1/700 USS Baltimore Heavy Cruiser CA-68 1943 Trumpeter #05724 Shrink Wrap MISB

Description: I want to clear some space on my shelves, so I need to part with some of my collection. THIS IS MY LAST ONE! Trumpeter has created a full line of 1/700 ship subjects, covering many countries and most eras (WWI, WWII, Cold War, Modern). This is the superb kit of the heavy cruiser USS Baltimore (CA-68) as she appeared in 1943. She was the lead ship of fourteen Baltimore class heavy cruisers and was commissioned in April 1943, serving most of her career in the Pacific Theater. All Baltimore heavy cruisers survived WWII and were scrapped in the 1970s, although the North Koreans claimed to have sunk the USS Baltimore in 1950. In reality, she was in a decommissioned reserve status in Bremerton at the time. She was briefly recommissioned in 1951 before her final decommissioning in 1956 and scrapping in 1972. I found dozens of listings for this kit on eBay (mostly from distant overseas sellers), but as a Top Rated Plus US Seller, I have this in stock and can reliably ship this kit very quickly. Here is some of what I found out about this wonderfully detailed model: The Trumpeter website shows this kit has almost 300 pieces with incredible detail, including a pair of OS2U-1 Kingfisher seaplanes and a stand with nameplate. Typical of Trumpeter ships, the kit can be built as a waterline or a full hull version. They also provide the following information about this wonderful kit: The Baltimore (CA-68) was launched 28 July 1942, commissioned 15 April 1943, and reported to the Pacific Fleet. Between November 1943 and June 1944 Baltimore was a unit of the fire support and covering forces at the operations in the Southeast Asia. In July 1944, she embarked President Roosevelt and his party and steamed to Pearl Harbor. Returning to the war zone in November 1944, she was assigned to the 3rd Fleet. On 26 January 1945 she joined the 5th Fleet for her final operations of the war: Honshu Island attacks; Iwo Jima operation; and the 5th Fleet raids in support of the Okinawa operation. After the cessation of hostilities Baltimore served as a unit of the “Magic Carpet” fleet and then as a part of the naval occupation force in Japan. Baltimore received nine battle stars for her service in the Pacific during World War II. · 299 parts including 14 sprues, upper hull, deck, lower hull and waterline plate· Paint scheme 1943 Measure 21· Either waterline or full-hull version can be assembled Scalemates.com shows the majestic box art and tells us this is a 2005 new tooling that has been the basis of over a dozen releases across the Trumpeter and Pit Road brands. There is a link to download the complete 8-page instruction set and full color painting guide. There are also links to aftermarket parts, galleries and references for the South Dakota Class Battleships. Scott Van Aken delivered a short Kit Preview on the modelingmadness.com site. He gives a detailed history of the Baltimore and offers a shot of all the parts laid out. He points out the separate stern sections which allow Trumpeter to make changes to these smaller pieces to represent variants within this class. He expected this to be a very popular kit, saying: “I'm sure that this will just fly off the shelves as having a good Baltimore class cruiser is probably on many people's list.” Timothy Dike published a photo-rich In-Box Review on the modelwarships.com site. He gives a brief history of the USS Baltimore and even Trumpeter’s collaboration with Pit Road on this kit. He uses over 50 high-resolution photos to show the hull, decks, sprues, decals and instructions, along with many close-ups of stunning part details. He lays everything out sprue-by-sprue and provides his insights into the kit. He really liked the kit, saying: “Correctly shaped and pretty nicely detailed overall, this kit will make a nice addition to your 1/700 scale fleet.” Martin Kohring posted a detailed In-Box Review on the German-language modellversium.de site. He shows each sprue, the decal sheet and the full-color painting and marking guide. He refers to an earlier review of the USS Pittsburgh 1944, which has a slightly different stern. He also notes that the Baltimore camouflage scheme is much simpler than the later war schemes. He lists the Strengths of the kit as: “Large number of parts and therefore also nice detailing, great decal, clear building instructions, colored painting instructions.” GUNPLABOY authored a short (5-minute) Unboxing Video on YouTube that has no commentary. You get a quick look at the hull and each sprue as he pulls them out for closer inspection. He does a little test fitting, but the real value is seeing what comes in the box. This kit is in a nicely decorated 12.5” x 5.5” x 2” box. As you can see from the pictures, the box is still sealed in its original shrink wrap, so I consider it factory sealed and absolutely gift-ready. This item contains one complete injection molded plastic model kit, with almost 300 plastic parts, a set of decals and a nice display base to build a full-hull or waterline hull version of the decorated heavy cruiser USS Baltimore. It requires cement and paint to complete as shown. I use eBay Managed Payments, but I no longer ship internationally. Auction winner pays winning bid and for a limited time, this fine item is offered with $6 Flat Rate Shipping in the US! No reserve and a low starting bid. Check out my other great auctions and listings for combined shipping. Good luck! Those familiar with my listings can tell that I really enjoy these products and the modeling hobby. I like to provide more than just the bare facts about the items, trying to lead you into discovering more about the subjects and optimizing your builds (if that is your goal). I started out picking up models that I was interested in, with the eye toward building them when I had time. Always a bargain-hunter, I accumulated many more than I can build, so I found myself in a Collector status (sounds nicer than a hoarder). As I am sure you have noticed, my items are almost always sealed and in mint condition (I call them Gift-Ready), since I only open them when I am ready to build them. Now I enjoy making these products available to my fellow modelers; both Builders and Collectors. For the Builders, there are probably better (at least cheaper) ways to add to your project lists than buying from me, but you know you are getting top quality. For Collectors, my goal is to save you a few bucks over the competition for the same item in factory sealed and collectible (or resellable) condition.

Price: 24.99 USD

Location: Bradenton, Florida

End Time: 2025-02-01T21:31:53.000Z

Shipping Cost: 6 USD