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If you're reading this, you're probably familiar with the LSM ship class. For those unfamiliar with LSMs, the designation 'LSM' stands for Landing Ship, Medium. The LSM class arose from the US Navy's need for an amphibious transport ship more nimble than an LST and with greater capacity than an LCI. A grand total of 558 LSMs were built by several shipyards around the US during the last two years of WW 2 and although most were decommissioned after the war, some went on to continue serving in the US Navy, with the last ship of the class, the LSM-161 being decommissioned in 1965. Non-US readers of this site probably know that many LSMs were transferred postwar to serve in allied navies, including Germany, South Korea, and Japan.
Unfortunately, all too many people have been misled into believing LSMs (and LSMRs) were used in the European Theater during World War 2. LSMs and LSMRs were too late for the war in Europe. LSMs, however, were instrumental in the amphibious invasions of Pacific islands in 1944 and 1945. LSMRs, which were rocket-firing conversions of LSMs, were too late for most of the Pacific War, although they provided dramatic support during the invasion of Okinawa and surrounding islands, as well as serving on picket station duty as a stop-gap against the waves of kamikaze attacks.
Revell's 1/144th LSM has been out since about Christmas 2014 and represents an 'early' LSM due to its armament configuration of 6 single-mount 20mm Oerlikon cannons. The initial employment of the ships quickly identified the armament as inadequate. Later ships had their armament upgraded and most of the early ships were retrofitted. As a result of combat experience, LSMs continued to see additional armament upgrades throughout their service life. If you'd like additional information on LSM class ships, I highly recommend you visit NavSource.org, where you can find information on the service of the various ships in US and allied navies.
The kit's parts are somewhat organized in individual bags, although this can be misleading. For example, the sprues containing some deck fixtures are packaged with the vehicle sprues, which is a minor inconvenience. Here's an example of the packaging:
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The basic LSM had an overall length of 203 feet 6 inches and beam of 34 feet 6 inches, which is accurately represented by the kit.
The hull halves are molded with what appear to be cut lines along the inside, should one desire to build the kit as a waterline example. I recommend researching photos in this case to ensure the model sits correctly in the display.
The kit contains a very large number of parts, which serve to ensure a high level of detail. One thing that struck me early on with this kit, though, was that it could benefit from Photo Etch, either included with the kit or aftermarket. In the aftermarket area, Nautilus Models produces a PE set that addresses some of the areas of the kit that could use improvement. For example, the kit includes individual lifeline stanchions that scale out to almost 4.5 inches in diameter, which is much too thick. The Nautilus Models PE set includes individual stanchions that are much closer to scale. Regardless of whether you use the kit's styrene stanchions or the PE stanchions, you will still have to decide whether you are going to use the thread provided in the kit for the lifelines, though. This method of constructing lifelines ends up being needlessly complex and difficult to assemble, IMHO. Ladders in the tank well, bow doors, and fantail bulkhead are molded into their respective components and would have been much better represented with PE. The kit's inclined ladders are rather thick, too, but Nautilus Models' PE set provides these if you wish to achieve better results.
The 20mm guns are adequate but could stand to be reworked if one desires accuracy. If you wish to dress these up, the Nautilus Models PE set includes gun sights, but unfortunately, does not include the splinter shields.
If you're a purist like me, you'll balk at the thick walls of the gun tubs, but that is a minor gripe. One thing I don't like about the gun tubs is that the barrel storage tubes and cooling tubes are molded to the side of the tubs. Rather than looking like pieces of pipe, they more resemble shelves. Again, that's a point for the purists.
The conn superstructure can be a challenge to construct. The box photos of the model don't reveal that it is actually a very complex assembly. Specifically, the portion of the wheelhouse containing the portholes is a multi-part ring, which requires skillful dressing of seams so as to avoid destroying fine details.
Assembling the tank well can be interesting. The tank well bulkheads fit very snugly into the sides of the tank well deck. It is possible to discover that you've insufficiently seated the bulkheads only upon installing the main deck, so care must be exercised.
The decals are very complete and accurate. Options include LSMs 14 and 133 in haze gray, as well as LSMs 201 and 210 in the Measure 31 Design 10 amphibious camouflage. Once again, research is necessary, depending on the ship that will be modeled and the phase of the war. For example, although the kit presents the option of painting LSMs 14 and 133 in haze gray, both of those ships sported the Measure 31 Design 10 camouflage pattern at one point in the war. Photos can be found at NavSource.org
It is obvious from the kit that Revell has a 'late' LSM in the wings. The instructions are very clear about which components to use and where, including where to drill out holes and where not to. The sprues also contain components that won't get used on an early LSM, but can only be used on a later version. Here's an example:
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File comment: These are two types of inner bulkheads provided for the tank well below the focsle. On the right, is the type of bulkhead used for the 'early' LSM. On the left, is the inner bulkhead for the later LSMs, which had a much taller focsle, and doesn't get used in this kit.
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File comment: This photo shows the fantail bulkhead. As you can see, the left (port) portion of the bulkhead is a separate piece. The location of the stern anchor support structure differed between the early and late LSMs. Revell clearly had a follow-on kit in mind with this. Incidentally, in this photo, you can see that I filed down the fantail ladder rungs and drilled out the holes to install brass wire.
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The kit's main deck is made up of several parts. Modelers may wonder why this is the case. As noted above, the focsle design changed, which changed the foredeck. Also, the configuration of the deck above the stern winch area changed, depending on the timeframe during which the individual ships were being built.
Speaking of the stern winch, the kit's representation is fairly basic, so don't expect a miniature masterpiece here. Also, the port hull lacks even a rudimentary indication of where the engine exhaust was located.
Overall, I really like this kit and I am extremely happy to see it finally come along. I hope that many modelers find that it fills a gap in their fleets. The molding is clean with little flash and the detailing is great. The kit builds up into a very nice representation of an important class of ships that has been overlooked up until now, other than in resin and a much smaller scale. I wish Revell success with this kit and look forward to the obvious upcoming release of the 'late' version of the LSM.
If you are interested in looking over the kit instructions, Revell of Germany has posted a pdf copy of them here:
http://manuals.hobbico.com/rvl/80-5123.pdf I obtained my kit from Hobbylinc.com, which I found had the best price.
John
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