Lion Roar

1/700 - WWII US Navy Cranes for Battleship For: Any USN 1/700 Battleship Kit

Stock Number: R7060

Reviewed By  Luke R. Bucci, PhD, IPMS# 33549

MSRP: Approx. $9.85 Website: www.dragonmodelsusa.com Thanks to DragonModelsUSA for supplying the set. Bottom Line: Finely detailed and delicate aircraft and boat cranes for all types of WWII US Navy battleships, but needs some advanced skills. The Set Once again Lion Roar has produced an ultimate photoetch set for US Navy warship equipment - cranes. US Navy battleships, both slow and fast classes, had both boat and aircraft handling cranes that were open latticework. Plastic and resin cranes in 1/700 scale warship kits are solid by nature and do not depict the true look of cranes. Photoetch cranes nicely fill this reality gap, and this set from Lion Roar is accurate and close to scale, skirting the limits of practicality. This set is made from thin steel and has embossed surfaces - an ultimate in quality. The fret has two aircraft cranes for slow battleships (Pennsylvania class is listed), and two for fast battleships - different versions. Assorted cables, hooks, pulleys and blocks are provided. Aircraft cranes totally replace the plastic kit parts. The fret has two boat cranes each for slow and fast battleships, but each needs to be used with the plastic bases or supports from kits. From the set, you can finish any one slow and any one fast battleship, and have an aircraft crane leftover (or a boat crane leftover depending on which ship you build). In each case, consulting references to determine exactly which style of crane during which period of time was carried by the ship in question will be necessary.

The Build The instruction sheet is in English and lists the exact ship classes that used these cranes. Hint: the Pennsylvania class aircraft cranes are also suitable for stern cranes of other slow battleship classes. Keep in mind that USS Arizona, a very popular warship subject, is a Pennsylvania class ship. Instructions simply show how to fold the major pieces and which additional parts go where (sort of). This is a minor deficiency of this set - with written text the sequence of folding and identification by name of additional parts would greatly help modelers of any skill level. Pictures of the real thing in the instructions would also help a lot. For now the modeler will benefit from looking up books and internet sites for how these cranes really went together. Without references, I would have made a few mistakes. You can forget about fixing mistakes - every try detaching a CA-glued tiny part?

I had a Trumpeter Massachusetts kit already built out-of-the-box, with typical solid cranes. From references, this kit of Massachusetts in 1946 fit had one boat crane starboard-side (Part 10 labeled as North Carolina class, but also used in the next South Dakota class of which Massachusetts was a member), and one aircraft crane (Part 4, not Part 1). I airbrushed the fret (both sides!) with Model Master acrylic Haze Gray 5-H before removing the pieces from the fret. The cranes folded well, and only needed a very small amount of CA glue to keep the crane closed. Adding additional pieces was troublesome and required test fitting and forethought to attach them correctly without globs of CA glue ruining the fine details. Patience, steady hands and very fine tweezers are important - and skip caffeinated beverages that day! Massachusetts had only a single boat crane, which attached very nicely to the plastic pedestal from the kit. The length of the photoetch cables for the boat crane meant I had to elevate the crane more than I would have liked, but it looks normal. I did not build the Pennsylvania class boat cranes, but it appears they will fit the plastic kit parts nicely.

Summary Compared to the plastic kit cranes, Lion Roar photoetch aircraft and boat cranes make a large difference in appearance of the finished model. A huge improvement at a cost of around $1 per crane for ultimate accuracy and detail is a good value. Compared to other photoetch sets of US Navy battleship cranes available, the Lion Roar cranes look more accurate, more complete, more detailed and closer to scale. This includes the Hasegawa set for South Dakota class and Fine Molds Iowa class sets (only one crane provided in each set), as well as generic US Navy battleship photoetch sets from Gold Medal Models and Tom's Modelworks. The White Ensign Models North Carolina class set is equal in quality, but has parts for only one ship. For the price of other single-ship sets, the Lion Roar set gives you enough parts to outfit at least two battleships, and most of two others (from different classes). Lion Roar US Navy Battleship Cranes represents the ultimate in accuracy and detail with good value. Highly recommended for upgrading US Navy battleships, but beginners may have difficulty with the small pieces and fragility of the cranes. Successful utilization of this set will convert beginners into more advanced modelers, so take your time, be patient and make sure you have very fine tweezers. References: Shoker RS. USS Massachusetts. WWII Battleship Memorial. Technical Reference 2. Oxford Museum Press, Oxford, OH, 2004. ISBN1-930127-04-9 http://www.battleshipcove.org/ (USS Massachusetts Museum website - see the real thing!) http://www.navsource.org/archives/01/59a.htm (NavSource USS Massachusetts photographs)