.
4. Level 4: advanced. For builders who have already glued and painted a few kits.
5. Level 5: for experienced builders with real painting and gluing practice.

In our data, the Revell car kits list level 4 or level 5. That tells you something before you open a single box. These aren't first-weekend kits for most people. They're second or third kits.

A level isn't a judgment. It's a planning number. A level 5 kit takes more steps, more small parts and more paint. If you know that going in, the evening goes better.

Revell model car kits

The car kits are the most detailed listings Revell has in our data. Every one states a piece count, a starting age and a skill level.

• 1:24 1970 Dodge Challenger 2N1: 78 pieces, ages 12+, level 4, two build options
• 1:24 1970 Buick GSX 2N1: 106 pieces, ages 12+, level 4, two build options
• 1:24 1985 Chevy Camaro Z28: 48 pieces, ages 12+, level 4
• 1:24 1970 Plymouth Road Runner: 77 pieces, ages 13+, level 5
• 1:25 1932 Ford 5 Window Coupe 2N1: 191 pieces, ages 13+, level 5, decals included
• 1:25 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon: 92 pieces, ages 12+, level 4, decals included
• 1:25 Peterbilt 359: 302 pieces, ages 13+, level 5

"2N1" means one box builds one of two versions. You pick a version before you glue, not after.

The Camaro at 48 pieces is the smallest car build here. It's the one I'd hand to someone who wants to learn painting without a long parts list. The Peterbilt at 302 pieces sits at the other end. A truck cab and frame at 1:25 is a long build, and the listing says so with a level 5.

Who suits the car line: teens and adults who already own cement, a few brushes and a cutting mat. Who should skip it: a first-time builder under 12, or anyone who wants a finished-looking model on day one. Look at the snap kits below instead.

For more car kits from every maker, see model car kits and model car kits for adults.

Revell aircraft and helicopter kits

The aircraft listings are mostly glue kits at two scales. A 1:48 plane is twice the length of the same plane at 1:96 and noticeably bigger than a 1:72 one. On a shelf, 1:72 is the space saver.

At 1:48 in our data: the P-51D Mustang, the B-25J Mitchell, the P-40B Tiger Shark and the F-84F Thunderstreak in Thunderbirds markings. Most state ages 12+.

At 1:72: the SR-71 Blackbird, the F-14D Super Tomcat, the F-22A Raptor and the F4U-4 Corsair Gift Set, which lists ages 10+. The F-4J Phantom II and the Spitfire Mk. IXC are listed without a stated scale in our data.

The SR-71 at 1:72 is a long model, and the 1:110 Easy-Click version in the snap line is the shorter way to the same airplane. Measure the shelf before the box.

Helicopters sit in this line too. The SnapTite Apache states ages 8+, and the UH-1D Huey Gunship states ages 12+.

The Stuka Ju 87G-1 Tank Buster lists ages 12+. With "Tank Buster" in the name, it sounds like it belongs in the armor section. It's an airplane, so it's here.

Revell ship and submarine kits

Ship kits are where scale ratios get unusual. Revell's listings in our data include 1:350, 1:426, 1:535 and 1:700.

• 1:426 USS Arizona Battleship: ages 12+
• 1:535 USS Missouri Battleship
• 1:350 German Submarine Type VII C/41
• 1:700 Assault Carrier USS WASP Class
• R.M.S. Titanic (05804), HMS Victory (05819), the container ship Colombo Express and two Battleship Bismarck listings, one with item number 05040

A 1:426 scale is not a round number. I like it anyway. It means someone fit the ship to a sensible box instead of forcing the box to a tidy ratio. The cost is that it won't line up evenly with a 1:350 ship on the same shelf.

Who suits the ship line: patient builders who like long, repetitive detail, such as rails, guns and deck fittings. Who should skip it: anyone who wants a quick build. A ship hull is mostly small parts after the first evening.

