Niko
Model 1/700 USS San Francisco
Reviewed by Timothy Dike |
The USS San Francisco was a member of the New Orleans
class of Heavy Cruisers. She was one of the most decorated ships of WW2.
She was Admiral Callaghan's flagship at the naval Battle of Guadalcanal
Friday November 13th 1942. She survived one of the most punishing battles
to fight on and help win the war in the Pacific.
Niko Models has yet another famous warship captured in 700 scale resin.
This is one of my favorite ships and I am pleased to see it represented
so well in my favorite scale.
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| HULL |
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| The hull on this kit is cast with much of the lower superstructure
cast in place. The casting is very well done, and the detail is very finely
executed. The deck is nicely planked and includes an open aircraft hanger.
Splinter shields are nicely done with external bracing where appropriate.
Anchor chain is left off, but does have a raised line running along the
anchorway. This should help make the otherwise flat photo etch chain appear
to stand out more. |
click images
to enlarge
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| SUPERSTRUCTURE |
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| The superstructure levels are very well cast. The detail is impressive,
and the parts look good. These appear to match the layout of the San Francisco
plans that I have. I am tempted to replace the square windows with 350
scale ladder stock to give the windows an open appearance. The splinter
tubs are nice and thin, and there is a fair bit of detailing on the walls.
The funnels look pretty good as well. |
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| WEAPONS, FITTINGS, AND SMALL PARTS |
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| The main guns are nicely shaped with the squared off turrets that the
Frisco used. The gun barrels are cast individually in resin with blast
bags cast on. The turrets are cast with flat bottoms so you will have to
measure to find the center before attaching. This is an approach that I
dislike and I hope that future releases from Niko will include a mounting
pin to help locate the turret. |
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| The 5" 25 cal open gun mounts are very detailed and impressive in their
casting. These are designed so that you can elevate the gun barrels. |
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| The Curtis Float plane is well cast with even the ailerons being nicely
scribed. If you are careful, you could cut and pose them! The crane base
and kingpost is fairly detailed and should look very nice with the photo
etch wrapped around. |
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| The ships boats and rafts are also very detailed with planking along
the hull, and in the bottom of the whale boats. The life rafts have netting
detail in the bottoms, and some are equipped with rations. |
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| PHOTO ETCH |
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| Two brass photo etch frets are included. One with the railings,
including swept up bow railings. The other has all the cool parts, and
many are relief etched. Searchlight towers, aircraft catapults and cranes,
and 1.1" guns are among the parts included. The masts are constructed by
folding the photo etch over and laminating smaller sections on top to give
it a somewhat rounded appearance. It looks like everything you would need
to do a 42 Frisco is included. |
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| INSTRUCTIONS |
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| The instructions are four pages, three of them exploded
views using photos of the actual kit. These are pretty good, but they could
benefit from a nice plan and elevation view. I do like the way they show
the photo etch parts
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| REFERENCES |
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| CONCLUSIONS |
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A highly detailed and accurate kit of the San Francisco. In my opinion,
this is the best kit of the Frisco released to date. Almost everything
you need is included. This kit is listed in Pacific
Front Hobbies catalog for $65.00 a great price for a highly detailed
kit like this with photoetch. They carry the entire Niko line of ships
and many more hard to find, high quality kits. |
