Conversion of a WWII “Big Gun” Cruiser to a Guided Missile Cruiser

In 1952 the US Navy converted two WWII heavy cruisers to carry the Terrier I missiles. USS Boston was the first one to emerge in 1955 with new bridge, superstructure, mast, funnel, missile launchers and fire control gears.

USS Boston CAG 1

There is no plastic kit available for this ship in 1:700 scale. Revell makes one from the 50’s in a larger scale. A 1:700 scale model of the Boston was built by modifying a Trumpeter kit of the USS Baltimore.

Baltimore Class Heavy Cruiser

The hull, the main deck and some of the fittings were used. The rest was scratch built from styrene sheets and shapes.

The conversion as shown is not quite completed. The model is now at the stage shown here. There is more to be done and you can see some of the work involved in the process.