This is Model Art Magazine’s special quarterly issue that focuses on naval subjects. As with the regular Model Art Magazine this is printed in Japanese with some English subtitles.

The feature article in the Spring 2015 Vessel Model Special covers the battle of Leyte Gulf / battle of Surigao Strait / Nishimura's fleet. The article is comprised of models of the vessels that were involved. Some the models are shown as full build features and others are static color photos. Included are line drawings of some of these vessels.There are several period black and white photos included along with maps of the battle area.

Bottom Line

Eduard has produced a single fret of finely detailed, finely scaled brass photoetch parts specific to the 1/700 scale Revell 05099 DKM Tirpitz injection-molded, polystyrene model. Highly recommended for this kit.

What You Get

A single, medium-sized, brass photoetch fret of railings, C30 20mm single guns, some masts and spars, multipart cable reels, catapult, aircraft props, radars, searchlight covers, ladders, ladder rails, pulleys, cranes, funnel grate, air intake grates and other parts to super-detail Revell’s 1/700 Tirpitz. Separate detail parts are numbered, with 116 different parts numbered on the fret, and 147 overall counting duplicates. Metal is intermediate in thickness and strength compared to other photoetch companies, which I prefer for handling and folding (the Goldilocks Syndrome – just right).

Background

The website description of this title, “At the start of the 20th century the Ottoman Navy was a shadow of its former might, a reflection of the empire as a whole - the "Sick Man of Europe". Years of defeat, nepotism, and neglect had left the Ottoman Navy with a mix of obsolete vessels, whilst the list of prospective enemies was ever-growing. An increasing Russian naval presence in the Black Sea and the alarming emergence of Italy and Greece as regional Naval powers proved beyond all doubt that intensive modernization was essential, indeed, the fate of the Empire as a naval power depended on it. So the Ottoman Navy looked to the ultimate naval weapon of the age, the dreadnought, two of which were ordered from the British. But politics intervened, and a succession of events culminated in the Ottoman Navy fielding a modern German battlecruiser and state-of-the-art light cruiser instead - with dramatic consequences.

Thanks to Round 2 models for sending us this “blast from the past” kit, and leadership for generously firing it my way to relive what could have been for a very young modeller…

First, this is a BIG model. A yard’s worth…(36 inches)… Suitable for R/C (Many have tried and succeeded), display (with work) or free-running (for those with big enough pools… it’s too easy to lose a non-controlled ship in a local pond).

The box art is an attention-getter: using the original 1964 box art is a great idea; nostalgia sells. (Yep, I was six at the time when I first saw this kit). It was what got my “COOL MODEL” factor spun up. (For those interested, I saw this kit at “Who hobbies” in Rapid City, South Dakota, where my father was stationed at the time as a missile support helicopter pilot flying H-19’s and later UH-1F’s out of Ellsworth AFB… that’s another story, as that hobby shop is, last time I checked, still in business!)

Kenny Loup and Gator Masks and More have been around for a while supplying masking sets for ships and planes as well as Gator Grip Glues. For this review, we are looking at a masking set for U-453 in 1/72 scale for Revell’s excellent U-boat kit. U-453 was on active duty from 1941 to 1944 when it was sunk. The boat served in the Mediterranean Sea and carried a unique camouflage scheme that went with that locations. The ship had splotches of darker gray (Dunkelgrau52) which were hard edged along with an inverted V on the conning tower.

Inside the package you’ll find a long (over 3 feet) of precut vinyl masks, a picture of U-453 and instructions. The vinyl material is yellow and cut precisely to the blotches needed and the inverted “V” on the tower. There are masks for both sides. The profile drawing exactly matches the cut outs and the instructions give all the needed guidance plus contact info if there are questions. You can see by the pictures the size of the masks.