The USS Essex belonged to a powerful class
of 27,100 ton aircraft carriers built during the Second World War. Originally
commissioned on the final day of 1942, it sailed to the Pacific to take
part in combat there. After involvement in various campaigns in the Pacific
it was damaged by a Japanese Kamikaze attack on 25 November, 1944 off the
Philippines. The carrier was able to carry on in combat, and went on to
support the vital American landings on Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Its final
decommissioning occurred in 1969.
But that's enough about the prototype, let's talk about the model!
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| For years the only Essex class carriers in 1/700
were the
Hasegawa kit
and the Revell 1/720 kit. Both were nice 30 years ago, but fall short of
today's standards. This new carrier from Dragon Models of Hong Kong,
China also known as DML for Dragon Models Limited, has raised
the bar for the 1/700 world. Designed using CAD (Computer Aided
Design), the parts of this model could be test fitted and checked before
tooling was produced. One the design was finalized the mold was cut using
the latest cutting tool technology to produce some extremely fine parts
for an injected mold. The end result is a state of the art carrier. |
The
Dragon kit depicts the USS Essex during the 1943-44 time frame.
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| HULL |
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| The hull is one piece with a separate hanger deck and lower
hull. The many openings to the hanger deck are all left open with separate
roll up doors that can be shown open or closed. The hull included some
really nice porthole detail with eyebrows (rain gutters) above them. There
is all kinds of piping, vent, and other detail that will really jump out
at you. Especially if you add a light wash after painting to highlight
the details. |
Click
images
to enlarge |
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The lower hull fits nicely on the upper hull and should require nothing
but a little glue. Note the photo's above showing the alignment. Those
photo's were taken with the lower hull sitting loose on the upper hull.
So you should have minimal work to do to fix the seam after gluing.
| FLIGHT DECK |
| The flight deck is nicely engraved with some really intricate
planking and tie down detailing. Note the deck elevator for a close-up
of this pattern. Only one catapult is molded on, which is correct for this
ship as built. |
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| HANGER DECK |
| Probably the most exciting item on this kit,
is this detailed hanger deck. It included some interior details and nice
deck plate details. |
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The bow deck piece is finely detailed with some really nice anchor chain
molded on.
CLEAR FLIGHT DECK OPTION
You even get a clear flight deck that will allow you to show off that
detailed hanger deck. The deck is smooth without surface detail so you
can clearly see into the hanger. Note one way to show off the details in
this photo from Dragon below. |
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The four dual 5" 38 cal gun mounts on this sprue are a testament to how
detail can be preserved with this type of molding technology. The sights
on the gun houses rival that that we see in resin kits.
Sprue C
This sprue contains some of the walls that form the hanger deck as
well as the separate roll up doors. Various platforms and other details
are very sharp.
You might also notice that there are carly floats molded on the underside
of many of these platforms. One other thing that I noticed was the absence
of those dreaded Aztec stairs. Finally a kit that you don't have
to try to scrape them off the platforms.
Sprue D
The sprue also has many of the walls and doors seen on the above sprue.
It also included the boat cranes and deck edge elevators as well as the
folding deck antenna masts. There are two different deck edge elevators;
one with molded on underside detail and one without. The latter is designed
for use with the included photo etch fret shown below. Again the modeler
is presented with a choice in how they wish to build their ship.
Sprue E & F
These sprues include many of the gun platforms and bridge platforms.
Notice that in most cases the underside bracing is present. There are also
several mysterious platforms that are not used on this kit. Stay tuned
for details on future releases. Dragon has more in store for us in the
future. Also notice the open grills in the top of the funnel cap, nice!
Sprue K
This is the weapons spure and there are two of them in the kit. It
includes the many anti-aircraft guns and various fittings used on the ship.
Various radar's and other detail items are also included.
5" 38 cal guns are included in both open and closed types. The 40 mm guns
are not bad but the gun barrels are a little thick. The 20 mm are also
a little thick, but I really like the way they are molded. The front shield
is offset from the pedestal and the separate gun can be mounted at any
angle just like the real ones. You also get Mk-51 directors, searchlights
and even some pelorus mounts. All are as fine as injections molding permits
in this scale. Not to be overlooked are the nice life rafts that have some
nice netting molded on. |
Sprue J
A base is included to display your ship on should you chose to build
it full hull. A nameplate is also included with a peel and stick label
that fits within the border. |
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| PHOTOETCH |
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| A photoetch fret is included that will allow you to replace
some of the molded on details. The lower frame of the deck edge elevator
and open radio antenna. You also get radar's and other platforms. There
is also a variety of deck personnel in various poses that will lend action
to your deck. |
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| DECALS |
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| The decals by Cartograf include the aircraft insignia
that were used during the war and include the red outlined insignia used
briefly by some squadrons. The deck striping and lines are well done. They
are all nicely registered and much improved from the typical kit supplied
decals
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| AIRCRAFT |
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| The aircraft in this kit are simply the best available
in this scale. They are molded in clear plastic so you can mask off the
canopies and when you paint them. When the paint dries you peel off the
masking and are presented with a nice clear canopy. These aircraft also
benefit from the CAD technology
SBD Dauntless Dive Bomber (six included).
These are molded with separate propellers and landing gear. Panel lines
are recessed and the lines of the aircraft look accurate.
TBF Avenger Torpedo Bomber (six included).
These torpedo bombers have recessed panel lines and folding wings.
Separate gear and propellers are included.
F6F Hellcat Fighter (six included).
Also molded with folding wings and separate landing gear and props.
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| INSTRUCTIONS |
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| The instructions are a 6 page booklet showing the assembly
in a step by step process that is easy to follow. Very thorough and well
illustrated. Camouflage is shown for the carrier in both MS-21, and MS-36-6-10D.
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| REFERENCE |
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There were two main variations of the Essex Class
distinguished by the the length of the flight deck and bow. These are grouped
into the short hull and long hull versions. The latter long hull
ships are often referred to as the Ticonderoga class. The Dragon
kit is a short hull Essex and can be used to build the following
carriers:
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CV-9 USS Essex
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CV-10 USS Yorktown
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CV-11 USS Intrepid
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CV-12 USS Hornet
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CV-13 USS Franklin
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CV-16 USS Lexington
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CV-17 USS Bunker Hill
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CV-18 USS Wasp
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CV-20 USS Bennington
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CV-31 USS Bon Homme Richard
I compared my sample to the drawings included in Warship
Perspectives Essex Class Carriers of World War Two by Glen Arold and
the lines and dimensions appear to be spot on. |
| CONCLUSIONS |
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 This
kit is extremely well designed and packed with options. The modeler has
many choices when building this kit. Full hull or waterline, Open hanger
doors or closed, clear deck or opaque, and many more. Dragon USA
lists this kit with an MSRP of $34.95 US. More than a fair price when you
consider the extras. Right now this kit gets my vote for the best 1/700
scale injection molded kit on the market today. Bravo Zulu Dragon. |
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