1/350 Scale Asheville-Class Gunboat
| Reviewed
August 2025
by Felix Bustelo |
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| HISTORY | |||||||||
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The Asheville-class gunboats
were a series of 17 boats built for the United States Navy between 1966
and 1971. They were initially designed and built for Caribbean patrols
in response to the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Asheville-class gunboats were
originally designated motor gunboats (PGM) but were reclassified as gunboats
(PG) in 1967. They measured 164ft 6in (50.1m) in length, with a beam of
24ft (7.3M) and draft of 9ft 6in (2.9m). They were armed with a single
3in/50 Mk 34 gun housed in a turret forward and single Bofors 40mm aft.
A pair of twin 0.50in machine guns were fitted amidships.
The Asheville-class employed a combined diesel or gas turbine (CODOG) propulsion system. The system was compromised of twin Cummins diesel engines for endurance and a GE LM1500 gas turbine for high-speed dash. They were the first gas turbine ships in the US Navy, as well as the first with aluminum hulls and fiberglass superstructures. Since the Asheville-class was designed for the Caribbean patrols, they were deployed to Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. They were successful in coastal work, intercepting small boats attempting to transport arms along the Vietnam coast. However, they proved unsuitable for use on inland rivers since they were lightly armored and vulnerable to close range fire. Two boats, USS Defiance (PG-95) and USS Surprise (PG-97), were deployed in the Mediterranean to counter the Soviet gunboats. The Asheville-class boats were decommissioned in the late 1970s and early 1980s, with the majority eventually scrapped. Two ships were transferred to the Hellenic Navy in 1989. USS Green Bay (PG-101) was commissioned as Tolmi (P229) and USS Beacon (PG-99) was commissioned as Ormi (P230). Prior to transfer, the gas-turbine propulsion engines were removed. As a result, the large funnel and vent housing were also removed. Once in Greek possession, the forward 3-in gun was replaced with a single 40mm Bofors gun. Both Greek ships are still in service with the Hellenic Navy. Two boats each were also transferred to the Colombian and Turkish navies and one to the South Korean navy, however their fates are unknown. |
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| Hellenic Asheville-Class Gunboat | |||||||||
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Hellenic Ship
Model’s kit of the Asheville-Class gunboat provides all the parts needed
to build either US Navy version and at least the guns for a Hellenic Navy
version in the sample I received. The kit is comprised of a 3D printed
hull and smaller parts, a base with pedestals, photoetch railings and a
decal sheet. The contents come in a small but sturdy box, with the hull
cushioned in bubble wrap and 3D printed parts, photoetch rails and decals
inside a zip-lock bags. Assembly instructions are provided in the box as
well as two small pieces of sandpaper.
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| HULL | |||||||||
| The 3D printed hull is very nicely
done and sits on a printing raft with numerous thin attachment points at
the end of the supports holding it to the raft. The hull has the superstructure
included as well as the pair of smaller exhaust uptakes. The hull is nicely
detailed, with the breakwater, enclosure for the aft 40mm Bofors, mooring
bitts, chocks, watertight doors and hatches and the mounts for the twin
0.50in machine guns. The bridge windows are slightly recessed and the superstructure
railings and vertical ladders are also printed. While I appreciate the
effort to print the superstructure railings, they are really thin and as
a result, not very straight in some sections. There are also blobs of printed
resin on the railings in a couple of spots that would be impossible to
remove without severely damaging the underlying railing. I personally would
remove the 3D printed railing, saving whatever details are incorporated
into them, and replace it with photoetch railing.
Underneath, and they are hard to see through the printing supports, are the propeller shafts and struts. In 1/350 scale, the hull would be approximately 5.64 inches and the kit hull measures just about that. I cannot see any print lines which attests to the quality of the printing. There is a small rough patch on the starboard stern deck that should be able to be sanded smooth. |
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| SMALL 3D PRINTED PARTS | |||||||||
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A total of 11
print rafts with smaller parts are provided with the kit. All of the rafts
have thin attachment points that should make removing the parts fairly
easy but care must be taken with the more delicate items. Unfortunately,
the gun barrels for the 3-in and USN 40mm Bofors broke off and some parts
came off their print rafts. Part numbers for most of the parts are printed
on the rafts.
