1/700 USS Wasp (CV-7) now available from Aoshima

I am glad the Wasp is getting recognition and thank you for the detailed review.  I may be interested in getting this kit.  The box art looked to be painted by an overly patriotic Japanese artist.   

Good evening, everyone!

Here is a look inside the box, at Aoshima's (relatively) new kit of the USS Wasp (CV-7).

Let's start with the box.  I bought the boxing that depicts the Wasp at the time of her loss, during the Guadalcanal campaign:



The box art shows her in flames after taking several torpedoes from the Japanese submarine I-19, which is gliding by her victim in this somewhat fanciful cover art.  The side panels include images of the completed models--Wasp is a waterline kit, but the I-19 can be finished as a full-hull model.  There is also what appears to be an ad for an aftermarket photo-etch detailing set, and another ad for what looks like a kit of the North Carolina.  She was in the Wasp's escort at the time of the attack, and took a torpedo herself, in the bow.

The sprues are packaged, two or more to a sealed plastic bag.  The first bag contains the pieces for the hull, port and starboard halves, and the flight deck, elevators, and various bits of the hull and island:



We have the option of finishing the flight deck with the elevators in the raised or lowered position.

This fret holds the waterline base, the fo'c'sle deck, a section of the hangar deck forward, under the forward elevator, and some more hull and island bits.

The piece for the hangar deck fits forward, where the rolling curtains are open, so they provide a little detail of the hangar.  I am not sure, but I suspect that they represent a fire curtain or partition?  I need to find a reference that shows this.

The next sprue holds the main pieces of the island, including her stack, and some gallery decks, which I believe represent the gun galleries along the flight deck:



The next bag contains two sprues with most of the anti-aircraft battery, the ship's boat complement, and more deck pieces.

And next, what I think is the weakest part of this kit, the airwing:



Eight F4Fs; four TBFs, two with wings folded; and four SBDs, with folded wings.  The SBDs look only vaguely like SBDs, too.  The vertical stabilizer is more like an inverted V than the shape of the Dauntless' vertical stabilizer.  And the folding wings just can't be forgiven, not today.  It's bad enough that the planes are molded in solid plastic, and not clear.  If I used these at all, it would be in the hangar deck, if I were inclined to open the rolling curtains and show it.

Now, this rounds out the boxing, the kit of the I-19:



This is a nice little model, in its own right.  It can be finished as a waterline or full hull model, and for those who do build it as a full-hull, there is a small stand included.  I do wonder, though, if the sub weren't included, if the kit would have a correspondingly reduced retail price.

Here is the stand for the sub, and the decal sheet:



The decals include markings for the aircraft, flight deck markings, US and Japanese ensigns, and conning tower markings for the I-19.

And here is a shot of the instructions:



with painting guide and color callouts, apparently for Gunze-Sangyo/Mr Color paints.  The table of colors is in Japanese, English, German and French, but the instruction notes are all in Japanese.  However, the exploded drawings are pretty clear to follow.  If you've built any of the Waterline series kits in the past, you should have no problems with this one.

Overall, the quality of the molding is good, with fair details, though the contemporary ship modeler will want to get some photoetch for the fine details, such as railings, the light AA battery, radar and radio antennas and aerials.  The 20mm guns also appear to have no splinter shields.

Still, it's a decent kit, of a subject many of us have been clamoring for, for a long time.  Compared to the other offering in 1/700, Corsair Armada's resin kit, this kit has two main advantages--it's available and it's about a third of the price of the CA kit.  I'm looking forward to building it.

Also, Aoshima offers another boxing of this kit, depicting the Wasp ferrying Spitfires to Malta.  That one includes a fret of Spitfires, naturally.

And maybe a kit of the Ranger isn't far behind...

Thanks for looking, and if you're so inclined, I recommend this kit.

I've gotten a couple more details about this kit, since posting the thread.

One is that this was apparently released around the end of last summer or beginning of last fall, which makes me realize I am just not paying close enough attention to things.

Another is that Aoshima has issued 2 boxings, the one I linked above, depicting the Wasp at the time of her demise, and the other, depicting her on her ferry runs to Malta earlier in 1942.  That boxing is supposed to include a fret of Spitfires.

I've also seen a thread at ModelShips.com's Ship Model forum, discussing the kit, and it's noted that it's apparently undersized for 1/700, and is closer to 1/733 or so.  For me, it's not a big deal, I'm just happy finally to have an injection-molded kit of her.  That seems to be the common opinion.  A friend did note, though, that if the kit is a little undersized, it may make using Trumpeter's aircraft a little problematic.  But I'm still excited.

Equally interesting: Aoshima has released not one but three 1/700 HMS Ark Royal kits - in different configurations between 1939 and her loss in 1941. Freetime Hobbies lists all three as in stock. Here's a link: http://freetimehobbies.com/searchresults/?search_query=1%2F700+ark+royal&Search= .

The "Final Variation" version comes with the U-boat that sank her.

The Wasp and Ark Royal kits plug a couple of pretty big gaps in the 1/700 WWII aircraft carrier picture.

That Tamiya 1700 Yorktown is a sore subject to me. I bought one assuming that it was a new tooling (like the most recent Tamiya 1/700 Yamato, and several other of the company's recent ship kits). Nope. The Yorktown is a conglomeration of parts from the Enterprise and Hornet kits, which date from the 1970s and weren't exactly state-of-the-art even then. The hull is undersized, the island is ridiculously skinny, and the 20mm guns are little pieces of plastic rod.

A better start for a Yorktown would be the Trumpeter 1/700 Hornet.

That is one Kit I would definitely buy.....Cheers mark

Interesting thought, Brad.  I've had a hankerin' to make a carrier with a deckful of yellow-winged birds, not Lex or Saratoga, for a while.  Thought the Tamiya Yorktown was what I needed, but it looks like that might not work. 

But the Wasp... in 1940 she had Wildcats, SBU Corsairs  and SB2U Vindicators, all available from Trumpeter.  That could be a fun project.  Yellow wings and black tails, with the neutrality star on the cowling.

Thanks for getting me thinking about yet another project, Brad.

Rick

Two for 1, not bad, and the detail set seems reasonable. I don’t think I can build a ship without a detail set anymore.