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Kit Review The Mighty MO, USS Missouri BB-63, Scale 1:200, by Occre

Jimsky

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Greetings everyone.
As I promised you last week, I am happy to present the battleship kit of the USS Missouri on a scale of 1:200, by Spanish kits manufacturer Occre. Though it is not necessary, now, however, if you would like to get a brief overview of the contents of this kit, you can follow the link below to read the 'unboxing' review I made last week.


Introduction and Technical Facts

Three battleships have been etched into the minds of most Americans - the Maine, the Arizona, and the Missouri. The first two are remembered for tragedy; the third, for triumph. Maine, raised from her watery grave in Havana Harbor, was towed out to see, the bodies of her crew were removed, and then she was scuttled. Arizona rests, as she has since the morning of December 7, 1941, on the bottom of Pearl Harbor, a tomb for over 1.100 US servicemen. Just a few years from the gleaming white monument that serves as a tombstone for Arizona and her crew, the USS Missouri is tied up; upon her decks, the surrender papers were signed that ended the global conflict that the United States had entered with the sinking of Arizona. USS Missouri, not yet two years old when the surrender was signed, would serve her nation in two more conflicts - Korea, and the first Gulf War - before being moored adjacent to her fallen comrade in arms in June 1998.
* information credits to David Doyle, his book USS Missouri (BB-63) America's Last Battleship

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The model

The USS Missouri model was designed based on when she was built/commissioned in 1944.

Catalogue #: 16002
Scale: 1/200
Width: 178mm
Height: 320mm
Length: 1355mm

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The kit

Wood, Plywood, and MDF
The kit is made using various materials of different thicknesses. Among the wood selection, you can find MDF laser cut boards for the false keel base, most of the superstructure, main caliber turrets, and other parts suited as a base. The Laser cut line seems very fine and doesn't have burn marks on either side: front or back. There are a total of 11 MDF sheets.

The falskeel MDF shhets are 6.0mm

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The bottom part of the falsekeel/keel assembly is 5.0mm MDF. On the same sheet, you will find parts for the stands.

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The other MDF sheets consist of parts for the superstructure and various sub-assemblies including the main caliber turrets. All those sheets are 3.00mm thick.
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There are a total of 11 plywood sheets. I must say that even though all plywood parts would be hidden, the quality of those sheets is awesome. There are no visible defects or knots on each sheet. They are straight without wraps. The parts are nicely cut through the sheets without the char burns on either side.

Here you see the false deck parts, they are almost 3.00mm (2.7mm exactly)

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While the falskeel/keel structure is MDF, the bulkheads are 3.7mm plywood. 24 bulkheads located on a total of 5 sheets

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The rest of the plywood sheets are used in assembling the superstructures, some of them are parts of falsedecks and other additional structural parts that are not MDF medium.

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Here I made a photo of the opposite side for one of the plywood sheets, just so you can see the quality of the laser cut lines without a burn.

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That's it for the MDF and Plywood sheets. The only wood left from the timber selection is the milled planks for the hull assembly, and smaller milled planks for the deck. There is also balsa wood to use as the filler blocks between the bulkheads. The planks seem to be very uniform in color and also in size (per bundle). In my 'Unboxing' review, there were some concerns made by @Bryian about the width of the planks supplied for the decking. This seems to be the case, and you might want to consider supplying your milled planks or if you have a table saw, you can adjust the kit's supplied wood.

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This is all the wood supplied in the kit. What can I say? The MDF becomes a standard for keel-structured parts as it doesn't warp, and is not affected by temperature changes. The plywood is high quality and doesn't show splintering across all the boards. The actual planks seem to be Limewood. They are nicely milled with precision and uniform in color. The smaller width planks might be required as an additional purchase or your stock, if you decide to go this route. Almost forgot, the boards don't have identification numbers. However, all parts can be identified from the instructions, they are labeled 'IP' (Identification Part). Here is an example of one of the sheets.
BTW, going a bit ahead of this review, all assembly stages are labeled alphabetically so are the parts required for this stage. For example; The IP sheet below identified some parts required for stage C as they all started with the letter C. Combining this identification sheet with the instruction manual step-by-step (below the IP sheet)... it is all clear the bulkheads C1, C2, and so on... are for the frames assembly. is that easy ;)

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This is it for today... Tomorrow, I will review the photoetched parts so don't go too far. ;) Thank you for joining me in my review, I hope it will help you in some way...

