This was my dad's ship. "44 months in the Pacific." RIP Captain A. W. Venne Jr. 1980. I think war is not really fun. Thanks for the great build. Amazing skill and dedication there. Live 100 years, Thailand Paul L. Venne.

Really enjoyed this.

I grew up in early 60"s two houses from a man named Hurbert Rowden. I didn't learn until 90's he was one of the saved. Your build helped me see the ship which is better than photos. He passed away less than 10 years ago. His wife is still living in an assisted living and her and my mom talk weekly.

I believe that’s it. One bright point is that high school student that lived up there asked questions and was leading figure in getting the Captain’s name cleared. That and navy vessels now have ETAs and vessels are called/ looked for if a vessel misses its ETA.

I took my son to downtown Indy during their annual USS Indy survivors reunion. We actually got to meet and speak with a couple of them. We were both in awe and filled with an overwhelming sense of pride just being around these men. They are heroes in every sense of the word.

My fathers cousin Radioman 2nd Arthur Cecil Trotter was lost in the sinking of Indianapolis. I was named in his memory. Several years ago a good friend of mine purchased the Academy 1/350 scale Indianapolis kit for me, I have been holding off building until I had more time and the resources to do it right using PE etc. Thanks for this video guide and most especially for the intro remembering the men of the Indy Maru. There is only one survivor left alive now: 96 year old, as of this posting, Harold Bray.

Amazing! Outstanding history lesson and build. Indy native; proud always; will never forget.

This was one of the best informational videos and tutorials I've ever seen !!! Great work Loved it !!!!

This is what I find to be the best looking combatant ship. It has massive guns, four large turbine propellers and the iconic double bridge.

I have a "in-process" model of the Indianapolis...as a former USN Quartermaster - you will never find anything shiny on the outside of the ship except from the ships bell and the fire hose nozzles that would be on the "fairweather" decks or outside the skin of the ship (at least in the 1990's Navy). The interpretation is very beautiful though. Considering that most of the larger warships in that era had teak decks the grey you showed was completely off. I saw a video of the ship, although grainy, to proving that. What I had problems with is that the videos of most USN ships, on KZread, made them look blue. It could be the film at that time. I'm not talented enough to do the "Dazzle" paint scheme and have yet to see any pictures of CA-35 with that. I haven't touched my half-done model in 3 years but I'm glad to find inspiration from you. My kit did not have the etched metal, but seeing your video has invigorated me. This ship is beautiful and while serving on active duty I was able to visit Tinian Island during a muti-national exercise in 1999. Additionally, my grandfather's ship, USS California BB-44, provided "softening" on the SE section of the island before the Marines went ashore during WW2.

The men from the Indianapolis are heroes!

The Indianapolis got off an SOS before sinking but couldn’t get off an authentication because she went down too quickly. The SOS was heard and 2 tugs set out only to be recalled by the base CO (who was at a party the night before) returned the next day. Had those tugs arrived more crew could’ve been saved. The Indy CO committed suicide because of his felt guilt and hate mail from families of those that died- due to Inquiry verdict. A really sad book but well worth a read. Good model build.

having a relative who was lost on this ship , thank you for her history lesson , ive always known about her, and your narrative tells her story, thank you, sfc earnie, desert sheild/ desert storm

Oh gosh. Thanks for this video build. At 59 years of age I have returned to my old passion for scale modelling and have so far failed utterly to pluck up courage to start work on my Zvezda Varyag plus photoetch. Your video has given me fresh hope to have a go; fiddly, time consuming but doable - photoetch looks a possibility after all!

Very beautiful!! My father was stationed on the U.S.S. MINNEAPOLIS. The same class heavy cruiser. Thank you for sharing. Awesome job on the biuld.

And a great tribute to the ship and the brave men. I read the box and it is awesome.

Sorry cant stop noticing about the rainstorm, just perfect

I've always wanted to build a model of the OK Indy, since in from Indianapolis. Love it!

I've just started watching your videos, loads to catch up on. I must say so far I find them inspiring, keep up the good work.

This is the best model build video that I've seen so far on KZread. I'm retired military navy and air force, and I want to thank you for the respect you showed for the crew and their gallant ship! You built a beautiful model, I look forward to more of your videos, and again thank you.