Reviewed by Timothy Dike
| Pontos Model Company has released a new line of deck detail sets. With simulated wood decking to upgrade many of today's model kits. This one is designed for the new Dragon 1/350 CVL USS Independence. This one is a true multimedia set with wood decking, photo etch details, and dry transfer markings. | |||||||||
| DECK | |||||||||
| The deck is two separate pieces with wood planking stained in a blue similar what you would see on US Navy ships. The individual planks are very thin and even the tie down strips are shown. The elevators are deeply scribed but not cut all the way through. Using a sharp knife the modeler can finish cutting them out. These decks also include scribed on deck stripe locations. I would prefer that these be left off, but most modelers will probably appreciate them as they will help get the striping correct. These decks have an adhesive backing so placing them is almost as simple as peel-and-stick. |
to enlarge  |
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Note: the images below have been adjusted in lightness
and contrast to show the details. As a result the true color of the deck
appears to be a wood color instead of the blue that it really is. The image
on the upper right is a better indication of it's true color.
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| PHOTO ETCH AND CHAIN | |||||||||
| A relief etched photo etch fret is included for the frame around the deck elevators, and other details. Safety netting and platform details as well as arrestor gear will help dress up the deck on your CVL. Even the catapult track is included. I wish that they had included two as that would have allow this set to be used for some of the later two cat flight decks. Another nice touch is the real chain to upgrade the Dragon kit. |  |
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| DECALS | |||||||||
| Flight deck markings are provided as dry transfer markings instead of the typical waterslide decals. These will give the markings a more realistic appearance and you don't have to worry about decal setting solutions. The brown color in the scan on the right is from the protective paper that covers the transfers. I left it on to better show what the markings look like as many are white and don't show up on the clear sheet. |  |
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| INSTRUCTIONS | |||||||||
| The instructions are a bit lacking. They do show most parts locations, but a 3D view showing this would be better. |  |
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| CONCLUSIONS | |||||||||
The Dragon kit is very nice, but it includes molded arrestor wire that are overscale and this set takes care of that and upgrades the overall appearance with a real wood look. This is set #35011WD1 USS CVL-22 Independence Wooden Deck set Type 1 1/350 Dragon listed for 38.00 USD and is worth every penny as far as I am concerned. I hope Pontos considers upgrading this deck set to allow modelers to upgrade their kits to other ships in the class. |
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