Greetings fellow modelers! It’s been awhile since I last posted and i hope everyone is doing well. I just finished Trumpeter’s 1/350th scale USS Freedom and, due to a full memory card in my camera I don’t have any WIP pics (sorry) but I do have some pics of the finished kit. Here she is:
A neat little kit with nice detail and A LOT of P/E! The build is straight out of the box with no after market stuff added. But - it was not a good fitting kit. I had to carve, shave, and sand most of the mating surfaces of the upper hull, inner bulkheads for the hanger bay, and the various sub-assemblies to get everything to fit. Not that I’m complaining - I like to build and this kit made me work for it.
But, the ship, itself, strikes me odd. Perhaps it’s from having had a Deck Division, that the lack of ground tackle and boat booms strike me so wrong. But, in all fairness, I had to explain that the brass gizmo with the mirrors and filters on it was an actual precision navigation instrument (and that it was 60º in arc on purpose, and by name; that a 45º degree version is an octant, and that the difference was important).
Still, it’s an excellent build, and of a unique ship.
Very nice build of a very interesting ship. This ship is designed for shallow waters and purposes like sub hunting, defense against small craft and anti-mine warfare. She’s pretty much going to be the ship of choice for Gulf missions if Iran gets stupid. Her hull is aluminum and she has no screws on her engines. Freedom uses 4 Rolls Royce Water Jets for propulsion, being capable of up to 40 knots. Her odd shape is “supposed” to make for a smaller radar signature, making her a stealthy ship.
I had been thinking of building this kit for a while, along with the 1/350 LCS-2 USS Independence, which is even more wild looking. A diorama with the two of them would look fantastic. Your beautiful build is making me want it in my stash even sooner…
