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USS Kearsarge LHD-3 1:700 Hobbyboss The USS Kearsarge was the third of the ‘Wasp’ class of amphibious assault ships to enter service with the United States Navy. Commissioned in October 1993, she followed the USS Wasp and USS Essex into service. The eight ships of the Wasp Class (Wasp, Essex, Kearsarge, Boxer, Bataan, Bonhomme Richard, Iwo Jima and Makin Island) were each designed to ferry a detachment of over 1800 US Marines into battle, deploying them via landing craft, hovercraft and helicopters. The Wasp Class of ships are also able to deploy strike aircraft including AV-8B Harrier IIs and AH-1W Supercobra attack helicopters. The ships boast an impressive defensive armament including Rolling Airframe and Sea Sparrow surface-to-air missiles, and 20mm Phalanx automated cannons. Not long after her entry into service, the USS Kearsarge was deployed in support of NATO operations in the Balkans, where her marines undertook the successful rescue of downed pilot Captain Scott O’Grady in June 1995. Since then she has performed humanitarian missions in Sierra Leone, Bangladesh and Haiti and took part in Operation Odyssey Dawn, the US designation for the international military operations in Libya. Following hot on the heels of their excellent kit of the USS Wasp, released earlier this year, Hobbyboss have now produced the second instalment in what should eventually be a complete line-up of Wasp class vessels. In typical Hobbyboss fashion, the kit is immaculately packed into a sturdy top-opening box which is divided into a number of compartments. Each sprue is individually wrapped and delicate parts are protected with extra strips of foam padding. If there’s a company around right now that packs their kits more carefully than Hobbyboss, I’ve yet to find them. The box contains a veritable mountain of sprues, some moulded in grey plastic and some (the aircraft) in clear plastic. A stand, two decal sheets and four photo etch frets complete the package. According to Creative Models, the UK importer and distributor of Hobbyboss kits, over 600 parts go to make up this impressive kit. The plastic parts are perfectly moulded and feature plenty of intricate detail. The photo etch parts, particularly those for the radar antennae, are very fine indeed. As you might expect, the vast majority of parts for this kit are identical to those included with the earlier USS Wasp kit. There are a couple of important changes to account for the differences in the actual vessels, however. The hull is moulded in upper and lower halves, which gives you the option of building the kit in waterline configuration if you so wish, although no separate waterline plate is included. The superstructure, or ‘island’ is moulded in one piece, to which many of the small details such as the Rolling Airframe and Sea Sparrow missile launchers and the Phalanx guns, are added. This part is one of the few that are different from the USS Wasp kit, as otherwise the two vessels are remarkably similar. As mentioned above, many of the smaller details are replicated in photo etched brass. The detail on the radar antennas in particular is incredibly fine and the parts look to be correspondingly delicate. For those who don’t wish to tackle the photo etch parts, Hobbyboss have included plastic alternatives as well, but when it comes to finesse of detail, they obviously don’t come up to anywhere near the standard of the brass parts. I estimate that around half of the 600 parts that go to make up this kit are used to create the land, sea and air vehicles that the USS Kearsarge carries into battle. The quantity of mobile military hardware supplied with the kit is mind boggling. A pair of Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) are included, as are a pair of Landing Craft Utility (LCU). Ground vehicles supplied include a host of deck tractors and cranes, as well as two AAVP-7 amphibious assault vehicles, two LAV-25 reconnaissance vehicles, two M60A3 Main Battle Tanks, two M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tanks and a pair each of M198 artillery pieces, trucks and Humvees. The air wing is just as good, if not better. There are helicopters galore, including four MV-22 Ospreys, four CH-53E Sea Stallions, four CH-46 Sea Knights, two AH-1W Supercobras, and two SH-60F Sea Hawks. Four AV-8B Harrier IIs are also included. All of the aircraft are moulded in clear plastic, which gives you the option to mask the transparent parts if you are that way inclined. The aircraft and other vehicles all look excellent and, best of all, all of the helicopters feature folding rotor blades where appropriate – a nice touch from Hobbyboss. As mentioned above, there are two decal sheets. The first is for the ship itself and the second is for the aircraft. There are also three frets of photo etched brass parts. All the decals and extra details that you could want are replicated here, including a full set of railings, so there should be no need for aftermarket. This kit really is a complete package. Conclusion This really is a top-quality kit from Hobbyboss. It’s hard to imagine how they could have crammed in more detail, and the variety and quantity of additional vehicles is pretty faultless too. The quality of the mouldings is also superb, as are the photo etched parts. All-in-all this looks like a great package and it can be strongly recommended to all fans of modern US Navy vessels. Review sample courtesy of