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Fun and beautiful, but probably not for the beginner
 
This is a great little kit for the price. It is well detailed, the mold is clean and there is very little flash, and most everything fits well. It comes with the option to do full hull, or waterline. I did have some trouble getting the hull halves to fit properly, and I had to use a good deal of putty to get rid of an ugly overhang. The tripod masts were also a bit finicky, so I would recommend lots of delicate dry fitting before committing with glue. The kit comes with two small frets of photo etch which is a great touch, however, one cannot build the model without using the photo etch, and the PE can be difficult to bend and manipulate properly, so if you are a beginner, or have never used brass photo etch details, be aware that you’ll be getting into it now! I was pretty disappointed that there was no railing included in the kit. It is pretty easy to get aftermarket PE railing, but it would have been nice for Trumpeter to just include it. Other than that, it was a great build, and lots of fun. There is plenty of opportunity to add details and nice touches. Note, you need a good pair of needle-nose tweezers to build this kit.