Flyhawk
1/700 Missile Destroyer USS Zumwalt DDG-1000


 
 
Reviewed September 2022
by Martin J Quinn
HISTORY
USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000) is a US Navy guided missile destroyer.  Lead ship of the abridged Zumwalt class, she is the first ship to be named after Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, who was the youngest man to ever ascend to the rank of Chief of Naval Operations. 

Zumwalt was a development of the SC-21 (Surface Combatant for the 21st century) program, later known as the DD21, and finally, the DD(X).  Originally, the Navy had planned to build 32 destroyers. That number was reduced to 24, then to 7, and finally just 3 hulls, due to the high cost of all the experimental technologies the class would carry.  The class is designed to be stealthy:  despite being 40% larger than an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, the radar cross-section is something like that of a fishing boat.  Also, the design of the hull, with its tumblehome shape, as well as the composite deckhouse, are supposed to reduce radar return.   Supposedly, the destroyer's angular build makes it "50 times harder to spot on radar than an ordinary destroyer"*. 

Laid down in November, 2011, the ship was launched in October 2013, christened in April 2014 and commissioned on October 28, 2016.  Zumwalt carries hull number "1000", since she was supposed to be a continuation of the gun destroyers, the last of those being DD-997, USS Hayler.  However, at a cost of $800,000 a round, it is doubtful that her 155 mm main battery - the Advanced Gun System - will ever be used. 

DDG-1000 is currently home-ported in San Diego, California.

For more on Zumwalt, visit her Wikipedia page here, which is where this information was pulled from. 

*CNN October 10, 2014
The Flyhawk USS Zumwalt

Flyhawk’s 1/700 SMS Zumwalt comes in a the usual Flyhawk style cardboard box, with a rendering of the ship on the box top.   Inside the box are the hull, waterline plate, lower hull and two sprues worth of parts along with a replica of the box art.   What I really noticed upon opening the box was that there really aren't a lot of parts included. 
THE UPPER HULL
 
The hull consists of a large upper hull, with the big block superstructure included.  There is also a waterline plate, that also serves as the base for the boat ramp, and a lower hull. 

The upper hull (sprue A) is crisply molded, with subtle details on the aircraft handling deck.   The forward deck, by the gun turrets, appears to have subtle texture on it as well.  The sides of the superstructure has engraved panel lines in it, in almost a "brick" like pattern, to replicate the composite panels that help reduce the ships radar signature.  These "bricks", in comparison to the real ship, look to be overstated - photos of the ship on commissioning day are included below.   The details in the recessed funnels/exhausts are nice.  The front and angled side facings on the forward part of the superstructure, as well two panels on the aft part, are separate peices. 
WATERLINE PLATE/LOWER HULL
The waterline plate (sprue B) sandwiches between the upper and lower hulls, and doubles as the base for the boat ramp in the stern.  On one of the sprues is the part forming the bulkheads that wrap around the boat ramp. 

The lower hull (sprue C) has a separate two piece bulbous nose - those parts are located on one of the sprues.  Not much detail here, other than the posts for the twin rudders and bilge keels. 

It will be interesting to see how the three parts (upper/waterline/lower hull) fit together, for those choosing to build a full hull model. 
SPRUE D
The smaller of the two sprues included in the kit have one of two helicopters, along with the rotors.   The previously mentioned separate panels for the superstructure are also included here.  As before, the panel lines in the "bricks" is overstated. 
SPRUE E
The larger of the two sprues find another, smaller, helicopter, guns, gun barrels, the aforementioned bulbous bow sections the boat ramp bulkheads, as well as struts, shafts, rudders, and two styles of doors for the boat ramp:  a one piece "closed" door and a two piece "open" door.  Details are up to the usual Flyhawk standards. 
DISPLAY STAND/WATERLINE WEIGHT
There is a display stand for those building their Zumwalt full hull, and the ubiquitous metal waterline plate for those going the traditional 1/700 waterline route.  You can also cut out a "nameplate" from the instruction sheet and glue it to the display stand, if you so choose. 
DECALS
There is a decal sheet included with the kit, consisting of hull numbers, two styles of markings for the boat doors (one open, one closed), aircraft handling deck markings and warning circles for around the 155mm guns.  Decals are printed by Flyhawk.   They look like they'll do the job, but they don't look as nice as those from say Cartograph. 
PHOTO-ETCH
There is a small photo-etch set included, along with a piece of brass rod.  There are rails, inclined ladders, rotors and landing skids for the helos included on the fret.   The brass rod is optional, for use with the telescoping mast. 
INSTRUCTIONS
The instructions are the usual Flyhawk format, multi-colored on both sides of glossy paper.  This is a very simple kit, with not a lot of parts, so they instructions and painting guide are more than adequate. 
CONCLUSIONS
Flyhawk seems to have captured the distinctive look of the Zumwalt with this latest release, providing what looks to be a fairly simple kit with some nice detailing.  Though I do think the composite panels on the superstructure are overstated.  Perhaps under a coat of paint they won't be as pronounced. 

Fan of modern USN ships (or of any other modern navy), or anyone looking for something a little less complex to build, will probably like this kit.  With it's low parts count, this could probably be finished in a weekend.  Recommended. 

This is Flyhawk Models 1/700 Scale Missile Destroyer USS Zumwalt DDG-1000, kit number FH1175.  The kit retails for $43.95, and is available from Free Time Hobbies, who I'd like to thank for this review sample. 

This is an in box review, your mileage may vary once you start assembly.