Introduction

Revell of Germany are often looked down upon for not having photo etch or bling in the box; however with this release of the USS New Jersey Revell of Germany have not only added the bells but the whistles as well. This release I am taking a look at today is a very high end release when it comes to what is in the box.

The following is the introduction provided by Revell of Germany:
The USS New Jersey was one of the largest warships in the world. Belonging to the Iowa-class the ship had an ideal combination of high speed and fire-power and was therefore considered a formidable opponent for many years. Construction of the New Jersey began on 16 September 1940, as the keel was laid at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. She was commissioned into service on 23 May 1943. Thereafter she took part in various operations during World War II, the Korean and Vietnam War, off the coast of Lebanon and ultimately in the Persian Gulf. In 1981/82 she underwent fundamental modernisation during her last overhaul and received the latest electronics and guided weapon systems. Eight Tomahawk cruise missile launchers and four Harpoon missile launchers were added to the nine massive 40.6 cm (16 inch) guns of the main armament. Additionally, four 20 mm Phalanx Gatling guns were added for short-range defence. Instead of the on-board aircraft from the Second World War the battleship now carried modern Sea Hawk helicopters. With its latest equipment fit, the New Jersey differed considerably from its condition during the Second World War.

In September 1983, due to the Lebanese civil war the New Jersey was ordered into the Mediterranean to support American and French troops. She bombarded several enemy positions in the Lebanon. Later she took part in various operations and exercises, including the Persian Gulf early in 1990. In mid 1990 the New Jersey undertook its farewell tour along the west coast of the USA. It was finally de-commissioned on 08 February 1991. She then lay in reserve in the US Navy Shipyard in Puget Sound along with her sister ship the USS Missouri (BB-63). She was finally deleted from the official ships register in 1999. Today the battleship lies at anchor on the Delaware River as a museum ship in Camden, New Jersey. Although it looked like the era of the battleships had come to an end during the Second World War, the U.S. Navy could and would not dispense with the steadfastness and tremendous fire-power of the Iowa class battleships. The shells fired from the main 40.6 cm (16 inch) guns weighed about 1.2 tons and had a range of about 40 km.

Contents

This model from Revell of Germany is packaged in a cardboard tray with separate card lid, the box itself is over 3ft long and so remember that when ordering online. Inside the box you will find;

• 10 grey sprues
• A one piece hull
• A one piece upper deck
• Super structure
• Display base
• Turned brass barrels
• Rigging twine
• Wooden deck detail
• 2 large photo etched frets
• A selection of paper flags
• A length of chain
• A decal sheet
• 4 instruction booklets
• A fold out painting guide in colour

Review

First Impressions
Starting with the packaging for this large model, I am pleased to say it certainly looks to be up to the task having a full length cardboard divider inside, this protects the wood and photo etch from damage by the plastic parts. The wooden decks have good print detail on them and are very thin. The amount of photo etch supplied with the model is surprisingly large and very fine. The plastic parts do have some minor issues such as flash being present and large sprue gates on some parts, I also found a couple of sink marks. There are a number of flow/cooling lines present on the mouldings, but these do not appear to have caused any issues with the finished mouldings.

Hull
The two pieces that make up the hull are large mouldings and with the lower hull being a single piece that has a couple of issues. There is a seam running the full length of the lower hull and this is further affected by flash, not the end of the world but it will take some cleaning up. There is also a sink hole near the bow of the ship that will need filling and careful sanding to retain the correct shape. The upper hull is a little floppy due to its size so take care with the handling.

Superstructure
The superstructure of the ship looks a fair match to photographs of the New Jersey near the end of its career in the US Navy before becoming a floating museum. The only issues I see in this area are that some of the gates between the sprues and the parts will need a lot of care to remove. It should also be mentioned that this model is an upgrade and so it will require very careful planning to build the model using all of the available updates, requiring the modeller to work from 2 instruction booklets at the same time. An indication of just how much of this model of the New Jersey has been replaced with new parts and upgraded to the end of its days as a ship are the number of parts that are no longer used during the build.

Weapons
The weapons systems have been upgraded in the form of items like a Tomahawk cruise missiles and launchers and the Phalanx anti-missile turrets. The brass barrels are replacements for the supplied plastic barrels, be aware that the barrels are not direct replacements and require some surgery for accurate representation. The brass barrels are very nicely turned and should add a lot to the look of the finished model. Another nice addition to this model is the helicopters supplied with the option of plastic or photo etched rotor blades, which are also supplied with the option of being shown folded or deployed.

Photo Etch
The photo etched frets supplied with this model are very fine and will be easy to bend. One of the frets supplied is nickel and the other brass, the carriers between the parts and the frets are minimal in number and small. Anyone who decides to take this model on had better be comfortable with using photo etched parts if they want to get the most out of this model as a large number of the parts are small and very fine.

Wooden Decks
The wood decking supplied with the model is an area I am unable to judge as I have never used this type of product before. As a modeller exposed to this for the first time I am impressed with the thinness of the material and the fact that it is pre-cut, the self-adhesive nature of the product will also make it easy to use I feel.

Instructions
The instruction having been supplied over more than one booklet will require the modeller to take a lot of care and be very comfortable about what needs doing when. Because of this approach and the very fine nature of the photo etch I would not advise that this model be tackled by the beginner unlike most of the other models from Revell of Germany, that said it has the possibility of being built into a very impressive model I believe.

Conclusion

If the USS New Jersey at the end of its career in the US Navy appeals to you and your modelling skills are up to it, then this model should be given very careful consideration. The price is high for a Revell of Germany model, but if you consider all of the extras in the box rather than needing to be purchased separately, I believe this is a very competitively priced model. It is not a model for the novice modeller or someone who does not like or is not comfortable with photo etch. There are a couple of issues with some of the plastic mouldings, but none of these are beyond the basic skills a modeller should have.

Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For details visit www.revell.de/en, @RevellGermany or facebook.com/Revell