John W. Tokarewich
Bartlett, Illinois
Commissioned on Dec. 9, 1989, the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Normandy was the first U.S. warship after World War II to enter combat on its maiden voyage. John writes, “As a ‘plank owner’ — part of the original crew — I wanted to build Dragon’s 1/350 scale kit as the ship looked when it entered service.” John painted with Testors Model Master and Vallejo acrylics, custom-mixing the antifouling red and haze gray. He fitted aftermarket details from White Ensign, Veteran Models, and Yankee Modelworks.