USS Grissom
As mentioned in an earlier post, my model of the USS Grissom is finally done. After fifteen months of hard work, the details are good, and I think the effort shows.

The kit is Sci-Fi Spaceship Miniatures' "Survey Class Vessel," a kit from (I believe) the late eighties. What started out as a fairly simplistic 11" vacuum-formed kit is now a finely-detailed model. I had the pleasure of being told by the person who created the masters for the kit that it was the best build of the model he had ever seen.

Here is the run-down on the model. The ship is internally lit with LEDs, fifteen in all. I scratchbuilt details for the various bits where machinery is exposed. The paintjob is done with Testor's Acryl, airbrushed, and was difficult because of the lack of any reference lines in the plastic. The decals are an excellent set from JTGraphics. I weathered the details lightly with pastel chalk dust.

There was much procrastination in finishing this model, as there always is. One always wonders how far to take things. The perfectionist never wants to finish. The pragmatist wants to get the job done. A balance of the two is necessary. It worked out.