USS Iowa 1/700 Fujimi

Thirty years ago I travelled to Darlinghurst Rd, Kings Cross to buy this kit and several others from a Dutch man whose name was Paul Boreel. He operated a run down hobby shop in a very shady neighbourhood. Darlinghurst Rd is known for prostitutes and drugs, and I went there to buy plastic (I am addicted to plastic). Anyway, this kit has now made its way to the top of the stash and though there are now more recent and better toolings of this ship I want to finish it in memory of Paul and his funny little shop.



The deck was painted a dark yellow many years ago, it will be given a primer coat in preparation of a deck blue finish.




The parts to be primed are divided into two types - parts that will have a deck blue finish and those that don't.




These are the canvas bags at the base of the main guns. I will be using several extra parts for this old kit including newer toolings of the crane, catapults, boats, radar, searchlights and floatplanes.

Awesome ship !!!

Great start. I'll be watching this one all the way.

Good start   I got 3 1/800th aircraft carriers and one of these day i'm going to start working on one , after I get a bunch of started builds done first. I'll be watching and learning on this build for sure!!

That's a good looking ship Chris. You have a real production line going on there.

How many pieces are there to each gun?

Aftermarket super-detailing parts! Only a matter of time before there are tools for drilling out gun barrels, opening doors and prepainted little men. Amazing how there's a scale for every collector/builder!

Ill be loving this build, it will be good to see how you do the iowa.. hoping it inspires me to finish my iowa :-)

Some update pictures.





I've had to shave off some excess bits on the top of the turrets and also the hull. Also scratch built a gun platform on top of the No.2 turret.

The hull is warped and bends upwards like a banana. I have used clamps to glue the hull onto the base plate. The board should fix the warped hull problem. The main guns are attached to the hull using grommets so they had to be put in place before I glued the base plate. My mate Eddie is under the bench making sure I do a good job.

Looking good. Lots of little parts!

Glad to see that Eddie is doing his part for quality assurance!! He reminds me of the dog I had as a kid. Same breed and same coloring. He was not into modeling (although I was), but he did like to chew on tennies that were left around on the floor. He thought they were his treats.

That is promising to be a superb model Chris.

Always nice to have a modeling buddy. Nice work on the warped hull.

As usual Chris, expecting the best from you.

Thanks everyone, just taking my time with this one.

pete s wrote:

Looking good. Lots of little parts!  

Glad to see that Eddie is doing his part for quality assurance!! He reminds me of the dog I had as a kid. Same breed and same coloring. He was not into modeling (although I was), but he did like to chew on tennies that were left around on the floor. He thought they were his treats.

Yeah, mini schnauzers are great dogs. I think of Eddie as an old man in a dog suit. A wonderful breed. I have no leg room under my bench, it's his office. He doesn't chew shoes like your dog, he's too busy sleeping, in fact when he is sleeping he is the only one in the house who knows what he is doing.