by Kyle Delisle
1/700 USS Juneau CL-52 (DML)
The kit is the Dragon/DML 1/700 Premium Edition USS Juneau CLAA-52.
This is my second ship model since becoming a "serious" modeler. I also used the Gold Medal Models' 1/700 US Destroyers and Cruisers set. I am currently deployed in Afghanistan as an infantryman with the New York Army National Guard. Luckily, my wonderful and understanding wife and my father (a fellow modeler who got me started in modeling when he got me a Revell Bismarck when I was 6 years old) sent me most of my modeling tools and a few models for me to work on between my unit's missions.
The kit is a good kit with a few minor discrepancies. The major problem that I found with the kit is the instructions. If you follow the instructions, you would end up with a USS Juneau as designed. There was no mention at all regarding the 20mm. As well, to accurately depict the USS Juneau as completed, you need to add the part forward of the bridge that has the two 20mm tubs, do not add the part for the boat deck to hold the boats but rather the part that has the four 20mm tubs, as well as add two 20mm tubs to the fantail. In addition, the instructions state to put the SG radar on the mainmast and the SC radar on the foremast, but they should be reversed. Another issue was that my kit did not come with any "Chicago Pianos." The instructions state to use three 40mm quads, but the USS Juneau never carried these. I ended up raiding a Skywave Set 9 for my 1.1 inch cannons.
A minor issue is the way the kit hull is designed with a large insert, which I assume is supposed to depict the armored belt but it would be way out of scale. I ended up sanding it down completely. In the process, I ended up sanding off the bilge keels and had planned on replacing them with sheet styrene. Unfortunately, it turns out that I didn't have any sheet styrene on hand. Lesson #1: make sure you have everything you need before you are going to slightly modify a kit, especially if your workbench is 2 continents and 1 ocean away. The other issue was the rings around the end of the 5-inch barrels. I don't know why they are there, but I sanded them off, which was an extreme exercise in patience.
Other than that, the kit fit together great and was a fun build. I used Polly Scale and Testors Model Master Naval Acrylics to paint the ship. I had originally attempted to put the rigging on the model with fishing line, but gave up since I didn't have any matches to tighten the lines (however, I did get one line on the boat crane). As well, I didn't have the materials to give the model an oil wash, which I really wanted to do to bring out some of the detail. Hopefully, I'll get around to adding the wash someday, but I seriously doubt it.
