Mk1 Design
1/200 Arizona DX Pack
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Reviewed November
2017
by Martin J Quinn
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| KA Models/Mk1 Design has released
an upgrade set for the 1/200 Trumpeter Arizona, set MD-20001.
The set includes five (5) sheets of photo-etch and a three piece wooden
deck. |
Click to enlarge images
(image
above from the KA models website) |
| THE DECK |
| The wooden deck is made up of three
pieces. The largest runs from the bow to the break in the main deck.
The second largest piece is the quarterdeck, while the smallest piece is
the boat deck. This third piece - the boat deck - was missing
from my sample. The decks are paper thin and look very nice.
There are staggered planks rendered in the deck and subtle variations in
the wood tone. There is also margin planking around the barbettes,
the pedestal for the aft catapult and along the deck edge, which is a nice
touch.
The undersides of the decks have a clear layer
of film over adhesive used for attaching the deck to the model.
I peeled some off on a scrap piece of deck. It's not easy to remove,
so be careful when removing the backing, lest you damage the deck.
While I can't speak to how they'll fit, the decks should look good on the
finished model. |
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|
| FRET A |
| Fret A is the largest fret in the
set. It contains only railings, mostly for the main deck.
There is etched detail detail on the parts, including drooped chain link
between stanchions. This should look impressive on the finished
model, and add a nice touch of realism.
|
| FRET B |
| On Fret B, there is more railing,
ladders, facings for the spotting tops and detail parts for the boats.
The stanchions on the railings appear to be relief etched to make them
stand out, while there is relief etching around the spotting top windows.
If you look closely, you'll also see raised rivet detail on the spotting
top parts! The ladders have small nubs on them, which, when bent,
will enable the ladder to leave a realistic gap between the ladder rungs
and the surface of the ship.
|
| FRET C |
| You'll find both of the booms and
braces for the midship cranes, the turret catapult, details for the undersides
of the spotting tops and tripod mast platforms, the prominent lattice yard
arms Arizona carried, as well as details for the 5"/25 cal AA guns.
Detail is very well done, with lots of relief etching.
|
| FRET D |
| Here on Fret D is the aft aircraft
handling crane, the aft catapult, accommodation ladders, details for the
turret barbettes and details for the ships boats (oars). Again
- very nice relief etching abounds. The rails around the turret
barbettes look especially delicate.
|
| FRET E |
| Our final fret - Fret E - is the smallest
fret in the set. This includes the chaffing plates for the
anchors, inclined ladders, cable reels and rails for the amidships boat
cranes. The chaffing plate for the anchor chain has planking
detail on it. It's finely etched, but I don't know enough about Arizona
to know if that is an accurate rendition.
|
|
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| The instructions are four pages, laid
out on two, double sided, glossy 8 1/2 x 11 pages. Page one
shows drawings of some of the sub assemblies of the catapults and cranes.
The other three pages show color pictures of the Trumpeter model with the
parts installed, with the part numbers and arrows showing where those parts
go on the aforementioned kit. |
| CONCLUSIONS |
| If you are building the Trumpeter 1/200 USS Arizona,
you'll want this set. Between the wooden deck and the photo-etch,
there is plenty of fine detail packed into one detail set.
It should provide all you need to make a fine rendition of this historic
and tragic ship. The only drawback - for me - was the
missing deck. I'll reach out to KA Models to try and rectify that.
This is Mk1 Design's 1/200 DX Pack for the Trumpeter Arizona. The set
retails for $189.00, and is available from many of our sponsors. Thanks
to KA Models for the review sample. Highly recommended. |
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