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Reviewed by Timothy Dike May 2012
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| OVERVIEW |
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| This set is designed for the new Trumpeter Z Class destroyers
such as the Z-25.
While nice kits, they are lacking in the superdetail department and are
in need of a little fine tuning. Lion Roar has just what is needed with
plenty of photo etch, resin details, and machined gun barrels to address
the weak points of the plastic kit. |
| PHOTO ETCH FRETS A-M |
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| Fret A Contains the twin 20 mm machine guns and detail
parts. These include the gun barrel with a 3 fold breach with an ammo clip.
Carriage, shield, and elevation hand wheels are among the included details.
Boat davits are nicely done so that they give a more scale appearance after
folding. |
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| Fret B The single 20 mm machine guns with their detail
parts are included on this fret. These are similar to the twin mounts but
also include the cartridge basket to catch the shell casings. Paravane
detail parts and cradles are also included. Simply cut off the thick plastic
ones and use these scale thickness ones. |
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| Fret C Mine rails, bridge wing supports, and ammo boxes
make up this fret. They are relief etched to give some depth to their otherwise
flat appearance. |
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| Fret D Two and three bar railings are included on this
fret. Some have the safety netting along the bottom runs. There are also
ladder stock, and lengths of one bar railing. |
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| Fret E New gun shields for the 150 and 127 mm single
turret mounts are included with new sides and panels. |
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| Fret F More turrets sides and parts for both the 150
and 127 mm guns. Even some interior bracing is included to really make
these stand out. |
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| Fret G A variety of doors are included on this fret.
These are designed to fold and some include frames so you can have some
opened on your kit. New ends for the depth charges will give those parts
some needed detail. |
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| Fret H This small fret includes the radar antenna parts. |
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| Fret I Brackets, vents and ladders are among the parts
on this fret. What really makes it nice are the shutter assemblies that
address a feature lacking on the Trumpeter kit. These can be modeled with
open or shut shutters and are a nice addition to this set. |
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| Fret J New breakwater parts and funnel foot rails are
provided here. |
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| Fret K More radar parts, inclined ladders parts and mast
details are included on this fret. |
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| Fret L Hatch and rung details for the twin gun mount
are provided. |
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| RESIN PARTS |
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| This set is more than a photo etch upgrade set. It also includes some
really nice resin parts. These include new gun base and breaches for the
37 mm guns, breaches for 150 and 127 mm guns, and pedestals for the 20
mm mounts. These parts are well cast but very small, so be careful handling
them. They are far superior to the plastic kit parts they replace. |
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| METAL PARTS |
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| New CNC machined brass gun barrels are provided for the 150 mm and
127 mm guns. There are five of each, this will allow you to replace the
plastic ones included in the kit and give you some extras for other projects.
The gun barrels all have nice drilled out hollow ends and mounting pins. |
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| 150 MM (5.9") |
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| 127 MM (5") |
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| INSTRUCTIONS |
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| Instructions are 24 pages or step by step views showing
all aspects of the assembly process. Very well done and they should leave
little doubt as to where everything fits. |
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| ART |
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| Art work showing the unpainted parts applied to the Trumpeter
kit supplied by Lion Roar.
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| CONCLUSIONS |
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 This
set is designed for the Trumpeter kits. It is a one stop shop for upgrading
those kits. Virtually everything you need to superdetail that kit is included
in this one package.
Check out this and other Lion Roar sets at your favorite retailer. You
can find out more at the Lion
Roar website. This is set #RS3509 has a retail price around $90-130
US as of May 2012. |
