1/144 Revell Fletcher Class Destroyer Build (Early)

[Rotorhead]

1/144 Revell Fletcher Class Destroyer Build (Early)

I have already given an �In box� review of this kit, so I won�t go into the details of the ship nor the kit. Suffice to say that the kit is an early round bridge Fletcher so the choices are somewhat limited. The exact ship, I don�t know just yet. I would love to do a post war Fletcher���but that�s for a different time.

The Review is on MSW:
http://modelshipwrights.kitmaker.net/mo ... nt&id=3836


Also, this is the FIRST ship I have done since I was a kid and that was many moons ago. What my goals are in this build are:

1. I want to work on my �oil canning� techniques.
2. I want to scratch build most of the Hull openings, such as the Condenser Intakes and Discharges for the steam turbines.
3. I am waiting for a company to do a comprehensive PE set for the Fletcher as the kit is good, but basic.
4. I want to open most of the hatches.
5. Working on other ideas.

I have already been doing my research on the basic ship and posted some photos of my first iteration of the hull �oil canning�. I�ll just bring those photos along to get this thread started.

I�ve been taking photos of my work in progress for a while now as the hi-res photos show all the flaws better than my eyes can pick them out. They are sometimes very scary.

As always, comments and suggestions are welcomed.

Here is a shot of the �New� hull



I did testing before I cut into the kit.



Research and Marking the hull to be �modified�



Cutting



Each individual square sanded, polished, and the primed. Those squares are awfully small and the polishing would not standup to a bare metal finish but I think will do nicely under primer and paint.



Just a note about the sanding process. I found that if I sanded it all at one time, I wore down the edges of each square and did not get INTO the bottom of the square. That required going back and scraping more. It was just a bit of a pain.

Now comes the stern.

Regards
Steve

[johndon]

Steve, you're a brave man cutting in to the hull like that not sure I've got the bottle to do such a thing...

Looking good so far though

John

[Rotorhead]

John, I know what you mean. But i DID practice, practice, practice, test, test, and test some more............and i STILL had ulcers making that first series of cuts. But I'll tell you what, I HAD to. The hull begged to be "oil canned". The more photos I looked at, the more it begged.

That doesn't mean I'm still not nervous. I've done the port side............and working on the stern now. I'll go back later and "clean up" a few places and then add some interesting "character" creases.............then I leave it alone. The sides themselves will be basically "new".

Regards
Steve

[Cadman]

That looks really cool, Steve. I agree you are a brave man.

[JIM BAUMANN]

That is one of the most convincing renditions oilcanning/dishing I have yet seen!

Brave- yes--but determined and stalwart-- qualities I admire

hats off!!

Jim Baumann

(small scale resin butcher!)

[Rotorhead]

Thanks guys......

I'm making my marks on the stern....................that nervous feeling is returning.

Brave? Not sure. Making big cuts in a big dollar kit borders on kinda stupid. But no different from cutting out / into all the engine access panels / doors / inspection plates on an aircraft. It just "commits" you to the path you have chosen. or it "commits" you to an asylum.

I sat and looked at this kit for a long time..........even the pre-release photos of it on-line. I KNEW that I was going to be cutting it. I just needed to firgure out what those cuts MUST look like. I've used up more than a few "spare" wings in my testing. I'll tell you this, a lot of those test were disappointing. Funny how making those cuts into a pricey hull makes one be very careful and precise.

Here is a shot of the port side done, but there are a few spots that need some TLC. (the benefits of hi-res photos)



Now, the cutting on the stern.

Regards
Steve

[oneslim]

Steve,

That looks fantastic!!!

I ordered one of these baby's today from Free Time Hobbies. Don't think I'll have the nerve to go at it like that.

Bob W

[Rotorhead]

Bob,

While your waiting for yours to arrive............test your oil canning skills on some old parts in the spares box. Then you'll know if your constitution is up to the scraping. If not, then nothing lost. I will say that it takes patience.........lots of it.

Regards
Steve

[johnny canuck]

That is the exact effect I am looking for on my 1/72 HMCS Assinoboine. I was wondering how to go about doing it. I think I am going to stick to making a clean plug and then try the effect on one of the moulded hulls. That way I don't wreck the master as it appears to need a lot of determination to do that and I'm not sure if I could keep it up for the full hull. Love to see more pictures of the overall effect.

Thanks for posting.

[Rotorhead]

Hello James,

I haven't done the full hull yet. I'm working now on the stern to 1/4 forward. I was going to post some update photos but there is nothing to see until there is some polishing to catch the light (and polishing erases my guidelines). I won't be scraping midship as i believe tugs stay away from the engine rooms. References show midship to be rather pristine.

