First Build - 1/350 USS Laffey

[robertmelvin]

Bill, don't feel bad, my brother. I scr**ed the pooch the first time I attempted Laffey, and may yet do it on my second attempt. Dragon's kits aren't the easiest to contend with. If you are interested, I have a '42 Buchanan I could probably be pursuaded to part with if you want to take another shot. If so, shoot me a PM and we'll work something out.

Again, don't feel bad. Pooching your first build is no sin. The only sin is giving up.

Bob

[BillGorm]

Hi Bob - Thank you for the offer - let me think things over. I'm a bit of an oddball in the modeling world in that I maintain next to no stash and try to build what I have on hand before buying anything else. So I'm hoping someone in my local modeling club has one of Dragon's destroyers on hand for a quick swap. I'm definitely not giving up ... just need to regroup and come back smarter.

[robertmelvin]

That's the spirit, Bill. For what its worth, I've always learned more from my failures, in modeling as in life, than I've ever learned from the things I did right. You will come back smarter and like me, probably take a second run at the beast and this time prevail. You can't keep a good ship modeler down and I'll venture that, truth be told, there isn't a man jack among us that hasn't pooched a build at one time or another. Goes with the learning curve. Plus, Dragon's kits are a tough bone to cut your teeth on. Even after numerous builds under my belt now, parts of Laffey are still giving me fits. You are in good company. Just let me know if you want that Buchanan.

Bob

[Gordon Bjorklund]

Bill,

Don't give up on your Laffey build just yet. You can try using isopropyl alcohol or even Windex w/amonia to remove the acrylic paint you have used. Put it in a container and soak it overnight then use ao old tooth brush or a paper town to remove old paint. I would try the alcohol first.

If this process works you can order a replacement decal sheet from Dragon Care. You will need to send them a picture of the box cover or sales receipt They will let you know what it is they want to prove you have the kit. It cost me $10.00 to get a replacement sheet from them and took about three weeks. I have a spare set that I'm not using that you can have if you can save your build.

I hope you can save your build and let me know about the decal sheet.

[D Burger]

I'm with Gordon on this one.." Don't give up the ship" just yet...his is good advice! Doug B

[BillGorm]

Gordon - The windex is a good tip. I'ved used that in the past to take an entire model down to primer, but never just part of one. It might be possible here because my problem is just the amidships deckhouse, which was a tight enough pressure fit that I didn't need to glue it. I could probably detach it and redo it. Can windex cut through Future? The underlying paint is Tamiya acrylic + Tamiya lacquer thinner. There are other small things I'm not happy with, though, so the real question is whether I'd rather just start over. Still thinking it over ...

Doug - I believe I was offering these words to Bob not too long ago. I think I just got hit with my own boomerang.

Bob - PM sent.

[robertmelvin]

Bill, haven't gotten the PM yet. When did you send it? Just in case, let me give you my e-mail addy: robert.melvin@att.net. Feel free to e-mail me directly.

Bob

[Bill Mall]

Gordon - The windex is a good tip. I'ved used that in the past to take an entire model down to primer, but never just part of one. It might be possible here because my problem is just the amidships deckhouse, which was a tight enough pressure fit that I didn't need to glue it. I could probably detach it and redo it. Can windex cut through Future? The underlying paint is Tamiya acrylic + Tamiya lacquer thinner. There are other small things I'm not happy with, though, so the real question is whether I'd rather just start over. Still thinking it over ...

Doug - I believe I was offering these words to Bob not too long ago. I think I just got hit with my own boomerang.

Bob - PM sent.

Windex should cut through the Tamiya acrylic, I use it to clean my airbrush. Whenever I go to a taco place, i, uh, use, a lot of the little to go cups, I use those to soak 1/35 figures, I call it waterboarding, when I need to go back to the beginning.

Another thought, these got painted and repainted almost constantly, how far off is it? I am going to try to modulate the paint on certain areas on my Fletcher, like the turrets, to make them stand out. Can you post some photos, maybe it's not so bad? I know how you feel about deciding the model is dead to you, but you have some really nice work here.

