Intro…

This MSW in box review is of Niko1/700 resin, USS Liddle APD-60.

The Vessel…

The USS Liddle began her life as a Buckley class destroyer escort. She spent the beginning of her service escorting convoys to North Africa. Amphibious operations in the Pacific called for special ships. One conversion that was undertaken was the high speed transport. These ships were based on destroyer escorts or destroyer hulls. They were much faster than conventional troop transports and also packed the punch of a warship.

USS Liddle was converted in July of 1944 and sent into the Pacific. Using the smaller faster ships allowed military planners to launch flanking landings as well as reconnaissance operations behind enemy lines. Submarines could only carry a hand full of recon troops compared to that of a fast transport.

USS Liddle took part in landings for the invasion of the Philippines. She not only landed troops on several different occasions but she provided escort duty for LSD’s as they landed more and more troops on Philippine soil. On December 7th 1944 a kamikaze struck her bridge killing 38 officers and men. She returned to action landing troops in different operations in and around the Netherlands East Indies. She was training to land troops on mainland Japan when the war ended.
After the war she spent time being decommissioned and then recommissioned at Little Creek Amphibious Base in Virginia. She saw action during the Korean War and Cuban missile crisis. She was finally decommissioned in 1967 and sold for scrap later that year.

Specifications…

Displacement: 1400 tons (Standard), 1740 tons (Full Load)

Length Overall: 306' (93m)
Beam: 37' (11.3m)
Maximum Draft: 9.5' (Standard) 11.25 (Full Load)

Armament:

3 × 3 in/50 cal. guns (76.2 mm)
4 × 1.1 in/75 (28 mm) Anti-Aircraft guns (1x4)
8 × 20 mm
3 × 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes (1x3)
1 × hedgehog projector
8 × depth charge projectors (K-guns)
2 × depth charge tracks

4 x 36’ landing craft for 148 armed landing force.

Machinery: 2 boilers, General Electric Turbo-electric drive
2 solid manganese-bronze 3600 lb 3-bladed propellers, 8.5 ft. diameter, 7 ft 7 inch pitch
12,000 hp (8.9 MW)
2 rudders

Speed: 23 knots

Compliment: 15 Officers, 198 Enlisted

The Kit…

The kit comes to you in a flip top cardboard box. There is a color picture of a built model on the label. Inside the box the hull is wrapped in bubble wrap and the remaining resin parts are in their own zip loc bag. The PE fret is inside a piece of folded paper.

The Parts…

The hull is cast in a grey resin. The hull is rather plain and dd have a couple spot that needed to be smoothed out. The resin for the hull seems to be rather hard. Now to the good points of the hull. The shielding on the superstructure and the gun tubs is some of the thinnest cast I have ever seen. They are translucent and look very nice. The amount of detail molded onto the main deck is amazing. The capstans are very nicely done and detailed. Some of the detailing was so tiny it was hard to get a picture of it.

Onto the remaining resin parts. These are inside their own small zip loc bag. Be careful, there are some very tiny parts in that bag. These parts are cast in a cream colored resin and this is softer than that of the hull. The upper section of the bridge is loaded with tiny details as well. The forward 5” mount is complete down to the access doors. There is a resin barrel supplied, a brass barrel would have been nice to have included.

There are also 4 36’ landing craft included, they are top notch. The funnel will require some clean up, but nothing is lacking here.

This kit relies heavily on PE for small pieces of Detail. The PE fret inside the sample kit was bent. The PE fret seems thicker than normal. The single 20mm guns are made up of 5 separate pieces. The 40mm Bofors guns are made up of 4 PE parts and one resin part. The main mast is made up of different pieces of PE and small resin parts. Even the ships numbers are made of PE. However, there are no railings for the ship. The lack of PE railings is a little strange considering the level of detail on the rest of the kit.

Instructions…

The single sheet instructions are printed on both sides. 3D solids represent the resin parts and indicate their locations. Some of the locations seem vague, so make sure to check your references. There is also a 1/700 scale plan and elevation view of the ship. Painting guide lists the camo colors in Humbrol colors only.

The Details…

The lower hull lacks any detail, but from the main deck up, this kit is loaded. The resin is finely cast and the PE tops off all the delicate mast and gantry sections.

Final Thoughts…

If you are looking for a combat ship with a twist, this is your kit. Such a unique subject and a nice at sea dio waiting to happen.