USS Independence CVL 22

[Shar2]

USS Independence

1/350 Etched Sets

White Ensign Models latest etched set has now been released. Designed for the Dragon 1/350 USS Independence CVL 22 it looks like another corker.

This comprehensive set comes on two equally sized frets of around 200 x 100mm with about 150 parts packed onto each.

The first fret contains the ships railings, the majority of which are sized to fit in their respective positions. Once again the finest parts are for the radars, crane and aerial masts plus supports, which have to some of the best etched parts from any company. Some smaller catwalks, vertical ladders, a whole load of floater baskets, watertight doors and hatches make up the rest of the sheet.

The second fret contains a lovely set of perforated catwalks and side/fore and aft netting plus all the supports they require. New gun platforms are provided for the foredeck AA weapons along with new sidewalls for the island. The complex lattice mast structure for the island is beautifully rendered in fine detail. Numerous smaller parts go to make up platform/mast supports, inclined ladders and two types of lift fittings depending on whether an early or late fit is being model. From the look of things there was a problem with the etching of one of the catwalks as there is an addendum sheet provided to replace these parts.

The Airwing

The Airwing set is provided as a separately purchased item, although a discount is given if you buy the Ultimate set of ship and airwing sets together. This gives the modeller a host of parts for both external and internal fittings for the three types of aircraft provided in the kit. These parts really make the aircraft come to life with details such as perforated dive brakes, bomb harness/ racks for the Dauntless and undercarriage doors, props, flaps and tailwheels for each of the other aircraft. The sheet also contains parts for the deck vehicles including forklift trucks, torpedo/bomb trolleys, tow tugs and tow bars.

Douglas Dauntless





Grumman Avenger



Grumman Hellcat



Deck Vehicles

Conclusion

Another wonderful set of etched parts from the masters of maritime aftermarket products. Every part is beautifully crisp and finely etched. The inclusion of the addendum set goes to show that even when things do go wrong their quality control picked it up before releasing the set for sale, good show.

Review sample courtesy of John at