Howdy! I couldn't find an "introduce yourself" section anywhere on the board, so I figured I would just poke my head in here since I am going to be doing a
Fletcher.
Just got myself the
Revell 1:144* Fletcher Class model. I've got to say that the parts are really nice and tidy ... no flash to speak of. It will be a pleasant change to work with clean parts. This will just be my 2nd large scale ship I will be building: the 1st being the 1964 issue of the 1:196
Cutty Sark (not finished yet after 6 months) and I have spent most of the time sanding, trimming, filling, and scratch-building replacement parts for pieces that crumbled when I picked them up! LOL But, I did make a promise to myself and my sanity never to do another sailing ship ... hence my switch to a nice, boring, 3-toned gray destroyer.
I plan to mod the kit to fit the design of the
USS Leutze DD481 (Don't ask: it's a long story) using the MS31/16D Dazzle scheme she wore until a Kamikaze plane punched a hole in her on 06APR45 (?) off Okinawa. Some sources say she wore the MS22 in 1945, but I've found no support for that considering that she limped back to California where she never was to see service again. I really think this is the best Dazzle scheme and it should prove to be a challenge to paint. The mod should also be interesting insomuch as the model is designed to portray the early Fletchers with only one 40mm Bofor and no aft tub; whereas the Leutze had the standard 1943 armament of
Primary: 5 x 5-inch/38 cal. in five single mounts
Long-range anti-aircraft: 10 x 40mm Bofors in five twin mounts
Short-range anti-aircraft: 7 x 20mm Oerlikon in single mounts
Torpedo Tubes: 10 x 21-inch in two quintuple mounts
ASW: 2 racks for 600-lb. charges; 6 “K”-guns for 300-lb. charges
So, I just have to figure out
where to get 4 more twin-mount Bofors and fabricate the following:
4 new Directors (?)(I think thats what they are called)
1 Aft tub
Wing platform for the Forward Stack (and move the searchlights forward)
Convert the Aft Stack wing platform to hold 2 of the Directors
New weapons platforms to each side of the Aft Stack
and ...
figure out where they put the 2 Directors for the Bofors that replaced the 20's on the Bridge Wings!
Did I miss anything??? LOL And I haven't even opened the parts bags yet.
I guess I will have plenty of questions since I don't know diddly about warships. Be seeing you all!
Cody Thecatt (nom de plume)
*Engineers, draftsmen, and Revell use the 1:144 form opposed to the 1/144 form used by many modellers to denote scale ...
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Мощность для рабочих, которые просто пытаются построить простой судна под строгим тиранов! - В. И. ЛенинHello from Elk & Steelhead country and Cody the Incorrigible Cat
