USS Ward DD-139
Previewed by Timothy Dike
May 2014
| The USS Ward was a Wickes Class Destroyer.
These flush deck destroyers were an improved Caldwell class with more speed
and better stability. Easily distinguished by their four funnels and long
flush deck these ships were state of the art at the end of WW1 when they
were first built, but rather dated by the second world war. Never the less
they continued to see service as destroyers were in short supply. The USS
Ward was stationed at Pearl Harbor when war broke out and is known for
firing the opening shots of the war. The Ward was operating off the mouth
of the harbor when it spotted a Japanese Midget sub trying to enter the
harbor. The Ward took it under fire and after charging past the number
three mount scored a direct hit right through the conning tower. The sub
was then depth charged and sunk.
FlyHawk is about to release their second injection molded plastic kit.
This preview will give you a good idea of what is coming. Please note,
that this is a preview and the actual kit is not yet ready. The instructions
were not ready by publishing time and will be shown later.
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| HULL PARTS | |||||||||||||||||
| The kit is a full hull kit with separate lower hull and waterline plate. The upper half is molded using slides to allow for detail on both sides and still produce a one-peice hull. The lower hull fits nicely on the upper part with a nice joint that will need very little work. Notice the last image below shows the parts sitting together, impressive engineering! | Click images
to enlarge |
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| SPRUE D | |||||||||||||||||
| The Propellers, shafts, rudder and some rafts are molded on this sprue. |  |
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| SPRUE E | |||||||||||||||||
| The main sprue features a one piece deck that includes realistic camber, a nice touch! Four 4" 50 cal guns are molded as single parts. Triple torpedo tubes, boats, and davits, and several fittings are among the other parts Molding is pretty good and the parts look crisp and nicely detailed for this small scale. |  |
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| I AND MISCELLANEOUS SPRUES | |||||||||||||||||
| Image of some of the parts cut from other sprues are shown below. Among them are slide molded funnels with open ends, and deckhouses with detail all around. If you look closely you can see rivet details on the forward bridge structure The I sprue contain the two boat racks that mount to the mid superstructure. |  |
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| PHOTOETCH | |||||||||||||||||
| What would a FlyHawk kit be without their fine Photo Etch! Two frets are included relief etched in brass. Included are custom cut railings, inclined ladders with possible steps, and platforms with railing attached. The bridge window frame is another item provided here. The search light platform, crows nest, and lots of other details are provided. The second fret includes the front gun shield and a stand for full hull display. |  |
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| Conclusions: | |||||||||||||||||
This is a pretty impressive kit, especially considering it's a pre production sample. I did some test fitting on the kit and found no problems with the major components. I will wait for the instructions before doing too much. But so far I am very impressed! Thanks to FlyHawk Models for the preview sample. Stay tuned for a follow-up review of the finished kit. |
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