First resin ship kit

In addition to Ed's advise when looking at each piece of photoetch YMWs kits usually have a distinct fold line where the piece will naturally fold.  Perhaps it might make your work with easier if you requested copies of photoetch folding directions directly from the vendor or manufacturer as other kits from YMW may have better instructions for folding the etch and as USN equipment was shared by many ships and ship types the directions from another vessel may help you with that.  Gold Medal Models has excellent directions that will help you understand the shape the part should be in so you might want to see if you can get a copy of directions from them for similar vessels.  WS

comchief182

I just purchased a Yankee Modelworks USS Sumner kit.  It is my first resin kit.  The instructions are not very informative or user friendly.  It does not show how the photoetched parts are built, such as the 20mm dual AA guns or the fire direction radar.  Is there more detailed instructions or how to video's out there?  This is not my first ship model just my first resin model.  Thanks

Instruction quality is a rap against most resin ship models.    Quality varies even among items on a particular manufacturer's product line.    BlueWaterNavy/Yankee Modelworks generally gas a reputation of having better instructions.

There is no fold on line A, put tab B into slot C instructions.    You need to look at the real object and the piece of 2-D photoetch and then think in 3-Dimensions.   How do I get there from here?.    Maybe that is why some people enjoy resin & brass kits and others curse them.   Check references such as NAVSOURCE for photos of the class.    Friedman's Naval Weapons is good.   It has photos and line drawings of both guns and radars.   Another excellent reference on your subject is the Floating Drydocks plan eBook on the Sumners and Gearings.

I think I remember what BWN/YMW twin 20s look like,  two guns with a small tab between them.   Place a small spacer on the tab and fold the two guns up alongside the spacer.    Remove the spacer and twist & erect the sight and shoulder rests  CA the guns to the base and then CA the shield to the front of the guns with the barrels through the slot.    On the radar their is a 'spider' which is the support for the array to the mast (IIRC).   From the center 'body' of the spider bend the 'legs' up so they fit the perimeter of the antenna.  CA the spider to the antenna and the completed antenna to the masthead