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USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG-54) by patrickmil - FINISHED - I Love Kit - 1/200 - PLASTIC


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The kit adds those mounts on Page 20, step 21. Just two little pieces of PE with three bends apiece.

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  • 1 month later...

Been awhile since I've posted here. Since last time, a move from Columbus OH to Cincinnati OH has occurred. Luckily there were no casualties involved; at least on models I actually cared about. A lot has gone into USS Curtis Wilbur in the meantime. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. One strong word of caution on this kit, do NOT follow the instructions sequence when planning for the ship's rigging. The kit railings for the flag halyards are poor and at the time ILK would have you attach them, it would result in a CA glue bond between paint layers. Needless to say, I figured this out the hard way when I attempted to secure the EZ Line from the kit railings to the yardarms. My solution was to drill mounting holes in the appropriate deck, bend some brass wire, and loft the rigging accordingly. And trust me, I know the solution in the pictures is not 100% accurate.

 

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15 hours ago, uncarina said:

Patrick,

 

Your truly impressive build has inspired me and taught me a great deal along the way, and I really appreciate you taking the time and making the effort to share it with us. Well done all around!

 

Cheers,  Tom

Thank you very much for your very kind words!

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On 7/6/2024 at 11:11 AM, Pete Fleischmann said:

Great job Patrick! Looks awesome! Almost done!

and great job on the move as well-

I’ve moved my shop twice. Always stressful!

this thread reminds me to check back in on your YouTube channel 

Pete

Hi Pete! I appreciate your kind words. I'm excited to be so close to the finish line now. Just have to dig deep and avoid the temptation to start on something new before wrapping this one up.

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Looking really good Patrick!  Not to focus on a small part of your build as everything is amazing, but your work on the ladders is pristine!  PE ladders are not easy to do and you aced them.

Mike

 

Current Wooden builds:  Amati/Victory Pegasus  MS Charles W. Morgan  Euromodel La Renommèe  

 

Plastic builds:    Hs129B-2 1/48  SB2U-1 Vindicator 1/48  Five Star Yaeyama 1/700  Pit Road Asashio and Akashi 1/700 diorama  Walrus 1/48 and Albatross 1/700  Special Hobby Buffalo 1/32   IJN Notoro 1/700  Akitsu Maru 1/700

 

Completed builds :  Caldercraft Brig Badger   Amati Hannah - Ship in Bottle  Pit Road Hatsuzakura 1/700   Hasegawa Shimakaze 1:350

F4B-4 and P-6E 1/72  Accurate Miniatures F3F-1/F3F-2 1/48  Tamiya F4F-4 Wildcat built as FM-1 1/48  Special Hobby Buffalo 1/48  Eduard Sikorsky JRS-1 1/72

Citroen 2CV 1/24 - Airfix and Tamiya  Entex Morgan 3-wheeler 1/16

 

Terminated build:  HMS Lyme (based on Corel Unicorn)  

 

On the shelf:  Euromodel Friedrich Wilhelm zu Pferde; Caldercraft Victory; too many plastic ship, plane and car kits

 

Future potential scratch builds:  HMS Lyme (from NMM plans); Le Gros Ventre (from Ancre monographs), Dutch ship from Ab Hoving book, HMS Sussex from McCardle book, Philadelphia gunboat (Smithsonian plans)

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6 hours ago, Landlubber Mike said:

Looking really good Patrick!  Not to focus on a small part of your build as everything is amazing, but your work on the ladders is pristine!  PE ladders are not easy to do and you aced them.

 

3 hours ago, Pete Fleischmann said:

Agreed!

what is your secret Patrick? They are outstanding 

 

cheers

Pete

 

Hey fellas! I really appreciate those kind words. I wish I had some secret to divulge but the credit all goes to my photo etch bending tool from The Small Shop and then some very pointy tweezers to pick out each rung/step and bend them slightly down. Thanks all the same though, lol.

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While this build log is still freshly in front of me, figured I'd add a mod I made. None of the really overly expensive upgrade kits offered for this kit include a turned brass barrel or other turned brass antenna pieces for that matter. The kit barrel is ok-ish. There is a seam and a slight step was on my example. I decided to make my own out of brass. After all, nothing looks like metal more than actual metal. The company Precision Metals has always hit it out of the park with their offering of odds and ends. I'll get more pics up when the blackening has completely dried and I have it mated to the rest of the 5" gun assembly.

 

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As mentioned, here is the pic of the whole 5" gun with my mod in place. I think the barrel looks waaaaaaay better than the plastic from the kit. Still unbelievable that upgrade sets going for $500+ don't have a turned barrel.

 

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13 minutes ago, Pete Fleischmann said:

Great job Patrick! That looks waaaaayyy better!

FYI everyone; the YZM 1:200 bridge set includes a brass barrel. You can find their stuff on Ebay

 

cheers

Pete

 

Ahhhhh, That's great to know. I've only seen a few of their offerings on FB and wasn't able to locate them online. Didn't think to check out evil-bay though. Thanks for the heads up!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Wrapped up USS Curtis Wilbur the other day. Here are my final pictures.