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The kit (continuing from the previous post)

Photo Etched parts and Fittings

Anyone who browses through my 'unboxing' review (link on the first post), will most likely surprised not to see any of the PE frets. Only the ones, who read the review, know that PE parts were hidden between the MDF\Plywood boards. Today it would be impossible to see the kit without PE parts, and the USS Missouri kit is no exception. Instead, the massive 15 sheets ( 165mm x 195mm), that weigh almost 1 kilo (945 grams) is a huge amount of PE parts to beautify the model. There are some parts I have no idea they will be used for. I suggest going through each PE fret and getting familiar with the parts identification sheet.

The PE sheets come wrapped in tissue, and stored between the wood packaging, 3 frets in a single layer wrap.

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The quality of those parts is really impressive and without further ado, I would like you to see and judge for yourself. Below is each of the frets.

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Here are some macro images from different frets. This sheet featured parts used mostly to sheath the super deck and various sub-assemblies.

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In the below two images, one sheet has parts with embossed placeholders, while another sheet, has actual parts for those placeholders. Isn't it cool? I wonder if you can find them. If you do, please let me know. I was a bit surprised to see the ladders without bending steps. :( I remember, using bending steps while working on the 1:350 scale model. Oh well, I guess on the big picture they will be not much visible.

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... another macro view so you see the quality.

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... Plane lift assembly

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... some doors and parts of the pipelines.

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... and an entire sheet of vertical ladders.

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Above I discuss about half of the supplied PE sheets are for the sheath of the super deck structure and auxiliary deck superstructures. where the base is assembled from MDF or Plywood and then wrapped (glued) with PE parts. here is an example (from the assembly manual).

From here:

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To here:

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here is another example of the entire process:

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Well, I thought I would continue with the fittings, but the program limits it to 25 images per single post. There are more to come, I will continue on the next post. Don't go far... Thank you for joining me in this review. Fitting is next.

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The kit (continuing from the previous post)

Fittings boxes

Anyone, who at least once assembled an Occre kit (any) knows that fittings will come in a plastic box. Due to the massive number of fittings, there are two fitting boxes. All the fittings are metal except CNC-turned main caliber barrels, they are brass. I am not sure about the actual alloy mix of those parts, but the casting looks sharp with lots of details presented, without visible flash. Some parts like the bow profile, are part of the hull assembly while others are part of the superstructure and deck. Here you will recognize propellers, barrels for Orlicon, parts to assemble funnels, two planes, and hundreds (in not thousands) more... Also, there are turned wooden parts and a few bandles of brass wire. The CNC-turned brass barrels are among others fittings.

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Below are fitting details in the macro view

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Parts of the main caliber guns

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CNC-turned brass barrels

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... and two sections of brass nails

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It would be almost impossible to describe and show all of them. Some are super-small, tinny-like eyelets hidden between other parts, but you get an idea of the quality.

I think, I am pretty much done, and the only part of this review left, is the Instruction manual along with the parts identification sheet. It will be moved to the next posts... Thank you and see you there.
 
The kit (continuing from the previous post)

Instruction Manual and Parts Identification booklet

There are no assembly instructions (like in the old school). Half of the page is dedicated to how to handle the assembly. What comes first, second, and so on... However, the photo step-by-step various stages are exactly what the doctor prescribed. 80 pages printed on both sides is massive information and makes it easy enough to follow.
The assembly is listed in alphabetical order from A to Z. When you reach the 'Z' letter, that means you are almost finished. All parts assembly required for stage 'A' will be labeled with the prefix 'A'. There are many templates at the end of the manual. One of them is for drilling port holes.
Parts Identification (instruction booklet) was written in 5 different languages on both sides of the pages, It describes the number of parts, the material they are made from, and the reference to the page number of the step-by-step manual. some of the pages labeled 'PL' are actual diagrams of the PE and details placements.

Here are some of the pages from the manual

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a sample of how the Indication sheet looks
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sample page of the portholes template in scale 1:1

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sample page of the parts placement templates

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... and samples of step-by-step photo instruction

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Photoetch parts identification

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You can download the manual from the Occre website free of charge and familiarize yourself with the assembly process.


Suppose you are still uncertain which part goes where Occre provides YouTube video instructions. How about that?!!!


For those who don't want to engage in all the kit review posts, I created a 9-minute video preview. Hope you like it.



