by D-Boy » Mon Jul 28, 2014 7:26 pm
This kit is just arriving on US shores in late July, 2014, and is the first-ever kit of a next generation destroyer design and test bed for new naval technologies, from power plant to armament, for the US Navy. In seasonal visits to Maine, I've has the fortune of seeing this intriguing design under construction at Bath Iron Works, and I've been eager to have a go at the kit. It arrived today from Hobby Link Japan, but Freetime Hobbies also now has the kit in stock in the US.
I've posted an initial review of the kit (and Maxim has also added comments):
viewtopic.php?f=53&t=157039, but wanted to make some observations during kit assembly.
9 parts assembly for the superstructure and hull above waterline, and this is where my build started. The hull consists of left and right halves, with one positive locator point at the bow. Internal bracing meets, but does not positively connect, over the length of the hull. All internal bracing is above the waterline seam with the lower hull. After gluing A1 and A4 at the bow, I dry-fit A3 and let the bow seam harden.
I then glued A3 to the hull sides from underneath. A3 fits very tightly, with only a slight gap at tip of the bow, easily corrected with just a dab of putty.
Internal bracing aligned nicely under/along this bow section, but these braces meet at butt ends, and could have been designed to have positive/negative features for alignment for more surety at these points:
I then installed the stern piece, B5, to A1/A4 hull sides. I then quickly dry-fit stern deck A2 to assure proper alignment. Fixing A2 to the hulls sides and stern means leaving a very small gap in the back of the hanger bay, preferable to the gap at the stern/hull alignment. A2 should be fit tight to stern, not to rear of hanger.
Closing the hanger requires mating B10 with B1 before any further superstructure assembly. You will not have a second chance at this!
I proceeded by assembling B1 with A1/A4, and alignment of all parts to this stage was most impressive - no gaps or maladjusted joints. B8, the top of the superstructure, will eventually cover all joints at the top of the superstructure, but install B2, the bridge and front of the superstructure, first.
B2's mating with the superstructure sides of A1/A4 left me with the only worrisome seams of the build so far. Trim sprue gates on B2 very carefully - on at least one side of the part, the sprue gate intrudes on detail. My part B2 fit adequately on the starboard side of the build, with a but more gap on the port side. I'll take some shots of that and post. Some corrective action and mating of parts can be taken while cement is curing by pushing out the superstructure side from underneath the hull:
At this point in assembly, hull above waterline complete, I noticed that there are vertical dimples in the hull exterior at locations where the hull braces are located in the interior. These will be noticeable under paint, and will require addressing with putty or something similar, then sanded. Not a big deal, but an extra step I did not initially notice the need for:
At this stage of the build, the waterline model appears to fit nicely on the full hull part, and it may be possible to convert to/from a WL/full hull build if you wish. I'll keep an eye on that as the build progresses, but will now build the lower hull on stand to test.
I'll post some pictures a bit later, but this build is going smoothly so far, in its first evening.
- D-Boy
This kit is just arriving on US shores in late July, 2014, and is the first-ever kit of a next generation destroyer design and test bed for new naval technologies, from power plant to armament, for the US Navy. In seasonal visits to Maine, I've has the fortune of seeing this intriguing design under construction at Bath Iron Works, and I've been eager to have a go at the kit. It arrived today from Hobby Link Japan, but Freetime Hobbies also now has the kit in stock in the US.
I've posted an initial review of the kit (and Maxim has also added comments): [url]http://www.shipmodels.info/mws_forum/viewtopic.php?f=53&t=157039[/url], but wanted to make some observations during kit assembly.
9 parts assembly for the superstructure and hull above waterline, and this is where my build started. The hull consists of left and right halves, with one positive locator point at the bow. Internal bracing meets, but does not positively connect, over the length of the hull. All internal bracing is above the waterline seam with the lower hull. After gluing A1 and A4 at the bow, I dry-fit A3 and let the bow seam harden.
I then glued A3 to the hull sides from underneath. A3 fits very tightly, with only a slight gap at tip of the bow, easily corrected with just a dab of putty.
Internal bracing aligned nicely under/along this bow section, but these braces meet at butt ends, and could have been designed to have positive/negative features for alignment for more surety at these points:
[url=http://s1122.photobucket.com/user/DrWind/media/1-700%20DDG%201000%20USS%20Zumwalt%20by%20Dragon/OddsandEnds038.jpg.html][img]http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l532/DrWind/1-700%20DDG%201000%20USS%20Zumwalt%20by%20Dragon/OddsandEnds038.jpg[/img][/url]
I then installed the stern piece, B5, to A1/A4 hull sides. I then quickly dry-fit stern deck A2 to assure proper alignment. Fixing A2 to the hulls sides and stern means leaving a very small gap in the back of the hanger bay, preferable to the gap at the stern/hull alignment. A2 should be fit tight to stern, not to rear of hanger.
Closing the hanger requires mating B10 with B1 before any further superstructure assembly. You will not have a second chance at this!
I proceeded by assembling B1 with A1/A4, and alignment of all parts to this stage was most impressive - no gaps or maladjusted joints. B8, the top of the superstructure, will eventually cover all joints at the top of the superstructure, but install B2, the bridge and front of the superstructure, first.
B2's mating with the superstructure sides of A1/A4 left me with the only worrisome seams of the build so far. Trim sprue gates on B2 very carefully - on at least one side of the part, the sprue gate intrudes on detail. My part B2 fit adequately on the starboard side of the build, with a but more gap on the port side. I'll take some shots of that and post. Some corrective action and mating of parts can be taken while cement is curing by pushing out the superstructure side from underneath the hull:
[url=http://s1122.photobucket.com/user/DrWind/media/1-700%20DDG%201000%20USS%20Zumwalt%20by%20Dragon/OddsandEnds029.jpg.html][img]http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l532/DrWind/1-700%20DDG%201000%20USS%20Zumwalt%20by%20Dragon/OddsandEnds029.jpg[/img][/url]
At this point in assembly, hull above waterline complete, I noticed that there are vertical dimples in the hull exterior at locations where the hull braces are located in the interior. These will be noticeable under paint, and will require addressing with putty or something similar, then sanded. Not a big deal, but an extra step I did not initially notice the need for:
[url=http://s1122.photobucket.com/user/DrWind/media/1-700%20DDG%201000%20USS%20Zumwalt%20by%20Dragon/OddsandEnds031.jpg.html][img]http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l532/DrWind/1-700%20DDG%201000%20USS%20Zumwalt%20by%20Dragon/OddsandEnds031.jpg[/img][/url]
At this stage of the build, the waterline model appears to fit nicely on the full hull part, and it may be possible to convert to/from a WL/full hull build if you wish. I'll keep an eye on that as the build progresses, but will now build the lower hull on stand to test.
I'll post some pictures a bit later, but this build is going smoothly so far, in its first evening.
- D-Boy