I Love Kit Mk-45 Mod.2 5” 54 Calibre Naval Gun (63552) 1:35

[Mike]

Mk-45 Mod.2 5” 54 Calibre Gun (63552)

1:35 I Love Kit via Creative Models Ltd

 

 

The Mk.45 is a 5” US naval gun turret that replaced the earlier Mk.42 in an effort to reduce weight and ease maintenance of the installation over its predecessor.  It mounts an L54 Mark 19 gun in the new turret, and has been the subject of modifications over the years, initially by United Defence, but latterly by BAe Systems after they subsumed the former.  It can fire a variety of munitions, and although it has a slower fire-rate than its British equivalent, the extra 0.5” allows a heavier load that results in greater impact damage.  It was initially mechanically fired, replacing that with electrical ignition with the Mod.1, the following Mod.2 was an intended to be an export version that was later used by the US Navy.  Mod.3 wasn’t put into service, but the current variant is the Mod.4, which has a longer 62 calibre barrel that gives greater muzzle velocity and kinetic impulse.

 

The gun’s crew consists of six operators, a captain, gunner and four loaders that keep the breech fed with fresh shells during sustained fire operations, but a 20-round autoloader can also be installed for crewless operations.  As part of the lower maintenance options, the rifled barrel liner can be replaced separately from the gun tube, reducing downtime during the change-over.  It is usually paired with the more modern and efficient Mk 34 Gun Weapon System or the legacy Mk 86 Gun Fire Control System that was developed during the magnetic media era of computing.

 

 

The Kit

This is a reboxing of the initial 62 calibre Mod.4 that was released in 2024, and arrives in a modestly-sized top-opening box with a painting of the turret on the deck of a ship of undetermined type, sailing in close convoy with another vessel.  Inside the box is a single sprue, turret shell and base in sand-coloured styrene, a Photo-Etch (PE) brass fret with just two parts, decal sheet, the instruction booklet in black & white, plus a single-sided colour painting diagram with five profiles and a small paint chart with Mr Hobby, Acrysion, Vallejo, Model Master, Tamiya and Humbrol paint codes, plus a swatch of each colour with its name over-printed for completeness.  There are just fifteen parts in the kit, with good detail throughout, depicting the exterior of the turret.

 

 

 

 

Construction begins with the barrel mount, which consists of a two-part D-shaped mount between a pair of trunnions that aren’t glued, adding two C-shaped PE parts with bolts etched-in top and bottom, and a small two-part spent shell ejection port assembly above the socket for the barrel.  The barrel is a single part that has a slide-moulded muzzle inserted at one end, and a shroud at the other, plugging into the base via a collar, both of which are keyed to ensure correct alignment.  The turret shell is inverted to install the gun mount, covering the rear with a separate part, then adding the base with turret ring moulded-in.  It is then righted to install an appliqué panel under the front, and the barrel assembly is slipped into the socket in the mount, adding a heavily bolted lower turret ring to the bayonet fitting and twisting it to lock it in place, before gluing the ring to the base if you intend to use it.  If you have another installation method in mind, such as a replication of a small part of decking and possibly some 1:35 sailors with too little concern for their safety or hearing, the base can be left unused.

 

 

Markings

There is just one scheme depicted on the painting guide, matching the grey of a battleship and doing a little detail painting of the barrel shroud and mount, applying a single decal behind the hatch on each side.

 

 

 

The decals are suitable for use, and consist of a white E with diagonal underline, and a black drop-shadow that will help it stand out against the grey.  Paint call-outs are provided in Gunze Aqueous and enamels, using their H and C codes, as can be seen above.

 

 

Conclusion

There has been a spate of naval weapon kits in recent years, some of which I have myself, and this new kit adds to the breadth of range available.

 

Highly recommended.

 

 

Review sample courtesy of