Black Cat Models
1/350 Mogador/Volta class contre-torpilleurs

Reviewed May 2025
by Martin J Quinn
HISTORY
The Mogador and her sister ship Volta were large destroyers (contre-torpilleurs) of the Marine Nationale. Both were laid down in 1935 and commissioned in 1939. They measured 451ft 1 in (137.5 m) long with a beam of 41 ft 3 in(12.57 m) and draft of 15ft 7 in (4.74 m). Their design evolved from the Le Fantasque class, but were much larger and heavier and carried eight 138.6 mm (5.5in) guns in semi-enclosed twin turrets rather than five of the same guns in single open mounts. With that main armament, the Mogador class nearly had the firepower of a light cruiser. Due to their size, armament and speed at 39 knots, Mogador class were meant to be scouts for the two fast Dunkerque-class battleships.

Mogador and Volta comprised the 6th Large Destroyer Division (6e Division de contre-torpilleurs) and when WWII began, they were assigned to the Force de Raid at Brest. This group’s purpose was to hunt German blockade runners and raiders and to escort convoys that might be in danger from the same. On November 21, 1939, the Force de Raid left Brest to rendezvous with HMS Hood to search for the German battleships Gneisenau and Scharnhorst into the North Atlantic. The German ships were able to elude their hunters and return home safely. Both ships were refitted in early 1940 and a number of minor changes were made.

Both Mogador and Volta were present during the British attack on Mers-el-Kébir on July 3, 1940. Mogador was struck by a 15-inch (38 cm) shell in the stern. Though the shell itself didn’t detonate, it caused her depth charges to explode, destroying most of her stern. Mogador managed to remain afloat and was repaired enough to be sent to Toulon on November 1, 1940 for reconstruction. Volta managed to escape the attack and sail for Toulon. Both ships were scuttled in Toulon Harbor when the Germans tried to seize them on November 27, 1942.

While writing up the review, I found this French language page on the Mogador-class here: CounterTorper Mogador 1940

This history was taken from the Black Cat product page.

The Black Cat Mogador

Mogador is packaged in a large, flip-top cardboard box, with a nice rendering of the ship underway on the box top.  Inside the box is the hull, five plastic clamshell containers with 3D printed parts, a bag of resin parts, photo-etch, brass rod and decals.  Everything was securely packaged.  With the parts included, you can build either Mogador or Volta.

THE HULL 
The hull - which is listed on the instructions as Part 1 - is cast in a gray colored resin.   The hull scales out pretty much perfectly to the real ship, in both length and beam. Overall, it is well cast, though a few spots on the bottom of the hull will need a light sanding.  You'll find portholes with "eyebrows", discharge pipes, hull strakes, a breakwater, what appear to be a pair of booms or small davits and some very small chocks cast integral to the hull.  The deck has notched opening that key to the superstructure parts and a open inclined ladder/stairway that disappears into the aft deck.  There is also a thin recess horizontally along the hull that designates the waterline. 

SUPERSTRUCTURE PARTS
Four of the five superstructure parts included with the kit are cast resin.  The parts include:
     
  • Part 2: Forward Superstructure
  • Part 3: Bridge Wings
  • Parts 4 & 5: Midship Deckhouses
  • Part 6: Aft Deckhouse
The four resin parts are all very well cast, with nice details, like sharply defined bridge windows, watertight doors, and a proliferation of vents. Some of these latter items are depicted with the hatches open, so you can see the vent itself.   On the bottom of each resin part, a small casting nub will have to be removed and sanded smooth. 

While Part 3 (Bridge Wings) is listed on the parts manifest as a resin part, it came as a 3D printed part in my kit. 

 
3D PRINTED PARTS
The rest of the kit, outside of some photo-etch and brass rod, is 3D printed.  There are twenty (20) print rafts contained in the five plastic clamshell containers, containing everything you'll need to build the model.   The instructions list the print rafts as "bars", and each one is assigned a letter. Across the board, the parts are all of high quality, with really fine details.

Let's take a look at what's included...
BAR A
This bar includes chocks, hatches, vents and other deck furniture.

BAR B
There are cable reels (2 types), torpedo reload equipment, vents and more hatches here.

BAR C
Skylights, boat cradles, bridge equipment and more are found on this bar.

BAR D
The bases for the torpedo tubes, more skylights and searchlights are on this bar.

BAR E
This bar has two types of AA guns, rafts and some platforms

BAR F
This bar has davits vertical ladders and more bridge equipment.  The davits and ladders are especially nice.

BAR G
On this bar, there are more davits, the props and some inclined ladders

BAR H (X2)
These bars have the gun shields for the main battery.  One of the shields in my sample was broken.  Detail is quite nice. 

BAR I (X2)
The bases/mounts for the guns are on these bars, along with the anchors.

BAR J (X2)
Here we have the gun barrels and breaches for the main battery.

BAR K
Two twin torpedo tubes are this bar.

BAR L (X2)
Two triple torpedo tubes are this bar.

BAR M
The two funnels are on this bar.  These are particularly well done. 

BAR N
This bar consists of only sea mines. 

BAR O
This bar has the prop struts and shafts, along with a pair of ships boats.

BAR P
The gun directors on this bar. 

BAR Q
This bar has gun platforms specific to Mogador. 

BAR R
Ships boats, a platform deck and the boat cranes are on this bar.  The cranes are very impressive. 

BAR S
This bar has gun platforms specific to Volta.

BRASS ROD
A small bag of brass rod is included.  These are used for the yards.

PHOTOETCH
There is one fret of photo-etch included. It's a medium sized set, with railings, mine rails, boarding ladders, rails for the same, name plates (these are also provided as decals) and more. 

DECALS
There is one small decal sheet included, consisting of the hull numbers, which will allow you to build either ship in the class. 
INSTRUCTIONS
If you purchased a Black Cat kit before, the format or the directions is familiar to you. They are in the form of a booklet, with the different parts (resin, 3D printed, brass) all laid out, and shown in different colors, for ease of identification. The build sequences seem to be fairly logical and straightforward, and should be easy to follow. The color callouts show the ship in an all light gray scheme, with red pennant numbers.  Looking online, I've also found pictures of the ships in light gray with white numbers, and also with a dark hull/light upper works scheme, again with white numbers. 

CONCLUSIONS  

The Mogador-class were extremely fast, very large destroyers, which were intended to act as scouts for the two fast Dunkerque-class battleships.  They were also very handsome ships.  While they've been released in 1/700 scale (and apparently one in 1/400 as well), this is, from what I can tell, the first one released in 1/350.  Overall, this is a terrific kit. The resin is well cast, the 3D parts are sharply printed, and the PE and decals look good. It's worth noting, that while I was reviewing the photos I took, I could see print lines that I couldn't really discern with the Mk 1 eyeball. Nor could I feel any ridges on the models in those areas, so while they are visible, they will most likely disappear under a coat of paint. This model will go nicely with all the Marine Nationale World War II ships currently available. Highly recommended!

This is Black Cat Models Mogador/Volta, kit number 350-022.  The model lists for approximately $195.00 USD, and is available from many of our fine sponsors, or directly from Black Cat Models, who I'd like to thank for the review sample. 

This is an in-box review, your mileage may vary once you commence construction.