Atlantis Models has, for a while now, been re-releasing various manufacturers older kits. As the new puryeor of some of the older Aurora, Revell, Monogram and Lindberg molds these kits really are tugging at the ole nostalgia thread for many of us.

One of these offerings is a collection of warships from the mid to late 1940's to the 1950's: U.S. Combat Task Force Fleet. This kit began life as a Renwall kit in the late 1950's. It has been passed around a bit (Pyro to Life Like to Lindberg) and now finds itself among the multitude of offerings from Atlantis Models.

The kit consists of twelve warships. There is an aircraft carrier, a fast battleship, severalcruisers and destroyers as well as a few auxillary ships. One more modern-era ship is represented by the SSB(N)

Patrick Henry, a fleet ballistic missile submarine. Or, 'Boomer' to fans of Tom Clancys writings.

The complete list is: U.S.S. Washington - battleship

• U.S.S. Sullivans - destroyer
• U.S.S. Canberra - heavy cruiser
• U.S.S. Hornet - aircraft carrier
• U.S.S. Galveston - light cruiser
• U.S.S. Dewey - frigate
• U.S.S. Barry - destroyer
• U.S.S. Rankin - attack cargo ship
• U.S.S. Navarro - attack transport ship
• U.S.S. William T. Powell - destroyer escort
• U.S.S. Eddy County - landing ship
• SSB(N) Patrick Henry - ballistic missile submarine

The kits, as one might imagine at the scale (1/1200^th), are thin on details with many features ( anchor chains, anchors, anti-aircraft guns, etc.) being molded into the parts.

But that makes them fairly easy to build and this collection could be a great beginner kit for any budding ship modeler out there. Allowing for the age of the molds there is a smattering of flash and mis-shapened parts to contend with... nothing that is insurmountable.

These ship models are fun to build and while the lack of detail might put you off there is lots to like about this collection of warships. Any number of ideas sprang to mind as I completed my fleet. Among those are an underway replenishipmentdiorama, table-top war gaming, a group build, or my favorite, a 3D version of the game 'Battleship'. Lastly, these petite models might make good tests beds for anyone contemplating their first foray into a resin sea scape dioarma. Better to 'melt' one of these into the resin pour than your painfully completed 1/72^nd Schnellboot.

Atlantis Models does supply a small decal sheet with ship numbers and name plates, as well as, complete carrier deck markings for the U.S.S. Hornet. An additional bonus treat is the inclusion of some box art (actually bottom of the box art) to help with displaying your completed fleet.

My thanks to Atlantis Models and IPMS/USA for the review copy.