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INTRODUCTION Loose Cannon's long promised USS Long Island is here and I have to say it was worth the wait. I picked mine up from the company at the IPMS Nationals. They had one under construction and the pictures of the finished product look great. USS Long Island was the first of what became known as CVE or Escort Carriers. The kit has been needed to fill the gap in US aircraft carriers models. The ship was a prototype and her only combat service was during the Guadalcanal invasion. She spent the rest of her wartime service as an aircraft delivery ship and as a training carrier on the west coast. Plus:
1) The kit is molded in gray resin. There are no visible bubbles in my first review of the parts. 2) Parts are clean with little flash, nothing that can't be handled 3) The flight deck is etched plexiglass, which I think is an improvement over the etched balsa wood deck in the Langley kit. 4) One of the brass sheets is a heavy sheet of the beams that support the flight deck. In the Langley kit, these all have to be individually folded which scares me every time I pull the kit out. This kit replaces that with nice etched front and back faces for those beams. This looks to be easier than the method used in the Langley kit. 5) There is a 24 page instruction booklet. Lots of drawings and details. Everything you need should be here. Neutral: 1) Lots of resin parts. This is a WWII ship, so it has lots of boats, life rafts, guns, etc everywhere on the ship. Loose Cannon gives you all of them. 2) Lots of brass parts. In addition to the heavy sheet for the beam, there are two additional frets. On provides all the ship parts: Railings, details, radars, aircraft props, etc. The final fret is for .50 cal machine guns and shields 3) Decals: Lots of aircraft decals are provided. Both prewar and WWII markings are included Minus: 1) There are no aircraft included in the kit. Depending when you build your Long Island, you can use the following: a) F2A Buffalo's and SOC Sea Gulls were on board into 1942 b) Marine aircraft at Guadalcanal c) SNJ's as a training carrier d) Normal World War II US naval planes as a transport 2) Lots of small bits. Have your magnifying glasses handy. 3) This will be a complex build, on par with detailing a Trumpeter Essex carrier. Don't be fooled by the smaller size of the ship. 4) Be sure to notice there are two bridge parts included. The only difference between them I could see is some alignment points on the top. The instructions tell you which one to use. CONCLUSION The price is $83, which is not out of line for resin/etched brass ship kits. The kit is available from Loose Cannon direct or from Freetime Hobbies or other naval kit suppliers. I definitely give the kit a hearty thumbs up. I'm one of those guys that just wants to dive in and start building - and it's definitely a struggle not to start yet another kit... |
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