Surprisingly, Academy’s boxing of the Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate USS Reuben James FFG-57 has no picture of the finished ship on or in the box; the only pictures are of an unpainted model. Although the instructions do include placement information for the photoetched metal, you can find large, clear pictures of the Perry class on the Internet. Academy’s kit seems to model the ship’s 1989 fit.
The painting guide lists Aqueous Hobby Color, Mr. Color, LifeColor, Humbrol, and Testors/Model Master paints. However, it lists Humbrol No. 75 as the deck color — but bronze green is not a U.S. Navy deck color!
The ship should be either haze gray with dark gray decks for Atlantic fleet deployment, or dark gull gray with dark gray decks for the Pacific (my choice).
My first impression of the kit was that it was typical “old-school” molding — left and right hull halves and a straight-sided superstructure with adequate detail. But I was wrong! After the first airbrushed coat of a scale dark gull gray, I noticed just how petite the molded details were. A bit of shadowing with a sludge wash and some dry-brushing made all those details pop!
Care must be used in cutting the delicate parts free from the sprue, but there is little-to-no cleanup required after that. Mold lines and ejector-pin marks are nearly nonexistent.
The two-part hull joined perfectly to a knife-edge bow. The stern extension needed for a LAMPS III ship required just a tiny amount of putty to blend in seamlessly. The main deck and stern deck fit perfectly, with the join discreetly under the hangar bulkhead. The superstructure went together without a hitch — but add Part C41, the hangar aft bulkhead, after the upper deck to get the best fit.
I airbrushed the decks dark deck gray, masking off and lightly gloss-coating areas not covered in anti-slip — around the anchor chain (not provided), the capstan, under the forward cage mast, and the center of the deck around the gun turret. Reference photos clearly show the difference in sheen (but not color).
I airbrushed the large photoetched-metal sheet with Testors Model Master enamel primer that almost matches the dark gull gray of the superstructure. Academy’s photoetched metal is perfectly sized to fit the model, but it’s soft and the bend points are etched in — more than a few bends and it will break. Be careful! The helicopter-deck netting is particularly fragile; I highly recommend using a photoetched-metal bending tool.
I detail-painted, shadowed, dry-brushed, and added the photoetched-metal details one section at a time, working from bow to stern, inside to outside, to avoid damaging finished work. All large structures, such as the masts and stack, were added after the detail work was done. The parts provided are in scale, correct in placement, and make a stunning model!
The only problem I found was in building the main mast. In Step 8, the first yardarm (Part D65) comes with the navigation dome molded on. Somehow you are supposed to squeeze this deck and dome through the Z bracing on the back of the cage mast — but it won’t fit. I resorted to cutting the dome off and assembling the mast as shown, then gluing the dome back on. The dome should be extended by approximately 1⁄8" to match photographs of the ship.
Academy should be congratulated for modeling an important modern vessel with a kit that delivers a simple and uncomplicated build, yet is not lacking detail in any respect. Everything except the anchor chain is there, everything is correct, and everything fits. You can’t ask for more. I highly recommend it to all modelers of modern Navy subjects.
A version of this review appeared in the December 2011 issue of FineScale Modeler.