USS Wasp (LHD-1)

[Mike]

USS Wasp (LHD-1)

1:350 Revell Germany

Launched in 1989, the Wasp was the first of a new generation of multi-role vessels intended to replace the Tarawa class, and provide a home for almost 2,000 troops, 40+ aircraft of fixed and rotary persuasions, plus a number of landing craft capable of carrying tanks, APCs and soft-skinned vehicles ashore, as well as the aforementioned troops.

An ambitious clutch of roles for a vessel, but has been successfully followed by a further 7 more of the class, giving the US Navy a huge capability to move troops, equipment and fighting vehicles en masse wherever they are needed. The acronym LHD, standing for Landing Helicopter Dock rather clumsily sums up its capability, and at just under 260 metres long, with a full flight deck covering all but the Island, it makes for an impressive sight, even before it begins spewing forth troops and aircraft.

The kit is a brand new tool from Revell, and has received some appreciative exhalations when built up test shots have been seen at shows. The box is large, rivalling Revell\'s 1:72 U-boat in size, and is packed full to the brim with sprues.

Unpacking and repacking the box is a skill that requires a little practice, and it takes a while to uncover the massive hull part and the one piece deck. On doing so, the size of the vessel immediately strikes you, and the fact that from above it is pretty much rectangular! The bottom of the hull is almost totally flat to permit it to sail close to the coast, and the sides of the hull are covered in finely etched raised and recessed detail. The deck is covered with moulded in tie-down detail that will require careful painting, but adds an extra dimension to what could otherwise have been a rather bland open expanse of plastic.

The Hangar deck is shrouded by what looks to be a protective black plastic carton, but closer inspection reveals it to be a stand on which to place the finished model, having raised blocks that support the weight of the vessel over 8\" or so. A nice inclusion that is much better than the old-fashioned trestles included with some kits.

A large box takes up a substantial part of the space between the two banks of sprues, and inside can be found the airwing parts, which I will detail later. At the very bottom you will find 3 Photo-Etched (PE) frets of brass that provide the majority of the delicate (at this scale) railings and netting for around the various helicopter decks found at the rear of the vessel. The PE parts also include fine detail components to enhance the look of the prominent radar arrays on the Island, although suitable alternative styrene parts are also included for those that do not feel up to the task of bending and attaching these necessarily complex parts.

The Well Deck takes up around 2/3 of the total length of the vessel, and again benefits from a lot of very fine detail both on the deck and sidewalls of this area. The hangar deck fits on top of the rear half of the well deck, and there is detail on the underside of the hangar deck - the ceiling of the Well Deck, although only the purists would look.

You can model the rear doors of the Well Deck open or closed, but if you plan on adding the model to a seascape, don\'t forget that ballast tanks can sink the rear of the ship up to 11 metres to assist in egress/ingress of the landing craft. The Hangar deck can be modelled with doors to the massive aircraft lifts open or closed, and two sets of parts are supplied to model the hangar doors in either position. The elevators (in deference to their creators) can be posed in any position from full down to flush with the flight deck, and as there are two of them, there is ample opportunity to add a little individuality to your model, and position one of the many aircraft in the process of travelling from deck to deck. The amount of ancillary detail included on the hangar deck is laudable given the scale and likelihood that it will be seen, but there is plenty of scope for the super-detailer to add more.

The ship\'s defensive weapons are supplied with multi-part assemblies for detail, and you get Phalanx CIWS systems plus Sea Sparrow and Rolling Airframe launchers to apply to their stations about the vessel. There are also a number of 25mm Bushmaster cannon stations, more usually found on the Bradley AFV, although the .50 cal close protection guns at the bottom of the pecking order aren\'t depicted, probably due to the limitation of injection moulding, parts-count and their likelihood of ever being seen.

A multitude of emergency lifeboats in their protective containers are festooned along the slab sides of the hull, plus a traditional lifeboat/launch suspended from the modern equivalent of the traditional davits.

Detail on the Island is impressive, with many steps making up the construction process. The result is a well detailed focus point for the deck, with the bridge having recessed windows in the styrene to make painting easier, and the twin funnels fore and aft of the large mast/sensor array onto which the PE radar dishes mentioned above mount, together with a number of large dome enclosed dishes.

Surprisingly, a number of items of deck equipment are included in the sprues, with a self-propelled deck crane, two fork-lift trucks, 2 deck tractors and 2 small trailers that appear to have cylinders aboard - you\'ll have to forgive me but I have no idea what those are.

These aren\'t the only vehicles aboard however, as you also get a substantial number of AFVs - tanks and armoured cars to us. From the sprues you can build 2 M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks, 2 M60A3 light(er) tanks, 2 AAVP-7A1 amphibious \"Amtrak\" personnel carriers, plus two each of M1097 and MTVR soft skinned vehicles. It\'s not over yet though, as you also get 2 LAV-25 armoured cars, 2 M198 artillery pieces (configured for towing), and two M1114 HUMVEEs.

