Very Fire Models 1/700
USS Montana BB-67

Reviewed August 2017
by Timothy Dike
The Montana class were designed for the US Navy as a classic slow battleship counterpart to the Iowa class fast battleships. They would have had larger, different hulls from the Iowa's, with extra length and width to accommodate an extra triple 16" turret, heavier armor and a better anti-torpedo protection system. A lower speed of 27 kts was accepted as the Montana's were intended for the battle line, whereas the Iowa's were intended as carrier escorts. They would have displaced 56,000 tons empty and measured 925' in length. Five Montana's- Montana, Ohio, Maine, New Hampshire and Louisiana (BB 67-71 respectively) were planned, but all were canceled in 1943 in favor of more aircraft carriers. Interestingly, their greater beam would have prevented them from using the Panama Canal, and a planned set of new 140 ft wide locks was also canceled with the battleships. 

This is Very Fire's first injection molded ship kit.  Let's take a peak inside the box:

UPPER AND LOWER HULL
The hull is molded split at the waterline.  The fit is good and the shape looks correct.  The lower hull looks pretty good, however some sanding will be needed to remove the mold insert lines on the stern.
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DECK
The deck has nice planking detail.  The surface details are little generic but I doubt many of you will mind in this small scale.
SPRUE D
The upper levels also have deck planking where appropriate and nice bases for the quad 40's.  The walls look a little plain at first glance.  But sprue E takes care of that.
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SPRUE E
Walls for the upper deck levels on sprue D are provided here.  They include doors and hatches as well as life rings and compressed gas cylinders for welding molded-on.  Many of the other platforms are included on the sprues well.
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SPRUE F x4
Four of these weapons sprues are included with one main 16" gun turret, three 5" 38 caliber, six quad 40's, and fourteen 20 MM machine guns each.  Gun directors, life rafts, searchlights, and a kingfisher float plane are provided here.  Most of these parts are nicely detailed but I find the quad 40's if are a little plane looking. You will have a few extra parts to usse on other projects!
SPRUE F
If you don't like the conventional 5" 38 caliber turrets on sprue F you can use these twin 5" 54 caliber turrets based on the single version found on the Midway class carriers. A cool option.
PHOTOETCH
A single Brass photo etch fret is included with custom cut handrails sections, 20 MM gun shields, radar antenna, catapults and crane, and many more details. The views below illustrate the PE parts well.
DECALS
Flags and aircraft insignia are included as well as hull numbers and ship names for Montana and Louisiana in white and black.
INSTRUCTIONS
The instructions are eight pages well drawn with plenty of subassembly views documenting the whole assembly. The bottom of the box has a full color painting guide.
CONCLUSIONS
For a first ship kit this is pretty impressive.  It looks like it should be easy to assemble right out of the box.  Or you could use it as a platform for super detailing.  I like that they give you a choice for secondary armament.  Since the Montana was never actually completed we don't know exactly what the armament would have been.  So it's nice to have a choice.  I'm looking forward to seeing what other kits Very Fire comes out with.

Very Fire Models are available direct or where ever fine ship kits are sold. 
 


This is an in-box review showing the kit contents. We welcome your input and comments in the review section of the forum especially if you can share details about fit, ease of assembly and accuracy. Click the logo on the right to join in the discussion.




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