U.S.S. San Antonio LPD-17 w/MV-22B

To accompany its previously released USS New York (LPD-21) kit, Cyber-Hobby is releasing another kit of the same class. This time it’s the lead ship of this landing platform dock (LPD) family, USS San Antonio (LPD-17). The 25,000-ton ship includes stealth features such as a clean exterior and enclosed masts. Constructed by Northrop Grumman Ship Systems, this LPD can carry up to 800 personnel in a surge, as well as two LCAC hovercraft and up to two MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft. The 208.5m-long USS San Antonio was commissioned into the US Navy on 14 January 2006, and its first mission was to serve as flagship for a counter-piracy task force off the coast of Somalia. The ship was plagued by engineering teething problems in its first few years.

There are no such problems for this kit though! The highly detailed kit is made in 1/700 scale, and it is logically based on Cyber-Hobby’s new toolings that were created for USS New York. The model comes with two hulls that allow either a waterline or full-hull version to be built. There is widespread use of slide-mold technology in the creation of this plastic ship, which results in a model that’s easy to assemble but which doesn’t lack any essential detail. The hull is slide molded as a single component, and parts are cleverly separated to ensure maximum detail. The main superstructure, for example, is a single piece. An assortment of photo-etched parts includes items like the safety net around the flight deck. Cyber-Hobby also supplies helicopters, an LCAC hovercraft and even MV-22 Ospreys to populate the 1/700 scale replica. Of great interest to modelers, the Ospreys are brand new, with the toolings reflecting the most accurate details possible in this scale.

Models are supplied unpainted and assembly is required.