The Ship Model Forum

Well, this project has been in the studies since October 2009... I received the hull from the Scale Shipyard, along with the plans and fittings. This is great stuff and lots of nice details...

My estimates say that the hull is actually 1/100 but this is better if you are measuring in meters and not inches...

For size comparison I also used a 1/72 Gato hull and a M1A2 Abrams tank in 1/35 scale. You can also see the ships US and Greek crests.

I am going to build ex USS Joseph Strauss DDG 16 as HS Formion DDG 220. Progress will be slow, hope to have her finished by October 2012.









Well, that is all for now... I really wish to thank Tony Bunch for his help and all of the guys at the Scale Shipyard...

Hi Nikos good to see another boat here.
good luck in your project
Capit�o

Hi Nick Good choice and all the very best with the build ,I'll be looking in .
Dave Wooley

Niko:

What information are you using the determine that my 1:96 scale hull is actually 1:100 scale/ this is a difference of over 2 inches.

I will pass on your thanks to the rest of the guys at Scale Shipyard....just as soon as I can find them

I pretty much just work alone here...unfortunately

Scale Shipyard / W.L.U. wrote: I will pass on your thanks to the rest of the guys at Scale Shipyard....just as soon as I can find them

I pretty much just work alone here...unfortunately

Hi Lee,

But with lots of good Karma from happy model owners

Andrew

Thank you for the comments... But I will be appreciating your help in the future...

I did not know you were running your own business Lee... Extra praise for that...

As to the scale/length comment I made. The following pictures taken today will prove my point. According to the first picture, which is the first page of the damage control book from DDG 18, which has been in my possession ever since the ex ddg 18 was decommissioned from the Hellenic Navy, the overall length is 437 ft . Some math: 437 X 12 = 5244 inch / 96 = 54.625 inch in scale 1/96 compared to 52.44 inch in 1/100 scale. The following pictures show the measurements of the hull which is a little over 53 inches. This is closer to the 1/100 scale.



Anyway, this is not an issue for me and I think that this should not be made one either... Lee has provided me with an excellent set of hull, plans (two sets of plans actually) and fittings, along with the shafts and propellers in the very near future.

P.S. I will try to find the damage control book from ddg 16 (which I also own) and donate any other documents along with the ddg18 dc book to the c.f. adams veterans association...

Hi Nick,

The DC book is cool (Love historical documents) I served in two DDG's in the Australian Navy.... Did you serve in the ship?

Andrew

Hi Nick:

Since the Berkeley went to the Greek navy, I figured that you would like the final plans for her...since I had them.

I do not normally supply the additional set which was on the larger sheets....but since your a friend of Tony's

Be cautious about determining the model hull length from the bare fiberglass hull. I have one of Lee's hulls (Scale Shipyard) for the 1:96 Cleveland and it also appeared to be a bit too short out of the box. However, after I created the internal supports at the main deck level at the stern I discovered that the stern curvature of the fiberglass shell had "relaxed" a bit - it was also a bit wide amidships. After the fiberglass hull is removed from the form it can change shape!

Do not assume that the thin fiberglass shell has the correct shape for the hull, especially at the main deck level. For example, the Clevelands were broader at the waterline than at the main deck. The molded fiberglass hull had to be spread a bit to get it off the form - distorting its shape. You must add internal structure to determine the actual shape of the finished hull. Also, the thin shell can be twisted easily. Again, the internal structure is used to keep the hull straight.

When I added the internal frames to pull the sides in to the correct width and installed supports to form the proper curvature at the stern the resulting hull was within a millimeter of my best measurements of hull length from the blueprints. And that doesn't include the stem piece that has to be added at the bow. When this is added the hull length is pretty accurate.

Another caution: not all rulers are the same, especially tape measures. I have seen rulers that vary by as much as 2-3 mm per meter! The cheap junk you get in hardware stores may not be very accurate - it is good enough for throwing together houses, but not good enough for precise measurements. If a measurement is very important check with several different rulers before commmitting yourself (measure twice, cut once).