Back to the future! That could very well be an apt description of Dragon’s latest ship kit. The very first plastic kit that Dragon released all those years ago was a 1/350 scale model of USS Ohio, the first-of-class ballistic-missile submarine of the US Navy (USN). Now Dragon is releasing a model of sister ship USS Florida (SSGN-728), which was the sixth ship in the Ohio class. Florida was commissioned on June 18 1983, and on her shakedown tour she successfully launched a Trident missile. In an important event in her life, USS Florida entered Norfolk Naval Shipyard in 2003 to undergo refueling and convert into a cruise missile submarine (SSBN to SSGN). This process was completed in 2006. USS Florida was heavily involved in Operation Odyssey Dawn, the intervention in Libya in March 2011. The 16,500-tonne submarine fired 93 Tomahawk cruise missiles to help overwhelm Libyan air defense targets. This was the first combat action for USS Florida, and indeed for any Ohio-class boat.
This overall quality of this kit remains remarkable even after the passage of so many years. The shape of the submarine is beautifully captured and details are sharply rendered. It has also been updated compared to the original release, with USS Florida including Dry Deck Shelter (DDS) mounted on the deck. This system enables teams of SEALs to be infiltrated and exfiltrated in littoral areas, with the DDS housing swimmer delivery vehicles (SDV). The original submarine was given a new purpose, and so Dragon has given its very first kit a rebirth that adds enormously to its appeal!