by Peter Van Buren
1/144 LCAC (Trumpeter)
This is the Trumpeter 1/144 LCAC, built straight from the box. The tank and Harrier are from Dragon; the AATVP is Trumpeter. The palm trees are Verlinden 1/72 cut down, a bit out of scale but they seem OK in the diorama setting to me.
The LCAC is well-detailed and a very straight-forward, easy build. It comes with a lot of decals, including the markings on the skirt. The skirt is soft plastic and really adds to the look of the ship; I wish Trumpeter would do a version with a deflated skirt as well.
The LCAC is a great piece of Marine hardware, and deserves a kit in a larger scale, maybe even 1/35. It would be a great cross-over kit, appealing to ship builders, armor builders and maybe even the aircraft guys, as the folks who drive the LCACs refer to themselves as pilots and speak in aviation terms, not nautical ones.
