by Nikos Brestas
1/144 Gepard class FAC P6121 (Revell Germany)
The Revell kit is nice in general, but with some minor misalignment problems at the superstructure and the supports of the main director and the attached side railing. A couple of parts have been omitted, such as the boat crane and a second 500W communications antenna atop the bridge.
The ship's armament consists of 4 MM40 Exocet SSMs, a RAM ciws and an 3" main gun. The detail on the missile canisters is simple but represents the real canisters comprehensively... The RAM ciws has some fitting issues, but the detail of the base is more than enough and the outcome is satisfactory. The main gun is really well cast and the finished product is marvelous....
The hull is really nice with fine lines and consists of two halves, typical of Revell's large scale ships. The ships four props are satisfactory and the shafts are really thin and need attention when handling. The ships rudders are simple, but so they are in reality. The exhausts of the engines are at the waterline level of the hull and are nicely shaped. The forecastle is well attended with the base of the main gun nicely planked. chose to weather the ship somewhat heavily, but you can see this type of ship in such a manner, espacially after their deployment off the coast of Lebanon in the Mediteranean sea.
The shorter antenna atop the bridge is an improvisation, in reality there is a similar with that on the other side of the bridge top. If I remember well, those two antennas are 500Watt communication antennas.
The ship's mast needs to be placed carefuly, especially since it is a three piece structure which begins a level lower at the end of the superstructure.
The kit is built out of the box, with the railings provided, but they are not enough, since there should be some at the stern, which in my case are scratchbuilt.
The protective shields at the antennae bases are also scratchbuilt, but I used a piece of clear plastic that is supplied with the kit, in order to place it inside the superstructure, behind the bridge windows and the portholes.
Decals are supplied for all the class names and pennant number, as well as the red lines for the main deck and a couple of other details.
The waterline is a decal, consisting of six parts, and I have used that, but am not happy with the result, but mainly due to my hastingness and not the quality of the decals.
Conclusively, this was an enjoyable build and I strongly recommend the kit to everyone who wants a simple kit with satisfactory detail.
