Reviewed by Timothy Dike
| HISTORY | |||||||||
| The USS Monterey CG-61 is a Ticonderoga class cruiser.
At 9,589 tons and over 565' she is armed with all the latest weapons systems
and presents a potent deterrent to any air or sea born aggressor. You can
read more about this ship on the official
USS Monterey website.
Dragon has upgraded yet another of their earlier kits. This one has some extra sprues and a nice photo etch fret |
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| SPRUE A | |||||||||
| The main sprue in the kit includes the hull and two bow inserts. You will only need one as the other is used for the Spruance class destroyer that shares many common components to this kit. |  |
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| SPRUE B | |||||||||
| This sprue contains the superstructure, the walls of which have a considerable amount of surface detailing. The mast parts are fairly thin by injection molding standards. But if they are still too thick, then scroll down to the PE section. |  |
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| SPRUE C | |||||||||
| A full lower hull option with a display stand will give the non waterline modelers something to get excited about. Propellers and rudder appear to be accurate for this class of ship. |  |
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| SPRUE D | |||||||||
| An extra sprue provides the fore and aft vertical launch system found on the later Ticos. |  |
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| SPRUE E | |||||||||
| Another new sprue is this one with SATCOMM domes to bring the ship into the modern era. |  |
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| PHOTOETCH FRET | |||||||||
| A photo etch fret is included with railings and mast details that are more of a scale thickness. Safety nets and yardarm details will help give this Tico a more realistic appearance. |  |
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| DECALS | |||||||||
| The decals are another nice upgrade to this kit. They are printed by Cartograf of Italy and feature sharp nicely registered printing. Hull numbers and ships name are included. Warning circles and deck landing markings will provide that finishing touch. |  |
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| INSTRUCTIONS | |||||||||
The instructions are eight pages showing the assembly in
a step by step process. A painting guide is included showing where the
decals go.
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| CONCLUSIONS | |||||||||
 Another
welcome upgraded kit to join your 700 scale fleet. Dragon took a good kit,
made it better, and then upgraded it to premium standards. |
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