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RN Battleship HMS Prince of Wales 1:350 Eduard Etch sets The Tamiya HMS Prince of Wales kit has been out for too many years to mention being initially released in 1986. Now whilst other companies have produced detail enhancement sets for this kit, Eduard hadn’t, until now. These three sets provide pretty much everything the modeller requires to really go to town on what is already a good kit. As usual some additional plastic rod will need to be provided by the modeller and some of the kits detail will need to be removed before the etched parts can be added. Detail set- (53-079) comes on two sheets of relief etched brass to the usual high standard set by Eduard. The larger sheet contains a myriad of parts such as watertight doors which can be posed open or closed, hatches, inclined and vertical ladders, ammunition lockers, flag lockers, replacement 20mm cannon, complete new mountings for the 40mm Pom Poms along with replacement ammunition racks and even the ammunition belts. There are also replacement aerials for the 285 Yagi radar arrays and new mounts for fitting to the main director housings. The foredeck breakwater is completely replaced with as are the anchor chains and their respective stop chains. On the quarterdeck there is a complete replacement for the aft Pom Pom tub. The searchlights are provided with new support brackets and the numerous liferafts have new inserts that represent the wooden tread boards. The smaller of the two sheets also has additional hatches and ammunition lockers for the aft Pom Pom tub. In addition there are replacement aerial arrays for the Type 282 radar, new Type 273 radar lantern and the large 281B radar arrays. The Walrus aircraft are supplied with new propellers, struts and the launching and handling cradles. Apart from other smaller items such as the Pom Pom ammunition cradles, davits, searchlight fronts and their hand wheels, the rest of the sheet contains replacement structural items. These include the supports for the foredeck breakwater, new platforms for the bridge wings, and funnels, plus new funnel caps. The main mast has a new starfish platform with its respective supports, whilst the yardarms are provided with new ropewalks and there is a new support platform for the topmast. Lifeboats – (53-092). This single sheet set is exactly what it says on the packet. In that it contains parts to detail the ships boats, ranging from new decks, both upper and internal, deckhouses, windshields, propellers and rudders for the larger motor boats and Admirals barge. To new internal decking, gunwhales, thwarts, rudders and oars for the cutters, whalers and dinghies. Each boat is also provided with a pair of new cradles for them to sit on. Railings and Cranes (53-089). With the title of this fret being so very descriptive, it’s not difficult to see that this provides ships railing which cover all sections of the ship from the main deck upwards, including the turret tops. There is a selection of three bar and two bar rails the majority of which are shaped to fit their specific positions. The two main ships cranes have replacement jibs, cables, rollers and hooks, along with railings and access ladders. Also included in the set is a pair of accommodation ladders and platforms, and what look like fifty eight liferings, but these aren’t mentioned in the instructions. Conclusion Whilst these sets do provide some lovely extra detail for the venerable Prince of Wales kit I feel that Eduard have arrived at the party a little too late. Still that probably won’t mean that modellers new to the genre won’t buy them. Eduard should also look at sorting out their instructions which aren’t the easiest to use. But with the standard of etch that we are used to seeing from them I can recommend them highly as the kit does really need at least some etch to bring it alive. Review sample courtesy of

