| A 1/1200 scale resin casting, the Len Jordan WW2 Liberty ship kit consists of one piece - an unpainted resin-cast hull - but what a hull! The
casting is crammed with detail: gun tubs, winches, ventilators, bulkhead supports,
lifeboats, davits et al. It is an extremely impressive piece of work. Cleanup is
minimal, consisting of filling a few voids and pinholes. I use thick cyano super glue for
this task. The modeler need only add kingposts, crane booms and guns (use .01" and
.02" brass wire-not included). See my Warship photo tour of the Liberty ship Jeremiah O'Brien for detailing ideas and
paint scheme. And to make a good kit even better, this little gem is available for
US $10 from Pacific Front.
The kit has more detail than the 1/700
Skywave Liberty ship reviewed elsewhere on Warship. Consider adding
Tom's Modelworks 1200/1250 scale railing. Liberty ships had a steel bulkhead spanning
almost the entire deck, so railing need be affixed only to bulkhead gaps, superstructure
deck levels, fore and aft gun tubs. Add crane rigging and and kingpost guy wires (I
use stretched sprue affixed with white glue) and you'll have a stunning 1/1200th scale
Liberty ship replica. And it shouldn't take more than one evening.
Click thumbnail photo to view full size
picture
Enlarged photo showing details |
Instructions |
Beautiful photo of the real thing |
I build 1/350 and 1/700 scale ships. I get requests from
like-minded modelers seeking 1/1200 or 1/1250 "kits". They are accustomed
to assembling their ships and are intrigued by what they see in the 1250 scale section of Warship.
Regrettably, most ships in this scale come pre-assembled and painted, and are priced
accordingly. Len Jordan is one of the few sources of 1200 scale "kits".
Jordan specializes in British merchant ships and liners, but does produce a
few U.S. vessels, including the ubiqitous Liberty, T-2 tanker, and C-3 cargo ship. They are reasonably priced and beautifully detailed. I hope to see
Len Jordan or some other enterprising producer issue more unfinished 1200 scale kits.
I believe there is a market for them.
Len Jordan
‘Sunny Home’
Whitchurch Hill
Reading, Berks
RG8 7PG
U.K.
Tel: 44 0118 9844 628
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