1:700 USS Phoenix CL-46 (Standard Edition)

1:700 USS Phoenix CL-46 (Standard Edition) from Vee Hobby

A plastic kit of the American light cruiser USS Phoenix (CL-46) in 1:700 from Vee Hobby. The main purchasing distinction is the edition: this is Standard, that is injection-molded plastic and decals. The manufacturer has also released the same vessel in the Deluxe edition, which adds photo-etched parts, metal barrels and deck masking stencils to the same plastic; check the exact scope of both editions on the box.

The real subject

Phoenix belonged to the Brooklyn class, which the US Navy built as an answer to the Japanese cruisers of the Mogami class. The main armament consisted of fifteen guns of 152 mm caliber in five triple turrets, three forward and two aft; the middle forward turret was set higher, so only two could fire directly ahead. Phoenix was at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 and survived the attack. She then served in the South Pacific, during the advance in New Guinea and during the invasion of the Philippines. After the war she was acquired by the Argentine Navy, and under her later name General Belgrano she was sunk by a British submarine in 1982.

Building and painting tips

Try the hull parts dry first; in 1:700 every gap shows on the superstructures. Spray the bottom of the hull and the waterline before you glue on the railings and cranes. Bring out the decks by washing a darker shade into the engraved seams. Join photo-etched railings and ladders with cyanoacrylate glue, and apply the decals onto a gloss base. Add rigging from stretched sprue at the very end.

Who the model is for

• modelers interested in American light cruisers of the Second World War
• collectors of 1:700 who build whole task forces
• builders for whom plastic with decals is enough and who add photo-etch themselves

The model is supplied unassembled and unpainted. Glue, paints and accessories are not included in the package, unless stated otherwise.