HMS Montrose Type 23 Frigate Trumpeter 1:350 The current HMS Montrose is the eighth of the sixteen ship Type 23 or 'Duke' class of frigates, of the Royal Navy, named after the Duke of Montrose. She was laid down in November 1989 by Yarrow Shipbuilders on the Clyde, and was launched on 31 July 1992 by Lady Rifkind (when, as Mrs Edith Rifkind, her husband Sir Malcolm Rifkind was Secretary of State for Defence). She commissioned into service in June 1994. HMS Montrose is part of the Devonport Flotilla, based in Devonport Dockyard in Plymouth. Deployments in the 1990s include her first trip to the South Atlantic, as Falkland Islands Guard ship, which ended in October 1996. Her first visit to the City of Dundee was in Easter 1997. Several NATO deployments followed, and in early 2002, Montrose returned to the Falklands on the now-renamed Atlantic Patrol Task (South) deployment, during which divers from Montrose replaced the White Ensign on Antelope, which was sunk during the Falklands War. On her return from this deployment, she conducted her first refit period (RP1), which was completed in early January 2004. Montrose deployed in 2006 to the Persian Gulf on Operation Telic in the first half of 2006. After returning to the UK for personnel changes and maintenance, from 8 January to 27 July 2007, Montrose then deployed for seven months to the Mediterranean Sea as the UK contribution to the Standing NATO Maritime Group Two (SNMG2). As part of this group, she participated in NATO’s Operation Active Endeavour (OAE), countering terrorist activity in the Mediterranean and preventing smuggling and other illegal activity. After Summer Leave, the ship headed to Scotland to take part in Exercise Neptune Warrior, during which time she was visited by Prince Michael of Kent, Honorary Rear Admiral of the Royal Naval Reserve, on 24 September 2007. Following Operational Sea Training, Montrose deployed again to the Middle East on 12 March 2008 to join Combined Task Force (CTF) 150, operating in the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea. Activity in this deployment included Exercise KhunjarHaad, a multi-national exercise held in the Gulf of Oman, and (working with Chatham, Edinburgh and RFA Argus the seizure of over 23 tonnes of drugs including cocaine, hashish, amphetamines and opiates. She returned home on 3 October 2008, and after operating in UK waters, commenced a £15,000,000 upkeep package at Rosyth in early 2009. This second refit package (RP2) included a number of major capability upgrades for the ship, including the first fitting of the Royal Navy’s newest command system, DNA(2), and the replacement of the two old manually-operated 30mm guns with two 30mm DS30M Mark 2 Guns. Having rejoined the ship on 20 July 2009, the Ship's Company conducted post-refits trials until January 2010, and Montrose was formally accepted back into the Fleet on 11 February 2010. After operational sea training Montrose deployed to Arabian Sea in summer 2010 to conduct anti-piracy operations, highlights of which included the November 2010 destruction of a Somalian pirate ship by the ships Lynx helicopter while on patrol off the coast of Somalia and the disruption of several pirate attacks on merchant ships. In October 2011, Montrose deployed again to the South Atlantic, during which she was due to visit Callao, Peru in March 2012, but the Peruvian government cancelled the visit, according to the Foreign Minister, as a gesture of solidarity with Argentina over the Falklands. After visits to New Orleans and Bermuda in March and April 2012, Montrose returned to the UK in May 2012. In July 2012, the ship acted as the escort vessel for HM the Queen during her Diamond Jubilee visit to Cowes. The Model The kit comes packaged in a very sturdy box with an artists representation of the Montrose at mid pace at sea on the top. Inside there are eleven sprues and two hull pieces of light grey styrene, one sprue of clear styrene, one sheet of etched brass and a small decal sheet. Each sprue is protected in their own poly bag. All the parts are very well moulded, with no sign of flash and only a few moulding pips. Detail appears to be very crisp throughout and quite a lot of use of slide moulding technology has been used on the kit, particularly on the superstructure parts. This is the second Type 23 frigate Trumpeter has released. The first, HMS Kent being released this time last year with quiet acclaim from maritime modellers. It would have been expected that the Montrose release would have been for a later period in the ships career, but it appears that this is not so. The only difference between this and the Kent are the decals, which is a rather cynical way of maximising profits in this reviewers opinion. So, the modeller gets the old Mk 8 MOD 0 turret and manned 30mm mounts, instead of the Kryten style Mk 8 MOD 1 and DSM30 Mk2 mounts even though these are shown on the box art. Having looked through the instructions it appears the Siren decoy canisters are also missing from the platforms either side of the forward bridge structure. The build begins with the fitting of the two part sonar dome and bow anchor, along with the keel strakes and stabiliser fins amidships. Moving aft, the two single piece propeller shafts, with A frames moulded together are attached to their relative positions, then fitted with the scimitar bladed propellers. The two rudders are then attached to the hull, as is the transom with separate variable depth sonar hawse pipe/guide. Turning the hull over the deck piece with indented quarterdeck is fitted. The quarterdeck is then detailed with the forward bulkhead whilst three individual supports are fitted to the starboard side and a single piece fitted to the port side, whilst a capstan is fitted centrally. Up forward, the two piece port anchor is fitted to its hawse pipe. Completing the deck/hull is carried out by the fitting of the rear flightdeck/quarterdeck head and the optional ensign staff. On the foredeck the bow hawse pipe, jack staff, breakwater and anchor capstans are fitted. Around the deck edge twelve cleats and bollards are attached, whilst amidships two winches are fitted. Next up is the construction of the complicated foremast. This is extensively made up of etched brass details added to the main styrene parts. Take your time with the etched parts, as they are a little bit fiddly and mistakes will be very noticeable. With the foremast done there are several sub-assemblies to be built up, such as the platforms for the bridge structure, SCOT domes, bridge roof, harpoon launchers, and the two Type 996 radar mountings. The upper bridge structure is then built up out of the single piece superstructure, bridge roof, rear SCOT wings, SCOT domes, and several lockers on both sides. The lower bridge structure is made up of the deck, two sides, front and rear. Onto the deck the SRBOC launchers are fitted as are the four aldis lamps, a pair of liferings and the two platforms per side. The upper structure is then fitted to the lower and the foremast fitted to rear of the upper section. The completed assembly is then put to one side and the build moves onto the centre section. The centre superstructure is made up of a single piece lower section with all but the starboard side moulded together. The missing side is then fitted and an extra section of decking is added on top. On the underside the wing supports are added, whilst topsides the boat cranes, RIBs, 30mm cannon mountings and several miscellaneous parts are added. The forepart of the structure is then fitted into position. The funnel is then built up with the main section fitted with the two sides. On top the six exhausts are fitted and a radome added to the front of the structure. The completed funnel is then attached to and completing the centre superstructure. The last main section of superstructure is the hanger. This is again a slide moulded part which just needs the starboard side added to complete the main part. Internal bulkhead detail is then added, as is the hanger door. For this to be posed open it needs to be cut down to size before fitting. On the outside there are four platforms to be fitted, two per side. The main mast is built up, again using quite a bit of etched brass and fitted to the hanger roof along with the aft 996 radar mounting and roof wind deflectors. With all main superstructure sections fitted to the main deck it’s on with the final bits to be added, these include the vertical launch silo structure for the Sea Wolf missiles. This is fitted forward of the bridge, and forward of the VLS is the 4.5” Mk8 MOD 0 gun turret, consisting of the outer shell, gun mount and gun. The Lynx helicopter is produced in Trumpeters usual fashion of clear styrene and is made up of the main fuselage with moulded nose wheel, main wheels and their sponsons, two torpedoes, the separate tail with tail rotor and wing, also separate. The modeller has the option of having the helicopter in folded or extended pose, but there aren’t any stabilisers included for the folded rotors. Being a full hull model only there is a strong modular stand with a separate nameplate for the model to be displayed on. Etch The etched brass sheet is really quite thin and nasty. The review example was already creased, even though it was in a protective sleeve with cardboard backing. The parts included are only for the yardarms, radar mounting railings, harpoon launcher mountings and a few aerials and platforms. There are no railings or flight deck edge netting that really is needed to complete the model. Decals The small decal sheet has most of the markings required for the ship, namely the pennant numbers, flight deck markings, depth markings, funnel crowns, ships crest for the front of the bridge, ships nameplates for either side just beneath the quarterdeck, Union and Ensign flags and finally the flotilla markings for the funnel. The decals are well produced; they are in good register with thin backing film and good opacity. Conclusion This a very nice looking kit, and apart from the etched parts, it looks like it should go together with minimal fuss. It is a shame that Trumpeter didn’t include the later turret and 30mm cannon particularly as the ship is shown in this MOD state on the box art, which is really a bit misleading to the casual purchaser. Fortunately the likes of White Ensign Models have released their full etched set for these kits which will also add the important railings and deck edge netting. They have also released a Mk8 MOD 1 Kryten turret and the siren decoy launchers which really shouldn’t have been missed by Trumpeter as they are actually quite prominent. So, not perfect, but certainly a good basis to build upon. Recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Hi everyone, Please see my finished HMS Daring (D32) Airfix Type 45 destroyer. Now to get my Sea King HAR.5 finished.

Hi everyone, As the weather is cold and snowy outside, I have decided to make a start on my newly arrived Type 45 destroyer gift set from Airfix. Pictures will follow as the progress continues but so far I have completed stage 1 of this project by drilling the holes for the optional fit Harpoon missile launchers, refuelling probe and Phalanx guns which I will be installing.... I have added a poll to this thread to help me decide which ship to decal this as when the kit is closer to completion, so if everyone could pick an option, I would appreciate it.

Thought it was about time I started to build a ship after several tank builds. So here it is, the Zvezda Varyag cruiser, Eduard etched set, Master gun barrels, Master turned brass masts and Artwox wooden deck.

Mogami Class Cruisers White Ensign Models 1:350 It’s been quite a while since Tamiya released their three Mogami class cruisers and until now there hasn’t been a sniff of a detail set for any of them which is a bit odd since they aren’t perfect and really needed someone to bite the bullet to produce some nice etch for them. Well White Ensign Models have done just that, and have released this big set of etched parts which covers all three versions, Mikuma light cruiser, Mogami heavy cruiser and Mogami aircraft carrying cruiser. The set comprises of two large sheets of relief etched wonderment. Each sheet measures 290mm x 143mm and arrives in a very sturdy, reinforced envelope. Sheet 1 is mostly taken up with the ships railings. The modeller will need to ensure they use the correct ones depending on which version of the Mogami they are building as each one requires different parts. This includes the gun turrets, the Mikuma having triple 6” turrets and both the Mogami kits have twin 8” turrets. The triple turrets are fitted out with turret top railings, vertical ladders to the sides, sliding access doors to the rear and on the front four blast bag elevation rails. Moving on to the secondary and tertiary armament the twin 12.7cm mounts get new loading platforms with built in railings and ladders. The triple and twin 25mm AA gun mounts are finished off with new side details and gun layers seats and foot rests. Twin 13mm mounts are provided as complete etched assemblies with the barrels, mount, with gunners seat and mounting plate. Away from the armament replacement Type 21 Go Dentan radars, which are so much finer than the kit items are assembled using only the kit radars antenna base which needs to be cut down. The distinctive aerial masts and spreaders, which are surprisingly missing from the kits, are folded and assembled, again dependent on which Mogami is being built. Smaller items on the sheet include inclined ladders, boat/supply davits, forward and aft funnel caps and grilles, DF antenna mast, rope walks for the late Mogami foremast yardarms and finally the myriad of hand and foot rails for the two funnels. Sheet 2 have the new parts for the 8” turrets these include a set of detailed panelled sides and rear giving them their heavily riveted look. The fronts of the turrets also get new sighting windows with optional parts for open or closed windows. To the rear a sliding door and ladder are fitted. Something that is common to all versions are the catapults and this sheet provides optional model 3 or model 5 catapults to be used as required, with their associated turntables and supports. The flightdeck of the aircraft carrying version is given new turntables with rails. Each ship has three distinctive searchlight towers which are quite blocky in the kits and are replaced by fine etch etched towers and railings. The midships catwalk assemblies are also replaced with new items off this sheet. There are also numerous items such as ships boats cradles, thwarts, oars, rudders, for the rowing boats and masts, railings, propeller and windscreen for the motorboats, accommodation ladders, life buoy racks and more davits. The Nakajima E8N2 Dave, Kawanishi E7K2 Alf, Mitsubishi F1M2 Pete, and Aichi E13A1 Jake aircraft receive new wing and float struts, and propellers. There is a very nice ships crane jib, but unfortunately no hook or cabling, but this isn’t really a problem as the kits etch provides them. Lastly there is a full length of degaussing cables for the ships hulls with a couple of line drawings to show their positioning. Conclusion This is a very welcome set from White Ensign Models and whilst it’s been a long time waiting it certainly has been worth it. The fact that no matter what class or mod state of model you have this set will be the making of the model. I reckon there are enough parts to do at least one and half ships, if you’re happy to have one that is slightly less detailed, even though you will have ot buy some more railings to finish the second ship off. Very highly recommended. Review sample kindly provided be John at

