Reviewed September 2026
by Martin J Quinn

USS Atlanta (CL-51) of the United States Navy was the lead ship of the Atlanta-class of eight light cruisers. She was the third Navy ship named after the city of Atlanta, Georgia. Designed to provide anti-aircraft protection for US naval task groups, Atlanta served in this capacity in the naval battles Midway and the Eastern Solomons. Atlanta was heavily damaged by Japanese and friendly gunfire in a night surface action on 13 November 1942 during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. The cruiser was sunk on her captain's orders in the afternoon of the same day.

Atlanta, in some works, is designated CLAA-51 because of her primary armament as an anti-aircraft cruiser. Hence, all of the Atlanta-class ships are sometimes designated as CLAA. However, her entire battery of 5-inch (127 mm) guns were dual-purpose (DP) guns, and were capable of being used against both air and surface targets, able to fire anti-aircraft, high-explosive and armor-piercing shells.

The Atlanta-class ships were lightly armored, making them poor surface combatants compared to a typical light cruiser. In terms of armament, the Atlanta class was closer to a destroyer, being armed with 5-inch guns, than a light cruiser, which were generally equipped with 6-inch guns; but at well over 500 feet (152 m) in length, and combined with their large battery of sixteen 5-inch (127 mm) guns (reduced to twelve in number for later ships of the class), they were designated as light cruisers. The unusual features of the Atlanta class is a result of the class originally being intended to be a destroyer leader. A destroyer leader is larger than its destroyer counterparts to accommodate command staff and resources as well as other general utilities to support the destroyers that they would be paired with. In line with this intended role the ship was given a complement of torpedoes and relatively thin armor compared to other ships of its size. Later the dimensions and tonnage of the ship resulted in a change in designation of the Atlanta class to a light cruiser. Despite this change in designation the Atlanta class of ships maintained their destroyer leader features.

For more information on Atlanta's history, check out her Wikipedia page, where this history was taken from. 

The Very Fire USS Atlanta

This kit was initially released in late 2022, and was reviewed here on Modelwarships in January 2023.  Since then, due to various reasons, this kit was also released under the Aotori Bunka banner.  Subsequently, the model has been re-tooled.  According to Very Fire, as posted on Scalemates, "This product is redesigned and molded, not the same set of molds as the previous".

The model comes into a box very similar to the original release, albeit slightly smaller.  On the box top is the same dramatic painting of Atlanta during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. Upon opening the box, you'll find the instructions for the kit and the deluxe version. Underneath that is a small white cardboard box, which holds the photo-etch and brass, then under that you'll find the plastic (individually wrapped) and (all new) 3D printed parts (in bags wrapped in bubble wrap).

Looking at the parts manifest of both kits, there are some differences in which sprues are included.  Here's a comparison between the 2022 and 2026 releases:

Missing from the 2026 release are sprue F, which had the 5" gun mounts and cranes.  This sprue was originally designed for Very Fire's Cleveland-class cruiser, so both the turrets (which I missed in the initial review) and the cranes, were incorrect for the Atlanta class.  Also missing is sprue PH, which were oval life rafts, bereft of netting (which was supplied in the original releases PE set).  Also excluded from this newer release are the deck masks (which were a nice touch) and the name plate.

Included in the 2026 release are four new sprues labeled PG. These are the parts for the new, correctly shaped 5" gun mounts.  The tops of the gun houses are also one piece, not three.  The '26 release also consists of less turned brass parts, but has the addition of 3D printed parts.  The photo-etch sets are also completely revised. 

Let's see what other changes there are in this newly tooled version...

The hull is in still two halves - port and starboard/left and right.  And, again, it scales out pretty much perfectly in both OA length and beam. 

The hull plating has been redone, and looks completely different. While I still think it's a bit overstated, if you look at pictures of the class, especially as built, the strakes on the hull seem to match photos.  The hawse pipes are re-shaped (and look better), and the plating on the hull wraps further down around the turn of the bilge, almost to the keel.  The sea chests have been refined and have screens in them now, and look nicer.  The bilge keels look like they have been slightly elongated. 

