Reviewed by Timothy Dike |
The USS Nevada was the lead ship of a
two ship 27,500 ton battleship class. The Nevada class was an improvement
over the earlier New York class with better armor and her 14" guns distributed
in two turrets fore and two aft. Her guns were mounted in a twin over triple
turret arrangement. She was commissioned in 1916 and operated in the Atlantic
and Caribbean until finally deploying to the UK as America became more
active in the war. In the post war years she sailed all over the world
and was finally modernized towards the end of the 1920's. Gone were the
basket masts, changed out for new tripod masts with large fighting tops
on both masts. New 5" 25 cal. anti aircraft guns were installed between
the tops to give her protection against the newest threat to warships.
She returned to service in the Pacific fleet and there until war in
the Pacific began. When the Japanese launched their surprise attack on
Pearl Harbor, the Nevada was the only battleship to get underway. Her movement
soon attracted the attention of numerous attack aircraft and she was hit
by several bombs and one torpedo. Now in danger of sinking and blocking
the channel into Pearl Harbor, Nevada beached by Hospital Point. After
the battle temporary repairs were made and she sailed for west coast for
more permanent repairs. Those repairs resulted in a drastic remolding of
the battleship that completely changed her appearance. The fighting tops
were removed and replaced with a more compact foremast that somewhat resembled
the old tripod mast. She now bristled with 20 mm and 40 mm gun mounts and
the latest 5" 38 cal twin mounts. New radar and torpedo blisters gave her
a better chance to fight off air attacks.
When Nevada returned to the Pacific it was May 43 and she enacted her
revenge in support of the landings at Attu. She headed to the Atlantic
to lend her guns to the Normandy landings in 44 and operated in the Mediterranean
for the next few months. She again returned to the Pacific to bombard Japanese
forces on Iwo Jima and Okinawa in 45. Remaining the the western Pacific,
Nevada prepared for the final assault on Japan. That was never to happen
as the US dropped two atomic bombs on Japan and forced them to surrender
without a costly invasion. With the war at an end, the Nevada was one of
the oldest ships in the fleet. She became a target ship at Bikini Atoll
and while she survived the blast, she was left highly radioactive. Finally
in 1946 she was decommissioned and sunk as a target.
Nevada received 7 battle stars for World War II service.
This new kit from Midship is actually the old Classic Warships kit.
New molds have been made from the master and new parts have been added.
The kit depicts the ship during 1941 and is perfect for Dec 7th.
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| HULL |
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| The hull is nicely cast with lots of surface detailing.
Casting is pretty good on this ship with only minor cleanup needed. The
distinct lines of the ship are well done and the old deck level casements
are cleanly cast. The kit features nice bow detailing with cast on anchor
chain and pronounced hawse pipes. The deck features nice wood planking
and there is a gutter that runs along the perimeter that will be helpful
when you apply the photo etch railings. |
click images
to enlarge
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| This is the same hull as used on the Oklahoma.
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| SUPERSTRUCTURE |
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| The rest of the superstructure and the fighting tops are cast on resin
wafers. Casting quality is pretty good with some flat sanding needed to
completely remove the excess resin. But the other parts are well done although
a little lacking in wall details such as doors and portholes. |
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| This kit shares a lot of common part with the Oklahoma
with only one platform as indicated on the instructions being different.
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| MAIN GUNS |
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| Main guns are well done with resin cast gun barrels. Note the gun barrels
while individually cast elevated as a set so keep that in mind when building
your ship. The 5" 25 cal guns are the same as those used in many of the
old Classic Warships kits and current Midship kits and while they are well
cast they are not correctly shaped. They are probably good enough for most
modelers but you might consider replacing them with Corsair Armada versions. |
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| SHIPS BOATS |
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| Three of the larger whale boats and two covered launches are
provided cast in resin. Detail is pretty good and these will just need
the casting gate removed from the stern and some minor cleanup. |
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| WEAPONS SPRUE X2 |
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| This kit features two of the MidShip standard weapons sprues to supply
the small weapons and fittings. The rafts are molded in two styles and
are both nicely done. This will supply the small weapons as
well as give you a bunch of extra spare parts you can use for other projects. |
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| METAL PARTS |
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| There are a number of parts that are supplied cast in white metal.
These include the cranes, main and secondary gun directors. There are also
two Kingfisher float planes and some 3" guns. These are pretty good with
a little flash that needs to be cleaned up. |
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| PHOTO ETCH |
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| A photo etch fret is supplied to add the fine details to this kit.
These include nice aircraft catapults, and cranes. Inclined ladders and
lots of railings are provided. These parts are relief etched to help give
them a 3D appearance. This is a complete fret and really enhances this
kit. |
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| There is also a length of plastic and brass rod included
to fabricate the tripod legs for the fighting tops.
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| DECALS |
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| The decal sheet is a real treat and includes flags and pennants as
well as both prewar and early and late war hull numbers. These are printed
by Microscale and are typical of the high quality decals they usually produce.
They are nicely registered and sharp. |
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| INSTRUCTIONS |
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| The instructions are eight pages with a bill of materials,
subassembly views and exploded views. These are pretty good, but I would
like to see more 3D subassembly views.
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| CONCLUSIONS |
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 This
kit is one of the best Midship resin kits on the market. It was very good
when Classic Warships first released it and Midship
made it even better with photo etch and other new parts. This kit and the
the sister ship Oklahoma
are your best bet for a full Pearl Harbor battle line. This one has a list
price is $100 US. But I found it for $75 online. A good price when you
consider the complete photo etch, sharp decals, extra weapons sprues, and
an overall well cast kit. These kits are available now at Pacific
Front and Freetime
Hobbies. |