I'm going slow so as not to make any horrible mistakes. Small ones are ok as they can be blended out. I practiced my technique on the tops and bottom of a 1/32 A-10 wingset. But it all changes slightly when you cut on the Original. The texture of the plastic is different (the A-10 plastic cut like butter). I found the Fletcher plastic to be slightly brittle leaving more cut marks that need to be sanded and polished. I had to create my own sanding sticks to sand inside the squares and not round down the square's edges. This requires working inside EACH square and not doing a "batch job". This is what is taking the time. I'm happy with the bow........I might extend some of it aft. Jury is out on the stern until i can polish some and SEE where my errors are.

Regards
Steve

[Rotorhead]

OK, I'm back.

Getting the stern �oil canned�.

This area turned out harder that I had thought it would be. Must have been all the corners and rounded surfaces. It wasn�t like an artist�s canvas to work on as the bow was. This took work and rework.

What you see here is the stern having been:
1. Measured and marked
2. Scraped
3. Sanded (1000 grit wet dry)
4. Polished (2000, 3600, 6000, 12000 grit)
5. Then remarked and scraped after errors found.
6. Sanded and polished again.
7. This went on for some time.
8. Cleaning and priming with Mr Surfacer 1000 hid a lot of those scrape/sand marks.

I put �some� oil canning on the stern�s belly. What I was trying for here was just to give that glassy smooth belly some relief. I will do the same with the rest of the �belly�.

Some build notes:
1. I found that I was a bit too timid scraping. I took too little off. That required several re-dos in scraping. Even though I was looking for a subtle finish���..I needed to dig deeper. Third try and I got it done.
2. My references are of ships that are over 60 years old and have received more than their fair share of tugboat rash. I used them as references but did not want to did THAT deep.
3. It is very hard (for me at least) to get the insides of those scraped out squares sanded and polished. I have been trying to get them as polished as I would for a "bare metal finish" and it just wasn't getting done. Primer did well and a topcoat will make me happy i believe.

Scraped:


Scraped, sanded, polished, and primed:







What I have done is 1/4 of the forward section and 1/4 of the stern. I will not do the sides. I will put some relief on the belly.

Regards
Steve

[JIM BAUMANN]

JIM B

[Rotorhead]

OK....a small update on my Fletcher project. All this time and I haven't glued one piece. I'm still into the cutting process. Each step requires me to think about just what I'm about to do........and how i'm going to do it.........and will it do what i WANT it to do? Well, I've started cutting the belly now. What you see is still a WIP. More light sanding and more polishing. The whole idea will be a subtle effect.



When done with the oil canning..............I'm off to adding the intake and discharge piping.

Regards
Steve

[Rotorhead]

A small update....two very small ones. 2 belly condenser scoops (made out of beer can aluminum ....I love having to "gather" my aluminum stock ) that will have to be "installed" shortly. There will also be two large "pipe" intakes and two large "pipe" discharges. The myriad of smaller discharges escape me as for their detail (still looking for those).



Regards
Steve

[Cadman]

Very cool. I can't wait to see the finished product.

[Devin]

Great work on the oil-canning effect.

I got to see this kit at our last NJIPMS meeting. Very impressive. I don't know that I'll every buy it as I'm just not a fan of the Fletcher class, but if they would do a Benson/Gleaves or an Adams class DDG, then I'd be all over it.

[Rotorhead]

Small update today on the continuation of the Hull work. I cut into the hull for the Condenser Scoops and have them dry fitted.



Two Circular Condenser Pipes are next along with the two dishcarges.

Regards
Steve

[Rotorhead]

This build has been a little slow, mostly from researching small detail and also waiting on some new PE.

The latest update has taken a while since I came across new details on the belly condenser scoop. I had looked at plans but they were cause for some confusion. Here is a photo that a friend of mine took at the USS Kidd museum in Baton Rouge. This scoop is on the propulsion trainer inside the museum.



With this info, I scrapped my first try at these intakes and went back to the drawing board. I think it will look better with a coat of primer on it.



I've gathered my materials for the main pump condenser intake pipes that sit just behind each scoop. The hard part with these were the very tiny louvers.

Regards
Steve

[Rotorhead]

Condenser Intakes now finished and primed. Whew...............That took wayyyyyyyyyyy too long. Large high-rez photos like these bring out the flaws.............but I'm done with them....flaws and all. Two more just like this Fwd on the opposite side. Now I have some other hull drains and discharges to build, but nothing as complicated as these. Locations are what I'm now looking for.





Regards
Steve

[Avery Boyer]

Fantastic work so far, the attention to detail is amazing! Can't wait to see more