Reviews of products for scale ship models, including submarines.

Review Author
Bill Kluge
Published on
July 22, 2011
Company
Master Model
Scale
1/350
MSRP
$29.95

Master from Poland has added to their impressive line of Sea Master Series detailed ship gun barrels with this set of main and secondary guns for the Fujimi battleship Fuso. Included in this set are twelve 14” (360 mm) turned stainless steel barrels, and fourteen 6” (150mm) turned brass barrels. Both the brass and steel barrels are precisely tapered, with petite segmentations along the barrel length and at the ends. Each of the barrels has an ever so slightly flared open end.

Review Author
Bill Kluge
Published on
July 22, 2011
Company
Master Model
Scale
1/350
MSRP
$15.49

These two armament sets from Master Model provide a full range of replacement brass gun barrels for the new Dragon German Destroyer kits. Set contents include:

  • Z-25: Four 150 mm (5.9”); Twelve 37mm; Eighteen 20mm
  • Z-39: Four 150mm (5.9”); Fourteen 37mm; Twelve 20mm

Each of the brass barrels is slightly tapered with very finely defined segmentations. Additionally, all of the 20mm barrels and some of the 37mm barrels in each set (four for the Z-25 and ten for Z-39) have barely discernable (but yet, in scale) flash suppressors at the open ends of the barrels. The very high level of manufacturing craftsmanship is readily visible in all the Master Model products, and these sets are certainly no exception.

My thanks to Master Model for providing IPMS with these review sets.

Book Author(s)
James P. Delgado (foreword by Clive Cussler)
Review Author
Scott Hollingshead
Published on
July 19, 2011
Company
Osprey Publishing
MSRP
$24.95

Although I am a former carrier sailor, I have had a long-standing appreciation for submarines and underwater warfare, from the pioneers and early craft to the latest technology afforded to the submariners of today. It takes something special in a person to go out to sea in a vessel designed to sink, and built by the lowest bidder (I had to get that one in), but those who have answered the call in the past, and those will do so in the future, are nothing less than courageous. The submarine has been in existence in one form or another for centuries, and similar to any other weapon of war, has developed into something that would astound the early inventors.

Book Author(s)
Gordon Wiliamson
Review Author
Phil Peterson
Published on
July 14, 2011
Company
Osprey Publishing
MSRP
$17.95

While I have looked through a few of the "Duel" series in the book store, this is the first one I have actually read. Looks like it won't be the last one.

The book is in the typical Osprey size but there are 80 pages in it. One thing I like about this series is besides some of the technical description of the combatants, it also gives you over 30 pages of combat stories and details which definitely make you want to pull out the old Airfix Vosper MTB and/or the Revell E-Boat and start building.

Review Author
John Lyons
Published on
July 10, 2011
Company
Academy Models
Scale
1/350
MSRP
$55.00

Short History

USS Reuben James (FFG-57), an Oliver Hazard Perry-class guided missile frigate, is the third ship of the U.S. Navy named for Reuben James, a boatswain's mate who distinguished himself fighting the Barbary pirates.

Reuben James was born in Delaware, Ohio about 1776. He joined the Navy and served on various ships, including the frigate USS Constellation. During the Barbary Wars, the American frigate Philadelphia was captured by the Barbary pirates, when it ran aground in the city of Tripoli, on the southern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. Lieutenant Stephen Decatur, along with a group of volunteers that included Reuben James, entered the harbor of Tripoli under the cover of darkness in an attempt to burn the Philadelphia so that the pirates could not make use of her.

Review Author
Dave Koukol
Published on
June 25, 2011
Company
Cyber-Hobby
Scale
1/700
MSRP
$29.50

USS Coronado, scheduled for commissioning in October 2012, is an Independence-class littoral combat ship (LCS). Designed by Lockheed-Martin and constructed by General Dynamics-Bath Iron Works, Coronado is the second of her class, and features a high-speed trimaran hull and reconfigurable mission bays tailored to specific mission profiles.

Review Author
Michael Scott
Published on
June 23, 2011
Company
Model Art
MSRP
$42.95

Although this large format publication on fine, heavy paper is almost entirely written in Japanese, it does feature an extensive set of line drawings detailing every bit of the surface features found on the various versions of IJN Mogami. Like 140 pages of them. Fortunately for English reading modelers, each page features explanatory text in both Japanese and English.

Review Author
Scott Hollingshead
Published on
June 8, 2011
Company
Dragon Models
Scale
1/350
MSRP
$62.99

The Z-39 was the fifteenth, and final ship of the Zerstorer 1936A-class (known to the Allies as the Norvik-class) built by Germany during the Second World War. The Z-39 had her keel laid in 1940; launched on August 5, 1941; commissioned on August 21, 1943, and survived the war to and taken by Great Britain. The ship was given to the United States Navy, was renamed DD-939, and was used for testing until she was given to France in 1948. The French used the ship for spare parts for other destroyers until finally scrapped in 1964. Displacing just over 3600 metric tons fully loaded, the ship had a length of 127 meters, a width of 12 meters, a draught of 4.65 meters, and she was powered by two geared turbines that allowed a maximum speed of 37 ½ knots. Armament for the Z-39 consisted of 150 mm, 37 mm, and 20 mm guns, 533 mm torpedo tubes, mines, and depth charge launchers.

Review Author
Bill Kluge
Published on
June 4, 2011
Company
Dragon Models
Scale
1/350
MSRP
$139.95

The Ship

They say Necessity is the mother of Invention. Such was the case with the Independence class of light aircraft carriers. The U.S. Navy’s pressing need for fleet carrier decks during the early stages of the Pacific War brought these vessels into being. The nine Independence class carriers were converted from Cleveland class light cruisers already under construction. Having already built a 1/700 U.S.S. Independence, I chose to build this model as one of her sisters. U.S.S. Belleau Wood was converted from U.S.S. New Haven, and commissioned as CVL-24 in March 1943, joining the U.S. Pacific Fleet four months later. She participated in numerous actions, including the invasions of the Gilbert Islands (Tarawa), Marshall Islands (Kwajalein), Hollandia, and the Truk raid. During Operation Forager (Marianas invasion) and the ensuing Philippine Sea battle, her air group sank the Japanese carrier Hiyo.