Reviewed by Timothy Dike
| HISTORY | |||||||||||||
| The HMS Ajax F-114 was a Leander class frigate named after
the famous victor of the Battle of River Platte. She was commissioned in
December 1963. Ajax was the leader of the 24th Escort Group and operated
in the Far East until 1968. She spent time as the the Gibraltar guard ship
in 1970 when it was feared that that strong point would be invaded by General
Franco of Spain.
Afterwards Ajax returned home for a modernization that saw her 4.5" turret replaced by the new Ikara ASW missile system. She also received two GWS22 SeaCats aft and new 40 mm guns amidships. Ajax helped evacuate British citizens when Cyprus was invaded by Turkey. In 1980 she was again refitted and was back in service a year later. Ajax was stationed in the Persian Gulf during the Falklands War and in 1985 she returned home for the last time. She was decommissioned and replaced the HMS Salisbury as a static training ship until she was towed away in 1988 for breaking up. This new kit from MT Miniatures represents the HMS AJax after her Ikara conversion. If you want an as built version of the ship you should start with the Leander class kit. It is available as kit or pre assembled and painted. |
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| HULL AND SUPERSTRUCTURE | |||||||||||||
| The hull is the only resin part on the kit and it is cast as a waterline kit with hull and superstructure as one piece. The casting is a bit rough but workable. There is quite a bit of surface detailing. The Ikara on the bow is covered by a weather proof dome cast in place. Mounting holes are provided for most of the parts so it shouldn't be too difficult to build this kit. | Click images
to enlarge |
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| METAL PARTS | |||||||||||||
| The rest of the parts are cast as white metal fittings. They include the Helicopter, 20 mm guns, the mast, ships boats and other fittings. Some of the parts will need a little cleanup and straightening. |  |
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| PHOTOETCH | |||||||||||||
| A single brass fret is included with railings, and antenna. Helicopter rotors are included as a separate etched part. |  |
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| DECALS | |||||||||||||
| Two decal sheets are provided with ship numbers, and deck markings. Helo markings are also included. |  |
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| INSTRUCTIONS | |||||||||||||
| The instructions are a single page in an exploded view format. Everything except the railing locations are shown. But you can refer to the included photo of the completed ship for that. |  |
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| Conclusions: | |||||||||||||
MT Miniatures' is expanding their line of 700 scale ships and this new Ikara Leander class version will give the modeler yet another option for Modern Royal Navy ships. It would be a nice comparison to the as-built Leander. This is MT Miniatures - 1/700th HMS Leander Item number MTM003 with a price of only 25.20 GBP or about $40.34 at today's exchange rate. See the MT Miniatures website for details. |
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