by Kieran Griffith
1/350 USS Iowa BB-61 (Tamiya)
This USS Iowa kit was made for my local Library which has given me so much free entertainment through its media I felt I had to give something back to it. The kit is the basic super detailed USS Missouri from Tamiya and the resin conversion kit and the Photoetch details are from Tom's Modelworks. The kit took a few weeks to do and the stand came together in my spare spare time. The stand is actually my favorite part of the kit since it will be going into public display. It is made of wood with a plexiglass case glued together like an upside down fishtank on the top. One thing you have to be careful about plexiglass is it scratches very easily; on the other hand it won't cut you on the edges and you can glue it together. The stand has rubber pads at the bottom of the legs and that stop it from sliding around on a flat surface. I got the rubber from a perished bike innertube I found at the side of the road. I used basic Walmart Gloss Black and Almond wood stain paints for the base and before I give it to the library will get an engraved brass plaque nailed on to the front. What better way for the public to remember you by. Thanks to Fiona Bruin for helping me get this model.
