¹⁄700

USS Canberra CAG-2

"Crew-mate David J. Salvin (djandj) shares one of his latest builds, this time, the spotlight is on USS CANBERRA (CAG-2), in this MSW feature!"

The Kit...

Combrig’s 1/700 scale USS Canberra CAG-2. I did this ship on commission for a buyer who wanted it. It was built out of the box except for substituting kit included railings with LionRoar’s after market railing.

This was done because the kit actually didn’t have enough 3 rail railings for all the superstructure pieces. I also replaced the main gun barrels using Lion Roar turned brass barrels in place of the resin ones.

The kit itself went together very easily. Nice directions and great pictures. The detailing was quite good throughout the kit including hatches, doors and decking. Molding was crisp, and the main pieces only had the slightest hint of a wafer at the bottom to be sanded off. My only complaint(s) are the lack of enough railings to finish the superstructure parts and the lack of decals.

Of particular note was the construction of the bridge assembly which was made easier by the fact that the bridge windows were in a thicker brass than usual which made bending and placing the windows easier, and also made assembling the upper levels on top of those bridge windows much more easy.

The Build...

I normally start by priming and painting all parts gray including the entire hull assembly. Then, I carefully taped off all of the vertical surfaces, which, in this case, was actually tricky because of the level of detail along the sides of the superstructure pieces and the multiple levels of superstructure pre-molded onto the deck. On the other hand, the fact that so much of the superstructure was pre-molded avoided any gaps or cracks between the superstructure and the deck as often the case with plastic kits which usually have the superstructure separate and have the modeler glue them to the deck.

The big chore on this kit was the levels of superstructure decking which needed copious amount of PE railing. The kit didn’t include enough 3 rail railings, so aftermarket railings were used (and used up).

The other touchy piece was the christmas tree like antenna on the bow. The kit supplies the brass wagon wheel parts and the wire for the center pole. I used 20 denier caenis fly-fishing filament for the rigging on it. And after having a problem on the first try, also learned that the best and easiest way to get CA glue off your PE parts is simply to stick them in a candle or lighter. The PE burns off immediately leaving the PE crisp and unbent. (Handy to remember if you glue your PE parts incorrectly)

The weather deck railing caused a fair amount of consternation due to the inevitable expansion and/or contraction of the resin.

Overall a wonderful build and a great model of one of the last "big gun" cruisers.