USS Fletcher by CDW - FINISHED - Revell of Germany - Scale: 1:144 - PLASTIC

[CDW]

The 1:144 scale Revell Germany offering of the USS Fletcher was a kit that interested me as soon as I heard it was coming out. For one reason or another, I never bought one when they were first released. Time went by and when I looked, they were already out of production and sold out in the hobby shops. Not to be denied, I searched Ebay and found one offered at a reasonable price. Bought the kit in November, then promptly ordered the Eduard Big Ed photo etch set and the Aber Gun detail set to dress it up a bit. While I was at it, I ordered two sets of US sailors in 1:144 scale from Shapeways. As some of you may know, they produce all sorts of neat things using 3D printer technology.

 

Can't recall exactly, but I began construction of the model around the first of December. I wasn't planning to do a build thread on the model, so the pictures taken so far are limited, but they still will give an interested modeler an idea of what this model is like. I think it's a nice kit, light-years ahead of the old Lindberg kit. And in this scale, it's large enough for me to "see" what I'm doing while building it.

 

If you have any questions about the model, feel free to ask away. I have a lot of detail and paint work remaining to be done, but the bulk of the construction is finished. 

[CDW]

Another set of photos

[shiloh]

Looks like a good model and you are doing it justice. I went aboard DD 527 in Jan 1960, she had the flat bridge not the round as your model, also other differences, aft deck house structure was changed, 5" loading machine was gone, "K" guns were still there but the 40's under the bridge were replaced by Hedge Hogs. The 527 was hit by a, "Frances", twin engine bomber between the stacks at Layte Gulf, when I was aboard those torpedo tubes that were there had been replaced by two, twin 3"50 guns. The modernization of the Ammen did leave enough of the old original Fletcher's for me to see the model is faithful to the class. That hatch aft of Mt.55 lead directly to the berth deck where my rack was, the second door aft of the athwart ship passageway below the flag bags, was where you could go before revile, if you looked sad enough, might beg a roll from the baker to tide you over until breakfast. Please post more of your progress, I won't be the only one watching.

Just looked at some more of your photos, was impressed with the accuracy of the Twin 40MM gun and its Gun Tub, didn't expect to see the detail on the gun or the double row of Ammo Clips around the splinter shield, spent enough time in such a setup in RVN to know how it looked.

jud.

Edited January 3, 2016 by shiloh

[CDW]

Thanks for writing, Jud. It's always great to hear from someone who served on the ship which is being modeled.

Looking at this build in retrospect, there are some things I wish I had done differently. For one, I should have assembled the various structures that attach to the deck, but left their attachment to the deck until last, after painting was done. It would have allowed me to more accurately portray the camo paint as it appeared in 1942. At this time, I must keep everything gray with some shading and weathering. I don't know an effective way to achieve the multi-colored camo with all the assembly that's been done. 

 

Craig

[schooner]

Hi Craig,

 

Nice looking kit, seems to be plenty of cast-in detail and that PE set looks great. Nice to see another steel hull build here. Keep up the good work and keep the pix coming.

tim

[CDW]

Tim,

The Eduard photo etch set for this ship is massive. It actually included all the doors, hatches, latches; to cut away and remove the kit molded-in detail and replace with photo etch. Personally, I thought the molded on doors and hatches looked well as-is. The photo etched latches are so small, I could not see well enough to bend and attach them, even if I wanted to do so.  

 

It's been quite a long time since I last built and finished a plastic model. Doing this one is reminding me of all the little important details of constructing one that I had forgotten and now must recall the hard way...by trial and error.  

[CDW]

Much closer to completion now. Remaining work to be done includes rigging, signal flags, crew figures, more decals, props, etc. 

Almost ready to close the books on this little project and start another.

 

[CDW]

A few more pictures

[schooner]

Very clean and sharp looking!!!

[CDW]

Thanks for the kind words, Tim.

I want to get this finished because I have some very old subjects waiting in the wings. Going to knock the dust off and build them.

[CDW]

I apologize in advance for the really poor quality of my photos. Just don't have the appropriate setup yet to do them as they should be done.

But here is the Fletcher with all but maybe some minor weathering that I might do in the future. Haven't decided for sure yet.

The sailor figures came from Shapeways...the people who do the 3D printing. I bought a set in battle gear as well as a set in normal sailor dress. The figures used are the battle gear set.

For now, am going to call this one done. It was a good choice for me to get back into the hobby after a long hiatus. When you return to the hobby after a long time, you realize just how much you've forgotten. The good news is, most of it comes back into memory quickly after that first kit gets put under your belt.

In retrospect, I could have done a much better job of planning my construction sequence and completed a much better paint job. I got much too far ahead of myself in construction and that limited what I could do to achieve an authentic paint scheme. But as it is, it's easy on the eyes and looks rather convincing to most anyone I know who sees it, as most do not know even a fraction of what is is/is not authentic with respect to paint schemes and such unless perhaps they actually served on that or a similar ship.  

[dgbot]

Nicely done Craig.  Neat and crisp.  Whenever I went to a show I always looked at the steel navy models as well as the sticks and strings.  Both styles take a different set of knowledge and skill. And I have always admired them. Keep up the good work.

David B