Speaking from an armour modeller\'s perspective, the detail on these parts is phenomenal, including various hull detail topside and underneath, tracks and road wheels, tyre and hub detail, plus realistically draped tilts on the wagons. Having built a couple of these items in 1:35, they are most definitely recognisable for what they are, and careful painting will result in some impressive and impressively small armour models in their own right.

Moving onto the landing craft, again the choice is very good. You are provided with 2 LCAC - Landing Craft Air Cushion, or hovercraft to us civilians, with exquisite detail on their decks, skirts and superstructure, plus multi-part renditions of the large fans that provide their motive power. These beasts have a large roadway down their entire length onto which you can place any combinations of the numerous AFVs detailed above to add further individuality to your model. You also receive two traditional rigid-hulled LCUs, again with good detail throughout - I can\'t stress how good the detail is on these parts, especially given the scale and natural limitations of injection moulding.

Moving on to the airborne component of this huge vessel\'s fighting force brings you to the large green box that contains the airwing. I\'ve often wondered why 1:350 aircraft are moulded in clear styrene given that there is actually no detail inside to see through any windows left clear and the inherent brittle nature of clear styrene, but perhaps it allows the mould to be a little finer? Answers on a postcard to the usual address.

The airwing for the Wasp is no exception, and you are provided with 25 4\" square clear sprues that contain the following:

2 x AV-8B Harrier II with separate canopies to avoid a seam down the middle

2 x AH-1W Cobra attack helicopters with super-delicate skid parts

4 x CH-46 Sea Knight Helo with open or stowed blade parts

4 x MV-22 Osprey Tilt-Rotor aircraft with posable engine nacelles and open or stowed blades

4 x CH-53 Sea Stallion Helo with open or stowed rotors

2 x CH-60 Sea Hawk Helo with open or stowed rotors

An excellent complement, although a few more sprues of Harriers would not have gone amiss.

All of the helos have separate landing gear parts, and again the detail is exemplary, showing delicate recessed panel lines and window definition. Thickness of wings and rotor blades is excellent, putting many a larger scale kit to shape with the sharp trailing edges. My only concern with these fine parts is that they may be damaged during removal due to the more brittle nature of clear styrene - especially those skids off the Cobras and the rather large rotors from the Sea Stallions.

A full color A3 double sided painting guide is provided with the kit, showing the Wasp on one side and the airwing and vehicle complement on the other. Decal placement is also given for everything, although as you can probably imagine the decals for the aircraft and vehicles are simplified due to the constraints of 1:350 scale.

Paint call-outs are Revell's standard letter in a flag style, which refers back to a key of Revell paint names and codes. All of these can be converted if you don't use Revell's colors, except for the main hull color 'A', which is shown as a mixture of grey and white in a 60:40 ratio.

The correct FS number for modern US Navy vessels is Haze Gray - FS 36270, and the deck gray is FS 26008 which should allow most modellers to source the color in their own favourite brand using the many paint conversion tables online.

Conclusion

This model can be built into an immensely detailed representation of the USS Wasp out of the box, and includes a lot of items that would normally have to be sourced as aftermarket with the majority of carrier kits at extra cost. Revell have tried to give you everything you will need to produce a detailed and accurate replica of this rather large and impressive vessel, and to a great extent they have succeeded and should be praised for that, but I fear that the RRP of the kit may put off some prospective purchasers who simply do not realise what is included.

The inclusion of a realistic (if light on Harriers) airwing, a complement of armoured and soft-skinned vehicles, plus four landing craft, all of which are exceptionally well detailed, plus 3 sheets of Photo-Etched metal go a long way towards answering the criticism that has been levelled at the price of the kit, and I know of several knowledgeable maritime modellers that are champing at the bit to obtain an example for their stashes when funds permit.

Perhaps the online kit discounters will shave enough off the retail price to tempt the waverers, but if you are concerned over what you get for your money, ask your local model shop if you can look inside the box. Take a careful look through the sprues, and you will see quality moulding at every turn.

I have it on good authority that additional aircraft and vehicle sets will become available in due course, as the Wasp is capable of carrying between 6 to 20 Harriers and up to 42 Sea Knight helos, depending on its tasking, plus over 60 AAVP-7 Amtraks split 21 in the upper stowage deck and a further 40 on the well deck. Lots of potential there for further personalisation of your model.

Review sample courtesy of

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[Shar2]

I've had this kit for a little while now, but still can't get over the number of parts. Would love to start it, but not sure where I'm going to put it when built. I like the news that there will be additional aircraft and vehicles coming. Have to agree with you that this is a great kit.

[Irishgreek]

Is this the same kit that Gallery Models has recently started selling in the States?

[Mike]

Is this the same kit that Gallery Models has recently started selling in the States?

