RGL

Fletcher amidships, there are two lots of torpedo tubes to go yet. 

The railings will be individual stanchions so that’s easy, I can mask the hull and probably stencil abovedecks. 

there are so many variants on these destroyers I’m just sticking to the ‘as built’. 

USS Hornet 1942

No matter who makes PE, it’s all pretty poor. An amazing amount of research and zero tolerances and there is an expectation you are an engineer. Pretty much advanced users only. My latest instructions say look at the photos for guidance for pieces that are not mentioned in the instructions. 

This is a great photo of the camp I’ll be attempting 

Massive task mate. It will suck up a huge amount of aftermarket, it’s always confusing as Pontos seems to have so many advanced add ons you don’t know where it stops. 

Thanks gents, there is a lot Of PE, and yes, I’m going to paint her in the 1942 camp pattern just to torture myself with different oil canning. Her next refit had added more AA guns. 

Next build will will be a monster. 

But wait, there’s more. This is the instructions for the radar, 

and the end result. 

Believe me, the instructions just show photos of how it looks after you’ve built it and points out the part numbers. I’d call it ‘advanced’ when it comes to PE. 

I’ve sanded the structures first. Seems to be working so far. 

Bridge in progress

It actually looks right! There is no detail below the boot line which I need to add. 

Very very well and very quickly 

Progress of sorts, hull joined up and the brass non slip footpaths added to the deck. Light coat of primer so I can start drawing up hull plates. 

Then the main gun mounts. Resin v plastic, 

Now those of you that have served, how long would it take to get this grunged up? I’m going to build her for 1942 and her first tour to the South Pacific before the first refit. 

Getting my head around how to progress and filling a few holes, there is a lot of PE for a small kit. 

Holes are about .3mm, but if you weather it it really shouldn’t matter. 

Black fly screen 

No idea, I imagine they come as a job lot. You’d have to contact Pontos or Infini directly. They are the only companies I have seen use /produce them.  

OYes, the shells were usually explosive. The photo where the ship is upside down is when it was recovered from the sea floor after it was scuttled. They subsequently cut it up for scrap. 

The torpedo nets, I can’t really talk to that, apart from the fact they were abandoned mid war. 

Comes with the Infini upgrade.Amazing coincidence it’s the same size as the Pontos Dreadnought upgrade. Now, there is some black netting available that I used on my HMB Endeavour (yes I can do wood as well) that I got from Cornwall Models years ago. 

It’s a little bit tiny

Anyways, new photo of Seydlitz 

As I stated, the level of detail is amazing