German Z-39 Destroyer Eduard 1:350 Whilst he Trumpeter Z class destroyers have been getting the Eduard treatment lately, this set for the Z-39 is for the Dragon kit. Now the Dragon kit is in their Super Kit range which already includes some etched brass this set adds even more detail for the completed model. (53076) The single sheet contains a range of railings missing from the kits sets, several types of inclined ladders, four torpedo reload shelters, a number of life rings, and bollard tops. For the ships boats there is a new roof for the motor boat with railings for the foredeck, and for the cutter there is a set of oars, new rudder and “rope” grab handles for around the hull. The rangefinder bandstand receives a new walkway whilst the single gun turrets get new folded curtains. Finally there are forty liferaft floorboards. Conclusion Another great little set from Eduard for detailing the Z-39 which, combined will lift an already superb kit to an almost museum quality model. Recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Dornier Do24 Flying Boat of the Dutch East Indies Pacific Crossroads 1:350 The Dornier Do 24 was designed to meet a Dutch navy requirement for a replacement of the Dornier Wals being used in the Dutch East Indies, with the Netherlands government signing a contract for six Dornier Do 24s on 3 August 1936. Two more prototypes were built for the German navy to be evaluated against the Blohm & Voss BV 138. The Do 24 was an all-metal parasol monoplane with a broad-beamed hull and stabilising sponsons. Twin tails were mounted on the upswept rear of the hull, while three wing-mounted tractor configuration engines powered the aircraft. Fuel was carried in tanks in the sponsons and the wing centre section. Up to 1,200 kg (2,600 lb) of bombs could be carried under the aircraft's wings, while defensive armament consisted of three gun turrets, one each in nose, dorsal and tail positions. In early aircraft the turrets were fitted with a single machine gun each, but later aircraft carried a 20 mm cannon in the dorsal turret. Do 24 V3, the first of the Dutch boats, took off from Lake Constance on 3 July 1937, with the second Dutch boat, Do 24 V4 following soon after. As the Dutch required that their flying boats use the same engines as the Martin 139 bombers in use in the Dutch East Indies, they were fitted with 887 hp (661 kW) Wright R-1820-F52 Cyclone radial engines. Test results were good, with the new flying boat proving capable of operating from extremely rough open seas, and the Dutch placed an order for a further 12 Do 24s on 22 July 1937. Do 24 V1, the first of the two aircraft for Germany, powered by three 600 hp (450 kW) Junkers Jumo 205C diesel engines, flew on 10 January 1938, but after evaluation, the two German boats were returned to Dornier for storage. The Netherlands was enthusiastic about the new flying boat, and planned to purchase as many as 90 Do 24s. Of these, 30 were to be built by Dornier (with all but the first two prototypes assembled by Dornier's Swiss subsidiary based at Altenrhein. The remaining aircraft were to be built under licence in the Netherlands by Aviolanda at Papendrecht. Of these aircraft, all but one of the German and Swiss built aircraft and the first seven Aviolanda-built aircraft were to be Do 24K-1s, powered by the original R-1820-F52 engines, while the remaining aircraft were to be Do 24K-2s, with more powerful 1,100 horsepower (820 kW) R-1820-G102 engines and more fuel. Thirty-seven Dutch- and German-built Do 24s had been sent to the East Indies by the time of the German occupation of the Netherlands in June 1940. Until the outbreak of war, these aircraft would have flown the tri-colour roundel. Later, to avoid confusion with British or French roundels, Dutch aircraft flew a black-bordered orange triangle insignia. A Dutch Dornier Do 24 is credited with sinking the Japanese destroyer Shinonome on December 17, 1941 while the ship was escorting an invasion fleet to Miri in British Borneo. On 10 January 1942 a Dutch Dornier Do 24K spotted a Japanese invasion fleet heading for Tarakan Island in Dutch Borneo, giving adequate warning so that all oil installations could be destroyed before the Japanese arrived. After the Japanese invasion of the Netherlands East Indies, six surviving Do.24s were transferred to the Royal Australian Air Force in February 1942. They served in the RAAF through most of 1944 as transports in New Guinea, making the Do.24 one of the few aircraft serving operationally on both sides during World War II. The Model This latest kit from Pacific Crossroads continues with the theme of materiel from the Dutch East Indies from 1941 to 1942. This time though, rather than a ship, they have released an important aircraft of the period, the Dornier Do24. The kit comes in a small, very sturdy cardboard box with a picture of a Do24 flying over one of the islands within the Dutch East Indies. As with the Admiralen destroyer kit there is a medal in the right hand corner of the picture. This one is the Dutch Flying Cross, the equivalent of the British Distinguished Flying Cross. On opening the box the modeller will see more polystyrene chips than kit. But digging them out there is a small bag of resin parts, which include the one piece fuselage, single piece wing and single piece tailplane and rudders. Only the tailplane is attached to a moulding block, with very fine attachments to the leading edge, which will be fairly easy to remove and clean up. The wing on the other hand, has several large, (relatively), pour stubs on the trailing edge, and these will be a little more difficult to remove without damaging the very thin edge. Great care and patience will need to be taken when cleaning up. The fuselage is very cleanly moulded, with just a small mould line on the starboard rear fuselage. The build, whilst simple, given the number of parts, may not be as easy as it looks. It will certainly be fiddly, with the interplane struts all produced in etched brass, which should be fitted to the fuselage and the glue allowed to set well before adding the wing. Five minute epoxy may be a better choice than CA for this kit. With the wing fitted, the tailplane can also be attached in addition to the support struts between the outer panels and the fuselage. Before fitting the propellers it is necessary to carefully remove the spinners first, attach the props then refit the spinners. Final detail parts included are the machine guns for the fore and aft turrets, the 20mm cannon for the dorsal turret, two aerial masts and a DF loop aerial. Decals The small decal sheet contains the orange and black triangles and rear fuselage bands for one colour scheme and the Dutch flag insignia for a second scheme. Unfortunately decals for the third scheme on the instruction sheet, that of an aircraft in Australian Air Force use is not included. There are no colour codes for the two schemes, so some research will be required to get them right. Conclusion Being a very different subject, particularly in this scale this is a great little kit and will look good in a diorama moored up in an island inlet or flying over the East Indies in support of a Dutch warship, it’ll only be up to the modellers’ imagination. However you use this kit, it’ll look great with a bit of care and attention. It’s certainly great to see Pacific Crossroads thinking outside the maritime box. Recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Dutch Admiralen Class Destroyer, Second Series Pacific Crossroads 1:350 In the 1920s, the Dutch evaluated various European designs to replace the obsolete destroyers of the Roofdier-class. They settled for the British design of HMS Ambuscade. This type included many hard-learnt lessons from the Great War. The design was altered in places to make them more suitable for service in the Netherlands East Indies: a floatplane was added, and the fire control system was considered better than that of their British counterparts. The famous British destroyer yard Yarrow & Co. Ltd from Glasgow made these alterations to the design. During World War 2, these destroyers were in need of a modernization. Their anti-aircraft armament was rapidly becoming obsolete, and their means to detect and destroy submarines were minimal. Between 1940-1942, two of the destroyers had their aft masts removed; Van Ghent and Witte de With received asdic, but otherwise, these ships differed little from their original configuration at the time of their loss. The Model Pacific Crossroads are a fairly new company based in Russia and run by Boris. Since this is the first model we have reviewed I asked Boris for a quick bio of why he started the company. “I have long been interested in the topic of the war in the Pacific and South-East Asia, 1937-45 ... Especially its initial period until the end of 1942. I collect models in scale 1/350 in this period. But many of the ships of this period no one produces! So I decided to produce the models that I want to have in your collection. The most interesting period for me during the war was between December 1941and April 1942, which was bloody mess, with the fall of Singapore, the Dutch East Indies, and the Philippines. The feats of the U.S. Asiatic Fleet and the ABDA command. I've been to Singapore, the islands of Java and Bali, the island of Koh Chang. I have also visited Colombo and Trincomalee.” The kit comes in a very sturdy cardboard box with a picture of one of the class at sea in a very dramatic light and a War Cross medal with Nederlandsch 1941-42 Bar and Javazee 1941-1942 Bar in the right hand corner. On opening the box the modeller is presented with a very well protected hull form, wrapped in bubble wrap, two plastic boxes with all the other resin parts carefully protected, two sheets of etched brass, (although it looks more like copper), a small poly bag of turned brass parts and a couple of small decal sheets. The instructions come with a nice history section, including the loss of one of the ships. The rest of the instructions are in pictorial form, with an overall view and numerous smaller views showing where the parts are fitted and are pretty clear, as are the painting plans. The full hull moulding, in grey resin, is very well done, with some fine detail that is nicely rendered. There are no signs of air bubbles or imperfections, just a fair amount of release agent which will need to be washed off. The large moulding block runs along the keel and shouldn’t be too onerous to remove and clean up the hull, with only the stem and stern sections requiring any real care when removing the block. The other resin parts are attached to moulding blocks, but some thought has been taken to ensure that the points where the blocks join the parts are mostly where they would be easy to clean up and will be the fixing points on the model. These parts consist of main and secondary armament, depth charges, ventilators, propeller shafts with the propellers attached, searchlights, deck houses, liferafts, paravanes, winches, and bridge furniture. Whilst the parts are quite well protected there were still a couple of the smaller gun barrels broken off on our review kit, although these should easily be replaced with brass rod. In the other plastic box are the larger resin parts, which consist of the ships boats, bridge structure, upper bridge, foreward and aft gun platforms, funnels, and the two triple torpedo tubes. Again the parts are cleanly moulded with no signs of air bubbles or imperfections. Etch The larger of the two etched sheets is filled with the more detailed parts. These include parts for the bridge and other parts of the superstructure, boats davits, the interiors of all the ships boats, including duck boards and thwarts. There are quite a number of deck hatches and skylights, watertight doors, various walkways and platforms, ships propellers for those modellers who think the resin ones are a bit too clunky, and the ships rudder. Each of the main guns are provided with deck mounting plates, gunners seats, training and elevation wheels and shields for the A and Y guns. The secondary armament also has training and elevation wheels, mounting plate fitted. The torpedo tubes each get a pair of crew platforms, various controls, shields and seat. Smaller items such as the ships anchors, accommodation ladders, vertical and inclined ladders, cable reels, and depth charge cranes. The sheet also comes with a complete set of railings. The smaller sheet provides the AA gun bandstand, superstructure platform supports, several smaller railings, and nameplates for each of the four second series ships. Turned brass. There is a full set of mast sections, yards and booms in turned brass. Each part would probably benefit with being soldered rather than glued to give strong joints. The instructions are very clear on the positioning of each part and the angle of each mast in relation to the vertical. Decals The small sheets contain the ships pennant letters and names for the four ships. Conclusion This is the first kit I’ve seen from Pacific Crossroads and have been very impressed with the moulding, etch and the fact that the brass turned parts have been included. The kit is also something a little different as the Dutch fleet has very little exposure in the modelling world and would make a nice addition to a collection. I believe there is also a waterline hull version available. Pacific Crossroads have a couple of other ships available and I look forward to seeing future releases. Review sample courtesy of

