1/144 USS NICHOLAS DD-449 late war

[oneslim]

Hey Guys,

I'm going to build the USS Nicholas DD 449 late war from the Revell of Germany Fletcher kit#5091.

http://www.ussnicholas.org/index.html

This will be a slow build, only updated when I make some progress. Plus I have to get back to the USS Doyle FFG-37. I've been at it for a couple months so far.

The materials on hand are:

NAUTILUS MODELS: 144-203 Fletcher photo etch brass set, 144-020 USS Fletcher Turret & Whaleboat Upgrade set, 144-021 USS Fletcher 40mm Twin Stern Tub, 144-601 USS Fletcher Anti-Skid Decal , 144-602 1/144 Fletcher Class Destroyer Decals.

EDUARD MODEL ACCESSORIES: #53040 Fletcher 1942 1/144.

THE FLOATING DRYDOCK: Fletcher Class Plan eBook, A number of drawings of Fletchers. Ordnance Pamphlet #6 40mm twin Bofors mount, General Arrangement Drawings of same.

DESTROYER HISTORY FOUNDATION: Fletcher Class Destoryer Engineering Drawings Bath Iron Works.

STILLMOTIONSPHOYOGRAPHICS.COM: Fletchers volume 58.

And everything I could find on the net.


Well, as everyone knows the real roadblock to a late war Fletcher fom this kit is the five 40mm twin mounts. The gun tubs should not be a big deal to scratch. The mounts themselves are the the problem. To this end I emailed Revell of Germany to purchase additional sprues for the mounts and the Mk-51 directors. They replied after two weeks that they do not sell extra sprues ever. What a waste, to my mind this would be a sure money maker. Next I bought a Nautilus Models twin 40mm stern mount and tub. I was not happy with the casting, and I broke the carrige trying to add the guns to it.

So, I thought that I could copy the kit mounts for my own personel use without violating the copyright. BTW, please don't ask for copies, I can't do it.

To start I purchased the 'Starter Kit' for resin casting from Micro-Mark. The cost was just over $100. This does not include the extra supplies I've had to obtain.

I thought this would be an easy job, BOY WAS I WRONG. The first thing, Klean Klay is a pain in the a** to work with on very small parts. You are to embed the part in it to make a two part mold, pour the rubber for the first half, remove the Klean Klay, then pour the second half. The stuff gets everywhere, sticks to the part, and is difficult to clean off parts. Because the parts are small with many holes, angles, and under cuts, the rubber just won't hold up and tears after one or two castings. For some of these parts I've had to make three molds to get uasable parts. I've since obtained the high strength rubber and hard resin. Haven't had a chance to try it as yet. To overcome the Klean Klay I now suspend a part from it's sprue pour the first half of rubber then after curing pour the second half. In the next few days I'll show my methods with photos.

Just some shots to show progess so far.

[oneslim]

Two more showing the ring mount and the carrige base.

Bob W

[Rotorhead]

Hey Oneslim.....looks good. Thanks for posting the photos of the Nautilus Bofors. How many mounts in that set? 2 I hope.

Looking forward to your build.

Regards
Steve

[oneslim]

Steve,

That's NOT the Nautilus Bofors! It's the one I made by coping the kit parts in resin.


Bob W

[Rotorhead]

Hey Bob....sorry about that. You made a very convincing copy.

But, while looking i did note that Nautilus makes one also.

Thanks for sharing though.

Regards
Steve

[oneslim]

Ok, this will be a step by step of my attempt to copy the 40mm Bofors.

[oneslim]

Next

[oneslim]

Somehow the first two file comments got reversed in the above post.

[oneslim]

Post three of how to.

[oneslim]

Part Four of how to.

[oneslim]

Part Five of How To, casting.

[oneslim]

Part Six of How To.

[oneslim]

Part Seven of How To.

[Bill Livingston]

That was really interesting... why not post something in the Tips and Tricks section so others can find it in the future..? Good post... its nice to see something 'real' ... Thanks...

[Sr. Gopher]

in a good way

[Rotorhead]

Bob, your brave............and you succeeded. Good job on the resin. I'm interested in that.

Regards
Steve

[Sean Hert]

I've never found that anything less thatn 25 in of Hg made any difference- for most home shops, pressure casting is a better way to go. ( I much prefer vacuum casting, don't get me wrong). It's just too hard to pull a deep enough vacuum quick enough- your normal HVAC pump just isn't powerful enough.

[les]

I know an outfit that does pressure casting and gets great results. It seems like a good way to go. If your parts aren't too big you can use a pressure cooker for the vessel.

[oneslim]

Sean and Les,

I asked the wife about the pressure cooker, no go, she's had it for years and doesn't want 'chemicals' in it. Don't have a powered vacuum pump, just a Harbor Freight hand brake bleeder. I can get 22in of Hg but it takes about 200 strokes and the resin only has a six min. pot life. What I'm doing now is pre-loading the mold's small areas with resin, then clamping together. Once together I use a 3cc syringe to push the resin through the mold. Seems to work very well. I'll show more photos in the coming days.

Bob W

[les]

I don't blame your wife. I'd tell you to go buy your own to play with.