¹⁄700

HMS Ocean

The Kit…

The next in the long line of unique kits from my favorite patron is the HMS Ocean, the British LPD. The kit comes with everything you need to complete an excellent model including several frets of very well done PE.The molding is nearly the best I have seen (with the exclusion of Admiralty). The hull comes mostly completely poured in place, which means no seams to fill. However, it also means it has those huge over pours at the waterline. This again is a difficult situation. The over pours are very thick and are solid resin. I used a full sized table saw with cross cut sled and random orbital sander to get rid of them. Cutting through them with a regular hand held x-acto without damage to the delicate molding will be near impossible. The assembly and instructions are quite good with little ambiguity or omission. Large pictograms make it easy to get her together.

The PE…

Three frets include all railings, embarkation and debarkation doors. The set even includes the dozens and dozens of (tiny) lights which ring the island for night ops. ( a very nice feature). PE for the helos includes not only rotor blades (in two configurations), but also doors to be shown open or closed, wheels and even the chain guns under the nose of the apaches. They even included WINDSHIELD WIPERS! for all helos. (How many times to you look at 1/700 aircraft and say “nice, but where are the wiper blades!) Well, look no further. (But look carefully, b/c they are virtually invisible to the naked eye. The only omission in the PE set which is very well done is the lack of the large “candelabra” radar which is prominently featured on this ship on either side of the stack. They included the little platforms for the radar assemblies, but not the radar pieces themselves. I scratch built these.

The Decals…

As you can see, the deck is awash with lines and markings over every possible type and color. These would be very difficult to get straight and aligned with conventional water soak decals. However, this kit has both water soak decals (for some markings) and dry rub off decals for the vast majority of the markings. When I first saw them, I was very leery of them as I have been burned in the past with this type of decal which doesn’t always come off. However, here, they were invaluable as nearly the entire deck came in one large piece. Just paint the deck (I sprayed it with acrylics first for color then sprayed Tamiya clear over the deck before applying the rub off decals. Care must be taken to carefully rub each and every line very well. But, if you do, you will be rewarded with a perfectly aligned set of deck markings. Thereafter, I sprayed the entire deck again with Tamiya clear (from the can) to seal the markings down. A final coat of Testor’s dullcoat finished the look. I now wish all aircraft carriers came with dry rub decals. (Ever try to get those long thin lines perfectly straight and aligned after you take the wet noodle out of the water?) Enough said.

Detail…

One area where this kit DOES NOT lack. Details abound. Railings, radar masts, and ramps for the four assault boats. Everything for the helos including windshield wipers, but strangely, no decals for British markings for the helos. Watertight doors which can be shown open or closed. Well poured bridge windows make for easy painting and a good result. Multi-part CWIS guns are among the best I have seen, and multi part PE 20mm guns round out the set. Even the ladders on the ship have the distinctive cage safety around them, a very nice detail. There is very little to complain about with this kit. Even with all the crazy detail, folks with even a moderate amount of PE experience will get a good result because all the railings are pre notched for easy bending and the kit is well laid for a good result with the PE provided.