The Ship Model Forum

Hi Roger,

I looked at your fletcher model that you are building. It looks fantastic! With all the detail work that you are putting into it, You're going to have a very nice model when you get it finished! I see that you are putting brass details on her too. They are what makes a model superior. The USS Gregory DD-802 that I recently finished was out of the box stock kit. It is RC'd and works fine....................Only been tested in my 12' long test tank, I have'nt taken her to the pond as of yet. I just built her to replace the one that got sunk at sea! I'm a 1/4" scale modeler at heart and that 's where I'll probably stay. I do have a new 1/144 scale Revel kit of the round bridge fletcher that I'll build some day when I get around to it. It'll be the USS Radford in her true cofiguration in the 50's before she got a FRAM upgrade.

I also model trains in 1/4" to the foot and have a layout inside my 24' X 36' building. The railroad is built to Proto48 standards.


Good luck on your build of DD-555,

Gordon
Huk_King

There is so much to do on this kit, every time I look at it I think of something else!! A couple days ago I plugged up all the holes in the deck with the kit parts that I’m not going to use. It saved me from having to get various size styrene rods to do the job. After the glue dried I cut the parts off and sanded the deck, then I glued the I Beam to my removable deck section. The I-Beam idea is working great; they keep the removable section flat and even with the rest of the deck.

I thought I was just about ready to glue on the deck, and I decided that instead of using the kit rudders I’m going to make my own. I originally intended to use the kit rudders but I decided against it for three reasons. First, if I need to remove the prop shafts I would have to remove the motors and then I could slide the prop shafts into the hull to remove them. Second, if there was a single rudder the prop shafts can be removed from the stern which would be much easier. Third, the kit rudders and control arms are very cheap and if something happened to them I would have to cut open the deck above them for repairs.

Here are some photos of what I have been doing the last few days. I made a cradle for my ESC. All the wires come out the same side so this gets it off the hull and the power cables can go under it to connect with the battery.I even cut the kit battery holder down and glued it back together to properly hold a 7.2volt battery pack.

Next I made a wedge shaped sort of box and filled it with epoxy and glued it between the kit rudder positions. Then I glued five 1/16 thick pieces on top of it, when the glue dries I'll drill a hole through it for my new rudder. I thought of using a piece of brass tubing and then settled on this instead since I have the plastic on hand.I'm going to make the rudder shaft out of a 1/4" stainless steel bolt and I have a shaft collar that will hold the rudder in and I will drill and tap into it’s top edge to attach the arm for the servo to steer the rudder.

Moving on to the 5 inch gun turrets, I had a problem with one of the gun barrels coming off the mount. I had to cut open the bottom of the turret to fix it. The gun barrels are too short, and I was going to glue 3/32 tubing to make them the correct length. Then I was going to have to sand down the tubing to blend the seam to make them look like they were one piece.

Instead of going through all that bother I ordered brass gun barrels from B&D. Then I got an idea from the way Steve Larson mounted the gun barrels on his 1/125th scale turrets for a Fletcher he was scratch building but I don’t think he has finished it yet.

I know that this is a lot of work, but I like to make things that move and function whenever it’s possible. So I made up some pieces shaped like a car window that fit the inside contour of the turret. I am going to use a 7/16 diameter piece of brass tubing that I can mount the gun barrel to then I will fill it with epoxy and after it dries I can drill a hole through the center of it. The gun barrel/tubing then will be sandwiched between the two mount pieces and a screw will hold it together and allow the gun barrel to move through its full range of motion.

This is what I have done so far. Mean while I'm waiting for the gun barrels to finish the assembly.

I have done quite a bit on this project to date with loads more to come so keep checking in and see what's new!!!!!!!!!

DD-555

My gun barrels came in yesterday from B&D . I’m very happy I decided to get them the $18 dollars was well worth it. I would have spent untold hours fixing the kit barrels. I need to get a 0-80 tap so I can drill and tap the end that’s going to attach to the 7/16 tubing I’m using for a mount.

