Built in the first years of the fifties to replace the units destroyed
during WWII and the ships transferred by the US Navy and Royal Navy, the
Escorteur D'Escadrille of the T-47B series proved to be brilliant ships
and saw a very long and useful service in the ranks of the French Navy.
Their original design was very close to the US Gearing class destroyers,
all gun equipped , but were upgraded very early in their career to become
dedicated ASW ship or AA missile destroyers.
This kit depicts the original version of this class with their 127
mm and 57 mm main gun armament, the modernized units saw these guns replaced
by the newer 100 mm standard gun turret of the French Navy. |
| HULL AND SUPERSTRUCTURE |
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| The kit is cast with the hull and superstructure
as one piece. The funnels are also cast on and the detail is very good.
The hull is cast waterline style and has only a small casting gate to remove
on the hull button. No flash or defects were visible on the rest of the
casting. This should be a really easy part to prepare as there is next
to no cleanup needed. I have no plans to compare to, but the kit looks
very much like the photos of the real ship. |
Click images
to enlarge |
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| MAIN GUNS |
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| Three each of the 127 mm and 57 mm gun turrets are provided. These
are well cast on the only thing lacking is a mounting lug for the base.
The gun barrels are nicely cast, very thin and well done, though I suspect
many will upgrade their kit with some of the aftermarket brass barrels
that are available. |
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| DIRECTORS AND TORPEDO LAUNCHERS |
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| The gun directors and torpedo launchers are nicely shaped and should
require only a minimum of cleanup. |
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| BOATS AND FITTINGS |
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| Ships boats and floats are provided well cast on resin runners. Davits,
and deck cranes are also included. These have a bit of light flash, but
nothing too hard to clean up. If you don't wish to clean these up, look
to the provided photo etch versions below. |
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| PHOTOETCH |
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| A full brass photo etch fret is included with the railings, radar's,
cable reels, funnel grills and all kinds of fine details to give this ship
even more detailing. An extra fret supplies the tripod mast. |
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| DECALS |
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| A decal sheet with nicely registered letters and numbers in black and
white is provided for the markings. |
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| INSTRUCTIONS |
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| The instructions are four pages showing the assembly and
sub assemblies. A parts list and assembly notes will get you started. |
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| Conclusions: |
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This is a nicely cast little kit with a very complete photo etch
fret. Almost every thing needed to build this ship without having to order
a bunch of aftermarket parts. I should build up into a worthy representation
of a post war escort.
This kit is available direct from L'Arsenal
in
France for 49,95 € or From Tony Bunch @ L'Arsenal
USA here in the states for $56.00. |
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