The long anticipated USS North Carolina and USS Washington, produced by Regia Marina have been released. This shows photographs of all the parts of the kit and there a lot of them. There are a few parts that differentiate one from the other, as well as different instructions.

Hull Detail

As the first battleship constructed since World War One, North Carolina suffered many teething problems. North Carolina was called "The Showboat", a name given her by the press in 1941 because she made so many day trips to sea to test equipment. The crew of sistership, Washington had other thoughts about the nickname for North Carolina. During World War Two the crew of Washington thought that they spent more time on the line than North Carolina. They believed that North Carolina grabbed all the publicity because she spent more time in port, refitting and repairing and being photographed. Because of this port time for North Carolina, the crew of Washington dubbed their sistership, USO North Carolina.

Smaller Resin Parts

The Washington crew’s sarcasm was not confined to just one of the fast battleships. It was considered that the Alabama was populated by card sharps and they were not complimentary to Indiana, after a collision between the two battleships caused by Indiana. However, the most withering sarcasm was reserved for South Dakota. The crews of each ship had conflicting opinions over their mutual rolls in the Second Naval Battle of Guadacanal. The crew of South Dakota thought that they had borne the brunt of the battle and that Washington had run off and left them to their fate. The crew of Washington thought differently. They thought that South Dakota was not as tightly run as their ship and that Washington had done all the work during the battle. The crew of Washington called the South Dakota the "Dirty Dick", hardly a complementary term. On liberty the fights between the two crews grew so bad, that liberty had to be staggered between the two ships, so that the crews would not run into each other. Washington proved to be the most decorated US battleship of the war.

Photo-Etched Frets, Steel Barrels & Decals

First impression of the Regia Marina North Carolina/Washington… it is big. I noticed the weight of the box when I picked it up and when opened, the large quantity of parts. This kit is designed to allow the modeler to build the kit in any fit during the career of the ship. Think about that, think about the number and changes in AA and radar. The optional parts are there for them. With three stainless steel photo-etched frets and 23 resin strips, filled with parts, not to mention the larger separate parts; there are a lot of parts and accordingly complexity to these kits.

Instructions- North Carolina - First Row; Washington- Second Row

This article is only designed to give a visual glimpse at the kit’s components. A review of this kit from Regia Marina will follow.

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