USS Tennessee BB-43, 1940
by Frank O'Neill

1/700 USS Tennessee BB-43, 1940 (Hi-Mold)

I thought this would make an interesting display next to my 1945 version of the Tennessee to show the extreme changes were made during the early WW2 re-fit. It's hard to believe they're the same ship. Anyway- on to the model.

The 5"/25 have been replaced with Skywave parts. The Browning .50 caliber AA guns are from White Ensign. The Kingfisher aircraft are from White Ensign. The resin cockpits were removed and clear canopies were made from clear epoxy resin. The Tom's Modelworks USN early battleship detail set was used to replace many of the kit's white metal parts. The flags are from HP. The portholes have all been deepened to help them stand out. The rigging is from 0.002" monofilament. The searchlights were drilled out, reflectors made from chrome sequin discs punched out with the Waldron set and the lenses were then formed from clear epoxy resin. The model was then weathered, washed and drybrushed.