The USS Mahan was the lead ship of a
new class of Destroyers, an improvement over the earlier Farragut class.
They saw service all over the Pacific in World War Two. They were built
with five 5" 38 cal main guns but the number 3 gun was removed in favor
of a heavier anti aircraft fit. This kit represents the Mahan as she was
rebuilt in 1942 without the number 3 gun mount.
MidShip has produced this new kit based on the many variants of the
Mahan class destroyer. Up until now the only available kit has been the
old Kobo Hiryu Mahan class kit USS
Drayton. This kit is a vast improvement over that one, and is easily
workable into other versions of this class. |
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HULL AND SUPERSTRUCTURE PARTS |
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The hull is molded one piece with a bow insert. The molding is very
good, the pictures below show flash where the hull breaks. This is exaggerated
in the photo's and will be easily corrected with a light touch of sandpaper.
The deck features some nice chock details. These destroyers were steel
decked so there is not a whole lot of surface detail. The shape apprears
to match my plans of the USS
Cushing. |
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The deck insert is correct for the later Fanning and Dunlap,
but is lacking the wrap around shield for the number one gun mount found
on the Mahan Class. The modeler will have to scratch one out of thin plastic
sheet or brass strip. These are shown on the box art, but curiously were
left out of the kit. I hope that MidShip will at least make these available
in resin like they did in the bridge part # R1. Most of the parts on this
sprue are nicely molded and some are very thin and fine.
Click images to enlarge
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The partial open 5" 38 cal gun shields are included on
this sprue and are well molded. They are designed to be used with the open
5" guns used in the included in the weapons sprue. The gun mounts are a
little oversimplified in shape, but acceptable in this scale and better
than anything else on the market. The ejector pin marks on some parts are
little heavy on some parts, but nothing a little sanding won't cure.02 |
WEAPONS SPRUE |
The weapons sprue is the same as the one included in the
MidShip Models Gridely Class Destroyer.
It includes all the weapons and fittings you will need and then some. The
rafts are molded in two styles and are both nicely done. Some of the other
items such as gun directors and search lights came out pretty nice. |
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I wish that the 20 mm guns and the K-guns would have been done differently
instead of being done almost exactly like the Skywave parts. The good thing
is that the parts that I find over simplified are the ones I usually replace
with Photo etch. |
DECALS |
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The decal sheet includes flags and pennants as well as both prewar
and early and late war hull numbers. These are printed by Microscale and
are typical of the high quality decals they usually produce. They are nicely
registered and sharp. |
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INSTRUCTIONS |
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The instructions are nicely done on an four pages
Page 1 includes a color profile with Model Master and White Ensign Colorcoats
paint equivalents. The color profile is however so dark it is hard to make
anything out on it, I would recommend lightening this view. A class list
and specs of the ship are included as well.
The next two pages are dedicated to the basic subassemblies and are really
well done. Since this kit was designed in CAD, there is no reason not to
use CAD to do the instructions. Even thought some views are a little pixal
ated, they are extremely effective in showing the parts fit. The different
parts are shown in contrasting colors and you will have no problems following
them. Page four shows some of the other kits you will want in your collections. |
CONCLUSIONS |
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It's good to have a new line of ships on the market.
MidShip is producing those ships that have been neglected by all but the
obscure resin producers. I'm glad to see not only the Mahan, but just about
every variation of this class and the succeeding Dunlap and Fanning. Also
available is the one off recontructed Cassin, Downes, and Shaw that were
almost totally destroyed at Pearl Harbor. Prewar, early war, and late war
variants are all available. The kits from this new manufacturer are improving
in quality with every release. So if you want to see more, I would advice
you to help support them and build some of their kits. They can only get
better and they are being manufactured by one of our own! |
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This kit will provide a good base on which to produce a whole bunch of
ships that have not been available in a long time time. Order yours now
for $21.99 on the Trident
Hobbies online website
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