Reviewed by Timothy Dike |
| The Cadorna was an Italian Light Cruiser
of the Condottieri class or group. There were five distinct groups within
this class and the Cadorna was of the second group. Built in 1933 they
were an improvement over the first group. The Cadorna with her sister ship
the Diaz mounted eight 6" guns in twin turrets and were among the fastest
cruiser built. So what they couldn't outfight they could outrun.
Delphis has captured this fast little ship in 1/700 resin, with this
addition to the Italian Navy fleet. |
| HULL |
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| The hull is pretty well cast and has quite a bit of detail.
Much of the superstructure is cast on with open portholes and doors and
hatches nicely done. There are cast on cable reels that are nice enough
to be left in place. The bases for the light guns feature nice raised tread
plate. The surface is a little coarse compared to other resin kits My sample
had some rough spots up by the bow around the chocks and anchorways. I
think it would have been better to have left the anchor chain off as three
fine details are picking away at the rubber mold. These areas can probably
be cleaned up with a sharp hobby knife and don't really take away from
the other details. |
click images
to enlarge
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| SUPERSTRUCTURE |
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| The superstructure is cast on resin runners and the detail is pretty
good. The aircraft rails and turntables are a bit exaggerated but this
will help them stand out in this small scale. These parts also feature
tread plate where the light anti aircraft guns mount, a nice touch. The
funnels are well cast with grills and raised bands on the surface. Modelers
that are used to plastic kits will appreciate the way the parts are cast
on resin sprues instead of the more common wafer method. |
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| WEAPONS, FITTINGS, AND SMALL PARTS |
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| The main gun turrets are nicely shaped and look very nice. Some of
the gun barrels were snapped off, but with care can be reattached. The
secondary guns are really nice with separate gun barrels. The light guns
are very fine, and some also arrived with the barrels snapped off. |
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| The gun directors are nicely done with barely any flash. Overall the
small parts are well done, but delicate and a few arrived broken. |
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| The ships boats are nice, and the rafts are really nice. The latter
features nice raised rope detail that should really stand out. |
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| A float plan is included with all the details you need. The casting
is pretty good, and it includes a nice float with cast on mounting brackets.
Out rigger floats and even a propeller is included. |
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| INSTRUCTIONS |
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| The instructions are four pages with history and specs
on page one. The text is in Italian so I am unable to read it. Some detail
views show some of the different areas of the ship with noted parts locations.
A plan and profile view is on page 3 with a camo sheet on page 4. These
are adequate to build the kit, but they could benefit from some 3D assembly
views.
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| CONCLUSIONS |
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This is a well cast kit, that would be better if the small delicate
parts were better protected during shipping. It will be a great starting
point for your Mediterranean cruiser fleet. It is listed on the
Delphis
website for € 34,00 (about $40.24 USD). You can buy direct
from Delphis or one of their dealers such as Pacific
Front Hobbies in the US, White
Ensign Models in the UK, and NNT
in
Germany. |
