Calling all Oliver Hazard Perry-class FFG fans

[Mk 75 Gunner]

Hi There, I have recently joined this forum, I'm getting back into building after about 15 yrs away. My main interest is cars but I spent 9 yrs on 2 Perry Class Frigates (FFG-7 and FFG-9), I picked up the Academy OHP kit and also the WEM PE set plus the radio whips and 76mm barrel set. I have looked over this topic with an open mouth. The quality of the builds here is just out standing, kinda wondering if I have bit off more than I can handle. It is amazing the amount of detail you forget after so many yrs.

[el Cid]

Hey there Gunner,

With all the excellent examples here, and tips and tricks offered, with a bit of patience I'm sure you can turn out a great fig from the Academy kit. My first kit was the old 1/350 Blue Water Navy (now Yankee Modelworks) resin FFG about a decade ago. Had to dig out all my old photos to refresh my memory, but she came out pretty decent.

I look forward to seeing your build.

Cheers,

Keith "Mk92 FC"
FFG-8 and FFG-21

[navydavesof]

Willie,
Your scratch building skills easily have to be the best in the 1/350 scale range. Your FFG is amazing. I really like how you built up your lattice mast, especially the attention taken to the joints between the cross-pieces. The individual detail in the mast is very impressive, and it is really surprising that you have been able to achieve the level of detail with styrene. Most of us have to rely on PE to do that. Everything about the mast is really impressive.

Please keep up the work, and we are looking forward to any more posts you might have!

[Tracy White]

Hey Dave... wrong scale (not "minimizing" his work at all):

Back on the first page:

I have already started the construction of my Spanish FFG F81 Santa Mar�a, of Lee, scale 1/300.

[navydavesof]

Hey Dave... wrong scale (not "minimizing" his work at all)

Haha, "minimizing"...it's a "scale" model. Model jokes.

That makes the process even more interesting. I guess that's one reason why PE and the various accessories are not available for it so everything has to be scratch built. He seems to like scratch building anyway. It is a phenomenal build, and I would love to achieve such accomplished detail some day.

[Mk 75 Gunner]

I just started this build and it is also my first ship in over 20 yrs, let me know what you think and Thanks for looking.





Damaged Fo'c'sle area out of the box, just had to fix this.








Final result, I used some .005 sheet for the top piece.

[Tracy White]

Only comment so far is that I typically put the deck in before working on additional structure such as that as it allows me to the get bottoms of the stiffeners cleaner against the deck. But that's mainly because I can't measure that accurately.

[Mk 75 Gunner]

Only comment so far is that I typically put the deck in before working on additional structure such as that as it allows me to the get bottoms of the stiffeners cleaner against the deck. But that's mainly because I can't measure that accurately.

I thought of that also so I scribed a faint line with the deck in place and then ran the stiffeners past the scribe and will trim as i put the deck in place. Some of my horizontal pieces are not entirely straight but next side will be better.

[Mk 75 Gunner]

The kit is a bit of an amalgam of several Perrys. It comes with both long and short hull stern/flight deck pieces but only decals for the Perry (a short hull) and only an SH-60 (only on the long hulls). Instructions tell you to build a short hull and put the SH-60 on it which is wrong. The short hulls only carried SH-2 Sea Sprites and never got RAST. ONLY the ships with RAST, the long hulls, carried SH-60s. If you know what to look for you can find the appropriate parts and build either version but you'll need to get some aftermarket SH-2s and/or more decals. WEM makes the helos and Iron Shipwright's makes the decals. If you need help figuring out which parts to use for which version let me know and I can give you part numbers. Feel free to keep asking questions as well man, can't wait to see your FFG!

-Mike

I was stationed on the Perry for over 4 yrs but it has been a awhile and I have started the Academy OHP kit but I can not remember some details about the stern area. I distinctly remember the towed array system being installed as well as the helo deck control room but I can NOT recall if she had the long hull upgrade, I have read one Navy site that listed her hull length as 453' (long hull). Was the Perry that much of a mix of upgrades? They say memory is the first to go....... Any help would be great

Sean

[el Cid]

I don't think OHP every had the hull extended, primary reason she was decommed so early. USS McInerney (FFG-8), my old home, was built as a short-hull, but shortly after commissioning went back to BIW and "lost her ass in Bath" and had the transom extended and RAST installed. She was the SH-60 test platform, but had all the equipment removed after completing this work. Embarked SH-2s on our first two deployments.

