First Build - 1/350 USS Laffey

[NGaged]

1. What you're seeing are the rain gutters. They are supposed to be there and they are useful for aiding in rail placement.
2. I attach railings with Gator glue. I don't bother filling deck and hull seams most of the time as they will hardly be visible with the railings in place.

[robertmelvin]

Bill, as I recall, that ridge is supposed to be there, so I would take care not to sand it down. The only purpose I can think of on the real ship would be to provide a bit more freeboard to keep the seas off the deck.

As to the railings, some guys swear by PVA glue. I've never mastered the technique of using it by itself. My way of attaching railings is to cut them into short 2 -3 inch sections. I attach the end of each section with slow set CA, and when I have it where I want it, hit it with some kicker. It also helps to have some Tamiya tape sticking up a bit more than the height of the railing to give the railing something to "hold on to" once you have it in place. Next I take some thin CA and run a bead down the length of the attached piece of railing. It will dry almost instantly, so no need for kicker and the capillary action will run it right down the base of the railing. Finally, I go back with some slighly dilluted PVA and run another small bead down the base of the railing. Covers all the bases and I've never had a railing go "ping". After that, remove the tape. If you are worried about distorting the railing while doing that, put a little kicker on the tape, it will instantly let go. Also, when making your cut in the railing, its best to cut at a stantion, that way you can CA the loose railing to a clean stantion.

Personally, I paint my railings on the fret, take a sharp scalpel blade and lightly scrape any paint off the bottom rail. Easier, I've found than to try to paint once in place.

Hope this helps.

Bob

P.S.

Need more pics, love eye candy! LOL

[BillGorm]

Hi everyone - Progress has been slow, but here are some photos showing the lower hull painted. I used Tamiya Hull Red and Flat Red in roughly a 2:1 ratio. Next up will be painting the propellors bronze and masking and painting the sides in 5-N Navy Blue.









On a different note, I've been enjoying this build so much that when my wife sent me to the local hobby shop for my birthday I picked up Trumpeter's Graf Spee. I expect it will be more challenging than the USS Laffey, but I figured it was a fair choice. Thoughts from those who have made it?

[Timmy C]

The Graf Spee may well be easier - Trumpeter's AA guns, for example, are single or two-piece affairs, whereas the Laffey's are 4 or more. Thus, while the Graf Spee may be more challenging in terms of construction order and size, it may well be less intensive in detail work.

[robertmelvin]

Bill, I've not built the Graff Spee, but I have attempted and was defeated, at least the first time, by Laffey. If you can handle Laffey, you can handle Graff Spee, I'm sure.

A suggestion that might save you some work, if you don't want to paint on the boot topping, you can use a length of pin striping, for a DD I'd say 1/32" in width, from either your LHS or a local auto parts store. It should lay down nicely and will save you a lot of masking. Once the final dull coat is laid down it will kill the shine. Just a thought.

Looks like you are coming along nicely with Laffey. I'm enjoying watching your build thread.

Bob

[robertmelvin]

Bill, you have inspired me. After my recent disaster with my 1/144 Fletcher I decided that while I wait for replacement parts (thank you KevinH!) to come in, I'm going to pull Laffey out of the stash and give her another shot. Watching your build made me want to try her again after she defeated me the first effort.

I'm enjoying watching your progress and I'll be doing my own WIP thread on my Laffey build. Maybe we can help each other out if questions come up. Right now I'm trying to get the hull painted and I'm also working on painting the decks and any topside pieces that are going to show deck blue on at least part of them. As far as the boot topping, I think I'm going to cheat a little bit and use the vinyl racing stripe, about 1/32" width, rather than mask off and paint the thing on. We'll see how it turns out.

Keep up the great work on your Laffey. I'm counting on you for inspiration.

Bob

[BillGorm]

Another week, another set of progress photos. I have a monster commute to work each day so weekends are really my only time for modeling. I'm having a great time with this kit, though, so I'm not in any rush. Below are some photos showing the hull painted and the model dry fitted to the finials and base. Next step will be to dry fit the superstructure assemblies and paint the deck.

[jeroen zuiderduin]

Another Laffey. Have fun.
By the way, good start Bill.

Jeroen

[robertmelvin]

Bill, she's looking good. Did you mask and paint the boot topping, or use the pin striping trick? I'd suggest, if you haven't already, that you hit the hull with a shot of gloss coat to protect it. Also, a heads up. There are no plastic propeller guards in the kit, you have to use the PE ones if you want to mount them. At least they give you a tool to help with the bend, and it does work if you are careful. I'd attach the prop guards before I gloss coat it, since the gloss coat can effect the hold of the CA. I put mine on last night before I gloss coated the hull and deck.

Keep up the great work and I'm looking forward to your next update.

Your fellow Laffey builder,

Bob

[BillGorm]

Jeroen - Thanks for the encouragement.