USS Greeneville SSN 772 Hobbyboss 1/350 USS Greeneville, named after the Texan town in which President Andrew Johnson was born, is the 61st Los Angeles class and the 22nd vessel of the Improved Los Angeles programme. Launched in 1994 and commissioned in 1998 she hasn’t had the most illustrious of careers, being best remembered as the submarine that sank a Japanese fishing trawler off Hawaii. She has also been in a collision with a USN LPD, USS Ogden during jackstay evolutions and run aground off Saipan. Since 2002 she has been much more successful and both boat and crew have won many awards for engineering excellence and leadership. More recently she has been used as the carrier boat for the Advanced SEAL Delivery System. Advanced SEAL Delivery System (ASDS) was a midget submarine operated by the United States Navy and United States Special Operations Command designed to provide stealthy submerged transportation for special operations forces (primarily United States Navy SEALs) from the decks of nuclear submarines for primary use as an insertion platform for covert and clandestine operations. The program was abandoned after the only prototype example of the class was damaged beyond economic repair in an accidental fire. The Model As with other submarine models in this scale, and Hobby boss have released quite a few, there are not too many parts to the kit. The The hull sections comprise two parts split horizontally, which make it possible to build a waterline display. If building full hull, the seam looks like it shouldn’t be too hard to clean up and reconstitute the hull lines that would no doubt be erased in the sanding. Dry fitting of the hull parts show that the fit is pretty good. The rest of the parts are contained on two sprues of grey styrene. All the parts are very nicely moulded with no sign of flash of even any moulding pips. The build is pretty darn simple, shown by the fact that the instruction sheet takes up just one side of A4. The two hull halves are glued together with the single piece bow planes sandwiched between them. If the ASDS submersible is to be used, then four pairs of holes need to be opened up before gluing the hull parts together. The upper and lower rudders are attached to the rear as are the aft planes, which are built up from two halves with a separate elevator, and the two auxiliary drive units. On top of the hull there are a number of deck furniture to be attached, such as bitts and bollards. The ASDS supports can also be fitted if being used. The sail is constructed out of the main sail and an alternative top part, one for periscopes and aerials retracted and one for use if they are extended. If extended then these are fitted into their respective positions as are the etched con position doors. The completed sail can then be fitted to the hull. Once the hull is painted the modeller has a choice of either a styrene propeller or etched prop with a styrene boss. The etched prop will need some careful bending to create the correct shape, but the styrene prop will aid this. Finally the ASDS can be constructed from upper and lower hull parts and, once again, a styrene or etched propeller. The completed submersible is then attached to its mounting points on the main submarines hull. The kit is finished off with a small stand with etched nameplate for those who wish to display the full hull option. Decals The small decal sheet contains the ships pennant numbers, depth markings, hatch rescue markings and a selection of four National Ensigns. Conclusion This kit is another fine addition to the Hobbyboss submarine fleet. The moulded detail seems a little finer on this one when compared with the USS Virginia reviewed last year. Considering the rather interesting history of this particular submarine, and the now defunct ASDS it will make a fine addition to any collection. Review sample courtesy of

