Ahoy, Mates! Welcome to the first installment of Zvezda’s 1/72 Pirate Ship “Black Swan.” One of the things I love about review team duty is the chance to try subjects I wouldn’t normally build. This is one of them. In fact, this is my first attempt at building a sailing ship. I think I’ve avoided it because, like biplanes, there’s usually a lot of rigging. Just can’t imagine building models over a lifetime and never building a sailing ship, so here goes! I’m not up on all the proper terms, so I hope the pictures show what I can’t describe.
Squadron has done it again. Here is another outstanding pictorial and brief narrative of one of our historical WWII ships. The USS Kidd, named after Rear Admiral Isaac Kidd, CO of the USS Arizona, is a Fletcher Class destroyer. Launched 28 February 1943 at the Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Co., Kearny, New Jersey, she was commissioned just short of two months later, on 23 April, 1943. There were 175 Fletcher Class Destroyers produced, therefore making it the largest class of destroyers built. She first served in the Atlantic and then the Pacific. On 11 April 1945, she was stuck by a Kamikaze that killed 38 and wounded 55 of her crew. She returned to the fleet on 1 August 1945 to finish the war. USS Kidd was decommissioned and placed in the inactive reserve fleet on 10 December 1946.
Lion Roar has been providing ship modelers with extensive sets of ship-specific photo etch for some time, and now offers generic railings for nearly any WWII era Japanese vessel. The package contains two identical sets of stainless steel rails, each containing three different types of rails. One type is the “drooping chain” type that is usually found on the main deck (as well as the second deck on battleships), and two types of “solid” rails usually found on the upper decks or superstructure. The solid rails are of a three-dimensional nature, requiring that the extra long stanchions be folded over themselves to provide supplemental, angled supports to each stanchion. This is a new twist that I’ve never seen this before on PE deck railings.
This publication is a Japanese-language magazine devoted to what the modeler might find interesting about the IJN Yamato. It was published by ModelArt, apparently to coincide with the release of the new 1/350 scale Yamato from Tamiya.
While there is a short English translation of the operational history of the Yamato class, the bulk of the magazine is in Japanese. Unfortunately, I don’t read Japanese, but there are some great photos and drawings in the book that are informative in their own right.
The first section of the book is devoted to the new Tamiya 1/350 Yamato, with some great photos of the built kit and an informative set of photos on how to complete the new “post and wire” railings included with this kit. It then goes on to cover previous model releases in 1/700 scale.
The Los Angeles-class is a class of nuclear-powered fast attack submarines that forms the backbone of the United States submarine fleet. With 42 submarines on active duty and 20 retired, the Los Angeles class is the most numerous nuclear-powered submarine class in the world.
- Railings -- Stock # 53054, $32.95
- Details -- Stock # 53055, $49.95
Having made a variety of generic PE sets for 1/700 and 1/350 scale ship kits, Eduard is now providing us with dedicated complete sets for specific ships. These two sets will provide complete (or nearly complete) coverage of the Aoshima Chokai, and probably for the Fujimi Chokai as well. The set is labeled for the “1944” version of the ship, so check your references carefully if you hope to use it for an earlier version of the vessel. She underwent several refits during her lifetime that altered her structure or equipment significantly. The same goes for attempts to use it on other ships of the class (especially Takao or Atago). Both of these ships received refits that changed them markedly from Chokai. However, chances are that the majority of the parts in these sets will be useful on any version of these vessels.
Bottom Line
Provides seven types of round and square windows (not portholes) with covers for 1/700 WW2 German Navy warship models. 336 very small pieces.
Lion Roar expands its 1/700 warship photoetch set lineup with German Navy (DKM) windows. These are not portholes, but are windows used on above-the-hull superstructures. A small instruction sheet only has pictures of each porthole showing proper orientation. There are no guides as to which windows go where on what ship – you are on your own to determine how to use them.
Almost anyone who has seen any documentary of the war in the Pacific has seen images of the very badly damaged aircraft carrier USS Franklin. This book is her story and tells the story of how the “Big Ben” became “the ship that would not die.”
The book begins with the shakedown cruise, where the crew becomes familiar with their new charge and her operations. The story then moves on to her first combat and continues on through the significant combat operations that “Big Ben” was a part of in the central and western Pacific. Throughout the book are many personal accounts of the sailors and aviators who crewed the carrier, which adds a great personal touch to the history told within.
Bottom Line
Lion Roar expands its WW2 German Navy 1/700 warship photoetch set lineup with German Navy (DKM) cable reels. Caveat: these are the cable reels only – no cables/ropes are supplied – you will have empty reels after assembling that will need to be filled up (or not) with very fine thread or wire. For the advanced modeler only. This set replaces the older Lion Roar 70008 DKM IV Cable Reels set, which had fewer cable reels per fret.
As a little something different, I am going to begin this review with a story relating to my introduction to the USS Independence LCS-2. Over Thanksgiving week in 2010, my family and I were traveling to Virginia Beach to spend the holiday with my in-laws (no jokes here, they really are great people). When we first arrived in the Hampton Roads area, we stopped at my favorite hobby shop in the country, at least of all the ones that I have been in. There on the end of an aisle was a brand new release from Trumpeter of the USS Independence (kit 04548), a new littoral combat ship with a trimaran hull. Although I am a former carrier sailor, I had to have this kit in my stash, as it was incredibly state of the art in its appearance. While talking to the owner of the store when I was checking out, he mentioned that the ship was moored in Norfolk that week, and this set my mind to work.