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Trumpeter 1/700 U.S.S. Blue Ridge (LCC-19) |
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Kit Number 05608 |
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Reviewed By Charles Landrum, #26328 |
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MSRP: $
Review kit provided by Stevens International The pace of shipbuilding in China continues unabated, whether it is full-scale vessels as part of the military modernization or plastic kits by Trumpeter. USS Blue Ridge and sister ship USS Mount Whitney are the latest offerings, both in 1/700 scale. To be honest I never would have imagined seeing a kit of this 2-ship class, what I refer to as “the World’s Ugliest Warships”. USS Blue Ridge and Mount Whitney are command ships - lightly armed, their main battery is communications and since the 1990’s that includes email, internet, instant messaging, chat rooms and video teleconferencing. These are cyber warriors, not ship’s of the line in the classic sense. Built on the hulls of Inchon class LPHs, Blue Ridge and Mt. Whitney were built as and intended to be Amphibious Command and Control (LCC) ships by a Navy which at the time recognized the complexities of amphibious operations and the need for dedicated command and control ships. However, these ships were not destined for their intended roles. In the 1970’s, soon after commissioning of Blue Ridge and Mt. Whitney, the Navy began to retire its WWII cruisers that had served as Fleet Flagships. The combatant Navy (and its Admirals) began to cast covetous eyes on these large, spacious command ships and Blue Ridge soon went to 7th Fleet and Mount Whitney to 2nd Fleet. In Norfolk, Mount Whitney was referred to as Building 20 since she rarely sailed, allowing the staff to terrorize the cruisers, destroyers and frigates in the vicinity. Mount Whitney is no longer the flagship of 2nd Fleet, recently relocating to 6th Fleet. Blue Ridge on the other hand is still the flagship of 7th Fleet and made a port visit to Hong Kong in February of 2003, no doubt making a strong impression on the Chinese and probably when Trumpeter did its primary research for this kit. I am not an alarmist but the fact that Trumpeter decided to model these ships is still puzzling – perhaps they are intended as recognition models as the Chinese Navy continues to expand! The Kit From what I can tell the Mount Whitney and Blue Ridge are identical kits. The kit is molded in gray plastic and includes 182 pieces with the sprues wrapped in plastic bags. This is a straight injection molded kit; there are no multi-media components. As is standard, there is a separate painting guide and the decals are protected. Trumpeter includes a display base as well. As is standard with their kits, Trumpeter provides the builder with the option of full hull or waterline. The upper hull is one piece as is the lower hull, which is molded in red. The upper hull is detailed with petite, raised detail such as ladders, doors, piping controller boxes; in fact it may be too petite. The main deck is in three pieces, but since it is a smooth deck it will be easy to remove the seam. The flight deck markings are represented by raised lines, which you will no doubt want to sand off. There isn’t much to the superstructure on these ships and Trumpeter seems to have gotten the shapes correct. |
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| Trumpeter provides a lot of separately-molded details. The communication antennas and weapons systems are all well done. The boats are not well done and are off in shape. The real secret to this kit is the fact that Trumpeter provides the basic components to build any period in the ships life. Included are the Basic Point Missile Defense System (BPDMS) and 3 in 50 gun mounts. There are even some early antennas not used in later periods on the ship. One is a lattice antenna mast that is unfortunately solidly molded and requires replacement with photo etch if used. The sponson on the stern for the CIWS is molded separately and can be left off for an earlier version. All this means that you can basically build any period of the ship that you desire without much effort. This is a welcome option but since the instructions don’t cover it, you will need good references if you decide to backdate the ship. Curiously, what is missing is a helicopter. While these command ships lack aviation facilities for the embarkation of a helicopter detachment, helicopters were and are regular visitors to the ship. For most of the life of the ship H-3 Sea King helicopters were the standard utility helicopter used to ferry VIPs, mail and cargo off the LCCs. A nice one is found in the Skywave modern weapons set and that is what I plan to use. | |
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| The decals are in crisp and in register and provide markings for both ships. The set covers not only the basics but also the flight deck markings and the warning circles. It even provides a flag and jack. | |
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The Fit and Accuracy I went ahead and dry fit the major components. The fit looks good, tight with no surprises. The upper to lower hull fit was easier with no overhang. Even though the deck is in three sections, the fit is flush and there are no ugly seams. As for the accuracy of the kit, while I don’t have drawings of the LCC, I was able to check the kit components against photos/references I had on hand. Trumpeter got the shape of the hull above the waterline and the remainder of topside correct. |
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| Overall this looks to be a good kit of a rather esoteric subject. You will of course need photo etch to detail the model (I have not heard of any dedicated set being available yet). With all of the extra’s Trumpeter provides, the variations are endless. Recommended! | |
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