Reviewed by Timothy Dike
| HISTORY | |||||||||
| The USS Spruance was the class leader for a whole new generation
of destroyers designed to replace the aging dd's that dated back to world
war two. Designed primarily for the ASW role, these destroyers proved to
be very versatile. Weighing in at over 8,000 they were nearly twice as
large as the largest WW2 dd. Armed with two 5" 54 caliber main guns, they
could take on most any surface target. Add to that their 8 cell ASROC anti
submarine torpedo launcher and these ships could take on any threat that
dared approach.
This new Dragon Premium edition kit represents the Spruance in her early appearance before the installation of VLS. |
|||||||||
| SPRUE A | |||||||||
| The main sprue in the kit includes the hull and two bow inserts. You will only need one as the other is used for the Ticonderoga class cruiser that shares many common components to this kit. |  |
||||||||
|
|||||||||
| SPRUE B | |||||||||
| This sprue contains the superstructure, the walls of which have a considerable amount of surface detailing. The mast parts are fairly thin by injection molding standards. But if they are still too thick, then scroll down to the PE section. An extra part has been added to this sprue for the fore and aft vertical launch system. These will not be needed to build the Spruance. Save these to upgrade other older Dragon DD or CG's. |  |
||||||||
|
|||||||||
| SPRUE C | |||||||||
| A full lower hull option with a display stand will give the non waterline modelers something to get excited about. Propellers and rudder appear to be accurate for this class of ship. |  |
||||||||
|
|||||||||
| PHOTOETCH FRET | |||||||||
| A photo etch fret is included with railings and mast details that are more of a scale thickness. Safety nets and yardarm details will help give this Sprue-can a more realistic appearance. |  |
||||||||
| DECALS | |||||||||
| The decals are another nice upgrade to this kit. They are printed by Cartograf of Italy and feature sharp nicely registered printing. Hull numbers and ships name are included. Warning circles and deck landing markings will provide that finishing touch. |  |
||||||||
| INSTRUCTIONS | |||||||||
The instructions are eight pages showing the assembly in
a step by step process. A painting guide is included showing where the
decals go.
|
|||||||||
| CONCLUSIONS | |||||||||
 Another
welcome upgraded kit to join your 700 scale fleet. Dragon took a good kit,
made it better, and then upgraded it to premium standards. The kit includes
all the parts to build an early Spruance class, but the parts for the later
versions are included so you can use this kit to build any of the many
Spruance class in early or late fits. |
|||||||||
 |
|||||||||
