King George V

Back in grade school, 5th grade I think, we were able to spend time doing something other than class study for one period. Those were the days! One of the choices was building plastic models. With video games being so popular now, I wonder how widespread model building is now? Anyway, I signed up to build models, something I already enjoyed doing in my spare time. I wasn't very good at it, but the effort was worthwhile!

My friend Doug P. also signed up to build models and he brought a new model to our first class: the WWII German battleship Bismarck. I don't recall the timing of us deciding which models to bring, but I do recall knowing that Doug had the Bismarck, and I went shopping with that in mind. I already had been attracted to building battleships, in fact, I still have a Revell catalog (1974-75 Model Kit Catalog) on my shelf which I spent hours looking at back then, imagining and admiring them.

I can still picture walking into one of the local hobby shops, Iron Horse Hobbies in El Monte Center, looking for a model. The proprietor never liked me or my friends walking in when we were younger, but by 5th grade, I guess we were okay and not likely to break anything. He was even pretty nice to us by then. And looking over the shelves, the WWII warships in particular, I spotted a ship called the King George V. I pulled out the box and read the caption: The ship that sunk the Bismarck! Obviously, I had to get it! The HMS King George V was a British battleship and was involved in the sinking of the Bismarck, all of this taking place before the attack on Pearl Harbor and the United States' entry into the war. In fact, I'm reminded of one of my favorite films 'Sink the Bismarck!' which I came to know later. The HMS Hood, the HMS Ark Royal, the Prinz Eugen, lots of history and action in that film - the German commander yelling "Fire!" and the British commander yelling "Shoot!" in the climactic battle.

I don't even think I ever completed the model within the time span of the class. I hardly remember finishing any of my battleship models, much less displaying them on a shelf at home. Maybe I did? Oh well, I think I spent more time looking through the Revell catalog. And it included some of my favorites such as the USS Missouri.