Bob - I masked and painted the boot top. I'll try the tape in the future, I just figured I'd give paint a go first. Thanks for the heads up about the prop guards. Dragon is so odd sometimes - they engineer a fabulous kit, but don't provide a simple nameplate ... or plastic prop guards. I've encountered similar issues with their armor kits. As for applying a gloss coat, is that the norm in ship modeling? As an armor modeler, I'm not used to using gloss anything, but accounting for scale I would think satin varnish might work better.

[Timmy C]

The gloss coat is for providing a smooth surface for decals so that they won't "silver" (the clear film). After the gloss coat and decaling, one is supposed to apply a flat coat to both seal in the decals and take away the gloss sheen.

[robertmelvin]

To add to what Timmy C. said, I usually apply my flat coat at the end of the build, but before I rig. As Timmy said, the gloss coat helps with decals and it has the additional benefit of protecting the paint job. Some people use Pledge with Future Shine for their gloss coat. I've never tried it, but I'm told that it will shoot just fine through an airbrush unthinned, right from the bottle. I usually use Testors or Alclad, depending on what I have on hand. I prefer the Alclad.

Bob

[robertmelvin]

Bill, how did you find the upper/lower hull joint? I recall the last time I did Laffey it took a good bit of putty to get a good joint. This time, however, with careful placement, all I had to do was some work with a sanding stick to get a nice, smooth joint. I wonder if Dragon has tweaked their molds. I was prepared to pull out the Bondo, but this time it wasn't needed. You can take a look at my build thread to see the joint.

I like what you've done so far. Be sure and gloss coat your deck, and anything else that takes decals, before you attempt to lay down the non-skid decals. They will go down much better over a gloss coat and it helps to protect the paint job. Then, once you have her build, and I do this before I rig, hit her with a good coat of dull coat to take the shine off. This also seals the decals.

Keep up the good work and I'm looking forward to your next updates.

Bob

[BillGormf]

Timmy - Thanks for the clarification. I should have realized what the gloss coat is for since it's SOP in the armor world to spray a gloss coat (often Future) before and after applying decals. I had gotten away from that by switching to dry transfers. No risk of silvering and two fewer coats on the model to (potentially) obscure detail. Anyway, I'll add a gloss coat to my "project plan".

Bob - I've sprayed Future through my airbrush many times without any issues. It's thin enough that it flows easily and it's easy to clean up. It even smells good. As for the hull, it went together cleanly but there's no doubt it requires clean-up no matter how careful you are. For a new modeler like my nephew (who is just starting a ship with my father) it might be intimidating, but it's no big deal for someone with a few kits under their belt. I just laid down a line of Mr. Dissolved Putty with the tip of a needle, let it dry overnight, and sanded it smooth with 400-800-1000 grit sandpaper. If I find the right thinner for Mr. Dissolved Putty I think it would be even easier to get the right result.

[MartinJQuinn]

Looking good Bill. I can commiserate on the commute killing building time during the week!

[D Burger]

Great job so far Bill...I'm an aircraft modeler most of the time..but ships have become what I'm really looking to build...researching them is a daunting prospect..but there are all the experts you will ever need here. I'm just finishing the 1/144 Fletcher, with the Gearing coming up next...keep up the great work!... Doug B

[BillGorm]

I masked and painted the deck this evening and it's awfully close to the 5-N Navy Blue I sprayed on the hull. Now, I realize the MS-21 scheme is generally gloomy, but can anyone help me confirm I'm in the right ballpark? Specifically, can anyone point me to photos of real ships in the MS-21 scheme or models that capture the consensus "look" for this scheme? I'll post photos tomorrow once I've got better light.

[Timmy C]

Don't worry about it - 5-N and 20B are very similar to each other. For greater visual interest, you may want to lighten one of them.

[Rick E Davis]

Ms 21 appearance in photos depends on several factors; sunlight, sun angle, film type, freshness or age of the paint, etc. If the ship is backlit, it will appear dark, if the sun is behind the camera and the ship well lit, it will appear lighter.

5N would "chalk" with age making it appear lighter. The hull would get worn by the sea and minor scraps, etc. Touch-ups to various areas on a ship would make for strange patchwork appearances. A newly painted ship would appear pretty dark. Normally the crew could keep the superstructure pretty nicely painted.

Here are various views of different classes of ships, mostly FLETCHERS, for a comparison.







(This view of JENKINS is a good example of where the hull nice been "touched-up")




(This view of CAPPS (DD-550) may show her in 5O ... Ocean Grey ... but the deck should still be 20B)


(This view of CAPPS in September 1945 actually shows her painted in Ms 22, but the deck is 20B)

[robertmelvin]

Bill, if you will google U.S.S. Laffey you'll find some good shots of her in her MS 21 camo scheme. Try looking here at NavSource: http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/459.htm

Also, if you will PM me you e-mail addy I have a great photo of the starboard side of U.S.S. Enterprise in Ms 21 that really shows the scheme well.

Bob