1:700 U.S.S Battleship BB-62 New Jersey (For Trumpeter 05702)

USS New Jersey BB-62 veneer deck, 1:700 scale, Artwox Model

This is not a kit of the ship but an accessory to one. A sheet of thin wooden veneer with a self-adhesive back and with the printed laying of the deck planks is cut to the shapes of the decks of one particular kit, the Trumpeter 05702. Once glued on, it replaces the flat engraving on a plastic part with a surface of real wood.

The real subject

The USS New Jersey was the second unit of the Iowa class, brought into service in 1943. She carried nine 406 mm guns in three triple turrets, and the long slender hull let her keep pace with carrier formations. She belongs to the ships with an unusually long and interrupted service career: she was decommissioned and reactivated several times, the last time in the 1980s after a modernization with guided missiles. Today she is preserved as a museum ship.

Gluing tips and the dry test

The key to a clean result is an honest dry test. Lay the veneer onto the plastic deck without removing the film, weight it and go over the whole outline: most often it is around the barbettes and the hatches that it does not sit, where a tenth of a millimeter is enough for the edge to ripple. Only then sand the plastic smooth, degrease it with alcohol and start gluing. Pull the film off in strips, lay the veneer from the longitudinal axis and push the air out with a soft cloth from the center toward the edges. Trim any overlap that does not fit with a new blade once it is glued on, with the edge of the deck supported.

Who the deck is for

• Builders of American Iowa-class battleships in 1:700 scale.
• Modelers who do not get on with painting planks with a brush over a large area.
• Those building a series of ships to a comparable level of detail.
• Anyone interested in the contrast of wood against the gray paint of the hull.

This is an accessory to a plastic kit, not a model of the ship. The kit, glue and paints are not included in the package.