One of Dragon’s recent releases in their 1/700 scale ship series is a special edition reissue of the German DKM Bismarck. The special reissue pairs the Bismarck alongside a pair of Royal Navy Swordfish torpedo bombers. Now, having the original Bismarck, the first thing I did when I received this review was to compare the two and see what other goodies were added. The original issue was a premium kit and included a nice photo-etch set including railings [except the main deck]. The special edition includes, of course, two RN Swordfish, which are exceptionally crafted. Each Swordfish is a full model of its own, including PE. The modeler also has the option of plastic or PE wings. I opted for the plastic, as they have more depth and curve to them. The reissue also includes a new display base featuring pedestals and new main and secondary gun barrels with hollow muzzles and optional DS blast bags (more on these later).

The British battleship HMS Dreadnought is widely thought to have been the first of the modern battleship designs, culminating in the Missouri class built during WWII. When the Dreadnought was launched in December, 1906, after only slightly more than a year in building – a pace unheard of prior to her building – she revolutionized battleship design and made all other existing battleships obsolete. The reasons for this were simple. She carried a massive, for the period, main armament and relied on only a single caliber, 12" 45 cal, for her main battery. Prior designs had mixed larger caliber guns which created problems when they were all firing and the fire control crews were attempting to determine which rounds to spot and adjust for more accurate fire. With only one large caliber, there would be no confusion as to which battery’s fire was to be adjusted.

• Hardbound
  • Price: $34.95
  • ISBN: 978-0-89747-641-6

• Softcover
  • Price: $24.95
  • ISBN: 978-0-89747-640-9

For 70 years following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the USS Arizona has been the icon of the devastation and loss of American life on December 7, 1941, having lost 1,177 American servicemen herself that infamous day. For many modelers, building Arizona has been a memorable part of their modeling heritage and continues to be a popular subject among kit manufacturers. Many of us have cut our teeth on the classic Revell and Lindberg kits of old, of which the Revell kit is still in production. Over the past decade, numerous Asian kit manufacturers have offered additional kits spanning the range of scales from 1/700 up to the monstrous 1/200.

Thank you to Alain of Dragon Models USA and John of IPMS for allowing me to review this kit. It really is an honor to critique a new model and share the fun with the greater modeling community.

Bronco Models chose to represent the K335 Giepard, one of the three Akula II submarines constructed by the Amur Shipbuilding Plant Joint Stock Company at Komsomolsk-on-Amur and by Sevmash at the Severodvinsk shipbuilding yard. Research sources are somewhat ambiguous, but generally agree that the Akula II class is a lengthened and improved Akula class, incorporating quieting technology. The K335 name appears as “Gepard” in some references and “Giepard” in others. One member of the class, the Nerpa, is reportedly leased to the Indian Navy. The first member of the class, the Viper, is scheduled to be withdrawn from service in 2015, with the Giepard/Gepard scheduled for retirement in 2025.

The current rise of Chinese naval power stands in stark contrast to the period from 1900 – 1940 when China had no real Navy and lay prostrate before powerful nations which had unfettered access to its ports and inland waterways. A weak and fading dynasty and competing warlords (including the Communists) did nothing to reassure foreign interests, which led to additional intervention. Like other places in the world, the waterways of China were the highways on which goods moved in and out of the interior of the country. One river stood out in its size and importance – the Yangtze (a western interpretation of the river’s many names). Western business interests and missionaries took advantage of the Yangtze to penetrate far into the interior and the river was the principal line of communication back out to rest of the world.