For those who like to model their boats in their natural environment, and build them waterline, the groove inside the hull to assist with water-lining the hull is gone from this re-release. 

The molded on non-skid treading from the original release remains, and I still don't like it.  I would have preferred decals.  I still feel that they don't look right, nor do they match the non-skid treads molded onto the superstructure decks.  The treads on the main deck are much thinner than those found on the superstructure, and look more like a weld bead than non-skid treading.  As I said in my previous review, your options are to scrape them off, and hope someone does a set of decals for them, or leave them and hope that between the paint and the deck equipment, they won't be that noticeable.

What's different in this release is some additional raised lines to represent weld seams on the forward part of the deck.  Looking at a photo of Juneau in the New York Navy Yard in March, 1942, there are weld seams there.  Also, they've added non-skid treading on the deck beneath the 1.1 gun on the stern. 

In the original release, these were all separate pieces.  In this release, they are all on one tree.  Detail is more subtle than on the original release, especially the W/T doors.  Part C2 has thin line molded into it, to accept the new 3D printed boat cradles that come with the kit. 

As with the "C" series sprues, detail has been toned down a little, and is more subtle. Unfortunately, they did not tone down the oversized plating lines on the funnels. 

This sprue has anchors, depth charge throwers, vents, part of the prop shafts, booms and the round braces that go inside the hull for support. 

As mentioned in the original review, props are 3 bladed, which is correct for when the ship was first commissioned and undergoing trials, but incorrect for when she was in service.  Atlanta (and Juneau) had their 3-bladed props switched out for 4-bladed versions, due to excessive vibrations.  If you are building the model full hull, and want to depict her at Midway or when she was sunk, you'll have to source new props. 

There is a "pre-blacked" anchor chain included. 

There is one photo-etch fret included with the base kit.  It has cable reels, railings and depth charge racks.  It is completely different than the fret released in 2022.

There is one small decal sheet included  It has the US flag and USN jack (2 of each), hull numbers, draught marks and ships names for Atlanta and San Diego only. 

The instructions are in booklet form, and cover 16 pages (up from 12 in the 2022 release), with a parts manifest and exploded view drawings covering the build sequence.  The color callouts are now part of the booklet, as opposed to a separate insert.  The color callouts are more in line with reality, though they mistaken call for Pale Gray (5-P) instead of Haze Gray (5-H). 

A re-tooling of a kit that's been released in the last five years is very unusual, but that's what we have here. This re-tooled Atlanta has new sprues, revised hull plating, detail that is more subtle than the original, revised photo-etch and five brand new 3D print rafts.  Gone are the sprues with the (incorrect) turrets, the deck masks and name plate. 

Some criticisms I had original release remain:  the overstated non-skid treading on the main deck, the (possible) shape of the knuckle, the over scale weld lines on the funnels, and the mix of features from different fits (due to the fire hazard, most of the boats were removed from this class before they saw combat).  On the other hand, there is some really nice detail, especially that molded onto the bulkheads and the vents, and the revised hull plating looks better than the original, even if it is still overstated.  Compared to plans, the shapes look accurate, and the turned brass parts, 3D printed parts and photo-etch frets included in the deluxe version are really well done. Overall, I'd say this is an improvement over the original release, partially based on the inclusion of the 3D printed parts.  If you have the original release, I don't see the need to swap that release for this one, but if you haven't bought an Atlanta yet, I'd go with this re-tooled version. 

This is Very Fire Model's re-tooled 1/350 USS Atlanta. The model currently sells for about $129.99 on eBay. That's a big drop in price from the original release, which came out at around $200 USD.  Eventually, Squadron will be the exclusive distributor for Very Fire in the United States. 

My thanks to Very Fire for this review sample.