The USS Missouri (BB-63)

This Revell kit was introduced way back in 1953 and I believe it was one of the first of their kits to be marketed. I remember first building it when I was around 12 years old, a very long time ago. This kit comes from an old mold, therefore there is a lot of flash and also some parts do not fit well and require cutting and sanding. I am not too steady anymore, especially with the very small parts, but I sometimes just like to build a model for something to do. The color scheme and flag placement is of my own choosing. And, for the deck to stay in place after glueing, you need to use rubber bands and then cut them off after the glue has hardened. I built this 5/6/18. Revell does not include the ships “screws” in this kit.

The ship had a wartime crew of 2700 officers and enlisted men. On September 2, 1945, the ship anchored in Tokyo Bay for the formal surrender of Japan to the allied forces, thus ending the Second World War. It is now anchored at Pearl Harbor.

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Brings back memories...This was my first warship kit way back when. It was a joy to build(knowing little about model building) and from what I remember, my paint job was awful, and that would be putting it mildly. But, I had tons of fun playing with it in the bathtub and on the floor.

 

I know, back then I never tried painting at all and I got a lot of glue on it where it was not supposed to be. And sometimes my images have disappeared from my posts on this site even when using postimage.com so I tried reducing another photo and tried uploading it from here, just in case. The above image (first image) would not upload on this site without reducing it using the “upload a file” on here.

 

Here is what it looks like reduced in size,

 

So did I, but I regretted gluing the model to the 2 stands included with the kit. In my then-"expert" opinion the stands adversely impacted the seaworthiness and handling of the vessel. I eventually ripped them off. I still have the model somewhere. I think start to finish it took me about 4 hours (without paint -- I never did get around to painting it IIRC). Good memories.

 

With a bit of experimentation, the stands might have been made to work like Australia II's winged keel...

 

Who needs experimentation...It's a hydrofoil battleship.

 

Here’s an updated version since I mounted it on the wood, plus an F/A-18 Hornet,

 

Interesting! I believe, I may be wrong, that this model is of the ship early in its career. It has the open bridge. (Brrrr….)

 

Could be, Revell may not make them as accurate as they should. Hard to say, as I said, they don’t even include the two “screws” with this kit. But you may be right.

 

The Missouri's navigation bridge has always been enclosed, same with the Wisconsin. However, the Revell model lacks the detail of it.


On top of the navigation bridge has some navigation aids, but no wheel, and has always been open...Also during WW2, there were several aircraft spotting stations port & starboard.
the open air portion of themModern day museum.

 

This is the open air navigation bridge of the Iowa as completed, the New Jersey was roughly the same.

 

Thanks, and great photos!

 

Thanks, Takao. I knew some of them had open bridges, at least at first. That Revell model certainly lacked detail.

By the way, my late Uncle Buck was on the destroyer that led the "Mo" into Tokyo Bay. This wasn't an honor position. They were there to detonate any mines that might not have been swept!

 

I went aboard the Missouri when it was at Bremerton, WA. I nearly drooled when I realized the deck was laid up with solid teak planks. Guess it was supposed to absorb the impact of shells. Since I've had my boat I refuse to throw away even scraps of that stuff. Beautiful job on the model Half Track.

 

Not going to do much to absorb the impact of shells.

Rebuilding Battleship Missouri Teak

 

As I understand it, the wood would keep bullets or shell fragments from ricocheting, in addition to the other benefits mentioned.

 

Actually, I believe that Academy and Tamiya produce better models with less flash, a better fit and more detail. I believe that this model originally was copyright around 1953 and little, if anything, has changed as far as the detail.

 

AFAIK, the molds have never been redone.

There are plenty of better Missouri models out there...but they are also pricey. So for size vs cost, this is one of the perfect kits for a beginning modller. Hence the continuing popularity of the kit.