I got a lot done today. First, I drilled the rudder pivot hole in the hull and then I made the rudder. You will probably think that it’s too big, but it’s always easier to make something smaller than it is to make it bigger afterward!!!!I filed the first side of the screw shank until it was 0.150 thick, then the other side until it was 0.062 thick. This took a while but it came out great!!!Next I put the shaft collar on and determined how long to cut it, then I filed a flat for the set screw.Now that the rudder shaft was finished I figured out the size and shape to make the rudder. I used 1/16 styrene so at the leading edge and at the rudder shaft it’s 3/16 thick and tapers down to 1/8 thick at the back edge. I used 5 minute epoxy to glue it together and the screw thread teeth really gave something for the epoxy to hold on to. After the glue dried I shaped the front and back edges somewhat like an air foil. I glued the kit rudders in and cut them off after the glue dried. At least the kit parts are good for something!!!!!!!!!

A few pictures after gluing the rudder together and shaping after the glue dried.Now that the rudder was completed I drilled and taped a couple holes in the shaft collar to mount the steering arm. Now I’m finally ready to float the hull to determine the placement of the battery. Check back soon to see more progress on the DD-555

I drilled and tapped the gun barrels 0-80 a quarter inch deep. Then I drilled the 7/16 brass tube mount. Next I washed the cutting oil off the gun barrels and I’m going to let them air dry overnight.Tomorrow I will screw the barrels to the mounts and fill the 7/16 tube with epoxy. After the epoxy dries I can drill the pivot hole, and then paint all the parts before assembly. Then I can glue them to the inside of the turrets. This little modification took a lot of time and thought and will add a touch of realism to the build as a whole.

With the 5 inch gun barrel mounts complete I can move on to finish detailing the turrets and set them aside and begin on another subassembly. One of these days I will be finished, but that’s a long way off still.

As always, check back to see more progress!!!!!!

DD-555

Fantastic work Roger! Also, very nice progress photos. I am really interested to see how the turrets look when finished and painted.

Cheers,

Bill

Hi Bill,
Thanks Bill I'm glad you like what I have done up to this point. Your not the only one interested to see how the turrets will look finished and painted, I can't wait myself!!!!!!!

Cheers,
Roger

Hi Roger, I know this kit. About 25 years ago, a buddy bought that one and I got a 1/35 PT boat, I know I finished mine, not sure if he ever finished his, but I do recall it was morotized and I thought, even then, that it was goofy that all the turrets pulsed back and forth in unison.

Amazing upgrades you are doing, my baby Fletcher is going to benefit from the knowledge I pick up on this thread.

Bill

_________________
On the Bench-

FIRST Ship Model, 1/350 Tamiya Fletcher, GMM PE, Alliance Resin Turrets. Keel scheduled to go down 2/2012

Hi Bill,
Thanks for checking out my build! My Fletcher’s turrets will not be moving back and forth like a duck the way Lindberg intended it to. It will represent a more real to life Fletcher except for the hull; there is no way for me to change it.

I also have the Lindberg PT-109; it's also been converted to RC. I have had a lot of fun with that very incorrect model over the years, and I still have mine and I take it out to the pond from time to time. Keep up the good work on your 1/350 Fletcher; I'll be checking her out again real soon.

DD-555

Hi Everyone,
I’ve been very busy the last week and I have tons of work to still do on my revised 5 inch gun turrets. I have all the gun barrels filled with epoxy and they’re sanded flat and drilled for the pivot screw.I rushed through one mount and installed it in the turret.Also I made a drill jig and drilled 1/64th holes for the hand rails next to the gun barrel. I used 1/64th copper wire and I used the drill jig to bend them. They are not exactly correct, but I think they really dress up the turret.Compare the original turret to the revised turret; which one looks the best?

I am so happy I decided to get B&D’s gun barrels. It cost a bit more, and will take some time to finish them, but I think that it’s well worth the time and effort.Next I’m going to make another drill jig and make the grab rails for the turret hatches and the side hand rails. Then I’ll glue on the hatches and the turrets will almost be finished.

