Reviewed by Timothy Dike |
| This latest release from Trumpeter is the Liberty ship
Jerimah O'Brien. She was typical of these mass produced liberty ships.
She was an launched as hull number 230 on June 19, 1943 an EC2-S-C1 type
Liberty Ship. She was later named the Jeremiah O'Brien and she served in
both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters of war. She was there at Normandy
on D-Day helping to support Operation Overload. After the the war in Europe
was under control she sailed for the Pacific hauling needed cargo in the
South Pacific.
She was selected to be a hospital ship, in 1946 but was instead
assigned to the National Defense Reserve Fleet at Suisun Bay, Calif. She
survived in the "mothball fleet" until volunteers rescued her and spent
a half million dollars restoring her as a museum ship. Today the Jeremiah
O'Brien is berthed at Fort Mason in San Francisco open to the public and
available for tours. Information about her can be found on the Jeremiah
O'Brien website. Recently the Jeremiah O'Brien made a return visit
to Normandy for the 60th anniversary of the landings
| Length: |
441 feet, 7 inches |
| Beam: |
57 feet |
| Draft: |
27 feet, 9 inches |
| Displacement: |
14,245 tons |
| Armament: |
one 5-inch/38 caliber gun
two 3-inch/50 caliber guns
eight 20mm antiaircraft guns |
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| Hot on the heels of their USS
Nimitz, Trumpeter has another brand new release. This one is another
example of a nicely engineered kit with really fine detailing. The hull
is cast as a waterline type with an open bow and stern. |
Click images
to enlarge
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| The kit has a waterline flat bottom or full hull option.
Both bottom parts are molded in red.
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| The bow and stern inserts are nicely molded with the slots for water
drainage molded open. Cap stands are molded on and the port holes are also
molded open. |
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| Superstructure parts are very well done with with nice door and hatch
detailing. The splinter shields are as thin as I have seen on a plastic
kit, very nice. The cargo hatches are molded with separate sides. |
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| The masts on this kit are really nice as are the structures below them.
The doors have latches, hinges and even the rain gutters are molded above
them. The 5" deck gun is a little plain for my taste but is made up of
several parts and looks ripe for super detailing. The 3" deck guns are
pretty good. |
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| There are two of these sprues in the kit, with weapons and deck winches
and other accessories. The deck winches are really nice and are made up
of several parts. The 20 mm guns are pretty nice but lack shields. |
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| The decal sheet has markings for the Jeremiah O'Brien. Salad bar and
hula girl graphics are included as well. |
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| Instructions are 16 pages of step by step views. The drawings
are well done and leave nothing to the imagination.
Painting guides for the ship are included on the last page of instructions
and on the box art. This kit can be used to build many of the liberty ships
so camouflage will vary. |
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| So far there are two photo etch sets available for this
kit. They are:
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| Conclusions:
A well designed kit that will build into a nice ship. The super detailing
possibilities are endless. This kit retails for $45.95 a great value for
a ship this size.
Thanks to Stevens
International for the review sample. They are the exclusive importer
for Trumpeter kits in the US. If your hobby shop does not carry Trumpeter
kits have them contact Stevens
International or try their Hobby Shop Locator to find one. |
