Dear all,
A late share as the model is almost finished, but I wanted to post it here
My version is the "classic" one, not the "deluxe" but it has some PE parts that makes it interesting
On some sites, the Montana is presented as the successor to the Iowa, but I'd say that's wrong, as they were designed around the same time (even earlier), but had different objectives and purposes...
A brief word on the armament planned for these battleships:
Mark 7 16-inch/50-calibre turrets
The 16-inch (406mm) 50-calibre gun is the main armament of the Iowa-class battleships and was intended to be the main armament of the Montana-class battleship, construction of which was cancelled.
The turrets were described as 'three-gun' rather than 'triple' because each gun could be raised independently.
The interior of the turrets was subdivided and designed to allow each gun to be loaded, raised and fired independently.
Contrary to popular belief, ships do not move perceptibly sideways when a broadside is fired; this is an illusion.
With the enormous mass of the ship and the damping effect of the water around the hull, the pressure wave generated by the shot is only felt as a slight change in lateral speed.
The surface of the sea on the side of the ship on which the guns are aimed is agitated by the blast from the guns, creating the illusion of movement in the photos.
5-inch 54-calibre turrets
These guns, originally designed for the Montana-class battleships and then for the aborted CL-154-class cruisers, were intended to replace the 5"/38-calibre secondary gun batteries then widely used by the US Navy.
They were used by the US Navy and, later, by the Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force (irony be damned).
Let's get down to business with this great little kit.
I hesitated for a long time about doing it in waterline, but in the end the full hull option was chosen.
With the waterline in mind, I had taken some weights out of the rod box, which must have come from an old Yamato.
The main bridge is installed:
and we weight it down so that nothing moves
