USS Freedom, LCS-1 in 1/700 by cyber-hobby.com
 
The USS Freedom LCS-1 is a modern ship, has a core crew of 40, which rises to 75 when including the specialist weapons packages and aircrew it can carry.  Armed with a BAe systems Mk 110 57mm automatic gun in the forward turret, 4 .50cal gun mounts, 2 30mm Bushmaster Mk44, RIM 116 Surface to Air missile launcher and in the anti-submarine warfare configuration, 45 NLOS missiles, as depicted in the kit.  Capable of speeds up to 47 knots, this is a quick warship.  Commisioned in 2008 it was not without it's share of problems when it entered service, but these are gradually being ironed out.
 
Part 1 - Building the model
 
This is the brand new kit from cyber-hobby.com and Dragon, the smaller of the 2 new LCS (Littoral Combat Ships) being built for the US Navy.  This is the ship as built by the contractor Lockheed Martin, powered by 2 Rolls-Royce Marine Gas Turbines.  There is some additional information on this in my in-box review, to which there is a link below, coupled with some errors in the instructions which I have noted there for you in case you go to build this one yourself.
 
The kit can be built in either waterline or full hull configuration.  For photo purposes I have pictures it just dry fitted onto the full hull and stand, though eventually I plan to have this as a waterline model, and I hope combined with another ship in a small diorama.  Given the size of some of the parts, which are really tiny, I chose to assemble the whole kit, including the use of the etch brass flight deck protective nets, though for this built I didn't use the small etch brass options for the 4 light weapons mounts.  A few of the fittings are really very small, and you should bear in mind that the photos in the album showing the build are many times larger than the actual model.  Some parts are only a millimetre or two long, so need very careful handling as you remove them from the sprue and fix them to the hull/superstructure.  The end result is shown in the pictures below, which include some taken with a macro lens on the camera so make it look even larger than it is.
 
The next stage is the paint job....  (more to follow...)
 
Part 2 - Painting and Finishing the Model
 
Completed USS Freedom, LCS1 in 1/700
 
Well, painting this has been a bit of fun.  On the basis it has been a long time since I did a small scale ship model, it was experimental in many ways.  The hull and then the superstructure are two different tones of grey, and the deck surfaces a dark grey.  For the colours I used paints which looked right to my eye, selected from the recent Lifecolor sets for the US Navy of WW2, which includes one particularly that is the same as used today, and then a lighter version of that for the upper superstructure.  If you have a look at photos of the real thing, you can see the dividing line between the colour just above the sloping superstructure sides, not in line with the main deck.
 
A brown ink wash was used to outline doors and odd bits around the superstructure, bright orange for the life rings, as well as on lights on the stern.  The transfers were arranged a little oddly on the transfer sheet.  It makes the best use of space, but it didn't help get a couple out as they are printed inside one another.  The two red rings, one for the forward gun turret and another for the missile launcher further back are printed one inside the other, so not easy to slide one off while the other is there.  The same applies to the two lines of shapes that go across the flight deck, as these are printed inside the flight deck lining, which is a bit fiddly to get off and into position as it is one piece, but the lines move as there is no clear infil to the transfer.  Looks great, but awkward to get into position without breaking it, though manageble if you are careful.
 
Once all was in place, I used some weathering powders to make some light rust streaks, as there are some visible on some photos of the real thing, and then a black pigment to make it look 'dirty'.  Again, a number of photos show it to look that way and I wondered how best to represent that.  Not entirely perfect, but it looks along the right lines.
 
I went for the waterline option, but for those wanting to use the full hull option, the instructions show the lower hull as all black, whereas a US Navy photo shows it to be a black line and then red below that.
 
I have added some photos of the real thing, all courtesy of the US Navy official website, to help get a better idea of the colours on the real thing.  For the action in them, there are a couple of shots of the next one, Fort Worth, being launched in fairly spectacular style.
 
Anyway, this one is done for now.  If I can get hold on an LCS 2, the Independence, in the same scale, I hope to put them together in a small sea base, another experiment for me in itself.
 
My thanks to Dragon Models for the kit and enabling me to have a go at the USS Freedom, LCS 1.