IsaacC

3 hours ago, mtaylor said:

Isaac,

Consider basswood instead of balsa for the decking.  Balsa is just too soft and fuzzy for this.

Yeah, right. I was primarily thinking about the tightest grain so I could impose my own grain. But, I was also thinking that balsa was going to be a nightmare to sand, as you say. Thanks.

I pulled the trigger on this kit. It's now Jan-2021 so it's more readily available. I purchased mine off of eBay from a reputable seller. It was the best price in the end. I've found it available on eBay and AliExpress for the best prices. It's also available from Amazon but at a significantly higher price. It's the same as usual. Ordering from China will get you the best price. And, ordering from a North American source you'll have to pay the shipping premium.

I'm not sure about the wooden deck upgrade kit. Joy Yard printed it on a wide and heavy grained wood so that the deck will end up having a way out of scale grain pattern. I have a mind to purchase balsa veneer and make my own deck. Though, I have yet to figure out how to draw Teak's grain pattern on planks that are 0.75 mm wide to begin with, not to even mention the black caulking between planks, in scale.

As for value, I think this kit is less expensive over all. Buying a kit like from Very Fire is cheaper but by the time you add all the PE upgrade kits, you're paying far more than for the Joy Yard kit which comes with 12 big PE sheets and brass everything.

As for the manual and kit itself, I agree, they point me in the right direction. I'll build according to authoritative sources and modify parts as necessary.

I just ordered "Battleship Missouri, An Illustrated History," by Paul Stillwell. Also, on Harley's recommendation, I picked up TopDrawings' USS Missouri drawings package. TopDrawings is a series published by Kagero Publishing, a Polish publisher. They have another series entitled, "Super Drawings in 3D," but the USS Missouri book of this series is not buyable for money nor love. I just received back an email from them, enquiring about a reprint. They say they just reprinted it and it sold out immediately.

[Edit] I was hoping to find 1/350 brass screws for the Missouri and then repaint them bronze, but I can't find anything, unlike the after-market for 1/200 Missouri stuff.

Isaac.