 

Overall, I thought the kit was good with plenty of well detailed parts and the final model looks the part. However, there are some detractors:

  • Instructions  could definitely be better. Some of the arrows are not descriptive enough to show exactly where a part needs to end up. The instructions even showed the torpedo tubes being mounted backward and an incorrect anchor/chain positioning. Some build sequences are questionable and I'd recommend careful studying to ensure that you don't run into trouble getting parts put on from following ILK's build sequence. There were also a couple of mislabeled parts.
  • The bridge piece could have been molded differently to allow for windows that were not solid so we don't have to carefully carve them out if we don't wish to paint them.
  • As mentioned previously, the propellers are molded too far apart. While fixing this is doable, it would be a hassle.
  • Parts clean up could be troublesome on some parts with questionable ejector pin marks and some larger than necessary sprue nibs.
  • Some of the photo-etch was either wholly unnecessary or just not well executed.
  • Lastly, the whole configuration of the ship could be considered somewhat fictional. I was unable to match with real photos how they would have the final piece configured. If you're looking for 100% accuracy (I was not) then study reference photos closely and make sure you are paying attention to the year in which you are modeling USS Curtis Wilbur.

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Thanks for checking it out!

 

 

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15 minutes ago, Barryc said:

Bravo!!

 

Well done sir.

 

Barry

Thank you!

 

8 minutes ago, Rick310 said:

A superb job!!  Have really enjoyed following along!

I was born and raised in Columbus, where did you live there?

Rick

Thank you! I lived mostly in the north part of the city and went to Worthington schools a couple decades ago. I just recently moved to Cincinnati though due to some family medical issues.

 

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Fantastic job Patrick!!  Really great model!

Mike

 

Current Wooden builds:  Amati/Victory Pegasus  MS Charles W. Morgan  Euromodel La Renommèe  

 

Plastic builds:    Hs129B-2 1/48  SB2U-1 Vindicator 1/48  Five Star Yaeyama 1/700  Pit Road Asashio and Akashi 1/700 diorama  Walrus 1/48 and Albatross 1/700  Special Hobby Buffalo 1/32   IJN Notoro 1/700  Akitsu Maru 1/700

 

Completed builds :  Caldercraft Brig Badger   Amati Hannah - Ship in Bottle  Pit Road Hatsuzakura 1/700   Hasegawa Shimakaze 1:350

F4B-4 and P-6E 1/72  Accurate Miniatures F3F-1/F3F-2 1/48  Tamiya F4F-4 Wildcat built as FM-1 1/48  Special Hobby Buffalo 1/48  Eduard Sikorsky JRS-1 1/72

Citroen 2CV 1/24 - Airfix and Tamiya  Entex Morgan 3-wheeler 1/16

 

Terminated build:  HMS Lyme (based on Corel Unicorn)  

 

On the shelf:  Euromodel Friedrich Wilhelm zu Pferde; Caldercraft Victory; too many plastic ship, plane and car kits

 

Future potential scratch builds:  HMS Lyme (from NMM plans); Le Gros Ventre (from Ancre monographs), Dutch ship from Ab Hoving book, HMS Sussex from McCardle book, Philadelphia gunboat (Smithsonian plans)

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Great looking model! Your weathering looks realistic but not overdone.

Tim

 

Current build: Continental Navy Frigate ALFRED (build log)                      

Past builds:     Steam Tug SEGUIN (build log in the kits 1850-1900 section)       

                         Liberty Ship SS Stephen Hopkins (Gallery & Build Log)

                         USS Basilone (DD-824) (Gallery & Build Log)

                         USS Olympia (Gallery)

                         USS Kirk (FF-1087) (Gallery & Build Log)

 

 

                        

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43 minutes ago, schooner said:

Great looking model! Your weathering looks realistic but not overdone.

 

29 minutes ago, ccoyle said:

The finished model looks exceptionally realistic -- well done!

 

Thank you both!

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11 hours ago, SiriusVoyager said:

I have always loved Arleigh Burk class destroyers and you have definitely done her justice.  Great model!

Thank you! I've always thought they looked pretty cool and menacing.

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23 minutes ago, Winnie said:

Followed the build on Youtube, I'm thoroughly impressed, and I'll be getting the kit shortly!

Thanks for the kind words and watching the series. I think you'll have fun with the kit.

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  • 1 month later...

Wow!  You did a really great job and I learned alot studying your photos.  The kit is sitting on my workbench.  It is really an intimidating box of parts.  The hull is huge.  I am studying your log and will dive in shortly.  Still intend to attempt a waterline presentation for this model.

Current Build:  HMS Dreadnought - PLASTIC - Waterline

Completed Builds:  USS Cairo by BlueJacket;  Nave Egizia by Amati;  Harriet Lane by Model Shipways

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16 hours ago, rcmdrvr said:

Wow!  You did a really great job and I learned alot studying your photos.  The kit is sitting on my workbench.  It is really an intimidating box of parts.  The hull is huge.  I am studying your log and will dive in shortly.  Still intend to attempt a waterline presentation for this model.

 

I really appreciate your kind words! There are a LOT of parts there and the PE can really be daunting, but it does make for a great kit overall. The biggest drawback for me is the decals but they do go down well once you have a good plan. I think a waterline presentation would be amazing and you would be blazing a new trail with this kit by doing so; I haven't seen any other builds that have gone that route. I'm looking forward to seeing your build log!

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48 minutes ago, GrandpaPhil said:

Very nicely done!

 

Thank you for saying so!

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