by Bob Nandell
1/700 USS Texas CGN-39 (Scratchbuild)
The four 11,000 ton Virginia-Class nuclear powered missile cruisers built in the early 1970's were supposed to be in service for 38 years, but due to fussy powerplants they all were retired within twenty years. However, they were sleek looking, well-armed carrier escorts while they did serve. My model of CGN 39 Texas is built of sheet plastic around a balsa hull plug, with balsa, sheet plastic, and typing paper for superstructure parts, and the gun and missile mounts and helicopter .are left-overs from Dragon brand models I have built. The Texas was commissioned in 1977 and decommissioned in 1993
