Tamiya 1/350 USS Missouri

And now for my award winner. Ok, that sounds a little more impressive than it actually is, but I did win a trophy for this model. "Best in Show" at a local hobby store, but hey it still counts. This model was the first I built with heavy, heavy photo etched parts, probably over 700 if I was to count them all up. I know there were about 200 photo etched parts in the .50 Caliber machine guns alone. I bought the two USS Missouri photo etched frets available through Goldmetalmodels.com. They greatly improved the appearance of the model and made this one of my favorites.

This was a long model, nearly 3 feet long. Rule #1 for building this model is to make sure you have plenty of space. The hull was a single piece, which made things a lot easier. But the sides had to be pushed out with a few thick balsa sticks so the deck pieces would fit better.





The superstructure looks complicated with all its railings and stairs and poles and decks and guns and everything else, but the construction was actually very simple. Masking off everything to paint the deck, well, be prepared to spend a few nights doing that. All the wiring is thin nylon string which was made taut by waving a soldering iron near it. The heat causes the nylon to shrink producing realistic tight antennae. Just be careful how close you get to the string and the rest of the model. There is one spot on one of the center gun turrets where I had to rebuilt the wall after accidentally melting it.


The anchor chains were a horrible bit of raised detail on the forecastle, almost invisible and a tremendous pain to paint....had I left them there, that is. I carefully scrapped them off and bought small chain to replace it. Having actual chain on the deck made it look instantly better.


The catapults and crane were replaced with photo etched parts. Photo etched parts may be expensive, but they can really take a good model and make it into a jaw-dropper.