by Richard Wonderly
1/700 SS President Harrison (Hasegawa Kitbash)
The SS President Harrison was one of the Dollar Steamship Line's trans-Pacific passenger liners of the 1920's and 1930's. She was originally one of the 505 class of transports built for service at the end of World War One but finished too late for the war. Built by New York Shipbuilding Company at the Camden, New Jersey yards, she was acquired by the Dollar Steamship line in the early 1920's and served almost her whole life in the Pacific. After the collapse of the Dollar line in the 1930's, she was taken over by the President Line and continued in operation right up to the start of World War Two. Caught near Shanghai in December 1941, her crew tried to wreck her by stranding while being pursued by the Japanese but although causing significant damage, the sturdy old ship did not sink. Instead it was repaired and taken into service by the Japanese Navy. Later, in 1944, she was torpedoed and sunk by a US submarine in the South China Sea.
I started with the Hasegawa kit in 1/700 of the Hikawa Maru as she was very similar in dimensions and layout to the 505 class ships. Changes were made to the funnel, completely new masts and booms were fabricated from brass wire and tubing, a different paint scheme, customized decals and a new rigging plan completed the change.
