by Rusty White
1/350 USS Tinian HAL-1 (Tamiya/Scratchbuild)
The model was a massive conversion of the 1/350 scale Tamiya New Jersey kit to represent the heavy assault ship proposed to Congress by Howard Pulver in the late 70s. The Heavy Assault Ship purpose was to extend the service life of the Iowa Class vessels into the 21st century. While there were a number of designs submitted, this one was the most seriously considered by the Navy and Marines. It is designed to deliver 800 troops via helicopter with Sea Cobra gunships and Harriers for close ground support.
The 16" and 5" guns would deliver unprecidented firepower for shore bombardment while the Tomahawk cruise missiles would deliver long range strike power. The only thing that stopped the project from implimentation was the lack of funding for the Navy during the Carter administration, so it was dropped.
The aircraft and deck equipment are all from Iron Shipwright and add much needed color and interest to the model. The flight deck was almost entirely hand painted with some decals added to the exact specifications of the Pulver drawings. Most of the superstructure from the bridge back is either scratch built or greatly converted to match the actual drawings of the Pulver submission.
I named the ship the USS Tinian HAL-1 (Heavy Assault Landing) keeping with the Navy's tradition of naming assault ships after famous beach assaults. The hull number "1" would represent the first of the new "Tinian" class of heavy assualt ships. So it is possible to breathe new life into those old New Jersey kits.
Rusty is the owner of
Flagship Models
