Derfflinger Upgrade Set
Reviewed December 2014
by Timothy Dike
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FlyHawk Models produced their first ship kit this year, the SMS Derfflinger. It is only fitting that a company known for Photo Etch upgrades would follow up with an upgrade for their own kit. The kit itself is a great kit and the average modeler will be content with it. However your probably reading this because you want to take your kit to the next level. Well here you go, a multi-media upgrade set to satisfy even the extreme modelers. |
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| WOOD DECK | |||||||||
| A custom cut thin wood deck is included with very fine planking. It is precut to fit FlyHawk kit, just press out the blank pieces and peel off the backing to apply. | Click images
to enlarge |
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| METAL DETAILS | |||||||||
| Turned brass gun barrels, making post, and davits, and mooring bits are provided for a more realistic appearance. Eight 30.5 mm main gun barrels replace those in the kit. The are center drilled and have nice stepped taper to them with a mounting pin to facilitate their mounting. Davits for the torpedo nets have nicely detailed ends. |  |
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| GOLD MEDAL EDITION EXTRAS | |||||||||
| Some extras are included with even more fine details. The include a braided lace like material that is perfect for stowed netting. New metal platforms with underside bracing. | |||||||||
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| RESIN PARTS | |||||||||
| Resin secondary gun shields with nice detailing. New floater rafts are thinner and more detailed than what is possible in injection molded plastic. The conning tower top has lookout slits cast open and rivet details on the roof. |  |
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| PHOTOETCH | |||||||||
| Six new brass photo etch frets are included with plenty of relief etching employed. Please look at the photos to see all that is included as there are way too many details to list. | |||||||||
| FRET A | |||||||||
| Boat decks, new platforms (some with attached railings) and funnel caps and grills. |  |
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| FRET B | |||||||||
| New superstructure walls with etched grills, funnel footrails an grills. Intricate bridge wing bracing, and fine railing with drooping chain. |  |
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| FRET C | |||||||||
| The bulk of the railings along with doors and hatches, some with frames so you can display them opened. |  |
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| FRET D | |||||||||
| Portholes and hatches, cable reel assemblies, portholes with eyebrows, and lots of other detail parts. |  |
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| FRET E | |||||||||
| Platforms and braces for the searchlight towers. |  |
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| FRET F | |||||||||
| The last fret is the torpedo nets deployed. |  |
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| INSTRUCTIONS | |||||||||
Instructions are eight pages with line drawing, renderings
and photos showing their placement. These are good, but it is hard to make
out where some parts go.
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| Conclusions: | |||||||||
 This
is a really well engineered upgrade set. It makes use of the best medium
to bring out the details in the best way, whether it be photo etch, resin,
turned brass even stamped metal or even woven lace. The result will be
hours of modeling enjoyment with everything you could possibly need to
finish your Derfflinger in style.
The upgrade lists for around $110-120 US. Quite a bit more expensive than the base kit itself, but it is packed for of details that if purchased separately would cost much more. I found this set on sale at Freetime Hobbies for $79.95 making it an even better value. Thanks to FlyHawk Models for the review sample. |
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