USS Kidd

Written by Bob Steinbrunn

The model represents a World War II FLETCHER class destroyer, the USS KIDD, after its third major overhaul and refitting at Hunter's Point Naval Shipyard, San Francisco, 8 August 1945.

The model is based on the Blue Jacket Ship Crafters 1/192 scale kit, is about 75% scratch-built, is comprised of basswood, brass, Britannia pewter, and styrene. It required 2025 hours spread over a 4 1/2 year period to build, and has a total of 14,228 pieces in it.

The KIDD model was honored with a gold medal in its category (96% minimum score to be eligible for a gold medal), The August F. Crabtree "Best in Show" award, and the United States Navy "Best U.S. Navy Vessel" award.

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The Mariners' Museum in Newport News, Virginia, has judged its once-every-five-years ship model competition, and this can be seen on their Web site: http://www.mariner.org

When the home page opens, click on "Collections and Exhibitions".
When that page opens, click on "Scale Model Ship Competition & Exhibition 2000".
The particulars of the competition can be seen, along with a list of the winners.