U.S.S. Missouri, 1/700 Tamiya: Presentation model

[JonE]

Very cool Lee, attached is the USS NC with her blue camo. Blue looks close to me.

[BenB]

Very cool, Lee! I've always thought USN ships were varying shades of grey. Learn something every day! 

Ben

[Joe M]

Lee, that's a great model of the MO! I'm always surprised to learn how many different paint schemes there were of our ships during the WWII period!

-Joe

[Bill L.]

nice boat LOL - Just kidding you.  Looks good!

Bill

[Anthony Leger]

Nice Lee  I didn't know about the blue decking either.

[Bill L2]

Great Job Lee. And a great history lesson. I did not know the MO was painted in all blue. So much in that era was captured in BW that we miss the actual colors of the machines that fought in the war. I guess it makes sense with the constant threat from the Japanese Kamakaze attacks. With the blue deck it would have blended in well with the deep blue of the pacific. Great build Lee.

[lgriffin]

Hi Clyde.

The Missouri as she is today in Pearl Harbor is all gray, no blue, like all the other ships in the US Navy.

Keep in mind, too, that the blues I used on the model are off-the-shelf PollyScale railroad colors and are not exactly a good match for the real colors used by the USN. They're a little too vibrant, but they do look good on the model!

See the attached picture for a great view of the forward turrets and gun director from above in October 1945. This shows the blue paint on the tops of the turrets, etc., and the recently-scrubbed deck which still shows residue from the removed blue deck stain.

I've added another color photo of the Missouri taken during the surrender ceremony which shows the blue-stained teak deck. If you magnify the pic, you can see the individual planks. All of that blue stain was removed (holystoned) from the deck on the way back to the U.S.

Cheers,

Lee G.

[ClydeM]

that looks like a tough build Lee.  somehow I don't recall the boat at Pearl Habor being that blue. am I missing someting in its history? clyde

[Spanky]

Sweet job Lee.I can see how fiddly that model can be,all those itty bitty parts.
spanky

[lgriffin]

Here is the 1/700 Tamiya U.S.S. Missouri I built for my brother-in-law and presented to him this past Christmas. His and my wife's father served on the Mo during her entire WWII tour.

I built the model as the Mo would have looked after the September '45 surrender when the wooden decks were stripped of their blue stain on the way back to the U.S., probably in no small part to occupy the crew's time.

The Tamiya kit is very nice and fits well. It has many parts, so many that Tamiya doesn't list the parts count on the box! The high quality of the kit notwithstanding, building 1/700 ships is definitely challenging. There is no end to the detail painting, and there are literally dozens of tiny parts to paint and attach. Patience is not just a virtue, it is a requirement.

Everything on this model is painted with a brush. I picked out a couple of blues and a gray from the PollyScale railroad paints to simulate the USN Measure 22 scheme of 5-N Gray, 20-N Navy Blue, and 20B Deck Blue. I realize these colors are not really close to the actual colors: The USN "purple" family of ship colors don't have any equivalent in the airplane modeling world. Colors used are:

- Lower Hull:                                     PollyScale railroad acrylic D & H Avon Blue
- Topside (Turrets, etc.):                    PollyScale railroad acrylic Conrail Blue
- Hull above deck and all other areas:    PollyScale railroad acrylic Bar Gray
- Deck:                                            PollyScale railroad Sand with a wash of burnt sienna oil paint

I would like it if Tamiya had a full-hull version of this ship, but it appears that for 1/700 scale, the manufacturers have pretty much standardized on water line.

The display case is from Imex, available at craft stores or online. I purchased a sheet of thin birch from the craft store and cut it to fit the display case base. The ship is secured to the base with two short #6 screws and nuts via holes drilled through the base, birch, and lower hull. Time precluded me from staining the base or doing anything fancy like water, but the bare birch looks pretty good as is.

This was an enjoyable and rewarding build.

Cheers,

Lee Griffin