by Ed McDonald
1/350 USS Nicholas DD-449 (Tamiya)
This is USS Nicholas DD-449 as she appeared on 2 September 1945 arriving at the Yokohama Customs House Pier in order to embark Allied representatives for transport to USS Missouri for the Japanese surrender ceremony. Nicholas received 16 battle stars and a Presidential citation in WW2 and was selected to escort Missouri into Tokyo Bay. She went on to receive another 5 battle stars in Korea. Arguably, she could be the most famous destroyer of WW2.
There are no plastic kits of Nicholas available. The trouble is that she was a very early war round-bridge Fletcher class. But, like all other Fletchers, she was updated and ended the war with a 1944 (mid to late war) refit. Mid and late war Fletchers can be built from Trumpeter's The Sullivans kit. But she was a mid war square bridge Fletcher.
