| The USS Missouri is one of the best known
US Navy warships of all time. One of four Iowa Class fast battleships she
was one of the most powerful battleships of all time. Her 9 16" 50 cal
guns fired 2700 lbs armor piercing rounds out to a range of about 21 miles.
While they were slightly smaller than those of the Japanese Yamato class
they were more accurate and were backed up by state of the art fire control
radar. The Missouri was a sleek warship with the speed and range to keep
pace with the Aircraft Carriers then roaming the Pacific. She was a floating
anti aircraft battery with of 10 twin 5 inch 38 cal twin dual purpose gun
mounts, 16 40 mm quad, and 49 20 mm anti aircraft guns these ships were
an effective defense to any air attack. The dreaded Kamikaze was not much
of a threat to her, in fact the the one that was able to penetrate her
anti aircraft ring did only superficial damage to the ship, never even
slowing her down.
The Missouri entered service in 1944 and missed out on much of the heavy
action during the war. But she was there in the end, being chosen as the
place where the formal surrender ceremonies were signed ending the war.
The Missouri was later modernized and went on to fight in several later
wars. She was finally deactivated and now serves as a floating museum next
to the remains of the sunken Arizona. Together they symbolize the Alpha
and the Omega of World War Two.
Academy has released their newly tooled USS Missouri in her WW2 fit.
Lets take a look at what's in the box:
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| PACKAGING |
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| UPPER AND LOWER HULL |
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| The hull is molded in three pieces, the upper hull molded
in gray styrene, the lower hull, and the lower bow molded in red.
The molding is crisp and sharp and the three pieces fit together remarkably
well. |
Click to
enlarge image |
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| SPRUE A |
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| The propeller shafts and rudders are nicely molded in matching red
styrene plastic. |
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| SPRUE B |
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| The 5 inch 38 caliber secondary turrets are molded as a single part
complete with barrels. Slide molding is used to get good detailing
on the front surfaces. |
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| SPRUE C |
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| The main superstructure and bridge assemblies are also nicely molded.
Some modelers might appreciate the way the fore mast is molded with part
of the conning tower assembly. Funnel caps are also well done with
nice grate and piping details. |
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| SPRUE D |
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| The main decks are molded in three pieces featuring nice planking detail.
Also on the sprue are the turret tops for the 16 inch main guns.
They are smartly engineered allowing for a good fit with minimal seams
to fill on the molded-on sighting hoods. |
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| SPRUE E |
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| This sprue contains the main gun turret bodies, float planes, various
platforms, main and secondary gun directors and propellers just to name
a few items. Detailing is pretty good overall. |
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| SPRUE F x2 |
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| The light weapons sprues have a nicely molded quad 40's. The
barrels of which are very thin. Searchlights and life rafts are also
on the sprue and nicely done for 700 scale. |
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| SPRUE G |
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| The display stand is molded in black with a spot for the name plate
decal. |
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| PHOTO ETCH |
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| A dedicated photo its fret is included to add finer details.
New handrails are custom cut to fit the various superstructure parts.
New radar and various antenna are also included. |
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| PAINTING MASK |
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| One of the coolest features of this kit is the precut painting mask
for the deck. The image doesn't show very well but the mask is cut
to fit the various deck details and all one has to do is peel and stick
them in place. This nice touch will save the model are a lot of time. |
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| DECALS |
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| The decals are provided with hull numbers, flags, aircraft insignia,
and boot topping. The latter a nice touch. |
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| INSTRUCTIONS |
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| The instructions are 20 pages with very well drawn assembly
and subassembly views. Separate full color try fold sheets describe
the painting mask locations and the photo etch assembly and locations.
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| CONCLUSION |
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At first glance one might think this is an oversimplified kit.
But closer examination reveals abundant detail and smartly engineered parts.
This kit has all the makings for really fun build.
This is kit #14222 Academy
1/700 USS Missouri BB-63 with a retail price of $35.00 US |
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| This is an in-box review showing the kit contents. We welcome your
input and comments in the review section of the forum especially if you
can share details about fit, ease of assembly and accuracy. Click the logo
on the right to join in the discussion. |
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