Reviewed by Timothy Dike
| Huascar was a Peruvian armored turret
ship built in 1865 in Britain. She was intended to serve in the war against
Spain, but arrived too late for that conflict. Huascar's first action came
during the Peruvian Civil War of 1877 when she was seized in port by rebels
led and used to attack and harass government forces. When the British entered
the war, the Huascar engaged each other at the inconclusive Battle of Pacocha
against the frigate HMS Shah and the corvette HMS Amethyst. She later surrendered
to Peruvian government officials.
Huascar fought in the War of the Pacific from 1879 to 1884. She was used to raid Chilean ports and shipping. Her harassment helped to delay a planned invasion of Peru while the Chilean fleet was sent out to hunt her down. At the The Battle of Iquique, she helped to lift the Chilean blockade and sank the corvette Esmeralda by ramming. Huascar racked up a remarkable record sinking 16 Chilean ships and capturing others. She helped to recover the captured Peruvian ships Clorinda and Caqueta. Huascar was captured by Chilean Navy at the Battle of Angamos and was
taken over as a war prize. She was rebuilt and continued to serve until
a boiler explosion sidelined her. After repairs she became the first Submarine
tender and operated from 1917 to 1930. Afterwards she was restored as a
museum ship and serves to this day. In 2010 she was anchored at the Talcahuano
Naval Base and Shipyards were devastated by the 2010 Chilean Earthquake
but escaped the damage.
The Huascar is a rare ship and one of the oldest to survive afloat.
Combrig has chosen to honor this ship with this new 1/700 scale kit depicting
her in her 1866 as delivered appearance.
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| HULL | |||||||||||||
| Cast in waterline style this kit features some really nice detailing. The ship features realistic deck planking and cast on location slots for the various parts. The hull is nicely shaped and closely resembles the photos of this ship that I have seen. |
to enlarge  |
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| SUPERSTRUCTURE AND DETAILS | |||||||||||||
| Superstructure parts include the bridge and upper decks cast on a thin resin wafer. Some also with that same wood deck planking. The funnel is cast with a hollowed out appearance. Casting is well done and the modeler will have very little cleanup compared to other resin kits. |  |
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| WEAPONS | |||||||||||||
| The single turret is cast with nice detail and literally snaps right into the deck base. Almost no cleanup is needed here. | |||||||||||||
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| SHIPS BOATS AND SMALL FITTINGS | |||||||||||||
| The ships boats are very detailed and nicely cast and are among the best available in this scale. Other parts include the vents and deck canons. The latter have separate bases and barrels, a nice touch. | |||||||||||||
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| PHOTO ETCH | |||||||||||||
| A brass photo etch fret is provided with the ratlines, inclined ladders, and various platforms. These are not as fine as some aftermarket sets, but should be acceptable to most modelers. |  |
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| INSTRUCTIONS | |||||||||||||
The instructions are two pages and pretty basic. Adequate
to build the ship, but it would be nice to have better plan and elevation
views to help get everything located properly.
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| CONCLUSIONS | |||||||||||||
This is a well engineered kit and is a great addition for your turn of the century warship collection. The Huascar had a storied history and it is nice to see Combrig producing this important warship. Sharp detailing and great casting, this would even make a good first resin ship for anyone who has already mastered plastic and worked with photo etch. This kit is listed on the Pacific Front Hobbies website for $30.00 (US), a nice price for this ship. |
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