| HISTORY |
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USS
North Carolina (BB-55) is a battleship of the
United States Navy, known for its significant role in
World War II, where it participated in almost every
major naval offensive in the Pacific. Today, it serves
as a museum ship in Wilmington, North Carolina,
showcasing its rich history and contributions to naval
warfare.
The USS North Carolina has a storied past and notable
achievements.
Commissioning — The ship was commissioned in 1941 and
became the lead vessel of its class.
Battle Stars — It earned 15 battle stars for its
service during World War II, making it one of the most
decorated battleships of the conflict.
Survival — The USS North Carolina survived a torpedo
attack and continued to serve effectively throughout
the war.
Museum Ship — Today, it is preserved as a museum ship,
allowing visitors to explore its history and
significance in naval warfare
The brief
history is an AI generate summary. For more
information on North Carolina's history, check
out her Wikipedia
page.
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The Very
Fire USS North Carolina
There have been several kits of
North Carolina released in 1/350 previous to this -
two resin, one injection molded.
- Classic Warship (circa 1997)
- Iron Shipwright (circa 2000)
- Trumpeter (circa 2005)
This kit from Very Fire is a brand
new tooling. It comes in a large, sturdy box,
with a painting of "The Showboat" at sea, main battery
trained to starboard. Inside this deluxe edition
are over 30 plastic sprues, five total photo-etch
sets, decals, a deck mask and over 350 3D printed
parts. The kit appears to portray North
Carolina in late 1944, after a refit at Puget
Sound Naval Yard. Upon opening the box, you'll
find the two halves of the hull attached to a
cardboard insert, with all of the photo-etch taped to
the top of the cardboard. Lying on top of the
hull halves are the instructions. Removing the
hull halves, under the cardboard you'll find the rest
of the parts, with the sprues wrapped in
plastic. The deluxe 3D printed parts are wrapped
separately in bubble wrap.
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| SPRUE A - HULL |
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The hull is in three total
parts. The upper portion, which is considered
sprue A, is two halves - port and starboard/left and
right. The bottom of the hull is a separate
piece, on a different sprue (B). The hull scales
out perfectly to the Floating Drydock plans included
in Randall Shoker's "USS North Carolina,
Technical Reference".
As is the rage these days, the
hull has raised hull plating. This is much more
subdued than that found on other models, though the
armor belt and butt straps are quite pronounced.
Looking at photos in the aforementioned North
Carolina book, these might not be as pronounced
as they seem at first glance. There is an
attempt at some sea chest on the lower portion of
these halves - these aren't as good as the sea chests
on the recently re-tooled Atlanta.
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| SPRUE B |
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| This is the bottom of
the hull. Similar to what Very Fire did with their
Musashi,
they've split the parts along the bilge keels and
plating lines to hide the seams. This will
eliminate the need to sand off a raised mold line or
fill and sand a seam along the length of the hull.
The plating found on the upper halves of the hull
continues all across this part. Also on this sprue
are rudders and the skegs for the inboard props, which
Very Fire has chosen to mold separately from the other
parts of the hull. |
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| SPRUE C (X2) |
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These two sprues have parts for
the turrets, save for the gun houses, which are
separate. The bottoms of the turrets, barrels
with nicely done blast bags, can be found here.
Also on the sprue are funnel caps, piping, additional
rudder parts, open & closed chocks, splinter
shields, director tubs, ready ammo boxes, an SG radar,
and more.
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| SPRUE C40 (X1) |
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| This "sprue" is
turret number 3. Details include molded on
vertical ladders on the turret faces, as well as very
subtle riveting on the tops of the turret. So
subtle, that I didn't realize it was there until I
started formatting photos for the review.
There are also shallow anchoring
holes on the tops of the turrets for grab rails that
come in the DX photo-etch. This turret is
different than the other by having 3 holes on the
turret roof, to accommodate the 40mm gun tub.
