Meng 1/700 H.M.S Rodney

First impressions do count. Let us know what you think of your kits - new and old.
Post Reply
User avatar
JohnRatzenberger
Why is he so confused ?
Posts: 15708
Joined: April 5th, 2011, 3:42 pm
Location: Living on a sandbar - Nags Head, NC.

Meng 1/700 H.M.S Rodney

Post by JohnRatzenberger »

Just arrived.

Image

The two interesting things to note are:
-- it is snap-fit !
-- it is multi-color plastic and says "no painting required", although there is small section covering detail painting. A shame I cannot sneak it into the Matchbox GB :)

It is the first of their "Plesiosaurus" Series -- thus the kit number of PS-001.

More to follow, shortly.
John Ratzenberger :???:
It's my model and I'll do what I want with it.
User avatar
Dazzled
Modelling Gent and Scholar
Posts: 9592
Joined: October 1st, 2011, 11:08 pm
Location: Mid Glamorgan, South Wales
Contact:

Re: Meng 1/700 H.M.S Rodney

Post by Dazzled »

I saw the sprues on the Meng stand at Telford. They looked very impressive.
COLD WAR S.I.G. LEADER

Wherever there's danger, wherever there's trouble, wherever there's important work to be done....I'll be somewhere else building a model!
User avatar
iggie
Modelling Gent and Scholar
Posts: 23360
Joined: July 31st, 2013, 11:04 am
Location: North Somercotes, Lincolnshire
Contact:

Re: Meng 1/700 H.M.S Rodney

Post by iggie »

Sounds an interesting concept for this scale; I'll be intertwined to see the box contents
Best wishes

Jim
If you can walk away from a landing, it's a good landing. If you use the airplane the next day, it's an outstanding landing
"Never put off till tomorrow, what you can do the day after tomorrow"
User avatar
JohnRatzenberger
Why is he so confused ?
Posts: 15708
Joined: April 5th, 2011, 3:42 pm
Location: Living on a sandbar - Nags Head, NC.

Re: Meng 1/700 H.M.S Rodney

Post by JohnRatzenberger »

Here we are:

First, all the sprues are in their own bag, seems slightly inflated, with plenty of room in the box, so it was all well protected.

Image

Here are the hull parts, in assembly order -- bottom, waterline/boot, hull, main deck, wood deck planking. And some detail of the wood planking section.

Image

Image

Here's the stand, the superstructure, and other parts. Note the top of the main superstructure has wood planking but it is not in wood color.

Image

Image

And here's the armament -- all sprues, and two in detail. Note the very fine gun barrels, appropriate for this scale.

Image

Image

Now, it says and I repeated, that no paint is needed, but there are some detail paint recommendations, your can see the deck section on the superstructure is unpainted, and of course, the disruptive camouflage carried by Rodney is not addressed at all. There is no photoetch, so no railings. There are enough illustrations to guide one on rigging the masts, etc.

It's not what I expected, I don't think I saw snap-fit, but it certainly looks good - the fineness of detail, see gun barrel, really sets this off from a lot of OOB 700 scale kits.

I am thinking of doing it OOB, as is, for the Feb Blitz, then later seeing if I can take some of it apart and do a proper disruptive paint job. I need to look ahead and be sure it is easily "un-snap-fit".
John Ratzenberger :???:
It's my model and I'll do what I want with it.
User avatar
iggie
Modelling Gent and Scholar
Posts: 23360
Joined: July 31st, 2013, 11:04 am
Location: North Somercotes, Lincolnshire
Contact:

Re: Meng 1/700 H.M.S Rodney

Post by iggie »

That looks to be a very finely tooled moulding; I do hope we see it in the forthcoming Blitzbau!
Best wishes

Jim
If you can walk away from a landing, it's a good landing. If you use the airplane the next day, it's an outstanding landing
"Never put off till tomorrow, what you can do the day after tomorrow"
User avatar
DavidWomby
Modelling Gent and Scholar
Posts: 11707
Joined: May 1st, 2011, 8:09 pm
Location: Florida, USA

Re: Meng 1/700 H.M.S Rodney

Post by DavidWomby »

Very impressive moulding of the fine details. Interesting approach - snap-fit and coloured plastic - even down to a separate layer to be the hull boot line colour!

I am still trying to figure out the logic of naming it part of the "Plesiosaurus" Series!

