I recently returned from Afghanistan and decided to take back up my teenage hobby of modeling. Even though I’m in the Army, I decided to tackle the Tamiya 1/350 scale modern USS New Jersey, a ship I wish they had never mothballed. I bought lots of photoetched metal and brass barrels for it and immediately noted it was nearly impossible to get the barrels to line up perfectly with each other — and, as focal points, these were key elements. So I made a simple jig for the 16" guns with some cardboard, a piece of flat styrene, and Tamiya masking tape. I will make a similar one for the 5" guns. Wow! What a difference this makes! And it costs virtually nothing.
Tip submitted by:Robert SmithBarrington, New Hampshire