IJN Heavy Cruiser Tone 1:350 Etch sets The Tamiya 1:350 Tone kit has been out for some time now, but there have been very few, if any, aftermarket detail sets for it. This may mean that Tamiya got it perfect out of the box or that the aftermarket companies have missed it for some reason. Well this has now been rectified with the welcome release of these two sets by Eduard. The first set consists of two sheets of etched brass containing around 132 different parts. The largest sheet provides everything from the ships crane, crane hook, catapults, bollard tops, gratings, turret railings and masts, funnel caps, funnel wind deflector, inclined ladders, to the intake grilles on the funnels and superstructure. There are several wind deflectors for the secondary armament which are made up by folding the large etched segments on each other creating a suitably scale thickness. The kit searchlight towers, their mounts and turntables are completely replaced with new etched items. There are also numerous small details for the rangefinders, masts yards and bridge structure. All the ships boats have additional detail such as rudders, handrails, screens and stern rails. The second, smaller sheet contains many smaller items such as new doors and deck hatches, small deckhouses, inclined ladders, gun shields, boats oars and cable drum supports. The smallest and what look like the most awkward fittings are the hull ladder rungs. Templates are provided to get the holes drilled in-line ready for the rungs themselves. This is going to be an incredibly fiddly job, but worthwhile exercise as the moulded styrene ones are a little bit clunky. The second set, supplied separately, provides all the railings in pre-cut lengths for the whole ship, plus a range of platforms with pierced gratings. Two accommodation ladders are also provided, in addition to their deck edge covered platforms. A pleasant addition is the inclusion of the awning tripods often seen in photographs of Japanese naval vessels. Conclusion It’s good to see these sets being released as, while the 1:350 Tone is a fabulous kit, it still needs something to give it a lift. The quality of the etch is up to the usual standard we’ve come to expect from Eduard. Unfortunately, the instructions are still a little vague in part placement and particularly how parts are folded. If you have the Tamiya kit, then you need these sets. Review sample courtesy of

Type VIIc U-Boat Jasmine Models 1:350 It is very nice to see a new company releasing some interesting models and etched update sets. So it is with Jasmine Models, having already released an etched update set for the Kitty Hawk F-35B they have now released their first kit. But this one is with a twist, a 1:350 scale Type VIIc U-Boat, entirely in etched brass, producing a 3D skeletal model. The kit comes on two sheets of relief etched brass, both secured on a sheet of card and covered in a protective film. The instructions are in pictorial form which, whilst the photographs are clear, time will need to be taken to read carefully to ensure the correct parts are fitted in the right order as this isn’t made entirely clear. The build begins with the construction of the keel and the propeller guards/rudder supports bent into shape. The rear torpedo deck and generator are fixed into place followed by three bulkheads. The main engine is then folded to shape, giving it a 3D look, and fixed to the deck plate. This assembly is then added to the keel along with two more bulkheads. Two more bulkheads are then added followed by a crew bunk area, with four two tier bunks. Moving forward, two more bulkheads are fitted along with the valve control area, two more bulkheads, another crew bunk area, with five two tier bunks and two more bulkheads. The stand support plates are added to their respective positions along with the name plate. Another crew bunk are is then folded into shape, this one has six two tier bunks in what is possibly the aft end of the forward torpedo space as the next two bulkheads have the torpedo handling equipment and internal parts of the torpedo tubes. Forward of these are the bow planes and bow bulkhead, with tube openings. The lower bow, with saw tooth cable cutter, is then attached to the keel and fitted with the anchor and chain. The build then moves to the upper longitudinal spine, on which the tower is fitted, this includes the periscopes, periscope retraction tube, hatches and AA gun. The rear dive planes, rudders and props are attached to their respective positions. The foredeck is then added followed by the aft deck section which has the upper part of the tower attached, along with the DF loop, all this will need to be folded into the correct shape. The tower bandstand is then folded and glued together, this needs to be carefully slid over the AA gun before being attached to the rear of the tower. Lastly the foredeck gun is fitted to the deck plate and the handrails fitted each side of the tower. Conclusion This model is really so left field I was surprised to it being released. The size and construction will take some patience and care in the folding and positioning of each part. The modeller will also need to be very sparing with the glue as it will be noticeable if too much is used. I’d recommend using GS Hypo glue as it’s clear, controllable and quite strong enough once the model structure is complete. I cannot recommend this for anyone other than those modellers with a fair bit of experience of etched brass. But it will certainly be a stunning little model when finished. Review sample courtesy of

Type 23 Frigate 1:350 Etch Set To coincide with the release of the Trumpeter Type 23’s, HMS Kent, Montrose, and Westminster, White Ensign Models have released this etch set. Although looking like it was originally designed for their Type 23 model, this set has been modified to fit the Trumpeter kit with the inclusion of some additional parts. Several parts of the kit will need to be modified with the removal of plastic to allow the use of the etched parts. The single sheet measures 262mm x 107mm and contains over one hundred parts. Aside from a full complement of ships railings, each shaped and sized to fit their specific positions, although some will need to be shaped to fit, there are also a full set of flightdeck netting which can be positioned folded or upright. Once the moulded plastic frames have been removed, the Harpoon launchers can be attached to the previously folded etched parts. In addition to these there is a new set of blast shields to be built up. The fore and aft 911 fire control radars get a new platform surround whilst the foretopmast receives a new top lattice and platform assembly, yardarms, aerial supports and wire aerial spreader, and the 996 radar is fitted with a new antenna plate. The centre section of the superstructure is fitted with new extension supports, gun platform netting, ships class crowns and small gaff, part number 43, not 41 as per the written instructions. The main mast also has three multipart yardarms, associated aerials and large gaff. Moving aft, the superstructure is fitted with a new vertical/guarded ladder, liferaft supports, flightdeck lighting assembly, new hanger roller door. The flightdeck is fitted with the helicopter harpoon flightdeck grid and the netting mentioned above. With the ship covered there’s still the helicopter to be suitably detailed. For this there is a new main rotor and tail rotor for the spread condition whilst for the folded condition the tail needs to be removed at the fold joint and the exposed bulkhead added. The etched main rotor needs to be modified by cutting carefully at the root of the blades which are then folded aft. The four blade support poles can then be attached to the fuselage and the blades fitted to their respective slots. Conclusion This set is exactly what we have come to expect from White Ensign Models. Comprehensive, detailed and delicate, just what the trumpeter kit needs to bring out the best in a build. As usual, care and patience are the order of the day when using etched brass, but it’ll be worth it. Recommended https://www.whiteensignmodels.com/p/WEM+1350+Type+23+Frigate+Trumpeter+PE+35167/15946/'> Review sample kindly provided be John at

