The
USS Missouri (BB-63) was the third ship of the Iowa-class and was
commissioned in 1944. During the Pacific War, she supported attacks on
Kyushu and Okinawa and then participated in actions such as the
bombardment of Muroran in Hokkaido. It is a well-known fact that the
signing ceremony of Japan’s surrender documents took place on the
Missouri’s decks on September 3, 1945. Following the end of the Korean
War, the Missouri was mothballed at the reserve fleet anchorage but was
refitted with, various, modern equipment to rejoin the U.S. Navy in
1986. Following Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait, the Missouri and her sister
ship Wisconsin were deployed to the Middle East and she helped conduct
the first firing of Tomahawk cruise missiles in combat during the
opening stages of the Gulf War.
The Tamiya model kit faithfully depicts the Missouri as she appeared in
1991. New parts have been tooled to update the kit.
Mr. Yoshio Tamiya founded a saw mill/lumber factory in Shizuoka-City. Tamiya ventured into the modeling business in 1948, with a scale wooden ship model kit. Since then, Tamiya has been striving to offer merchandise that can truly be called "First in Quality Around the World."
Now Tamiya is offering more than 3000 different products, both in the fields of precision static models and high performance radio control vehicles. These products are not only sold in Japan but also exported in vast quantities to the United States, Europe, South East Asia, and to many other parts of the world. The standard of excellence achieved by Tamiya is regarded as among the very finest in the world of model hobbies.
