1/700 USS Boston CAG-1 (Orange Hobby Blue Series)
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by David J. Salvin |
1/700 USS Boston CAG-1 (Orange Hobby Blue Series)
The latest (and perhaps last in a ten year run) from my favorite patron is the USS Boston from Orange Hobby. This 1/700 scale kit is perhaps one of the best and most detailed kits I have had the opportunity to work on. Like the Japanese super detail sets of the famous WWII Japanese ships, this kit comes with 6 frets of PE for virtually everything on the ship as well as turned brass barrels for the main armament as well as the secondary 5 inch turrets and even the even smaller anti-aircraft guns. About the only PE missing was for the anchor chain. (why was THAT omitted) Also missing was PE for the array on the bow and the B turret. (not sure why THEY were missing as well as they are a staple of this ship throughout most of its career).But, rather than dwell on what is not in this kit, let me get into what it does have. The kit allows for either waterline or full hull builds. And for the full hull build, the kit provides a stainable real wood display stand. The hull parts match reasonably (but not perfectly) well. A significant amount of sanding and patching were required to get the hull pieces to mate. Not an easy task given the amount of beautiful hull plating detail on this kit.
Detailing is the name of the game with this kit. The great molding details are well complimented by copious amounts of PE for most everything on the ship. The level of detail actually gets down to which side of the water tight doors the hinges are on. This kit has both starboard and port PE water tight doors lest the virtually impossible to see with the naked eye hinges are on the wrong side. The kit actually even has a few wheels to be attached to those water tight doors on the bridge. Details like the fire hoses done in PE allow for easy pre-application painting for a crisp result.
Some of the PE parts are actually almost too small to see and manipulate even with surgeon’s goggles. The missiles for example are actually turned and tapered brass rods and require the application of the TINY missile fins. Trying to apply those fins and keep them symmetrical was not terribly relaxing.
The instructions were clear pictographs with only a few (sadly typical) errors such as missing numbers for parts etc. Painting guides were adequate but rigging illustrations or instructions were completely absent.
Overall, the premeasured and customized PE railing and parts made this kit a delight, but the shear volume and delicacy of the PE makes for a tough build for those not extremely comfortable with PE.
