Introduction

Chester Uy takes a look at Cyber-Hobby's 1/700th Scale USS San Antonio LPD 17 which is similar to the previous released of USS New York (LPD-21).

The USS San Antonio (LPD-17) the lead of ship of her class of amphibious transport dock or landing platform dock (LPD). The ship is designed to deliver up to 800 Marines ashore by landing craft and helicopters.

This is an amphibious transport dock, also called a landing platform/dock (LPD), the San Antonio is an amphibious warfare ship that embarks, transports, and lands elements of a landing force for expeditionary warfare missions. The ships are generally designed to transport troops into a war zone by sea, primarily using landing craft, although invariably they also have the capability to operate transport helicopters. Their motto is 'Never Retreat, Never Surrender'. Some of the more notable features of the San Antonio class:

• 2 Bushmaster II Canons MK46
• 2 Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM)
• 4 CH-46 Sea Knight Helicopters or 2 MV-22 Osprey
• 2 LCAC or 1 LCU (Landing Craft Utility)
• Integrated masts that replace the vast array of antennas

Contents

The USS San Antonio LPD 17 from Cyber-Hobby comes in a standard removable top box. There is a total of 174 parts included in this kit consisting of the following:

• Grey colored styrene sprue trees
• Photo etch sheet
• Decal Sheet
• Instruction Sheet

Review

Upon first look at the kit, there is a great deal of detail for this scale. Items such as life rafts and various deck fixtures are cleanly molded along with a nice supply of molded Osprey to compliment the ship. The kit gives the nice option being built as a full hull version or as a water line display and provides a stand for which to display the model when complete.

Just like its predecessor kit, the 1/700th USS New York LPD-21, the upper hull to the USS San Antonio is protected with a plastic bow protector to protect the fine detail. The octagonal shaped tower and Airframe missile system are realistically represented. The Osprey MV-22 can be assembled as folded or in flight position and the decal sheet provides basic markings for the aircraft as well as deck and hull markings. The kit gives the option for the rear door that can be posed open or closed and the one-piece superstructure accurately presented by slide-molded technology. Another finely detailed part to the kit is the Bushmaster II 30mm close-in guns and the Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM).

Included with this kit is a small photo etch fret with seven parts on it which include the catch net around the flight deck as well as parts for the two water tight doors (open/close option) on the sides.

The seven step instruction sheet breaks down the construction of this kit in too easy to follow sub-assemblies. Special care should be taken to read through the instructions and double check part placement as in some cases the instructions are a little unclear to the exact placement.

The decal sheet provided with the kit is very limited as the original ship has little in the way of markings other than exterior numbering and of course the flight deck markings. The decals appear to be of excellent quality.

Conclusion

I feel the USS San Antonio LPD 17 from Cyber-Hobby is an exceptional kit. The fine detailing of the parts should result in a fine display model when complete. The price may seem a bit high for a 1/700th scale ship kit; however, a quick search on the web can turn up favorable pricing. If you are into modern ship building and building in 1/700th scale, then the USS San Antonio LPD 17 from Cyber-Hobby is a great choice.