Revell's own history page notes the Bismarck has been in the range since the early 1960s, and that a new edition replaced the earlier kit in 2012. Two Bismarck listings in the grid fit that story, but our data doesn't say which edition each one is. Check the item number against Revell's site before you order.

Revell armor kits

The armor in our data is a short list. The 1:35 M48A2 Patton Tank lists ages 12+. The Tiger II Ausf. B is the other tank. Two tanks don't make a collection yet, but they do make a matched pair if both are 1:35; check the Tiger II's box for its scale, because our data doesn't state it.

At 1:35, a tank is a solid desk-size model. Tracks and road wheels take time. Camouflage takes masking tape, a lot of it.

Revell snap kits and Easy-Click

This is the line for a first build. It's also the line where the listings say "no glue".

• Easy-Click 1:110 Lockheed SR-71: snap assembly, no glue, pre-colored parts, with stickers or decals
• SnapTite MAX Star Wars Episode VII Millennium Falcon: 1:72, snap
• Episode VII Poe's X-Wing Fighter: 54 pieces, ages 8+, snap
• Resistance X-Wing Fighter: 54 pieces, ages 8+, snap
• SnapTite Apache Helicopter: ages 8+

Two Star Wars and Star Trek glue kits sit close by: the 1:72 Millennium Falcon (Han Solo) 06718, which our data lists without an assembly type, and the 1:500 U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701 Into Darkness, a 91-piece glue kit.

I'll give my one opinion here. Snap-fit kits are a real way into the hobby, not a lesser one. The listings back that up: the Easy-Click SR-71 says no glue and pre-colored parts, so it can look finished without a paint shelf. Learning to cut parts cleanly off the runner is the first real skill, and a snap kit teaches it.

Who suits the snap line: kids at the stated age (8+ on most of these), and adults who want an evening build. Who should skip it: builders who want to paint every panel. Some snap parts are molded in color, and repainting them is extra work you didn't need.

Revell paints in our data

The paint listings are few. A 14 ml tin of brown matt enamel, an 18 ml jar of black matt Aqua Color acrylic, and a set of RAF WWII aircraft colors.

Enamel and acrylic don't clean up the same way. Read the label for thinner and cleanup before you open either. If you need a wider paint shelf, the airbrush kits page and the Testors page cover more paint.

How to pick within Revell

Start with the person, then the line.

• First kit, ages 8 to 11: a snap kit with a stated age that fits. Check the age on the listing, not the box art.
• First glue kit, teen or adult: the lowest piece count you can find. In our data, that's the 48-piece Camaro.
• Second or third kit: a level 4 car, or a 1:72 aircraft.
• Long winter project: a level 5 car or truck, or a ship at 1:350 or 1:700.
• Small shelf: 1:72 aircraft, or ships at 1:700.

Then check what's missing from the box. For any level 3 to 5 kit, add cement, paint, brushes, a hobby knife, sprue cutters and sanding sticks. None of those are in the box, per Revell's own level page.

If you're comparing Revell with another big kit maker, see Tamiya. It has a Revell comparison block. Revell's car kits also share shelf space with Monogram, and some kits in that page's listings sell under the Revell name.

Safety at the bench

Cut away from your body on a cutting mat, and keep blades away from kids. Work with good ventilation and follow the paint or cement maker's label for masks and gloves. The EPA's indoor air guidance says the same: more fresh air, and follow the label.

Revell's history, from its own site

Revell's home page says its history began in the USA in 1943. Its history page dates a plastic scale car proposal by Lewis H. Glaser of Revell Inc., in Venice, California, to 1947, and calls it the birth of plastic model making. The same page says the German subsidiary, Revell Plastics GmbH, was founded in Bielefeld in 1956, and that the headquarters moved to Bünde a year later. Revell entered the RC toy market in 2009, per the same timeline.

That's what the first-party source states. I don't add to it.

Count the parts once before you cut. Then count them again after.