One raft has the main weapons for the US Navy fit, specifically the 3-in gun turret and its base and the 40mm Bofors. The turret is very detailed, with access doors, ladder rungs and gunner’s dome. The barrel which broke off has the small radar dish incorporated on to it. The 40mm Bofors is also nicely detailed. This raft also has the gun director, which is also used with the Hellenic fit, and a pair of single shielded 0.50in machine guns. These are correct for the Hellenic boats but not the USN boats. The lack of twin unshielded 0.50in machine guns is very disappointing and will require looking for aftermarket replacements. Another raft has the 40mm Bofors and bases for the Hellenic Navy fit. A third raft has the large funnel and vent housing, the storage racks for the life raft containers and cylindrical bumpers. The railings around the storage racks were not completely printed, so some suitable photoetch will need to be used to replace them. My sample came with two rafts with the mast. One of the rafts has a cage around the mast to protect it and the other doesn’t. The rafts also have the radars to fit on the mast. The propellers and twin rudders come are on their own raft, with an extra pair of propellers. Two of the rafts have various fitting, such as storage lockers, cable reels, life raft containers in two styles, anchor, signal lamps, Zodiac inflatable, davits, jack and ensign staffs, fuel drums and acetylene tanks. One raft has several life rings, hose racks and another style of racks. A pair of lengths of anchor chains are on a separate raft. One final raft has parts identified as 29 and 30, but I frankly have no idea what they are and they are not referenced in the instructions. As mentioned above, a nice base with two pedestals that are also 3D printed are provided to display the full hull model if you so wish. |
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| PHOTO-ETCH | |||||||||
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A photoetch fret
with three lengths of railings is provided. The railings have individual
stanchion ends and not a bottom gutter. As you may or may not know from
my prior reviews, I am not a fan of railings with individual stanchion
ends as I find them a pain to cleanly glue to the deck, but that is my
personal taste and will be ok with other modelers.
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| DECALS | |||||||||
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The decal sheet
provides multiple sequences of individual digits in two sizes in the US
Navy style. United States flags and US Navy jacks are also included in
different sizes as well as two large US Navy emblems. The decals are all
on one overall film and will need to be trimmed. While my sample came with
the guns for the Hellenic Navy boats, the decal sheet did not provide the
markings for those boats. A separate kit for the Hellenic Navy version
is also offered, so I guess that the specific decal sheet is provided in
that box.
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| EXTRAS | |||||||||
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Two
small strips of sandpaper are included in the box. The grit of the sandpaper
is not written on the back of the strips but by touch, the darker strip
is a tad rougher than the other one which feels finer. These are an interesting
addition to a kit and while I don’t believe the print lines are so pronounced
of any of the parts that some sanding is needed, it is still a thoughtful
gesture.
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| INSTRUCTIONS | |||||||||
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The
assembly instructions come on a single double-sided sheet and are somewhat
improved compared to prior instructions I have seen from Hellenic Ship
Model. The first page contains a color photo of Tolmi
(P229)
with a brief history of the boats in Greek service. The flip side has two
assembly illustrations showing the placement of the major parts for both
the US Navy and Hellenic Navy ships. I did notice that the instructions
show the placement of the large vent housing on the aft end of the superstructure,
which is correct for the first seven boats (PG-84
thru PG-90). The remaining
10 boats had the vent housing in front of the funnel.
Regardless, I think that the kit part could be used in either position. What I found interesting is that the instructions do not state that the funnel and vent housing are not to be used for the Hellenic Navy boats. Some of the smaller parts provided with the kit are not referenced in the instructions. Painting instructions are provided with generic color references but no decal placement guide is included. However, the Internet has plenty of photos of US Navy ships, specifically Navsource.Net. |
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| CONCLUSIONS | |||||||||
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Overall,
this is a fairly good kit with some relatively minor issues that should
not at all discourage someone from purchasing this model. The hull is really
well done as are most of the smaller parts. It will build into a very nice
model of a US Navy Asheville-class gunboat. A Hellenic Navy version
could also be built, but the lack of markings would make this difficult
unless you have decals with could be used. I would recommend this kit to
someone who has experience working with 3D printed kits with some delicate
parts.
This kit is only available directly from Hellenic Ship Models (https://www.hellenicshipmodel.gr), and this subject is also available in 1:100, 1:144, 1:200 and 1:700 scales. My thanks to Kostas Kokkinos for providing the review sample. |
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