As nobody's done a review of this much anticipated kit since it's come out I thought I'd share my impressions of the "Big Mo" and throw in some comparisons, just in case you are considering picking up this monster.
And a monster it is!
I've only been aboard 1 real battleship in my life (the USS Iowa) so I have a frame of reference for the size of the Missouri. Only now do I realize how small the Arizona was in comparison. Even Hans and Franz would say the Bismarck looks like a
girly wimpy man next to the 'Mo.
So much for that WWII legend!
Anyway, I think I can say with some certainty that the "Big Mo" is now officially the biggest plastic kit offered by a mainstream manufacturer EVER. It even edges out the huge Revell 1/72 Gato in length and certainly in width:
And just for fun, this little pipsqueak is the Tamiya 1/350 New Jersey.
I've browsed through the internet chatter over the kit and was put off by some loud complaints over accuracy but I'm happy to report most of them were overblown. Yes, the lower hull contour is off around the propshafts and it's maybe a bit too square near the bottom under turret #1 but after comparing the hull to the multitudes of pics of Iowas in drydock I've gotta say it looks pretty damn close. Only USN naval engineers and hardest of hardcore internet rivet counters are ever even gonna notice it's off. I
was surprised to see
how much further off the Tamiya kit is... a Trumpeter product is actually more accurate than a Tamiya! What is this world coming to?
The molded detail is fairly sparse (especially compared with the Bismarck) but that's a good thing for someone like me who likes to go a bit crazy on superdetailing and would just be scraping it all off anyway (again, like the Bismarck
).
Trumpeter's quality control seems to have improved A LOT too; the Bismarck hull was very rough and required a thorough sanding to get the cross-brace bulges and mold marks out but the 'Mo's hull is very clean out of the box. There are no hull plates portrayed which is a minus as they are highly visible on the real thing but I intend to add them. Trumpeter did put all the various scuttle drain holes on the hull above the water though, which should make this one fairly easy to find and place a waterline when painting it. You may have to rent an automotive paint booth to actually do the painting though
.
The superstructure levels are molded "lego block" style again but this time Trumpeter molded most of the angled bulkheads separately, saving us from "wonky porthole disease" which plagues the Bismarck (and to a lesser extent, the Arizona).
I'm not entirely convinced the deck is molded in the correct plank pattern but
at least Trumpeter made an attempt this time instead of going with the same truly pathetic plank pattern the Arizona and Bismarck had. If you are going to do a WWII Mo, you wouldn't be out of line to just paint them deck blue and call it good; a good faux wooden deck paint job would look good here too (maybe even better than a "stick-on" wood deck due to the annoying effect of the long grain lines across the vast expanses of the maindeck).
The smaller details are otherwise very crisp and well-molded, though still a bit "generic" looking, which actually works OK for a USN warship with a little aftermarket help and/or judicious tinkering.
If there is a negative to this kit, it's the guns themselves. The turrets are OK (though the rivet pattern lines are wrong on the main guns!) but the barrels and smaller AA guns are all plastic and somewhat cheapo looking. Mine arrived with several broken Oerlikons on the sprue but I was always planning on replacing them with aftermarket brass so it's not a huge deal to me.
That said, a builder of moderate skill should be able to build it "out of the box" and find plenty of enjoyment in the process plus get an eye-catching display or RC model. It's not gonna be too much for anybody less than a pagan model god unless you also spring for all of the insane "fiddly bits" that are sure to be put out by the aftermarket. It will be fun to see how many modelers survive building the virtual forest of various types of anti-aircraft guns this ship was fitted with from multiple pieces of tiny PE and brass. I get finger cramps just thinking about it!
Another great feature for OOTB builders is the kit PE... definitely the best photoetch that has ever come in the same box as a kit. Even the railings are already sized correctly like an aftermarket set; and although I'm sure the aftermarket will totally outdo the kit PE (and cost you as much as the original kit, BTW), Kudos to Trumpeter upping the ante here!
All and all, I'd say this is Trumpeter's
best kit ever to date. I know we always complain that nobody at Trumpy is listening to us but I think they have this time to some degree. This kit is a vast improvement over their previous 1/200 kits.
Anyway, I'm in the process of moving but I hope to have my model dungeon up and running again towards the end of January. I intend to throw everything I've got at this thing; I'll do a log then. Thanks for looking!
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