HMS Dreadnought- the ship whose name
became a byword for all future battleships. The launching of Dreadnought
spelled a true paradigm shift in the nascent naval arms race, and splintered
the steam and steel age into "pre-dreadnoughts" and "dreadnoughts": and
made the other navies of the world consider their existing capitol ships
obsolete. Dreadnought accomplished this with two important "firsts";
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First capitol ship will an "all big gun", or uniform caliber, main battery
(12" Mark X gun x10)
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First capitol ship powered by steam turbines
This gave Dreadnought an unparalleled broadside, and made her faster than
any other battleship afloat. This design, with minor changes, continued
through the next two class of dreadnought battleships built by the Royal
Navy. In the end, HMS Dreadnought had a relatively uneventful career, and
never engaged in the primary purpose to which she was designed- gunnery
duels with other battleships.
This new Trumpeter kit is a scaled down version of their successful
1/350 version.
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| HULL PARTS |
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| The hull is molded waterline style with a separate lower
hull in red plastic. The fit looks good with the upper and lower
parts. The hull features portholes molded in and simulated hull plate detailing. |
Click images
to enlarge |
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| DECK |
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| The desk is molded in two parts to represent two levels. Surface detailing
included deck planking and various deck clutter. the fit between the deck
and upper level appears to be quite good. |
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| SPRUE B |
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| The mast, ships boats, funnel tops, and some superstructure parts are
included here. |
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| SPRUE C (x2) |
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| The main guns are included on this weapons sprue. Main gun turrets
are molded as two parts with separate barrels. Light weapons are also included
on these sprues. |
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| SPRUE D |
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| More deck levels and parts are on this sprue along with a name plate
for display. |
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| SPRUE E |
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| The torpedo booms are included on this sprue along with some |
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| DECALS |
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| Flags aircraft roundels, and ship numbers are well registered on this
sheet. |
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| PHOTOETCH |
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| Two brass photo etch frets are included with funnels caps,
boat racks, fighting top walls, and other details. No railings are included. |
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| DISPLAY BASE |
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| A simple stand is included for full hull display. |
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| INSTRUCTIONS |
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| A nice color profile is included showing the ship camouflage with painting
notes. The instructions are an extensive 12 page booklet with all kinds
of exploded views. They are step by step and cover the assembly quite well. |
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| Conclusions: |
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This new kit from Trumpeter is a welcome addition to the plastic ship
world. Especially a ship as important as this one. The level of detail
is good and it looks like this kit will build up into a nice replica. |
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This is kit # TSM-6704 1/700 HMS Dreadnought British Battleship
1907 with a suggested retail price of $48.95. Use the dealer locator on
the site to find the nearest hobby shop to you that carries this kit.
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