| When the Navy announced the requirements
for a new smaller warship designed to operate in coastal waters against
surface and subsurface threats, two distinctly different proposals emerged.
The first was Lockheed Martin's version of what would be called a Littoral
Combat Ship the USS Freedom LCS-1. The competing concept was the USS Independence
LCS-2 built on a catamaran style hull. The Lockheed Martin with the assistance
of Marinette Marine and Gibbs and Cox took a more conventional approach,
at least on the surface. This new ship features a new stealthier appearance
and the propellers are gone in favor of pumpjets. A flight deck on the
stern with loading doors on the stern. The ship can operate two
MH-60 Seahawks and a MQ-8 Fire Scout drone. The jury is still out on which
version will be selected and the ship continues to evolve as testing reveals
things that need to be changed. One change on this ship is the two tanks
mounted on the stern. These are not present on the ship as commissioned.
Cyber-Hobby has already produced two version of the General Dynamics
version of the Littoral Combat Ship in their Smart Kit line. So it only
seemed natural for them to do the Lockheed Martin USS Freedom too. The
kit was designed to allow you to build an as- commisioned version or a
later one with the external tanks mounted on the stern. The design and
molding are typical of the new kits produced by Dragon and Cyber-Hobby.
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| The reader might want to take into consideration that
I consulted for Dragon on this kit. My opinions might be a bit biased.
However I think the photos speak for themselves. |
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| SPRUE A |
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| The first sprue contains the lower hull and bow and stern
deck inserts. Molding appears to closely follow the lines of the actual
ship. The modeler has a choice of building the ship with the stern doors
open or closed. |
Click
images
to enlarge |
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| SPRUE B HULL |
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| The main hull is molded waterline style with an open deck and stern.
Test fitting the upper and lower hull shows that the fit is very good.
The hull is sleek and smooth much like the real ship. |
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| SPRUE C |
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| This small sprue contains the Rolling Airframe Missile launcher body
and part of the upper superstructure. The former benefits from slide molding
that allows for the tubes and side detail to be molded all in one part.
When mounted on the separate yoke shown on sprue D, you will be able to
pose the launcher at any angle. |
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| SPRUE D |
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| Chaff dispensers, antenna radomes, and mast parts are among the parts
on this sprue. They are molded nicely and as thin as is practical in plastic.
The Mk 110 57 mm gun main gun and 50 cal machine guns are nicely molded,
however those latter are a bit over scale. That should not be a problem
for detail nuts as PE versions are also provided. More about them below. |
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| SPRUE E |
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| The upper superstructure with the exhaust outlets and bridge wings
are on this sprue. The Mk44 Bushmaster II 30 mm gun turrets are nicely
molded as are the waterjet nozzles. Slides are used on the mold to maximize
the detailing and minimize the seams that the modeler must fill. In this
case even the ends of the tiny gun barrels have a slightly hollowed out
look. A separate roll-up door for the helicopter hanger in case the modeler
wants to open it up. Some of the small parts that are almost too tiny to
make out in the pictures include a loudspeakers, life rings, and other
small details. Beginners might wish to leave the tiny parts off, but detail
nuts will really appreciate them. |
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| SPRUE F |
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| The main superstructure and bridge is molded on this sprue with three
separate slides. As a result there is detail on virtually every side on
a single part. The windows are deeply recessed which should make it easy
to use a black fine tip marker to highlight them. The larger ones on the
top are actually grills. |
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| SPRUE B WEAPONS SPRUE |
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| This is the standard US Navy weapons sprue with parts found on typical
warships. It has a variety of weapons, fittings, and even the SH-60 helo.
Most of these parts are not needed, but are great to save for other projects. |
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| SPRUE Z |
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| The base for this kit has been designed based on how most modelers
like to display their ships in full hull mode. The stands which resemble
lamp finales are even slide molded so they have no seams to fill and sand.
Hole locations are provided so all you have to do is open them up with
a knife or drill. |
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| PHOTOETCH |
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| A simple photo etch fret is included with safety netting for around
the flight deck. 50 cal. gun shields are provided to give the modeler a
finer gun assembly that is closer to scale. |
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| DECALS |
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| The decals are sharply registered and include marking for the flight
deck, a warning circles for the gun, and hull numbers. Flags and all kinds
of other markings are included on this sheet. |
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| INSTRUCTIONS |
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| The instructions are four pages with lots of sub-assembly
views that are less cluttered and easy to follow. The last page features
a painting guide showing decal placement. |
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| BUILD UP PHOTOS |
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| If your looking for reference on this ship, I recommend studying
Bill Liebold's excellent scratchbuild of the Freedom shown on the right.
Below are some examples of the fully assembled kit right out of the box. |
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| CONCLUSIONS |
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Cyber-Hobby has follow-up up on their other Littoral Combat Ship concept
the USS Independence with
her rival, the Freedom. This one also lives up to the Smart Kit line with
plenty of detail and options. Now you can have your own LCS competition
and build another 700 scale winner!
These new kits are now shipping to stores. You should be able to get
one soon. Look for them on the shelves of your favorite hobby shop or get
it direct from Dragon
USA or Cyber-Hobby for $24.95. |
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