One of the advantages cough of building models is that you sometimes get interesting “requests,” and even … gifts! Such as the kit shown below, a 1/600 plastic rendering of the USS Missouri by a company I’ve never heard of, Kangnam of South Korea.
The relative who gave me the kit said his grandfather had served on the Mighty Mo at the end of WWII and through Korea; someone else had bought the kit years ago to make as a present and then … never built it. Enter moi.
I’m not really a battleship guy, but the one-piece hull looks sort of close shape-wise. The barren one-piece deck has raised lines aft to deleniate the helicopter landing area (as best I can tell this is supposed to be her 1980s look) which are going to have to go because I’m sticking with a Korea time frame due to the simpler paint job. The superstructure has no detail. None. It’s absolutely smooth, except for the obligatory Aztec-type stairs. The two sprues of parts are similarily devoid of details except for the barest hint of windows around the bridge.
I build in 1/700, so I can do some scavenging, but will probably forgo PE railings because of the sheer amount involved. The kit comes with a very dodgy base, but I plan to mount it on brass finials in a plastic case because they have cats.
The one genuinely odd thing about the kit was that inside the box, there was another small box with a copy of the box art on it. Inside that was a very small pair of tweezers.
If you are planning on converting a 1980’s Big Mo to a 1950’s Big Mo, then you are 100% correct. You will definately have your work cut for you. This will be interesting.
Thanks for that link, saves me having to puzzle out watertight doors and whatnot.
I think what is going to make this easier is that the recipients just want a nice-looking model, and aren’t going to be hung up on every little detail. So it’s up to me to strike a balance between getting it done in a reasonable amount of time and a serious case of Advanced Modeler’s Disease (he said as he pondered 3-D printed quad 40 mounts and generic 1/600 PE).
I know Kangnam mainly from the a/c side…for doing what seem to be lower-quality ‘knockoffs’ of more prominent mfgs’s kits (like the 1/32 F-5E), never seen the ships. But for a simple ‘display’ project, it seems like it might be a great basis despite the odd scale. Changes to long-lived ships can always be a challenge, but I hope yours don’t produce too many headaches!
(BTW, the mini-box w/tweezers sounds like a cool bonus! [:D])
Oh boy ,you are so right. I figured I would NEVER get to build the 1/350 “MO” as the Price just doesn’t fit my Budget. So,I started to convert the U.S.S.New Jersey, by that other Japanese Company. I did get wood decks for the “Mo” and boy, is there a lot of stuff missing!The system for Ship to Ship has to go as well. Leaving a Big Blank space!
True the N.J is expensive too! Mine was a gift so I felt free to do it. The person Gifting her to me is emotionally challenged so insisted I have My Missouri Model. This is what he came up with. When I started the changes he simply stated" I know you’ll have more fun doing it this way".
I have to say, He knows me better than I thought. he’s now in Hospital ( Covid Positive)As a life-long friend he’s a jewel and he says he’s gonna beat it!
The 80s refits of the Iowa class ships changed some of the fabric of the ships.
Notably, superstructure decks were extended to mount missile launchers, and also some platforms were extended to mount commo gear. This makes for a complicated dance, as many of the decks will need cutting down. At least there are very few areas which will want adding on.
The masts are going to be an issue, as they have extensive changes.
It’s almost easier to convert a WWII BB-63 to KW than an 80s version, though. The chnages to the fire control radar were minimal; the surface search and sky search main radar were at least similar.
Now, as to the paint scheme being “simpler” that giving me head scratches. *0s paint scheme is Modern Haze Gray verticals, Deck Gray (where not wooden) and some Flight Deck compound aft at the helo area.
KW paint scheme is Haze Gray for verticals and Deck Gray for decks (wood deck un painted) and “Non Skid” in the aircraft area. There’s debate about which Haze and which Deck gray those are.
From Navsource (April 1951)
To complicate matters, during the KW, Missouri (as did all the Iowas) had all of her 20mm removed, along with many of the splinter shields and “pulpits.”
See navsource (Summer 1954)
(Not surprising, the 20mm only had about a 2000yd range, about 2 seconds’ flight time with 300kt aircraft; only 1 second with 600kt a/c, making them pretty pointless against KW aviation assets.)
My father’s 1st Class Midshipman Summer Crouse was on Missouri in 1953.
Thanks for the info on the Korean War color scheme, that’s pretty much what I had found. Since absolute accuracy isn’t an issue for this build, I’m debating just going with all grey to simplify things. I’ve already broken one promise to myself and ordered a ton of 1/600 PE.
As others have found with Kangnam, there are fit issues. A lot of them.
My biggest one to date is that the deck is several millimeters wider than the hull where it narrows in the sweep up towards the bow. So pushing the hull out with some spacers isn’t really an option. The only thing I can see is to glue the deck to the hull solidly, let it dry well, and then get the Dremel out and try to even things up. Sigh. At least the hull is one piece, as is the deck, so that helps. A little.
