Kraken Hobbies

1/426 USN 5/51 Deck Guns

 

Reviewed by Martin J Quinn
January 2023
Some brand new 3D products have arrived from Kraken Hobbies.  Among the items received is a 3D printed replacement 5in/51cal secondary gun.  According to the website NavWeaps, these weapons were 'first introduced as anti-torpedo boat guns in the battleships of the Florida (B-30) and Wyoming (B-32) classes. Later versions were mounted on almost all battleships built in the 1910s and 1920s and fitted to many smaller warships. Most versions fired bag ammunition, with the exception of the Mark 9 which was a "wet-gun" for submarine use and used semi-fixed (separate) ammunition.'

Click to enlarge images
THE PARTS
The packaging is in a large plastic clamshell container, with two 3D printed rafts holding the parts secured to the bottom of the packaging with double sided tape. 

There are ten 5in/51cal guns included in the package - 5 weapons on each print raft.  The weapons are two parts - base and the gun itself.  According to Kraken's website, that is "so that elevation can be set." The parts are printed in a light orange color, and have nice detail.  I asked the Kraken himself about the orange, and he said these parts were from his new printer, and that "The orange makes some high detailed parts but suffers with the thinner walls not being so strong."   He plans on experimenting with different types of resin to see what works best. 

Parts detail 


INSTRUCTIONS
There are no instructions. 
CONCLUSIONS
For those building the classic Revell Box Scale USS Arizona, this is a really useful upgrade part.  The weapons are sharply printed with nice details.   These, along with other upgrade parts, will really make your that old Arizona shine. 

This is Kraken Hobbies 1/426 USN 5/51 Deck Guns.  They retail for $8.99 USD, and are available directly from Kraken Hobbies, who I'd like to thank for this review sample.   Recommended! 


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