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USS Kentucky 1
By wiskybb64
3 Favourites12 Comments1K Views
This is a 1/350 scale model of the USS New Jersey by Tamiya. I have modified it to represent a battleship that was almost finished: the USS Kentucky.
She was nearly finished as a guided missile battleship instead of just a standard Iowa-class battleship. It would have been very interested.
She was nearly finished as a guided missile battleship instead of just a standard Iowa-class battleship. It would have been very interested.
Image details
Image size
796x597px 85.95 KB
Make
NIKON
Model
COOLPIX L4
Shutter Speed
10/44 second
Aperture
F/2.8
Focal Length
6 mm
ISO Speed
50
Date Taken
Nov 30, 1999, 12:00:00 AM
Published:
© 2009 - 2021 wiskybb64
Comments12
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Jammin dude keep me in the loop as well 1/350 ismy preferred size. would love to convert one to USS Ohio as I live there, and Kentucky is my neighbor!
Thanks, man. While I still have this model, I don't think I will finish it. :(
If I did, I think I would rearrange the missile structure to show one Talos launcher over the Turret 3 barbette and feature one or two more Terrier launchers. I would use a bunch of Shapeways pieces to finish this.
Would you be willing to part with it? Or are you like me...I stare at it until it eats at me to finish it? LOL
Ever finish it?
I did not, she is in a box. I have since re-designed it to reflect a LOT of the Little Rock/Albany Talos with the possibility of stacking a Terrier launcher another deck higher and possibly Tartar Mk13 launchers on either side of the super structure. Otherwise, if I were to do a 1990s version, it would be to swap the Terrier launcher and magazine with 2 Mk41 VLS arrangements. Just because the Talos is perhaps the best anti-ship missile the USN has EVER had, I would keep the launcher and its magazine.
Interesting. Though I wonder instead of the 5"/54s she would have retained the 5"/38s of the other Iowa-class. The addition of Standard rail launchers makes sense though Harpoon wasn't introduced until the late 70's. Of course it could be thought that if the hull was retained like the other Iowas Harpoon would have been fitted on it on the aft quarter. It's an interesting concept of what the ship could have looked like.
~IS3 Christie
~IS3 Christie
Well, the concept with the upgrades in general was that the ship had been never been retired, and as the years had gone on she would have been modernized a number of times. By this time, she had been America's Battleship, the only heavy Naval Gunfire Support (currently known as Naval Surface Fire Support) ship, and the only battleship in service for a long time. Because of these unique qualities, she was not hurting when it came to upgrades and ideas. So, the 5"/38s would have gone sooner or later.
I have considered, however, installing the Mk42 5"/54caliber guns instead of the 45s though. There was a modernization scheme for all four Iowas during the '50s that equipped them with Mk42s. If that had happened, Kentucky would have gotten them at that time and, unless there was something terribly wrong with the guns, Kentucky would have likely retianed them to the 1988 time frame of this model.
As for Harpoon, keep in mind the time frame is the '80s, and Harpoons are a bolt-on system so anything you want can have them. Mounts 59 and 60 are free and surrounding structure is freed, so it is most appropriate that a set would have been fitted there. For the fiting of the systems in general, this model is fitted as if Kentucky was the modernization test-bed for the other Iowas in the early '80s. The big upgrade that gave her Tomahawks was set to be in 1981, using all 6 Tomahawk ABLs the Navy had, and the lessons learned from mast design, Harpoon placement, SAM capability, radar upgrades, etc. would have been included in New Jersey's 1981/1982 modernization.
I have considered, however, installing the Mk42 5"/54caliber guns instead of the 45s though. There was a modernization scheme for all four Iowas during the '50s that equipped them with Mk42s. If that had happened, Kentucky would have gotten them at that time and, unless there was something terribly wrong with the guns, Kentucky would have likely retianed them to the 1988 time frame of this model.
As for Harpoon, keep in mind the time frame is the '80s, and Harpoons are a bolt-on system so anything you want can have them. Mounts 59 and 60 are free and surrounding structure is freed, so it is most appropriate that a set would have been fitted there. For the fiting of the systems in general, this model is fitted as if Kentucky was the modernization test-bed for the other Iowas in the early '80s. The big upgrade that gave her Tomahawks was set to be in 1981, using all 6 Tomahawk ABLs the Navy had, and the lessons learned from mast design, Harpoon placement, SAM capability, radar upgrades, etc. would have been included in New Jersey's 1981/1982 modernization.
Tamiya makes some good models.
I like this.
I like this.
Well, thanks! They do make really, really cool models.
Sure do. My mom owned a hobby store when I was a kid and I was really into model-building. Tamiya was one of the best Japanese manufacturers, and Italeri was excellent from the European market. That was the general agreement, anyway.
Keep us posted with your progress.
Keep us posted with your progress.
Rockin'! I sure will keep you up on the progress. One of the biggest troubles I an kind of dreading is cutting the full hull down to water-line. As I think about it, I think it won't be as big of an issue as I have thought.
If you watch my page, it'll keep you updated. I will be doing a bit of an article on al the extra detail parts I am using and some of the process.
Scratch building sucks, but it's so cool! The drawing board has taken most of my time, before I even put knife to plastic! Now, it's go time.
If you watch my page, it'll keep you updated. I will be doing a bit of an article on al the extra detail parts I am using and some of the process.
Scratch building sucks, but it's so cool! The drawing board has taken most of my time, before I even put knife to plastic! Now, it's go time.
Excellent, you are watched. 
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