Reviewed by Timothy Dike |
| The USS Benham was the follow up to the
Gridley and Bagley class. They shared the same hull and forward superstructure,
but differed in the funnel and trunking arangements. This Yankee Modelworks
kit has been around for a while. First released as the old Classic Warships
kit, it is back under the Yankee Modelworks name.
This kit should allow you to build any of the Benham class destroyers
either as pre war or early war versions. A late war version should also
be possible using this kit as a base. |
| HULL |
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| The hull is cast in the waterline style with a separate
lower hull. The shape appears spot on according to my plans. The detail
is not bad with doors and hatches cast on. There is some flash along the
waterline that will need some attention, but fortunatly it is in an area
where cleanup can be acomplished without destroying details. |
click images
to enlarge
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| SUPERSTRUCTURE, WEAPONS, FITTINGS,
AND SMALL PARTS |
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| The Bridge, and other parts are cast on a resin wafers. The casting
is pretty good but the wafers are thick and it will take a little sanding
to remove them. I think it would have been better if the forward deckhouse
and upper deck had been cast as one piece. |
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| The funnel trunking looks correct, but
the funnel should be oval shaped. Both parts are cast very well. |
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| METAL PARTS |
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| The 5" gun mounts are cast in metal. There are three standard style,
one half shielded canvas covered style, and two full open mounts. This
will allow you to do almost any of the Benham class as they differed in
the #3 and #4 mounts. The guns are cast with the mounting ring on the bottom.
Some of the parts have excessive flash on them, others such as the life
boats and davits look crisp and clean. A little cleanup with a file will
be necessary on some of the parts, but the shapes appear accurate. |
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| PHOTO ETCH |
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| A photo etch fret supplies all the railings and other items such as
radar's, and searchlight platform. Sky lookouts, 50 cal mounts, and depth
charge racks are also included on the fret. |
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| INSTRUCTIONS |
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| The instructions are six pages with a bill of materials,
plans and elevation views, notes on building, and a really clear exploded
view.
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| CONCLUSIONS |
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If you want to do a Benham class this is your best bet. It provides
a good base to build upon. The weapons and fittings are a little rough,
but with some cleanup they are usuable. This is Kit #YKM-35011 with
a list price of $130.00, a little pricey, but you can find it for a lot
less online. This is only one of the many USN destroyers produced by
Yankee
Modelworks see the whole line on their website. |