Also, if the windex doesn't cut it, I heard that simple green will safely take it down to plastic.

[robertmelvin]

I've also read that EasyOff oven cleaner will do the same thing.

Bob

[BillGorm]

First off, thanks to everyone for the support and suggestions. After sleeping on it I'm not quite as negative about things ... although I still think the model looks goofy. Here's what I'm seeing:







Basically, I now have two different shades of 5-N Navy Blue and two different shades of 20-B Deck Blue in play. I'm not inclined to pull the amidships deckhouse off, dunk it in windex, and repaint it so it's either continue or start over.

[Gordon Bjorklund]

Bill,

Continue!

[robertmelvin]

Bill, it doesn't look nearly as bad as you had described. Were I you, I'd press forward. Maybe it looks different in person than in the pictures, but I don't think it looks bad at all. I was expecting something far, far worse.
Go for it, man!

Bob

[NGaged]

Bill,
I'm sure we've all run into this at some point! I find that if you add a little splash of color (white life rings, red gas cans, sailors, etc ect) the effect becomes MUCH less noticeable, and anyone who does notice often dismisses it as a result of the color contrast.

Keep at it!

[Bill Mall]

Bill, from my histroy in armor modeling, I have found that you can often tone down such variations with oil based washes over the acrylic paint, it will be much less pronounced. I am not certain what color woulod be complimentary, but MIG makes a line of pre mixed washes that you just paint over the base coat and it will bring the tonal differences down.

I know photos can be difficult to show what you want, but if that was mine I would go full speed ahead.

[Cadman]

I don't think it looks bad. Please continue. After your done you can add some weathering to mask the color change if you can even see it at that point.

[MartinJQuinn]

I second what Tim said. Once it's done some weathering and flat coating will blend that in.

[BillGorm]

It's been a long time since my last post. Those who were following along will remember that I unwisely decided to tinker with my formulas for 5-N Navy Blue and 20-B Deck Blue mid-build. I'm still not sure why I thought that was a good idea, but after letting the model sit for a month I've decided it would be best to finish it. Work and the mild weather here in New Jersey have left me little time for modeling, though, so I've only managed but to complete the aft deckhouse, adjoining catwalk structure, and 5" practice loader. Next up will be the life raft racks and then it's back to Ed McDonald's USS Lansdowne to see what comes next. All comments welcome!

[jeroen zuiderduin]

Hi Bill, good to see you are back at it. I think it looks very good already. There is nothing wrong with experimenting with colors, as mentioned before, you can adjust the colors with washes, filters and weathering� which is fun to do.

Jeroen

[BillGorm]

My Laffey continues to creak along and while I've dallied several excellent destroyer builds have overtaken mine. There's some really nice work being shared at the moment. It's motivational ... and slightly intimidating too. Anyway, I've finished the aft deckhouse and catwalk assembly and added the railings. I've also added the railings and inclined ladders at the front of the main deckhouse. I have a couple questions about railings for anyone who may know:

1. How do you ensure you get the right length of railing when the distance isn't a straight line that you can eyeball? Do you measure the distance of every twist and turn with calipers and translate that into sections of railing?
2. How do you deal with distances that can't be covered with a section of railing that begins and ends with posts? In at least one instance, I needed 9.5 sections of railing, but that would have left me with a half section of railing with no end post.

And one question about the Laffey in particular:

1. What is the purpose of the catwalk connecting the main and aft deckhouses? And why is there no easy way to access the aft deckhouse when walking aft along the catwalk?

Thanks for any help and here are some photos:

[jeroen zuiderduin]

Very nice and clean, Bill. For measuring the right length of railings, I count the number of posts by holding it against the area where to place it. To be sure I count one extra, and cut to size when it's bent the right way. Since I'm totally and utterly useless when it comes to calculating, this works for me. If you need 9.5 sections, first cut 10 or 9, than cut half, no, one�. ehm, see attached picture.



This is of course the way I do it, but there may be better ways.
Again, really nice work so far.

Jeroen