Cheers,

Keith

[Landlocked]

Hi all, my first post here, and this is a great thread!

I've recently started an Academy 1/350 Perry with WEM & MK1 PE, and the same extra pieces as Mk 75 Gunner above. I want to build a waterline version to do a diorama of USS Nicholas FFG-47 capturing the pirates last year.

I'm no ship expert but have recently made three in 1/700 and enjoy it far more than doing large scale planes which is my usual "thing".

While it will not be superdetailed to any serious level (Willie's awesome job on his is just frightening!), I have done some work already:

Waterline hull - easy to cut using the template on the kit hull, and the fit to the waterline plate was excellent:


"Long hull" parts fitted - I wonder why Academy didn't make more of this, the appropriate decals would have been helpful!


MK1 doors fitted and derricks on the front removed (they don't appear in any pics of the ship at the time?)


Filled in all the holes for railings, liferafts etc as they will be from the PE sets:


Some of the changes from the kit I noticed from photos of the Nicholas are the front missile launcher and midships search radar have been removed, the derricks off the front, 25mm guns fitted just aft of the torpedo tubes, the new style boat deck and crane, 50cal guns fitted fore and aft on the main deck.

There is one question i hope you experts can answer: have the "lookout posts" been removed from the bridge roof on serving Perrys, and what are these (circled) and does anyone have a photo of them?


Thanks very much for any help you can offer!
Cheers,
Al

[Timmy C]

The things in the red circle are Nulka decoy launchers: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nulka

You can find them on the platforms next to the forward funnel on Arleigh Burke destroyers as well if you need more pictures.

[Dave from Downunder]

Hi Al and Sean

I'm not sure if it was posted with this long forum but FYI. Hawk Graphics (Darren) in Canada is developing a set of decals far better than in the Academy box. They are yet to be printed but I have seen somewhere his wonderful artwork. I too am waiting for teh print run to finish my build. All she has at teh moment in her grey number (from another set of toned down numbers)

Dave

[Landlocked]

Hi Al and Sean

I'm not sure if it was posted with this long forum but FYI. Hawk Graphics (Darren) in Canada is developing a set of decals far better than in the Academy box. They are yet to be printed but I have seen somewhere his wonderful artwork. I too am waiting for teh print run to finish my build. All she has at teh moment in her grey number (from another set of toned down numbers)

Dave

Thanks very much Timmy & Dave for the info.

I was in touch with Darren recently, he indicated that the decals would be ready to ship for July. Seeing the revised artwork, it looks to be worth the wait.

[Mk 75 Gunner]

How would I go about getting a scale decal of the ships ribbons that would go on the bridge wings? Also I don't see any Captains chairs in the kit, would these have to scratch built? these are the chairs that are outside on the bridge wing.

[Cliffy B]

Take a look at Iron Shipwright's 1/350 "USN Signal Flags" Item number 10-04.

Scroll down to decals.
http://ironshipwrights.com/accessories.html

Shot of the sheet:
http://ironshipwrights.com/350Flags.jpg

Placement guide with all of the ribbons listed by name and photo:
http://ironshipwrights.com/Flag_Legend.jpg

[Cliffy B]

Found a neat close up of a FFG over on Navy Newsstand. Some nice rust detail and nice shot of the modern "low-vis" hull numbers. Shows how close the subdued colors are to the hull color.

http://www.navy.mil/view_single.asp?id=99248

[Landlocked]

I know photos can be deceptive, but what do you make of this one:
http://www.navsource.org/archives/07/im ... 074765.jpg

Some of the upperworks appear to be a faded, almost Gull Gray colour, contrasting with some of the other Haze Gray fittings which are adjacent to the "discolored" areas?

Is this a photo issue, or is it possible that some of the paintwork was done in another colour?

Al

[Sean Hert]

Landlocked, take a look at these pics I took in 2007;

http://www.modelwarships.com/features/w ... index.html

[Mk 75 Gunner]

Quick update to my Perry, I have changed the hull stabilizers and repaired the fo'c'sle stringers.











This is my attempt at scratching up the fin stabilizers, I glued 4 pieces of .08 evergreen together and eyeballed the shape and size. Hopefully it will work out.