USS IWO JIMA

[project510]

Wasn't sure if this belonged in the looking for section.. Since I am not really sure what I am looking for. Or well at least I cant find anything to look for.

Quick back story:

My wife's uncle passed away in 2020 of Leukemia. It came on quick, and he was in the hospital during the lockdown. He passed away and no of us were allowed to visit him or spend time with him. It was a pretty ad time in our house for a while. He was like a 2nd father to my wife. I knew that he had previously served in the Navy, but nothing more than that. Turns out, he was on the ship that collected the Apollo 13 team. Since I knew nothing about which ship that was, a quick Google search said it was the USS IWO JIMA. 

Id like to build this ship, kind of my own way to remember my uncle. But Every kit I see says LHD-7? I do not know what this designation means. I also don't know what the differences would be in appearance if any. According to Google the ship from 1970 was an LPH-2? 

Do any of you fine, more knowledgeable members know where I can locate a good kit for this? I would greatly appreciate any help finding one!

I've asked my better half for some photos, hopefully I can get some of him on the ship. 

[reserve]

Sprue Brothers have one from Trumpeter in 1/350 for $230 and ScaleHobbyist has the same for $190. They also have one in 1/700 from HobbyBoss for $53

[tcoat]

Slim pickens

Out of production as far as I can see.
www.scalemates.com/kits/pit-road-spr-06-lph-2-iwo-jima--1159697

Apparently a hard kit to build
www.paulooimodelworks.com/uss-iwo-jima-lph-2-the-navys-mailed-fist/

[tcoat]

Apr 19, 2024 15:35:46 GMT -5 reserve said:

Sprue Brothers have one from Trumpeter in 1/350 for $230 and ScaleHobbyist has the same for $190. They also have one in 1/700 from HobbyBoss for $53

Wrong Iwo Jima. The Tumpeter kit is the new one. The one he is after was scrapped.

[project510]

Go figure, with ALLLL the military stuff out there and the ONE kit I want to build is impossible to find or not even made.

[tcoat]

Apr 19, 2024 16:41:04 GMT -5 project510 said:

Go figure, with ALLLL the military stuff out there and the ONE kit I want to build is impossible to find or not even made.

Well the old Aurora Guadalcanal kit would do in a pinch (be close enough except for the experts) but it is even harder to find I bet. They were sort of outdated already when they were new since they could only carry about 20 choppers and had no amphibious landing abilities. Just were not glamourous enough for mainstream kits I guess.

[project510]

Well it seems pretty clear there is no readily available kit for this. I guess this can be closed or moved. Ill jsut have to keep an eye out.

[stikpusher]

When the Aurora USS Guadalcanal kit was released, both the ship and the kit were state of the art. It’s a decent enough kit, amd with todays available Aftermarket items, I’m sure it can really be made into a fine build.I built that kit long ago, and was good for that era. Hopefully/perhaps Atlantis will have it on their issue list oneof these days…

[tcoat]

Apr 19, 2024 23:25:25 GMT -5 stikpusher said:

When the Aurora USS Guadalcanal kit was released, both the ship and the kit were state of the art. It’s a decent enough kit, amd with todays available Aftermarket items, I’m sure it can really be made into a fine build.I built that kit long ago, and was good for that era. Hopefully/perhaps Atlantis will have it on their issue list oneof these days…

It is a distinct possibility that they could have the molds and rerelease some day. Not likely high in their priority list though. Not out of the realm of possibility to stumble across one at a decent price someplace.

[project510]

Ill look around for the Guadalcanal kit. If it pops up maybe I will get it. Ive never built a ship, so to expect myself to be able to scatchbuild parts and do a ton of PE to make it look like the IWO is not really a good idea haha.

[tcoat]

Apr 20, 2024 22:23:14 GMT -5 project510 said:

Ill look around for the Guadalcanal kit. If it pops up maybe I will get it. Ive never built a ship, so to expect myself to be able to scatchbuild parts and do a ton of PE to make it look like the IWO is not really a good idea haha.

It would be very close OOB as they were almost all identical from a layman's view. Doubt it would matter to most if it had a type 12b instead of a type 12e radar dish or such. Just throw the right hull numbers on it and call it a day. If you can find one that is!

[project510]

Apr 20, 2024 22:47:54 GMT -5 tcoat said:

Apr 20, 2024 22:23:14 GMT -5 project510 said:

Ill look around for the Guadalcanal kit. If it pops up maybe I will get it. Ive never built a ship, so to expect myself to be able to scatchbuild parts and do a ton of PE to make it look like the IWO is not really a good idea haha.

It would be very close OOB as they were almost all identical from a layman's view. Doubt it would matter to most if it had a type 12b instead of a type 12e radar dish or such. Just throw the right hull numbers on it and call it a day. If you can find one that is!

That works for me! I guess there is some hope!

[tcoat]

I ran into the same sort of problem when I wanted to build the Ranger for a buddy of mine. There were no kits of it out there anyplace but John on here suggested the Saratoga which was easy to get. Little bit of research on the differences, some very minor alterations, a number change and I had a close enough version of Ranger.

modelerssocialclub.proboards.com/thread/15063/cv-uss-ranger-westpac-cruise?page=2