Pig Models is a new manufacturer on the market, and I must confess that they would have done well checking international languages before settling on this label (“Have you seen their latest kit? It’s a real pig.”).

All kidding aside, they have produced an extremely intriguing model that I never thought I’d see in this lifetime – a replica of a very common World War 2 (and beyond) Naval mount for 5-inch secondary armament in my preferred modeling scale. Molded in a Navy gray and clear plastic, this is a highly detailed replica of this formidable weapons system.

From the beginning, however, I must add that this is not as straight forward a build as the images might suggest. Some of the seriously fragile parts are mounted with irritatingly thick sprue attachments to the point where removing them is not just difficult but nearly impossible. Both rain guards around the ammunition doors were severely damaged on removal, and some of the attachment points on other portions of the kit required a fine Dremel to clean them up effectively.

Expect to do some filling and sanding as well, especially around the back end of the turret which is composed of multiple parts. The armored sighting windows on the side of the turret include glass fronts but have no interior mechanisms or other details, which struck me as a bit odd.

Actually, on that subject, I do have a niggle with Pig Models. All hatches are provided as separate items, but no attempt has been made to provide the slightest detail for the inside of the hatches or offer even a hint of a suggestion of an interior. I think on this one basis, Pig Models really missed the boat, in that if you assemble the kit as provided, basically all you have is a large box with a couple of “boom sticks” projecting out the front end. Because of my frustration with this notion, I went ahead and spent some time detailing the inside of a single hatch, just to provide some visual interest to the final model. None of the details visible here were in the kit.

I painted the turret as shown on the box cover, but I’ve found a couple of pictures on the internet where camouflage was applied and I won’t consider this finished until I add this detail to the completed model.

All in all, I have no complaints about the level of external detail offered on this model, and it certainly looks the part. I just feel like this was something of an opportunity missed, as I really would have liked to have seen more of what makes this system work. Lord knows there’s plenty of space inside that could have been at least partially filled.

As a first kit, my commendations to Pig Models for picking such an off-beat topic. I do hope that they do some engineering changes in the future to simplify sprue releases and perhaps add some detail to interior hatches and such to make their products more customizable. Recommended with some caveats.

My thanks to Pig Models for the review sample and to IPMS/USA for a chance to tackle such an interesting subject. Happy modeling, everyone, and stay safe!