Description

Features:
- Newly tooled aft deckhouse w/authentic detail
- Second torpedo tubes located
- Newly tooled flat-sided funnels for Benson class destroyers like USS Laffey
- New director radar dish
- New separate piping on rear of funnel
- New flexible self-adhesive materials for signal flags
- Photo-etched parts finely reproduced for radar and antennas
- Funnels provided w/option of molded on ladders or add on photo-etched ladders
- Realistic photo-etched funnel caps gills and funnel platform
- Extra-fine detail on superstructure walls like hose and ladder patterns delicately reproduced
- Extra-thin shield walls on superstructure reproduced for accurate 1:350 scale appearance
- Extremely fine detailed parts like davits for whalers
- Whalers w/photo-etched parts finely reproduced
- Sky-lookout shield reproduced w/photo-etched parts
- Open topped upper-mount 5-inch gun w/textured canvas cover
- Upper-mount and lower-mount 5-inch guns realistically reproduced
- Realistically detailed gun barrels are slide molded w/hollow ends
- Turret w/realistic detail
- One-piece sldie-molded upper hull w/undercut details realistically represented
- Deck has realistically reproduced camber
- Waterline or full-hull version can be assembled
- Sponsons are represented on lower hull by slide-mold technology
- 5-inch practice loading machine in great detail
- 20mm AA guns finely reproduced w/photo-etched shields
- Quintuple Torpedo launcher in fine detail
- Special device included to bend specific photo-etched parts to correct angle
- Photo-etched propeller guards finely reproduced
- Optional barrels provided for gun turrets
- Rudder is movable
- True-to-scale ultra-thin propellers reproduced
- Bridge supports finely represented w/photo-etched parts
- 12-inch, 24-inch and 36-inch searchlights provided
- Movable structure for 36-inch searchlight w/clear part included
- 36-inch searchlight platform delicately rendered
- Side doors (w/optional photo-etched parts) can be assembled open or closed
- Smoke generator with fine details
- Depth charges molded w/extra-fine detail

Commissioned on July 25 1940, the USS Benson was in time to see extended combat during WWII. The USS Benson (DD-421), the only ship of this name in the U.S. Navy thus far, was the lead ship in a class of destroyers. Before the USA entered the war, the vessel was escorting convoys to and from Iceland. Subsequent to the events of Pearl Harbor, it was again escorting convoys, this time to the UK. An at-sea collision prevented its participation in the landings in North Africa, although it did support the later invasion of Sicily and the landings at Salerno. In 1944 it was fully engaged in convoy duties in the Mediterranean, and succeeded in shooting down several German aircraft. It also supported the invasion of southern France. The final weeks of WWII were spent in the Pacific. Its valorous WWII service earned the ship four battle stars.

The USS Benson now appears in Dragon...s 1/350 Sea Power series as a plastic kit. The kit depicts the destroyer as it appeared in 1945 towards the close of the war. As such it features a brand new aft deckhouse and a new director radar dish. Unlike other vessels in the Benson class, it also possesses a second torpedo launcher. The kit is finely detailed thanks to photo-etched elements to render items like antennas, ladders, antiaircraft guns and propeller guards. Some door hatches are even provided as optional parts so that modelers can portray open doors! There are other accessories like half a dozen scale crewmen to populate the deck, as well as Dragon...s novel, flexible self-adhesive signal flags. This 1/350 scale kit of the USS Benson is brimming with detail, and it is a worthy depiction of a ship that had a distinguished wartime career.