David
User avatar
JohnRatzenberger
Why is he so confused ?
Posts: 15708
Joined: April 5th, 2011, 3:42 pm
Location: Living on a sandbar - Nags Head, NC.

Re: Meng 1/700 H.M.S Rodney

Post by JohnRatzenberger »

dwomby wrote:I am still trying to figure out the logic of naming it part of the "Plesiosaurus" Series!
David
I gave it about 15 seconds, then moved along .... but perhaps a subtle (or not) dig at ships like this being "extinct marine mammals" -- or more likely it's an idiom that doesn't translate well ...
John Ratzenberger :???:
It's my model and I'll do what I want with it.
User avatar
splash
Senior Service Rotorhead
Posts: 13828
Joined: May 1st, 2011, 11:02 am
Location: Somerset England

Re: Meng 1/700 H.M.S Rodney

Post by splash »

It looks a nice kit, but slightly out of my price range.

Thank you for taking the time to carry out the review, I look forward to seeing it built.

Regards Splash
My work bench is starting to look like Portsmouth Naval Dockyard.
User avatar
JohnRatzenberger
Why is he so confused ?
Posts: 15708
Joined: April 5th, 2011, 3:42 pm
Location: Living on a sandbar - Nags Head, NC.

Re: Meng 1/700 H.M.S Rodney

Post by JohnRatzenberger »

splash wrote:It looks a nice kit, but slightly out of my price range.
If I had paid attention when I pre-ordered it, I might not have. I honestly did not see the snap-fit and was thinking there might be a bit more in the kit, like some railings. I am building a Meng kit now and know of their finely molded and detailed plastic so I was ripe for pickin' ... Might be interesting to compare this to Trumpeter's new release 1/700 Rodney .... but not me ...
John Ratzenberger :???:
It's my model and I'll do what I want with it.
ShaunW
NOT the sheep
Posts: 26118
Joined: November 26th, 2011, 6:11 pm
Location: Pontefract West Yorkshire

Re: Meng 1/700 H.M.S Rodney

Post by ShaunW »

Interesting. A snap-fit with some very nice looking detail. It might cost less if they moulded it in just one colour though - the old "no painting required" claim of model company marketing departments gets a snort of derision from me however and is arguably OK in kits aimed at youngsters (although I think kids should be encouraged to paint models, with adult supervision when they are young) but I don't think this particular offering is.
Doing - Tamiya 1/35th Universal Carrier.

Work is the curse of the modelling classes!
IPMS#12300
User avatar
Chuck E
Established 1949
Posts: 2414
Joined: May 3rd, 2011, 8:05 pm
Location: Darlington. Home of the Railways

Re: Meng 1/700 H.M.S Rodney

Post by Chuck E »

It looks very neat. I may grab one if I see any about. Thanks, John.
So many models, so little time.
User avatar
JohnRatzenberger
Why is he so confused ?
Posts: 15708
Joined: April 5th, 2011, 3:42 pm
Location: Living on a sandbar - Nags Head, NC.

Re: Meng 1/700 H.M.S Rodney

Post by JohnRatzenberger »

Mine is still sitting there un-built, mournfully looking at me. I think the issue is I really want to do a full camo, not just gray.
John Ratzenberger :???:
It's my model and I'll do what I want with it.
celt
Modelling Gent and Scholar
Posts: 3235
Joined: July 6th, 2014, 3:19 pm

Re: Meng 1/700 H.M.S Rodney

Post by celt »

Multi coloured frames and sprues,Matchbox lives again :grin:
User avatar
Chuck E
Established 1949
Posts: 2414
Joined: May 3rd, 2011, 8:05 pm
Location: Darlington. Home of the Railways

Re: Meng 1/700 H.M.S Rodney

Post by Chuck E »

jRatz wrote:Mine is still sitting there un-built, mournfully looking at me. I think the issue is I really want to do a full camo, not just gray.

I'm interested to see just how the layers look when stacked up. Clever idea. The deck may need painting either bleached teak, or maybe grey.

1940 - 41. Main Deck was all wood. Other decks MS4a. After that. Main Deck appears MS4a and other horizontal areas 507a. For Nelson

Rodney was the same up to 1942. After that, she had a real mix of colours on deck, which matched her sides. Her camo was changed slightly in 44-45, but I don't have any shots of her deck at this time.
So many models, so little time.
Post Reply

Return to “In-Box reviews”