1:700 USS Houston CL-81 1944 (Standard Edition)

1:700 USS Houston CL-81 1944 (Standard Edition) from Vee Hobby

A plastic kit of the American light cruiser USS Houston (CL-81) as she appeared in 1944, in 1:700 from Vee Hobby. The main purchasing distinction is the edition: this is Standard, that is injection-molded plastic and decals. The manufacturer has also released the same vessel in the Deluxe edition, which adds photo-etched parts, metal barrels and deck masking stencils to the same plastic; check the exact scope of both editions on the box.

The real subject

Houston was a light cruiser of the Cleveland class, that is twelve guns of 152 mm caliber in four triple turrets and, against the older Brooklyn class, one turret fewer in favor of anti-aircraft defense. The year 1944 is the appearance in that year: it was in the autumn of 1944 that Houston lived through the most dramatic episode of her career. During the raids by Task Force 38 on Taiwan an aerial torpedo hit her amidships on October 14, 1944, and on October 16, already under tow by a tug, a second one hit her starboard quarter. The crew kept her afloat and on October 27 towed her to Ulithi Atoll. The damage was so severe that she never returned to the fighting.

Building and painting tips

Try the hull parts dry first; in 1:700 every gap shows on the superstructures. Spray the bottom of the hull and the waterline before you glue on the railings and cranes. Bring out the decks by washing a darker shade into the engraved seams. Join photo-etched railings and ladders with cyanoacrylate glue, and apply the decals onto a gloss base. Add rigging from stretched sprue at the very end.

Who the model is for

• modelers who build American cruisers as they appeared in 1944
• collectors of 1:700 and of the Cleveland class
• builders for whom plastic with decals is enough and who add photo-etch themselves

The model is supplied unassembled and unpainted. Glue, paints and accessories are not included in the package, unless stated otherwise.