Russian protected cruiser Varyag (53067) Eduard 1:350 Just when you think that there arenât any older kits that havenât been covered by an aftermarket company and they prove you wrong. This is the case with Zvezdas Varyag protected cruiser. The kit, whilst quite good, really does need some updating and this two sheet set will do just that. Sheet one, 210mm x 135mm and as is usual for these types of sets, absolutely filled with new or replacement parts. Some areas of detail on the kit will have to be removed before these parts can be added although this is not really a problem, just ensure that the areas are flat. Starting at the bow the filigree moulding is removed before the finely etched parts are fitted. Several deckhouses, skylights and deck hatches are added, replacing the rather clunky plastic parts. Much of the kits bridge structure is completely replaced with etched parts so the wheelhouse and bridge wings shields have to be removed, leaving just the plain deck. Onto this a new etched deck piece is added to the remaining plastic deck part, this has nicely detailed wood detail etched into it. Onto this the new wheelhouse is built by folding the single piece etched part into shape before the roof is added and its attached railings. The cross bracings are added to the bridge wing supports. Two inclined ladders are fitted between the bridge deck and the main deck. The lower foremast platform has its shields removed before etched bracing is added underneath and railings are fitted to the top, whilst the searchlight platform is replaced. The two guns are fitted to etch mounts and have their breech detail replaced. Rope walkways are added to each spar. Whilst the smaller cannon have their mounts replaced, the larger guns only have added detail. All four funnels have new vertical ladders, handrails and tops fitted. The unusual aerial walkway between the foredeck superstructure and the aft superstructure is almost completely replaced with new cross bracing, walkway, with railings and supports should be constructed before fitting to the model. The rest of the sheet comprises of more deck hatches, liferings, skylight hatches, boat oars, cable reels, rear superstructure decks, support bracing, inclined ladders and vertical ladders. Sheet two is slightly smaller at 210mm x 95mm and provides more oars for the ships boats, a complete captains stern walkway that replaces the kits parts, ropewalks for the mainmast yards, eight replacement cranes with separate hooks, accommodation ladders, booms, and parts to replace and add detail to some of the kit cranes that are fitted to the central walkway. Right at the stern, liferings and their cradles are fitted along with what looks like a torpedo tube door. Railings are provided for the foredeck and quarterdeck, with ratlines to be fitted to the two masts. Conclusion This is a very comprehensive set, and it's good to have all the parts in one package rather than having to buy two sets to complete a kit. As stated above there are a lot of area on the kit which need to be removed, so care and patience will be required before even starting on adding the etch. There are also lots of very small parts, so a steady hand and some magnification will be needed. Despite all this the parts included in the set will really bring the kit to life and fill it with much finer detail than is in the plastic. I will certainly be using this set in a forthcoming build. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

N.Y.K Line Heian Maru 1:350 History As with her sister ship Hikawa Maru, Heian Maru is a Japanese ocean liner that was built for the Nippon Yusen KK line by the Yokohama Dock Company. She was laid down as a 11,616-ton passenger-cargo liner by the Osaka Iron Works and made her maiden voyage from Hong Kong for Seattle, Washington. She is one of three sister ships. She and her sister ships were named after important Shinto shrines, the other being Hie Maru. From 1935 she was in service on the NYK (Japan Mail) Line's Kobe to Seattle route via Nagoya, Shimidzu, Yokohama and Vancouver. In August 1941 she made her last voyage, in ballast, from Seattle to Yokohama. In October 1941 she was requisitioned by the Imperial Japanese navy, (IJN). Later that month she was registered as a prospective submarine tender in the Yokosuka Naval District. The conversion was carried out at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ shipyard at Kobe. Four 6-inch (152-mm) 41st Year Type single mount guns, one 3.5 m range finder, two Type 93 dual 13-mm machine guns and one 1100-mm diameter and one 900-mm diameter search lights are fitted. A degaussing cable (anti-magnetic mine device) is also fitted. The conversion was completed at the end of December she completed conversion. Thereafter, HEIAN MARU was assigned to Vice Admiral Shimizu Mitsumi's (former CO of 3rd China Expeditionary Fleet) Sixth Fleet (Submarines) in Rear Admiral Sato Tsutomus’ SubRon 1, Combined Fleet, based at Kwajalein. On the 31st December she sailed from Kobe and arrived in Kwajalein on the 8th January 1942. After sailing from Harbour to harbour refuelling and re-arming numerous submarines, landing troops and Rabaul and from 1942 to 1944, she was finally caught by carrier aircraft on 18th February 1944 and badly damaged to the point of the crew having to abandon ship. The next day Avenger aircraft, off USS Bunker Hill, hit her with a torpedo, after which she capsized and now rest in 110ft of water of Dublon Island. The Model The kit comes in the usual, attractive, top opening box from Hasegawa, with an artistic interpretation of the ship at sea. The kit is basically the same as the Hikawa Maru released last year, but with additional parts for this ships armament and other small details. On opening the box the two hull halves, which are mounted on a cardboard insert along with a large poster which also acts as the painting guide. Removing the hull insert reveals 10 sprues of grey styrene and one of clear. As is usual for Hasegawa the parts are nicely moulded with crisp detail with quite a few moulding pips on the parts, although there is a small amount of flash at the sprue junctions. Construction starts with the two hull parts being joined together with 7 internal bulkhead parts adding considerably to the strength of the structure. Whilst the propshaft fairings, props and rudder are fitted later in the instructions, I would probably fit them at this point to help with painting before the rest of the build commences. Next to be fitted are the 3 cargo deck and the raised foredeck with its bulkhead. The promenade deck is built up with the superstructure parts, which are again nicely strengthened with internal bracing. Once complete this sub-assembly is added to the hull. At this point the myriad of deck pieces can be added, these include items such as ventilators, winches, bollards, cleats and the anchors. The 13mm and 152mm guns are also built up and fitted to their respective positions. The stern castle is built up next followed by the boat deck. The bridge section of the superstructure is next to constructed, with some nice internal details such as the ships wheel, binnacles, signal lamps and transparencies for the windows. The final section of superstructure is the boat deckhouse with the funnel, more ventilators, winches and fan trunking housings. The rest of the build consists making up the ships lifeboats and attaching them, with their associated davits to the boat deck, followed by the many masts and derrick arms all of which will require some careful rigging combined with some research as to how and where the cables are fitted, as this information isn’t given in the instructions. The completed model can be displayed on the two nice pedestals provided. Etch In addition to the plastic parts there is a small sheet of etched parts which replace some of the solid plastic parts to make them more realistic. There are also some railings, gun platforms, and searchlight towers make up the majority of the parts. The landing craft and 12m launch receive new cradles, rudders, propellers, steering wheels, liferings, steering position railings and a ramp for the landing craft. A nice touch is the template to fit the boats cradles in the correct positions. Decals The well printed decal sheet provides the modeller with the ships name for the stern and bows, along with depth markers, various flags and the markings for the numerous liferings, which makes a change from having to paint them. All the decals appear in good register and density. There is also a sheet of sticky label type flags with a couple of pennants which are actually quite useful in that they would be easy to attach to their respective halliards. Conclusion This is a very nice kit, just a shame that there isn’t an option to build it as a waterline model without some major surgery as it would be good for a diorama with some I class subs alongside. My other criticism would be that Hasegawa have kept their wooden deck and two etch sets out of the main kit to be sold separately, but at least this kit does have some etched parts and the modeller can now get a wooden deck from another source. Other than that, I can really recommend this kit Review sample courtesy of UK distributors for