I am so excited as to how the 5 inch guns are coming out that I forgot to mention that a couple weeks ago I got the 40mm’s from HR Products. Those of you whom have purchased fittings from HR know that there is a lot of clean up involved. When I was working on the twin gun barrels the flash suppressors on one mount broke off. I was very upset and I was going to get a few more hoping to get one good one, but then I decided that wasn’t worth the trouble. So if you see one 40mm mount without the suppressors you’ll know why.This is the first one that I glued together. I need to bend the barrels a little to straighten them. I also drilled and taped the base of the mount so they can turn. I used a 2-56 flat head screw. This way the screw head will not be visible on the forward 40mm mounts. Check back soon, lots more to do on this build!!!!!!!!

Hi Everyone,
A good friend of mine came over yesterday afternoon to build a tank so I can perform floating tests to determine the battery pack placement. I told him the size I needed and he said lets go to Home Depot and get the wood.

He told me since I had drywall screws and a sheet of plastic all I needed was a two by four and a piece of 1 inch board. He picked out a ten foot long two by four that was fairly straight and 1inch by 10 inch pine board six feet long. He had the wood cut to size and we went to the check out the wood only cost me $15.07. We went back to my house and in about an hour and a half he had the tank completed and the Haggard was launched. (Notice the tank is bigger than the Haggard. It’s big enough for a 1/96 scale Fletcher Class Destroyer, I’m thinking ahead for my next build!!!!!! )

First I placed the deck in position then I moved the 7.2 volt battery pack until she was floating level with the water line.

Then I added the remaining super structure on the deck and the bow was lower in the water. I shifted the battery pack to the stern until I had her sitting level in the water.

Then I took off the removable deck section and made a pencil mark where the battery pack ended up.

Obviously the model isn’t complete yet and it was floating above the water line. Although most of the parts were in place, I’ll probably need to add weight after I finish building her. When the time comes I’ll do another tank test and add the required weights to bring her down to the water line.

I’m getting excited seeing the Haggard in the water for the first time, and not a drop of water inside her hull. I got the idea for the tank from seeing Gordon Briggs ¼ scale USS Radford build on warship models underway. When you have a lot of money invested building a RC model it’s much safer to perform testing in a tank than when the model is complete and your down at the pond for the first time. It’s the best fifteen dollars I’ve spent on my build to date.

Today I am adding details to the 5 inch gun housings if you look carefully you will notice grab rails on two of the turrets. I finished making the rails and I cut the doors out of a 0.015 brass strip. Check back soon to see the turret details completed and hopefully the turrets will be painted as well!!!!!!

DD-555

Here’s more detail work on the 5 inch gun housing. I made another drill jig to drill holes for the step and hand rail at the back edge of the entry hatch.I was also going to drill holes for the hand rail that runs down each side of the turret, but Rick Davis recently posted this photo of the Haggard on the calling all Fletcher fans page and it seems these rails were not used on the Haggard.I am very grateful for the help I have received from Rick on my build. His knowledge of USN destroyers and the photos he has obtained are a treasure for those of us building these great ships that served our country during WWII.

I used 0.020 diameter copper wire for these parts. After using the drill jig on ten sets of holes the jig was somewhat worn out to a point that I could not use it to bend the rails like the one I made for the bloomer rails next to the gun barrel. I made a separate jig to bend these parts and it worked very well.The ends of the first rails I made were equal in length and I had a lot of trouble trying to insert them in the holes I drilled. Then I made one end longer as seen in the photo. The long end is inserted first this made it a lot easier to insert the other end into the hole. Sounds strange, but I was able to add all the rails in about ten minutes after this insignificant change.

Tomorrow I plan on gluing the hatches on the side as well as the access covers seen only on the starboard side of the 5 inch gun housing. Then I will focus on the hatches on the front side and the gun captains hatch on top.

Roger DD-555

Roger,

It is fascinating to see what you managed to do with the Lindberg 5" gun mounts. I'm very interested to see how they look when completed.

Cheers,

Bill

Hi Bill,
Thanks for your comment I really appreciate it coming from you. This morning when you posted this comment I was adding more details to the 5 inch gun housings. I hope you check back soon I should have them almost completed.

Roger DD-555

Roger, you have incredible construction skills. Infact, your scratch build is going way over my head. Anyway, I peek here every now and then, see if I can learn something.

Cheers
Jeroen