Calling all Benson-class & Gleaves-class DD fans

[Kraken Hobbies]

Finally finished and ready, the 1/350 Square Bridge Gleaves conversion. Includes the 01 deck and bridge. This model is patterned after the 20mm Bandstand tub aboard the USS Satterlee DD-626 as she was on June 6th 1944. Here is the test print fitted to an in progress Dragon kit.

Black Cat MK37 for effect and not included.

Will be made available in the shop once current backlog of orders is caught up.

Matt

[Jamie Alguire]

Guys:
Thx for reply, Im trying to determine what config Laffey carried on the front bridge face 02? level.
Rick- Correct, the Admiralty pic I attached is for the flat bridge conversion, but the 02 level 'flat face' below the square bridge is similar to the 1/350 Laffey, part M-15 here.

Is the center 'column' or 'notch' feature I labelled supposed to represent the 20mm cabinet? Or is that just part of the bulkhead structure, and the locker is on the deck, as you say that was a more preferred loc?
David - Are you referring to this pic of DrDull's post?

Detai02Front.jpg (8.16 KiB) Viewed 2589 times

Yes I viewed it, great job he did BTW, and comparing to the Laffey pic, (although fuzzy), it looks different, what do you guys think?
To modify the Laffey part, I could just modify the 'column' feature I labelled.

Matt: Theres pics of Laffeys wreck? And it matches the Ellyson pic, with locker cabinet? Thx!!

[Rick E Davis]

Jamie,

Yes I believe that "column" is suppose to represent the ready-use 20-mm ammo cabinet. It isn't very detailed, but in even 1/350 scale it is pretty small. The onboard view of USS ELLYSON (DD-454), about the only closeup view of this area and cabinet. I don't have any similar closeup views of this area for either LAFFEY or WOODWORTH. I won't swear that the one on LAFFEY was "exactly" the same, but items like ammo ready-use cabinets were built to common designs (normally the USN contracted such items and furnished them to the builders). But I think this would be a good guide.

Below is a view of the cabinet on ELLYSON and a view of another larger (4-min supply vs 1-min supply for the cabinet forward of the bridge) cabinet amidships, opened, on USS HAMBLETON (DD-455);

[David Sandifer]

Yes, Jaime, that's the fourth of five construction photos on p17. Along with Matt's and Rick's confirmation of the Ellyson/Laffey locker, you're all set.

[taskforce48]

This image is from the Petrel survey a few years back. Ballards book has a better shot showing the cabinet with the doors missing.


Matt

[Jamie Alguire]

Wow guys, great replies! We collectively determined Laffeys most likely config!
Rick - these ammo lockers were rated on minutes of supply of given weapon type? Very cool.
Next, Im looking at the exposed trunking forward of the forward stack, stay tuned...

[Jamie Alguire]

Hi again guys - DML Laffey 1/350 build -
The topic regarding the exposed uptakes on deckhouse forward of the forward stack was discussed by Rick some time ago - thx BTW, since I never would have known this structural feature even existed if you hadnt have identified it!
These shots show what I believe to be the walkways above the exposed uptakes, was this Laffey's config?
Woodworth DD460 (Laffey's close sister) shows railings in this area indicating walkways above the exposed casings, at odds with the DML part, which is a flat 01 deck here.

Then, a snip of plan found prior (thx whoever posted it!)

Looks like a section of walkway complete with railing running down port side of stack (similar to the catwalk on the rear deckhouse, BTW)
And then a transverse walkway that opens onto starboard side, accessed by inclined stairs & windbreak on deck level; heres the starboard side showing this.

The mods arent too difficult; removing the deck from DML part & adding walkways & stairs, but am I way off base here? does this config sound reasonably close to Laffeys ?

[taskforce48]

Yeah, that�s basically what I did for mine. You can use the plans for the USS Neilds for this-

You can the plans here

Matt

[Jamie Alguire]

Very cool, Matt!
Great to hear somebody else has come to the same conclusion...makes sense looking at the research at least.

NEXT UP...Im researching Laffeys midship 20mm tubs, abeam the rear stack...looks like many units had these features staggered, ie not symmetrical in plan view, and after comparing the DML locations, which ARE symmetrical, I think they may be asymmetrical.

[Rick E Davis]

You are correct that the midships 20-mm positions are staggered slightly. This was done to accommodate the torpedo crane. I don't recall which DML kit you have or are using, but many of the kits have spare parts used for other variants, you may have a closer match midships deckhouse deck.

This image shows the midships area of USS WOODWORTH in 1944. But, I don't think the 20-mm gun positions were changed, other than some refinements added. Also, note that during this overhaul, her Mk 4 mount 20-mm guns were replaced with Mk 10 tripod mounts. Below that image is one of her in August 1942, for comparison of changes made.

[MartinJQuinn]

I've been working on the very same "conversion". Here's my take on it. I added a vertical ladder to the end of the walkway running port to starboard. I know it's not 100% correct, but it's what I could gather from plans and photos. It's also a bit of a mess, because, for some reason, I got an ill advised jump start on the weathering (I think I thought I was farther along than I was )

[Jamie Alguire]

Excellent Rick thx for that, clears up the 20mm tub alignment. Its an easy fix on my 1/350 Laffey kit; the port side tub is in correct location, just needs a triangle deck piece added abaft the tub, as Ricks photo shows, also this well-known shot:

The starboard tub needs to be moved 2-3mm abaft of its present location, which also matches plans posted previously on this forum.

[Jamie Alguire]

Martin: Looks awesome! you have paint on yours, ur way ahead of me! You doing Laffey too? Im opting to fill that 'empty' space ahead of the forward stack with stowage & consumables...

Great job guys! We've advanced research another notch ahead!
These ships varied so much! I must admit a feeling of satisfaction when we discover the individual configurations thru research...

[MartinJQuinn]

Martin: Looks awesome! you have paint on yours, ur way ahead of me! You doing Laffey too? Im opting to fill that 'empty' space ahead of the forward stack with stowage & consumables...

Great job guys! We've advanced research another notch ahead!
These ships varied so much! I must admit a feeling of satisfaction when we discover the individual configurations thru research...

Yes I'm doing Laffey the night she was sunk.

[Jamie Alguire]

Martin -Same here, quite an incident to portray.
Very nice kit from DML, great detail, with a few additions, makes a nice representation of the ship.
FYI, I had the life raft rack on the fo'c'sle deck too, as per DML instructions, but Laffey didnt have racks there, looking at pics. She carried them like Woodworth, along the deck house sides just ahead of the inclined ladder. If that matters 2 u, just sayin...

[MartinJQuinn]

FYI, I had the life raft rack on the fo'c'sle deck too, as per DML instructions, but Laffey didnt have racks there, looking at pics. She carried them like Woodworth, along the deck house sides just ahead of the inclined ladder. If that matters 2 u, just sayin...

Now that I know that....

[Jamie Alguire]

Hey man, easy fix! You havent got rails on yet!
BTW, whats paint brand?

[MartinJQuinn]

Hey man, easy fix! You havent got rails on yet!
BTW, whats paint brand?

They came off pretty easily (phew!) Sovereign Models Colourcoats.

[ModelMonkey]

Nice work, fellas!

The Dragon Benson/Gleaves kits are really well done and a lot of fun.

[David Sandifer]

Gentlemen, for best accuracy, should I modify the forward stack trunking of a newly-purchased prewar 1940 Benson DD-421 kit 1034? Gordon Bjorklund and many of you worked on Laffey and Woodworth on this forum from APR-JUL2009. And, were all thirty Bensons constructed in this way? Thanks