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| SPRUE C41 (X2) |
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| These two "sprues"
are identical, they are turrets 1 and 2. Same
comments as above regarding the details. The
turrets scale out perfectly to the Floating Drydock
plans included in Randall Shoker's "USS North
Carolina, Technical Reference". |
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| SPRUE D |
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| This is the largest
sprue found in the box. There are lots of platforms,
bulkheads, the breakwater, 40mm gun tubs, foundations
for gun directors, and splinter shields. The
platform decks have raised non-stick treading, while the
bulkheads have nice subtle details. I'm not really
a fan of the raised non-skid treading. I would
have preferred decals, like Dragon did with their Benson
and Gleaves class kits. |
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| SPRUE E |
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This sprue has parts for the main
tower, more platforms and more bulkheads, gun tubs and
the forward funnel, as well as the hawse holes, which
are separate parts. The funnels have horizontal
recessed lines in them, which I can't spot in
photos. This may have been Very Fire's attempt
at replicating maintenance rails.
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| SPRUE F |
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| The aft funnel (with
the same recessed lines), 4-bladed & 5-bladed
props, main tower parts, masts struts and shafts
for the outboard props. The tower platform has
wind baffles along the edges. |
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| SPRUE G |
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| This is the casemate
deck and the base of the forward superstructure, along
with some small superstructure houses. Unlike the
old Trumpeter kit, the bases for the 5' twin turrets are
all in the right place. Deck planking and bulkhead
detail on this part are good. The areas where the
bulkheads are recessed into the casemate deck are molded
separate parts (on a different sprue).
The forward superstructure has
some odd recessed plating lines on it. I can not find
evidence of this in photos. Nice details
otherwise.
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| SPRUE H |
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| This is the main
deck. Unlike Trumpeter's hideous multi-part deck,
this is one long piece. There is planking with
butt ends, some raised plating at the bow, anchor
chafing plates, mounts for the anchor handling gear and
hawse pipe holes, as well as raised plates. There
is some nice rivet detail on the anchor chaffing plates
and the raised plates. Some additional hull supports are
also tucked onto this sprue. The deck also has recessed
openings for the chocks. |
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| SPRUE J (X6) |
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| This is a sprue that
was originally released in Very Fire's Cleveland
kit. The 40mm & 20mm guns - both sans shields
- rectangular rafts, paravanes, directors, searchlights,
deck vents, ready ammo boxes, a winch, and more, are
found here. |
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| SPRUE L (X2) |
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| This is another sprue
that was originally from Very Fire's Cleveland
kit. Catapult parts, splinter shields, piping,
prop guards, boats & more on this sprue. The
catapults are nice for injection molded versions. |
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| SPRUE Y |
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| This small sprue has
bulkheads, a large platform and Mk 37 directors.
The platform for the top of North Carolina's
forward superstructure is found on sprue F, so maybe
this part is for Washington, which is rumored to
be a future release. The Mk37 directors and
bulkheads have good details. |
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| SPRUE Z |
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| Yet another
sprue that was originally from Very Fire's Cleveland
kit. Here you'll find plastic SK-1 and SK-2 radars, more
catapult parts, cranes, parts for the main battery
directors as well as flag bags. |
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| SPRUE PE/PF |
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| This is two sprues
molded together
Sprue PE: bitts in two
sizes, winches, deck vents and bridge equipment, like
a pelorus, as well as the fire control director and
base.
Sprue PF: twin 40mm parts and oval rafts
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| SPRUE PG (X5) |
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| These sprues hold the
5'/38cal dual purpose guns. They are one of two
series of sprues labeled "PG". There are four gun
houses per sprue, but only two bases and sets of
barrels. The gun houses have decent detail. |
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| SPRUE PG (X2) |
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| This is the other
"PG" sprue, it contains one Kingfisher spotter plane
each. The way they are molded is clever, as it
makes it easy to use the upgrade parts instead of the
plastic windscreen. |
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| SPRUE GP - CLEAR |
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| This is one small
clear sprue that contains lens covers for the
searchlights. Curiously, this sprue does not show
up in the parts manifest nor on the instructions.
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| ANCHOR CHAIN |
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There is supposed to be an anchor
chain included. Sadly, there was no chain in the
box.
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| PHOTOETCH |
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There is one photo-etch fret
included with the base kit. It has shields for
both the 20mm an 40mm kit supplied weapons, along with
sights and arm for the Mk51 directors, pulleys for the
cranes, cable reels and props for the Kingfishers.
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| 3D PRINTED PARTS |
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| There are two small print rafts is
included with the base kit.
RP-A: Flag bags, SG radar,
boat cradles and some cowl vents.
RP-B: Mk51 director tubs, boat cranes, and the
bullnose for the bow of the ship.
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| DECALS |
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There is one small decal sheet
included It has the US flag and USN jack (2 of
each), hull numbers, draught marks, the ships name and
decals for only one aircraft.
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| INSTRUCTIONS |
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The instructions are in booklet
form, and cover 19 pages, printed partially in color
on glossy paper, with a parts manifest and exploded
view drawings covering the build sequence. The
color callouts are now part of the booklet, as opposed
to a separate insert.
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| DELUXE EDITION PARTS |
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| This is the deluxe
version of the kit, and it comes with four photo-etch
frets, 36 pieces of turned brass, over 330 3D printed
parts, as well as deck masks. |
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| 3D PRINTED PARTS |
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There are 19 print
rafts, printed in black, included with the deluxe
edition. Included are:
- 40mm weapons with separate
barrels (shields printed as part of the mount)
- 20mm guns with separate barrels
(two types: both solid and open pedestal, with
shields printed to the pedestal)
- Mk37 directors
- Mark 12 radar with Mark 22
Height Finder
- SK-2 radar
- Floater net baskets (empty)
- Practice Loaders (X2)
- 36" searchlights
- Paravanes
- 40mm gun tub for the roof of
turret #3
- Mk38 main battery directors
- Mk8 FC radar
- Signal lamps
- Winches
- Rectangular rafts
- Oval rafts
- Breakwater
- Aircraft handling crane
strongback
- Aircraft handling crane
- Sky lookouts
- Bridge equipment
- Vents
- Anchors
- Kingfisher interior and
canopies
All the parts are well
printed. There are a few print lines here and
there, but they look like they'll disappear under
paint. I was especially impressed with the
quality of the SK-2 radar dish, the boat cranes, the
Mk38 directors, the Mk12/Mk22 radars, and the floater
net baskets.
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| TURNED BRASS PARTS |
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| There are three small
bags of turned brass parts. Included in the set
are the main and secondary armament barrels, parts for
the mast and boat booms. |
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| PHOTOETCH |
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| There are four photo-etch frets
included in the deluxe edition. Included are
railings - including some with drooped chain - foot
rails, ready ammo racks inside the 40mm gun tubs,
vertical ladders, inclined ladders, catapults,
platforms, boat rudders and more. Everything looks
nice and there is nice relief etched detail on some of
the parts. |
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| DECK MASKS |
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| The kit comes with
masks for all the decks, which is a nice touch.
The masks also have their own one page instruction
sheet. Unfortunately, at this point of the war North
Carolina's camouflage carried onto her deck, and
the masks do not account for the pattern. |
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| DELUXE UPGRADE PARTS INSTRUCTIONS |
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| There is a separate
set of instruction for the deluxe upgrade parts.
The instructions are 10 pages on 5 large sheets of plain
paper. There is a mix of drawings and
photographs. If you are building the deluxe
version, best to lay this and the kit instructions out
side by side and make note of what kit parts you need to
leave of, remove or change. |
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| CONCLUSIONS |
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| There is a lot to like with Very
Fire's new USS North Carolina. The model is
sharply molded, and appears to accurately capture "The
Showboat" in her 1944 guise, compared to plans &
photos. It also comes with lots and lots of
goodies in this deluxe version: five frets of
photo-etch, over 350 3D printed parts, turned brass
parts and deck masks.
It's not perfect: the hull
plating is a little overstated, and there are those
odd recessed lines on the funnels and forward
superstructure, which I don't see in period
photographs. One other nitpick is the lack of support
braces for the main mast (Trumpeter missed this too),
which are prominently shown in photos. Still, this is
a great looking kit, which looks far superior to the
old Trumpeter kit, in the box. Looking to add a modern
fast battleship to your scale model fleet? This
kit is the just the thing to keep you busy at the
workbench for many, many hours. Ditch the
Trumpeter relic, and get this one instead.
Highly recommended.
This is Very Fire Model's 1/350
USS North Carolina (BB-55). The deluxe
model currently sells for about $229.99 on eBay, which
is the only place I currently (October 2026) see if
for sale. Eventually, Squadron is slated to be the
exclusive distributor for Very Fire in the United
States.
My thanks to Very Fire for this
review sample.
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