| The Colorado class was the follow-up
to the Tennessee Class. they shared the same basic hull and superstructure,
but they had 16" main guns in four twin mounts instead of the triple 14"
of earlier classes.
At Battleship Row in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on December 7th 1941, there
were two Colorado Class Battleships. The Maryland BB-46, and the West Virginia
BB-48, both were hit at Pearl Harbor. The Maryland was moored inboard of
the Oklahoma and thus escaped most of the damage. The West Virginia was
seriously damaged but was re-floated and went on to fight back against
it's attackers. The Colorado was undergoing a refit and missed the attack
all together.
Trumpeter has teamed up with Pit-Road again to produce this injection
molded kit based on the old Waveline/Hi-Mold resin kit. It's not a carbon
copy of that old kit as it has many updated features. The result is a very
nice plastic kit that has a lot to offer.
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| HULL PARTS |
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| The hull is molded waterline style with a separate lower
hull or flat waterline plate in red plastic. The fit looks good with the
upper and lower parts. The hull features portholes molded in and bits along
the top edge where it meets with the deck. The torpedo blisters are a little
too wide, but this can be fixed with a little sanding and filing. |
Click images
to enlarge |
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| DECK |
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| The desk is molded in two parts to represent two levels. Surface detailing
included deck planking and various deck clutter. The anchor chain is molded
to the anchorways, so if you wish to add real chain, you will have to scrape
this off. I doubt the majority of modelers will mind this. Most of the
deck detail is cast on with the exception of the capstans. |
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| SPRUE B |
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| The mid-superstructure deck and some upper decks are molded on this
sprue. The main deck is nicely planked and the splinter shields are thick,
but not grossly tapered like some kits in the past. |
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| SPRUE C |
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| The funnel halves, piping, and more decks and superstructure parts
are molded onto this sprue. I like the way the gun slots are molded open
to accept the 5 inch 51 cal guns. |
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| SPRUE H |
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| More deck levels and part are on this sprue. The fighting tops are
molded on the ends and Trumpeter has employed slides in the mold to allow
for detailing on almost all of the sides. This gives you an almost
seamless part that looks good. |
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| SPRUE N x4 |
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| The turret parts are included on this sprue which also makes use of
slide molding to allow seamless detail all over. There are four of these
sprue and they include one each of the two and three gun turrets. I guess
it's safe to say we will soon see a Tennessee and California soon! |
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| SPRUE Q |
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| More main gun turrets are on this sprue. Also radar, catapult, crane,
rudder and other gear. Molding is also pretty good. There are also some
funnel halves included. |
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| SPRUE R |
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| This sprue includes the ships boats and various parts for the crane
and other details. There are also some nice funnel caps with molded on
grills that look pretty good in this scale. |
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| SPRUE V1 x4 |
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| The medium guns are included on this sprue. There are 5 inch 51 cal
gun mounts for the main deck, 5 inch 25 Cal for the upper decks and a couple
of gun shields. The 5/25 cal should be a yoke mount, but the Skywave
style mounting studs make them look like they can pivot on the base. Fortunately
in this scale it is hard to tell when assembled. There is also a single
3" gun mount included. |
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| DECALS |
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| Flags aircraft roundels, and ship numbers are well registered on this
sheet. |
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| PHOTOETCH |
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| A brass photo etch fret is included with the cage masts, boat and float
plane cranes and catapults. Yardarms and radar antenna are also included. |
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| FLOAT PLANES |
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| Two OS2U-1 Kingfisher float planes are included molded in clear plastic.
Main and outrigger floats are separate parts. The propeller is molded on. |
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| DISPLAY BASE |
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| The standard black plastic ship base is included for full hull display. |
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| INSTRUCTIONS |
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| A nice color profile is included showing the ship camouflage with painting
notes. One problem with this scheme is that no turret top colors are shown.
The instructions are an extensive 8 page booklet with all kinds of exploded
views. They are step by step and cover all the assembly steps. |
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| Conclusions: |
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This new kit from Trumpeter is a welcome addition to the plastic ship
world. For far too long, Battleship row has been the domain of resin ship
modelers only. This ship is just the beginning, it is molded so that
other ships of the class can be produced in their December 7th Pearl Harbor
appearance. The kit is nicely molded and has a lot of detail. the pros
of this kit far outweigh any cons. Get one now and get a start on your
Battleship Row! |
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This is kit #TRP5769 1/700 Trumpeter USS Maryland BB-46 Battleship
1941 Version with a list price of $49.95. Freetime
Hobbies lists it for only $36.95 right now. A great bargin for this
kit. Get this and the multitude of aftermarket upgrades available now at
Freetime
Hobbies now.
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