SMS Vulkan Submarine Rescue Ship Alliance Modelworks 1:350 SMS Vulkan was a U-boat salvage tug in the Kaiserliche Marine laid down in 1907 and commissioned 1908. The ship displaced 1595 tons and had a top speed of 12 knots. The famous U-boat ace Max Valentiner served as salvage officer on Vulkan in early 1911. On 17 January 1911, he and the crew saved all 30 men from U-3 by getting them out of the torpedo tube after it was sunk near Kiel harbour in Heikendorfer Bay because of an unclosed valve in the ventilation shaft. Amongst the saved crew was Otto Weddigen, the later commander of U-9 and Paul Clarrendorf, the commander of U-boot-Abnahme-Kommando in Kiel which enlisted u-boat crews. Vulkan is also famous for salvaging two U-boats, U-30 on 27 August 1915 and UC-45 on 17 September 1917. Vulkan was taken out of service 11 November 1918 and surrendered to the British forces together with the bigger salvage tug, SMS Cyclops. Being pulled to Harwich it was sunk 6 April 1919. Apparently she may have been raised as there is information in the kit that she was back in use in 1925. This kit comes in a very sturdy cardboard box. Inside all the parts are very well protected, being individually wrapped in bubblewrap. The etched parts, of which there are many, are in a separate bag and kept from bending with thick card. The instructions, printed on three sides of A4 paper are clearly drawn but lacking in detail, particularly for how and where to fold the larger etched parts. However there are slightly clearer pictures on-line at http://www.am-works.com/store/nw35059-hebaschiff-vulkan-p-226.html . The model can be built in either waterline or full hull. The single large resin upper hull is very well moulded with lots of detail both externally and internally. There is no sign of flash, air bubbles or even moulding blocks on this part. The two lower catamaran hulls are beautifully slim, with fine plate detail and very fine prop and rudder post detail. The moulding blocks on the bows being the only imperfection. Due to the slimness of the hulls, care really needs to be taken to remove these blocks. Even though these hull parts are slim and quite long there is no sign or warpage and a quick dry fit shows that they will attach to the upper hull with little or no filler. The rest of the resin parts make up items such as the funnels, bitts, various sizes of winches, deck houses, lifeboats, ventilators, anchors and a block for folding the main bridgehouse. Whilst the resin parts are very nice, it’s the etched parts that really make this build. There are five sheets of varying sizes contain some really fine etched details. The first sheet provides the main deck plating with built in railings which will need to be folded up before fitting the deck, long or short lifting assemblies, bridge wing outriggers, and three items that aren’t identified on the instructions. Sheet B contains a lot of the bridge/lifting gantry structure, two versions of bridge decking with different styles of railing, a complex little lookout structure, lifeboat decks, rudders, oars and the ships propellers. Sheet C contains more of the bridge/lifting gantry structure, plus the lifting winch room, a pair of rudders and mast yardarms. Sheet D provides alternative mast yardarms, complete with halliards and shrouds. This is a nice little addition as it saves the modeller from quite a bit of rigging at the end of the build. Also included on this sheet are a number of inclined ladders, accommodation ladders and platforms, anchor chains, watertight doors, and deckhouse skylights. Sheet E contains the rest of the accommodation ladder assemblies with their cranes and attached downhauls, further small goose necked cranes, large crane block and tackle assemblies, crane I-Beams, and the rest of the ships railings which do not have a bottom rail so will require a steady hand and small amounts of glue to fit. In addition to the etched sheets there are also two turned brass masts and a length of brass rod from which to make the large crane booms and a nicely etched nameplate. Conclusion Alliance Modelworks have really released a gem with this kit. The subject matter is very unusual and interesting, the kits parts are very well produced and it looks like it will build into a great model. The only thing letting it down are the rather indistinct instructions, which would have benefitted from better exploded views and directions on folding the various etched parts. Certainly not one for the novice or maybe even the intermediate modeller who hasn’t had much experience of this amount of etch I can still recommend it for being so different. Review sample courtesy of Harry at Battlefleet Models

Woban Class District Tug Alliance Modelworks 1:350 The Woban Class of tugs were built in many shipyards and used throughout the US as dockyard tugs from the late 1930s till the 1970s. The length of service for these tugs makes this model very useful for those wishing to make a dockyard diorama. The kit comes in a small, but sturdy cardboard box with the contents printed on one side of the lid and a picture of the real thing on the other. On opening, the model is very well protected, each part being wrapped in bubblewrap and taped to foam inserts within zip lock bags. There is also a sheet of etched brass and a small decal sheet. The small instruction sheet, whilst simple, is quite clear and easy to follow for the most part, but, other than the rudder, they fail to indicate any parts for the full hull option. The hull of the tug is provided in two halves split longitudinally so that either a waterline or full hull model can be built. The moulded details are nicely done, from the large rubbing strakes, large bow fender, windlass to the bitts and bollards. Apart from the moulding plug, which shouldnt take much to remove and clean up, on the bottom of the parts there is now visible flash. This is equally true for all the resin parts which also include the bridge structure, two dinghies, cable reels and ventilators. The small etched sheet is pretty packed considering its size. The parts are finely etched with some beautiful detail. Parts included on the sheet are doors, doorframes, railings; lower rubbing strake outer sheaf, quarterdeck grating, portholes, fire monitors, optional cable reels, upper steering wheel and column, vertical and inclined ladders, upper deck derrick, and tyre fenders built up of multiple parts. Decals The small decal sheet provides black and white US Navy titles, plus the numbers of the particular tug being built can be made up from those provided. There are also nameplates for three tugs. Conclusion This is a great little kit of a very useful and extensively used tug. If the full hull model is to be built then the modeller will have to do some extensive research, or wing it a bit as there are no instructions on what goes where or how. Fortunately this is probably not going to be a problem as I imagine most will be built as a waterline model. Due to the fineness of the etch, care and patience will be required. Recommended for the modeller with at least a modicum of experience. Review sample courtesy of Harry at Battlefleet Models

Japanese Super Battleship Yamato Eduard 1:350 The release of their updated IJN battleship Yamato by Tamiya it was thought that it wouldn’t need any further items from aftermarket manufacturers, particularly as Tamiya has already produced some detail sets for the kit. This premise has been proven wrong with Eduards release of these sets that aim to improve this amazing even further. The first set, (53072) contains two medium sized sheets of finely etched relief brass. As is usual for these types of sets, some of the kits details need to be removed before the etched parts can be added. Sheet one contains14 new splinter screens with solid floors and 4 with open floors for the triple 25mm gun mounts, new breakwater hatch details, three different types of watertight doors which can be posed either open or closed, new vent grilles, liferings and cradles, AA director mount doors, aircraft trolleys and cradles, a pair of very fine Ohi Go 13 air search radar aerials, the rear parts for the main radars, 5” open gun mount footplate, sight and turntable, boat cradles, replacement flag boom, bridge platforms, catapult footplates, replacement catapults with additional details such as launch cable reels. There are also new handrails for the funnel and several director mounts. Sheet two is slightly smaller and provides the fronts of the main radars along with the rather fiddly separate dipoles, twelve of which are fitted to each side. Apart from a new bridge platform deck the sheets is filled with new handrails for use around the ship superstructure and the forward turret, along with new deck hatches, vertical ladders, new bridge windows, and deck shelters. To go with the above set Eduard have also released a separate comprehensive set of railings, (53073). The one large sheet is filled with railings of different styles and all pre-sized to the correct length for fitting in their respective positions. These will go a long way to finish what is a fabulous model, without the hassle of using Tamiyas own railing set which is made up of individual posts through which you pass copper wire to make up the completed railings. Conclusion Although the new Yamato kit is absolutely fantastic, these additional sets will take it to the next level of detail and able the modeller to really build a museum quality model. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

German Z-31 Destroyer Eduard 1:350 Making a change for making etched parts for the Trumpeter German destroyers, Eduard are down doing some for the Dragon Z class. The first release is the railing set for their Z-31 destroyer. As a small departure, the single photo etched sheet contains more than just railings, although these do dominate, naturally. Each railing is designed to fit into their respective positions and the foredeck railings are nicely curved to take into account the sheer of the hull. Small shaped and straight railings for around the ship in positions, such as the transom, front superstructure, between which an inclined ladder can be fitted. Ladder well rails are also included around the ship into which more inclined ladders are glued into place. In addition to the railings and ladder the gun turrets a provided with blackout curtains in the folded position, gratings for all the kit liferafts, and a bandstand railing for one of the AA gun positions. Conclusion Whilst this set is described as a railing set, there is more to it as mentioned above. Therefore modellers may not actually need to buy the separate ship set that is due to be released soon as this set provides more than enough to make a real difference to the completed model. Review sample courtesy of