Conclusion

Well, the review come to an end. I am not sure about you, but I have enjoyed putting together this review. I try not to forget about small things, I was hoping, it would come in handy to anyone considering buying this kit.
To me, it is a very nice kit by Occre, it is well-designed and beautifully crafted. While the Occre identifies this kit as 'Advanced level', I think an intermediate skilled level modeler could assemble it. All parts are high-quality, with 15 sheets of Photoetch parts, and over 6000 parts. I do, however, have a small request for Occre, If they can supply smaller width planks for decking. It would be even better if they could provide a self-adhesive lasered deck, like those aftermarket provides.

All in all, with the quality parts of this kit, you can consider her as the next model, assembling a gorgeous Mighty MO, a legend in your hands, a USS Missouri, on a scale of 1:200.


Thank you all for your comments and reactions, Happy modeling!

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OMG! that's a lot of PE. When this project is complete you'll be well versed in cleaning, painting, glueing PE components.
Thanks for the review. I think we all look forward to the build.
 
OMG! that's a lot of PE. When this project is complete you'll be well versed in cleaning, painting, glueing PE components.
Thanks for the review. I think we all look forward to the build.
thank you! The review is not finished yet, there are at least another two parts to finish. 13 frets of PE parts... going a bit ahead of my review. Now you know why there are so many PE parts.

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Your in-depth reviews are great Jim. Not a model I’ll build but it’s interesting to see what the box contents are like with all the parts. From what you show I see a quality kit.
 
Your in-depth reviews are great Jim. Not a model I’ll build but it’s interesting to see what the box contents are like with all the parts. From what you show I see a quality kit.
I think so as well, Roger. The kit, thus far, qualifies for a quality kit. It would be interesting to know how the assembly goes. I looked at the manual, it seems straightforward. Thank you.

BTW: The instruction is written in 5 different languages, one of them being French ;)
 
Another really good and comprehensive review Jim. Those PE parts look cleanly “stamped” if that is the proper word. I think you said you were going to build this so it will be definitely be a thread/log to follow.
 
Another really good and comprehensive review Jim. Those PE parts look cleanly “stamped” if that is the proper word. I think you said you were going to build this so it will be definitely be a thread/log to follow.
The PE technology is a bit different from stamping. PE is the chemical process where stamping is mechanical, Stamping requires specific (expensive) tooling and will be the most ineffective to use. I would think, it is a chemical reaction with high-quality processing.

Thank you for the comment and trust, Roger. As for the build, I am planning but have not decided when I will engage as 'Winter is coming...' (Game of Thrones). Building a long hull in the winter is a bad omen. ;) I am afraid that excessive heat will eventually twist the hull, it is 1 meter and 30 centimeters long. Also, I have other projects to finish first... But we shall see.
 
Some of those cast metal parts look a bit chunky and lack fine detail. I'm sure you might consider a few aftermarket 3D resin print parts when the time comes.

Edit- Thats a great project by the way.
 
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Great review :-)

But I have a question, because I don't quite understand it, why should I build a rather expensive kit from Occre when I can get a much cheaper one from Trumpeter in the same scale with a much higher level of detail?

I wonder about the motives of the manufacturers or what am I not understanding?

Is it the feeling of being able to build such a ship from more or less “wood”?

Dirk
 
Some of those cast metal parts look a bit chunky and lack fine detail. I'm sure you might consider a few aftermarket 3D resin print parts when the time comes.

Edit- Thats a great project by the way.
Thanks, Brian. I think the decision may come once the assembly starts. Also, a decision has to be made about where to upgrade and where to compromise accepting adjustments or modifications. Aftermarket parts are not cheap, and sometimes it is hard to justify their costs. But.. there are choices, and possibilities as our disposals.
 
Witaj
Piękna recenzja i model Jimski . Czekam na pierwsze posty z budowy. Pozdrawiam Mirek
 
Stuff looks good, but the prop looks like it may need some profiling of blades to a finer shape at outside ends, don't think prop blades ended with thick blunt ends.
 
Jimsky, do you every use all the brass nails they provide in kit to hold planks?

I hardly use them as most of time you have to pull out to get smooth finish of wood.
 
Jimsky, do you every use all the brass nails they provide in kit to hold planks?

I hardly use them as most of time you have to pull out to get smooth finish of wood.
I used it once, when I built Bounty from Mantua, Since that time, I have never used them, but You can still utilize them somewhere.
 
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