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USS New Jersey, Platinum Edition 1:350 Revell The USS New Jersey, a 45,000-ton Iowa class battleship, was built at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania. Commissioned in May 1943, she spent the rest of that year in the western Atlantic and Caribbean area. New Jersey went to the Pacific in early 1944 and conducted her first combat operations in support of the Marshalls invasion. She was Fifth Fleet flagship during the mid-February raid on the Japanese base at Truk, where she used her guns to sink one enemy ship and join in sinking another. Through the rest of 1944, she took part in raids on Japanese-held islands, the Marianas invasion and Battle of Philippine Sea, the Battle of Leyte Gulf and operations against the Philippines. From August 1944, she was flagship of Admiral William F. Halsey's Third Fleet. The New Jersey continued her Pacific combat operations into 1945, supporting the invasions of Iwo Jima and the Ryukyus. Following overhaul, she again became Fifth Fleet flagship during the final days of World War II and remained in the Far East until early 1946. She then went to the Atlantic in 1947 and made one midshipmen's training cruise to Europe before decommissioning in June 1948. The Korean War brought the New Jersey back into commission in November 1950. Two Korean combat tours in 1951 and 1953 were punctuated by a European cruise in the Summer of 1952. After returning home from the western Pacific in late 1953, New Jersey operated in the Atlantic. She deployed to Mediterranean and European waters twice in 1955-56 and was placed out of commission in August 1957. During the Vietnam war USS New Jersey was the only battleship recalled to duty. She recommissioned in April 1968 and arrived off Southeast Asia in September. From then until April 1969, she conducted frequent bombardments along the South Vietnamese coast. But, whilst preparing for a second Vietnam tour, she was ordered inactivated and decommissioned in December 1969. The early 1980s defence build-up produced a fourth active period for the New Jersey, beginning with her recommissioning after an extensive refit, which saw the mounting of cruise missile boxes, harpoon launchers and Vulcan Phalanx CIWS in December 1982. She again fired her big guns in combat during the Lebanon crisis of 1983-84 and deployed to the western Pacific in 1986 and 1989-90, with the latter cruise extending to the Persian Gulf area. Decommissioned again in February 1991, USS New Jersey was towed from the Pacific to the Atlantic in 1999. She is since become a museum at Camden, New Jersey. The Model Originally released by Revell in 2000 and re-released in 2002 this kit appears older than it really is with quite a lot of flash and extraneous moulding stubs. The original kit looks like it was meant to have been motorised at some point as all the mountings are still extant. When released it wasnt exactly the best produced model of the New Jersey, that accolade went to the Tamiya kit, but it was pretty accurate. In this Platinum release Revell have included lots of goodies to try and bring the kit up to date including wooden decks, etched metal parts plus turned brass barrels and masts. Once cleaned up and the areas which fall short of todays standards removed, the additional parts really bring the model up to a good standard with lots of fine details and accurate shapes. The completed kit on shop at Scale Model World in Telford showed how good it could look. With the appropriate care, patience and time the model could meet almost museum standards. The major hurdle in building the kit is the way the instructions are presented. The original kit instructions have not been altered in any way. Instead the assembly and fitting of the etched and turned parts are provided on three A3 double sided sheets, so a lot of toing and froing will be required to ensure the correct assemblies and parts are fitted to their respective positions, which could get quite frustrating. It might be an idea to go through all the instructions first and mark on the main booklet where the additional parts need to go, so that none are missed or you find that something needs to be removed and youve got to the point where it will be awkward to do so. The standard build starts with the some areas on the single piece hull being removed. Dont forget to add the strengthening beams that were a feature of this commission, along the hull sides before painting. This is followed by the assembly of the three main gun turrets which consist of the mounting, upper turret, the three barrels, rangefinder housings and hatches. With the addition of the etched parts and brass barrels these turrets are transformed. The three barrels are now meant to be fitted to the main deck with locking piece fitted from the underside so that they turn. This is a toy like feature which I feel is unnecessary and will cause problems later in the build, so leave them off until the painting and wooden deck are fitted. What you can do is fit the main deck to the hull and once the propellers, their shafts and the rudders are fitted I would paint the hull and deck furniture, fit the wooden deck, and then put the assembly to one side whilst the rest of the parts are constructed. Attention is now focused on the main single piece superstructure section onto which the superstructure sides are attached. Now there is quite a bit of flash on these parts so a good clean up is called for before fitting. Dont forget to check with the etch instruction sheets as quite a few splinter shields and the like need to be removed, to be replaced by the etched brass parts. This goes for the whole superstructure, bridge and foremast, including the aerials, radars, funnels and main gun directors. In fact there is an awful lot of work to be done when building all these assemblies, but it will be worth it. The whole of the top of the foremast is in fact replaced with brass, the highlight being the super complex SPS-49 and AN/SPS 10 radar arrays. The kit funnels come with solid tops, so these need to be drilled out and carefully cut away and filed before the new caps can be fitted. The instructions have very clear diagrams showing how to do this. With the main fore and aft superstructure assembled and spruced up its on to the other weapon systems where again extensive use of the PE improves the look of the Harpoon and Cruise missile systems. The only downside is that the Vulcan Phalanx systems do not get any treatment and really could do with replacing with more accurate aftermarket parts. With this build you might as well go the whole hog and make the best model you can. The five inch gun turrets are improved with the addition of the turned barrels, etched ladders and doors. There is so much additional detail included in this kit that its difficult to explain it all, suffice to say that everything from the ships boats crutches, ensign and jack staffs are replaced. I particularly like the treatment the Refuelling At Sea boom gets, with replacement fixtures and the addition of the fuel hoses dangling down. The boats davits are also given an overhaul with the addition of the downhauls, access ladders and blocks. Even the Seahawk helicopters are given the etch treatment, with new undercarriage, rotors, both folded and spread, swash plates and pitch controls. Once the wooden decks are laid there are numerous deck hatches, windlasses and other fittings to add. Finally a full set of railings for the whole ship are included, including the flightdeck netting and blackned chain for the anchors. Decals The single decal sheet contains the ships name plaques, identification numbers, awards, and the whole of the faintail flightdeck with the correct markings. The helicopters also get national markings and Navy titling. There are several decals for certain sensors, but I think these would better painted. They seem pretty well printed, with good density and with minimal carrier film, but the larger items will probably need some softener or setting solution to settle them down nicely. There is also a paper sheet with code/signal flags should you wish to add them. Conclusion From a pretty ropey looking kit, certainly on initial inspection I think Revell have really turned this one around with the addition of the etched parts, turned brass and the wooden deck. It has the potential to build into an outstanding model given the appropriate care and attention. Yes it will take some work, and definitely one for a seasoned modeller not a beginner. Very highly recommended Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit or