WW2 Fast Battleship
Reviewed by Timothy Dike
| Statistics for South Dakota as built:
Displacement 35,000 Tons
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| The superstructure parts are not bad, the fit is pretty
good but this kit was designed over 30 years ago and is rather dated in
quality and fineness of detail. When first released it was years ahead
of the Box scale kits produced in the USA. The splinter shields are too
short and too thick and the detailing is rather plain. Another problem
with this kit is the three raised 40 mm gun tub bases. These are only present
on a 1943 or later South Dakota and they should be sanded off for all other
ships of this class. Not an easy task, but if you go that far you might
want to also sand off the poorly done deck planking and re-scribe it.
The armament varies from pretty good to poor. The main guns are the best parts of the bunch, but are not really that good. A better alternative is the new Pit-Road GB-05 Turret set. But these turrets are far more accurate than those in the Aoshima North Carolina kit. |
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| The twin 5" 38 turrets are usable but really should be replaced with those in the Skywave E-9 weapons set or the Loose Cannon 5" 38 cal set. The 40 mm and 20 mm are also in need of replacement. I would also replace the gun directors. It was kits like this that Skywave made their weapons sets for in the first place. |  |
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| There is one primary difference between this kit and the South Dakota kit. The South Dakota was fitted as a flag ship and had two twin 5" 38 cal guns mounts removed to make room for additional quarters. The various platforms and gun tubs are contained on a separate sprue. Note Alabama sprue shown until I can find an unbuilt kit to scan the parts from. |  |
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| The kit also includes the standard flat waterline bottom and weights. A decal sheet includes a couple of flags. |  |
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The instructions consist of the front and back of an 8-1/2"
x 22' sheet. The text is mostly in Japanese so I can't comment on it. The
back side includes several exploded views that clearly show parts placement.
This is one of the kits that hooked me on 1/700 scale waterline ships. When it was new it was quite a nice kit compared to the sparely detailed box scale kits of the day. But it clearly falls behind the quality of the current Hasegawa kits. Hopefully it will soon be added to the list of kits that have been retooled. |
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| My biggest problem with this kit is the Crocodile bow. The real ship had a bow shaped more like an Alligator, wider and with a more blunt appearance. Compare the kits bow with the photo of the South Dakota's bow. The Revell 1/720 Massachusetts has a better bow that can be grafted on if this bothers you. |  |
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| To me this is still a fun kit to build and there are a
bunch of photo etch sets that will make it look even better, but to be
honest I have never attempted to do all the work needed to make this kit
accurate. I would rather wait and pay extra for a good resin kit.
Note this review is identical to the Alabama review except for one sprue and the instructions. Links: |
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