German Z-25 Destroyer 1944 Eduard 1:350 The Trumpeter destroyers are really getting the Eduard treatment lately and this set for the Z-25 is very similar to their earlier released Z-43 sets in that the general arrangement and many of the parts used are similar. The first set, (53068) is for the ships detail and contains two sheets of relief etched brass whilst set (53059) provides one sheet of etched brass railings, enough for one ship. (53068) Sheet one contains 36 life rafts, new spray guards, cable drums and reel stands, radar antenna, turret liferaft rack rails and shelves, forward funnel handrail, main breakwater and associated supports, ships boat canopy, guns shield and seats for the quad flakvierling, seats, breech detail and footplate for the twin 20mm Oerlikons, lastly there is the eagle insignia and a pair of torpedo reload compartments. Sheet two, contains replacement watertight doors, which, like some other parts require the kit detail to be removed before fitting these items. The main turrets are provided with new breech details, gunshield rear surround, and barrel ring. The rear funnel gets a handrail, and funnel cap details. The rest of sheet contains the inclined and vertical ladders, anchor chain, yard footropes, lifebelts, and torpedo loading derrick arms, half breakwaters and supports. Deck hatches. The railing set, (53059) by its very nature provides a full set of ships railings, each designed to fit in their respective positions. Conclusion Another great little set from Eduard for detailing the Z-25 which, combined with the railing set will help make for a wonderful, museum quality model. Recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Although I had intended to post pictures of the finished build, I thought it best if I waited for the base to arrive. So here she is, after a very nice, fun build.

USS Arizona 1941 Eduard 1:350 53069 Recently arrived at Britmodeller is this new set of etched parts for the Hobbyboss 1:350 USS Arizona. This has got be one of the biggest sets of etch that Eduard do outside of their Big Ed series. Included in the large zip lock bag are three equally sized sheets of 200mm x 130mm and one smaller one of 153mm x 135mm, filled to the edges with new and replacement parts. Although the Hobbyboss kit is quite nice out of the box, some of the details are quite clunky and thick, due to the nature of the moulding process. Almost all of these details are replaced or enhanced from this super pack, plus many items missing from the kit are added. Sheet 1 contains replacement parts for the various bridge houses and support structures within the tripod tower layers, including the foretop and maintop structures. In fact it appears that all the parts that go into building the tripod masts are replaced, including the tripods themselves, which are replaced with plastic rod in the instructions, but may be better replaced with suitable brass rods for extra stability and the option of soldering all the major parts together, making a really strong structure. Additionally there are a selection of inclined ladders, secondary armament blast screens, (the kit parts need to be removed first), foldable flag yards and parts for A and Y turrets. The parts on sheet two include the tripod mast decks, funnel structures and decking, a very comprehensive ships catapults for X turret and quarterdeck, each with, air bottles, aircraft launch cradle, walkways and railings, ships aircraft handling and boat cranes, plus various watertight doors, hatches and turret hand rails. Further gun tubs for the secondary and tertiary armament are included along with vertical ladders, mast supports, main gun tampons, range clocks and main turret canvas attachment rings. Sheet three contains hawsepipe surrounds, guides and gratings, anchor chains, (although these may be best replaced with real chain), more deck and foretop structures, boat cradles, tripod mast ladders, more inclined and vertical ladders, gunwhales, and thwarts for the ships rowing boats, new aft structures, railings, hatches and liferings for the ships motor boats. The final, smallest sheet contains host of miscellaneous items, such as additional railings, liferings, main turret front plates, derricks, inclined ladders, rudders and flag staffs for the ships boats, and more deck structures such as ammunition lockers. [/center Railing Set (53078) Available separately there is a sheet of railings for the USS Arizona. These supplement the smaller railings included in the above pack, and are for the main railings around the main and upper decks. Each length of railing is pre-cut to the correct size to fit into its appropriate position. As usual the relief etching is very finely done and because of the bottom rail, very easy to fit using the modellers preferred method. Conclusion With the main set containing so many parts there may be a bit of apprehension taking on such an extensive build, but it will certainly be worth the effort. I was surprised how much of the original kit is meant to be either cut off or replaced completely, but then I guess that is what it takes to build a super finely detailed model. With the addition of the railing set you will end up with a true museum quality example. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

USN Aircraft Eduard 1:350 This single sheet set of relief etched brass continues Eduards policy of releasing useful sets to add detail to parts of a model that seems to be forgotten. This set, for modern US aircraft is really quite comprehensive. The aircraft for which details are provided include Vought A-7E Corsair, Grumman A-6E Intruder, Grumman F-14A Tomcat, McDonnell Douglas F-18A and Lockheed S-3A Viking. From the look of the instructions these aircraft are from the Tamiya USS Enterprise and their aircraft add-on packs. The following is a list of details included. There are enough parts to detail up to four of each aircraft. A-7E Corsair – Undercarriage doors, wheels, arrester hook, and pylons. A-6E Intruder – Undercarriage doors, wheels, panels to hide the hollow fuselage underside, pylons, and cockpit access steps. F-14A Tomcat – Undercarriage doors, wheels, arrester hook, and Phoenix launch pallets. F-18A Hornet – Undercarriage doors, wheels, arrester hook, pylons, fuselage panels. S-3A Viking – Undercarriage doors, wheels, arrester hook, pylons, and fuselage panels. The detail is up to the usual standard from Eduard, right down to the fuselage panels, and sonar drop tubes on the Viking. The wheels even have spoke detail and are made of two parts folded together for depth. Some parts of each aircraft must be removed before the etch parts can be added. Conclusion This is a very nice and useful little set. The inclusion of the panels to cover the hollow parts of the models is of particular note. Due to the nature and scale of these parts, the modeller will need a steady hand and a fair amount of patience, especially those parts that need folding first. Recommended. Review sample courtesy of

German Z-43 Destroyer 1944 Eduard 1:350 In addition to the railing set, reviewed HERE, Eduard have released this detail set for Trumpeters Z-43 destroyer. Comprising of two relief etched frets of brass, both measuring 138mm x 70mm, containing loads of fine detail parts to spruce up the already very nice kit. Sheet one contains 39 new life rafts, new spray guards, cable drums and reel stands, radar antenna, turret liferaft rack rail, forward funnel handrail, main breakwater and associated supports, ships boat canopy, guns shield and seats for the quad flakvierling, seats, breech detail and footplate for the twin 20mm Oerlikons, lastly there is the eagle insignia and two parts, which look like new compartments, but there is no mention of them in the instructions. Sheet two, contains replacement watertight doors, which, like some other parts require the kit detail to be removed before fitting these items. The main turrets are provided with new breech details, gunshield rear curtain and surround, liferaft storage shelf, and barrel ring. The rear funnel gets a handrail, and funnel cap details. The rest of sheet contains the inclined and vertical ladders, anchor chain, yard footropes, lifebelts, and torpedo loading derrick arms, half breakwaters and supports. Deck hatches. Conclusion Another great little set for detailing the Z-43 which, combined with the railing set will help make for a wonderful, museum quality model. Recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Illustrious Class Helicopter set Eduard 1:350 This small sheet of etched brass recently released by Eduard is, as the title suggests, purely for the helicopters provided in the Airfix kit of HMS Illustrious. Providing enough parts for four helicopters, two with spread rotors and two folded. The Sea King Mk4 details include replacement and new parts, such as new main and tail rotors, port side rear strake, pitot probes, upper and lower port forward crew doors, windscreen wipers, sponson struts, main rotor head gearbox top decking, main winch, plus various aerials and aerial supports. The Merlin is provided with weapon stations, starboard crew step, new main and tail rotors, main rotor head cover, main gearbox top decking, port and starboard rear strakes, various aerials, upper and lower port crew entrance door, and pilots rear view mirrors. Conclusion This is a very neat and fairly comprehensive detail set which, whilst fiddly, will really enhance the helicopters within the kit. Recommended. Review sample courtesy of