I wanted something to remember my grandfather by. He was a WW2 veteran having served upon an attack cargo ship, USS Skagit AKA-105 in 1945-46. He achieved the rank of Seaman 1st Class, and was a skilled boat handler. Growing up, he never really spoke of his time in the war, and the only thing that there was in the house commemorating this time was a b/w photo of the ship. I looked at this photo often, wondering about the ship and what it did. Fast forward many decades later, and long after his passing, I got back into modeling and began the search for a way to honor his service.
Searching high and low for just the right momento, I discovered the existence of the model by Renwal of the USS Seminole AKA-104. Same ship built in the same shipyard at the same time. I began wondering if I could get my hands on an intact survivor model to build, along with how I could change it into the Skagit. I was already in the middle of my USS Missouri build, and having discovered the Finescale Modeler Forums, I began the research for the Renwal build. I was lucky enough to buy the Renwal kit from ebay after several attempts, and began gathering the materials I would need to turn it into a first class tribute. Beginning August 1st 2025, I commenced the build. It is now complete, the pictures of which follow.
Along the way I hit lots of roadblocks, from a dearth of information regarding what she would have look like then, to really no available quality photos of other ships in her class. So the finished product is my interpretation of the Skagit as she would have looked like on her maiden voyage from Hampton Roads, VA to Marseilles, France, sporting a measure 12 1945 revision color scheme.
I would be remiss not to acknowledge the advice and information received from the members of this forum as well as the internet at large, without whose help I couldn’t have completed the build. And with that, I’ll cease rambling and let you see the completed project.
