Introduction: USS Missouri BB-63, 1945 fit in 1/96 scale

Use the Section Menu at left to navigate these USS Missouri pages: use the vertical scroll bar at right to see entire page.

I have for many years admired large-scale model warships. Several types have always caught my eye, including Spruance, Ticonderoga (same hull, different superstructure), USCG WHEC, and Iowa battleships. There are others of course, and from other navies. During my modeling career I have built and operated ships, cars/trucks and (too many) aircraft. I have gone so far as to design and build my own superyacht in 1/4" scale - this was back in the 80s, so everything was done on velum with drafting pencils. I've studied how hulls are designed, principles of bouyancy and stability, etc. With the advent of (relatively) readily-available and high-powered design software like Solidworks, it is possible for average modelers to design extremely accurate components - and even entire ships - in a scale of their choosing.

In late 2014 while fully-immersed in my 1/200 USS Missouri project (documented here), I finally decided to pull the trigger and purchase a 1/96 scale kit. I had already acquired documentation from The Floating Drydock as a part of my 1/200-scale effort. I was familiar - literally over decades - with the offerings from The Scale Shipyard, so the obvious choice was to place a call to Lee Upshaw and order a USS Missouri in 1/96 scale.

More to follow as time permits. I will try to keep this build log up to date, but I find that sometimes I wind up spending more time on the log than I do on the model...