|
The 1:700 Mikasa
is an injection molded kit with four light gray plastic sprues. Sprue 'A'
contains the deck and hull halves (this is a waterline-only kit). The deck
is finely scribed with recessed rather than raised lines between
planks, a big improvement over the plastic decks on many older injection
kits. The overall length is 7 inches (177mm); beam is 1.25 inches (32mm).
Each hull half has five open positions through which gun barrels
protrude.
Sprue 'B' has 29 parts which include masts, smokestacks, bridge and superstructure. There are optional parts for two different bridge configurations, but as I don't read Japanese I don't know the periods represented. The two 'C' sprues are identical and each holds 43 parts: ventilators, davits, several sizes of ship's boats, and four different caliber guns, including the two large 30.5 cm double-barrel turret weapons. No doubt these sprues will provide more guns than needed, so the modeler may have a few items left over for detailing other ships of the pre-WW1 period. Period Japanese flags are included. The instructions have black and white profile drawings showing Mikasa in two different fits. Parts are included for both. The differences are mainly in the bridge arrangements and type/number of boats carried. Although written in Japanese, the instructions are very easy to follow (except for the issue of the few optional parts -- maybe Dan Jones or another well-versed modeler can help there). |
||||||