You could be right - I'm not 100% sure of my facts, but I recall that the tooling was a collaboration between a few companies, so will be released under a couple of banners throughout the world

[Irishgreek]

You could be right - I'm not 100% sure of my facts, but I recall that the tooling was a collaboration between a few companies, so will be released under a couple of banners throughout the world

I wasn't sure, since it seemed a bit of a coincidence that 2 different companies would start selling the same subject (especially a 1/350 ship model!) at the same time. The level of detail of the parts in the screenshots that you provided sure seemed pretty awesome. How would you compare to the recent 1/350 Lusty?

[Paul A H]

Nice! It looks like there's a lot of modelling packed into that box - one for those long winter evenings, I feel!

[Shar2]

I wasn't sure, since it seemed a bit of a coincidence that 2 different companies would start selling the same subject (especially a 1/350 ship model!) at the same time. The level of detail of the parts in the screenshots that you provided sure seemed pretty awesome. How would you compare to the recent 1/350 Lusty?

I feel the detail of the Wasp is much better than the Lusty, but then it's around 4 times the price of the Airfix kit.

[Irishgreek]

I feel the detail of the Wasp is much better than the Lusty, but then it's around 4 times the price of the Airfix kit.

I haven't seen the Wasp here (in the US yet), but the price point sure is pretty close to the Gallery one then. Sure makes it look like they might be the same.

And for 4 times the price, you sure would hope that you get quite a bit more. Thanks for the info. Have to keep my eyes peeled for this one too.

[denstore]

This is the first modern ship I've even been remotly interested in buying. I think it would be great fun to build.

[Mike]

This is the first modern ship I've even been remotly interested in buying. I think it would be great fun to build.

It's an absolute beauty - if you shop around you can get a scorching deal on it. Dads203 is amassing a shedload of detail pics, which I'm sure he wouldn't mind sharing once he's done.

p.s. Sorry Dan, but you're finally going to have to buy some CD-Rs!

[RussTnailZ]

Im not really a ship person but after looking at this id really like to build it but it would definately have to go in the stash on the back burner till my skills improve sufficently to do it justice especially if its going to burn a hole in the wallet

Russ

[Romeo Alpha Yankee]

I feel the detail of the Wasp is much better than the Lusty, but then it's around 4 times the price of the Airfix kit.

I picked up the Gallery Models version down here and I think it is retailing at just over twice the expected price of the Lusty (which I have on order as well).

Looking at the sprue pictures the Revell and Gallery kits are the same plastic. Not sure if the trendy stand comes in the Gallery kit. Would be surprised if it didn't. I will have to recheck mine.

[The Velociweiler]

This is an ideal time for the aftermarket bods (WEM, L'Arsenal, Eduard, Gold Medal.... anyone listening....?) to look at a 1\350 Military figure set. There are many etch sets - a few resin suppliers and injection kits for 1\350 Naval figures, even for period passengers for the Liners, but now we have a decent LHD, a Liberty Ship, and there are plenty of resincast LST's, LCT's and other incarnations of such Amphibious warfare ships, a set of embarked amphibious personnel would be justified. Marines or soldiers carrying weapons, wearing life preservers etc to staff this LHD, troopship conversions of the Liberty ships and so on? These figures really do make a difference to the completed model...

[Mike]

Now selling from themodeller.com for £105!!!!

[Irishgreek]

Now selling from themodeller.com for £105!!!!

Awesome price, but I don't think I could stomach the shipping charges to the US!

Although I have sent an email to them to see what those shipping costs would be... Heres to hoping

Edited May 27, 2010 by Irishgreek

[xffw45343tg]

So when you gonna build it then Mike?

[Mike]

So when you gonna build it then Mike?

Got a few in the queue before it yet matey... it will get built though, although I haven't yet give any thought to where I'll put it afterwards!

[Mike]

Photos of the decals have been added to complete the review.

[warreni]

Maybe one will fall off the back of a truck for me..

Even if I do get it I think there are about 400 others in front of it.. lol

But, sadly, I still want one!!

[bootneck]

I bought this last month and I am still just identifying the parts and marvelling at how good it looks.

I bought the 1/350 USS Enterprise CVN-65 to go with this kit a couple of days ago. I didn't want to pay out another £120 for the Tamiya model but I found that Model Hobby Kits have taken over the moulds and re-badged it and this version is only £80. It is still the same kit and airwing, just a different box art

Mike

[Dads203]

. Dads203 is amassing a shedload of detail pics, which I'm sure he wouldn't mind sharing once he's done.

p.s. Sorry Dan, but you're finally going to have to buy some CD-Rs!

Mike now has the USS Wasp reference pix

[Dads203]

These might be useful to those who want a UH-1 on the deck.

http://ironshipwrights.com/accessories.html

You get few more Cobra's and 1 UH-1 helo, look rather nice.

Regards

Dan

Edited June 25, 2010 by Dads203