1:200 Artwox USS IOWA BB-61/with PE Wood Deck (Blue)

The real subject

The USS Iowa with hull number BB-61 was the lead ship of the class of American fast battleships of the same name. She served at the end of the Second World War in the Pacific, later off Korea, and in the 1980s she returned to service after modernization with guided missiles on board. Today she stands as a museum ship in California. In 1:200 scale a ship like that makes a model over a meter long, on which the deck is the most prominent surface.

What the set contains

A wooden deck, that is a wooden part with the deck surfaces cut out, which is glued onto the deck of the model, and photo-etched metal parts with it. The wood gives the deck a grain that painted plastic cannot manage, and the etch adds details that cannot be made in plastic. The rendition carries the additional designation Blue in the name, with which the manufacturer tells the versions of this deck apart.

Building and painting tips

• Lay the deck down dry first and check how it sits on the outline of the model.
• Rid the plastic deck beneath it of dust and grease, so that the part holds.
• Press down from the center out to the edges, so that the surface does not buckle anywhere.
• Separate the photo-etched parts with a sharp blade right at the part and sand the remains of the tab away.
• Make the bends on the edge of a ruler or in a bending tool and glue with cyanoacrylate glue.
• The wood usually does not have to be painted; the material has a grain of its own.

Who it is for

The set is for builders of large ship models who want a deck made of wood and at the same time to get fine metal details in one package. The ship model, paints and glue are not included, unless stated otherwise.