Forest Sherman, Perry and Knox class models

Thorny 196

Hello all this is my first post , please be gentle. Anyway I served in the US Navy on the above class ships and was looking for a manufacturer that make a good model representation of each in the same scale.  I’m thinking 1/350 scale or bigger but I would like them to have very good detail and good fit up.  I am even willing to go up in scale I’m not worried about price but I do not want wood models, resin is what I would like if possible. Also the Forest Sherman would  have to be the Modified Hull class 945 or higher as the ship I was on had the hurricane bow. Since I’m just getting back into the hobby I’m not familiar with all the manufacturer's. Any help would be appreciated

 

Welcome to the dark side.

Of the three classes you mention, only the Perry is available in 1:350 scale injected plastic.   It is by Academy and isn't too bad.    It has injected plastic railings which look like wooden fences.  They can be replaced by aftermarket.   It can be completed either as a short-hull or a long-hull,  but the kit decals are only for the OH Perry.   Aftermarket decals can get you almost every other USN ship, and there are more due out soon to get the rest of the world's operators of Perrys.

The Sherman & Knox are available in 1:350 scale resin & brass.

Iron Shipwright makes a Knox as the Ainsworth

 http://ironshipwrights.com/pages/Ainsworth-Judy.html

White Ensign Models out of England also makes a Knox.

Iron Shipwright makes several Shermans.  Their Morton (DD-948) looks like it may have the bow you describe (right side below)

http://ironshipwrights.com/pages/Morton.html

They also do a plain Sherman and a Barry

And before you gulp at the prices of resin & brass kits.  Its all about the economy of scale.   Injected kits are turned out by the thousands.   These kits are tuned out in lots of 20 to 30.  They're hand-made.   Material costs are different too.    These kits come with a full photo-etch detail suite, something which is an aftermarket add-on in many mass market kits. 

In smaller scale, 1/700,  Knox & Perry are available in plastic.    Again, I think you'll have to go to resin for a Sherman.

The pickings get very slim in larger scale.   You can probably find hulls for each in 1:192 or 1:96 scale for RC models.   They will be fiberglass and will be pricey.

It's a good time to be a ship modeler, especially in 1/700!. That said, Academy recently released a 1/350 Perry kit in plastic for about $30 that has gotten good reviews in general as far as fit and accuracy, and there are numerous aftermarket photoetch sets to spruce it up. I believe that is the short hull FFG-7 version but am not 100-percent certain.

In general, in that scale, plastic kits will be cheaper than resin kits, although when you factor in the aftermarket PE, which is usually included in resin kits, it may be a wash in some cases. Others will probably chime in with leads for the other ships you mention.

Let's start off with sources for your ships that are on line and maintain good websites:  Pacific Front Hobbies (west coast USA), Free Time Hobbies (east coast USA), White Ensign Models (UK) and NNT Models (Germany).   Those shops will provide you with kits and all the supplies you will need.

Perry class ships are available in both long and short hull formats in resin (Yankee Modelworks), short hull in plastic (Academy).  Forest Sherman in 350 is only available in resin, however I'm not sure what model is best for what you are looking for (Iron Shipwright has one and I believe one is available from White Ensign Models).  Knox class models are not available in plastic in the 350 scale so once again resin is where you will find it.

You can go directly to the Iron Shipwright website or White Ensign Models site and view pics and descriptions of their resin kits.  You can also go to the Yankee Modelworks site as well but it is a difficult site to navigate.  Free Time Hobbies has pictures of the kits they sell as does Pacific Front.  If it is out there you will find it in the on line stores I listed in the first paragraph.   There are others as well but those four have the most.

A very nice centralized website to navigate each of these companies is www.steelnavy.com.

Bill Morrison

Bill, thanks for adding that, maybe I should ring you up beforehand so that I don't leave key points out of my posts!!!!

While we are at it for good sites for ship modelers let's add: Modelwarships.com , ModelShipwrights.kitmaker.net and Finewaterline.com

In Germany there is a terrific site called modellmarine.de/  There is a translation function available for the articles but the photos alone are just incredible.

WS

Dreadnought52

Let's start off with sources for your ships that are on line and maintain good websites:  Pacific Front Hobbies (west coast USA), Free Time Hobbies (east coast USA),

<<SNIP>>

Just as an update of things, around the first of April,  Pacific Front Hobbies was sold to Freetime Hobbies.   PacFront's owner has retired.   PacFront's stock has been shipped to Freetime.   For the time being there will be two websites [with potentially two prices for the same thing].    Eventually the PacFront inventory, pricing, and availability will be absorbed into Freetime.  

So East Coast/West Coast is no longer applicable.   Both now ship from upstate Georgia (north of Atlanta).

Shop both websites for the better price

Welcome Thorny and thank you for your service. Ships are a great model experience- they take so long that the stiff price works out to be a lot of modeling time for the $.

I hope I won't insult anyone by suggesting tracking down the old Revell Forrest Sherman kit, which can be found on eBay from time to time.  I'm a nostalgia builder, so I wouldn't turn my nose up at one.  I built one as a kid, and though it might be a simpler kit than today's kits, it offers a good opportunity to hone your scratchbuilding and detailing skills.

I think it was around 1/424 or so, dating from the last days of box-scale kits.

Best regards,

Brad

That old Revell kit (also issued under the names Decatur and John Paul Jones) can, with considerable effort, be built into a very nice representation of Forest Sherman.  However, it is 1/319 scale and the original poster was looking for three ships in the same scale so these old kits most likely aren't going to fit the bill for him.  It would be cheaper than resin, even with aftermarket upgrades, but it wouldn't scale out with the others he is searching for.  Nothing wrong with being a nostalgia builder but it is very difficult to display finished ships together when they are of different scales.  WS

Ed, thanks for the update about Pacific Front. I vaguely remembered he was looking for a buyer, and am glad he found one instead of the site and inventory just "going away" as so often happens. I am going to have to bookmark Freetime Hobbies, having never dealt with them. But it's all good.

to the forum.

Ron

Thanks guys this information has been very helpful I looked at Iron shipwright and they have some great looking stuff still have not seen the 931 class without the ASW mod and with the hurricane bow but i dropped them an "E" mail it will take me a couple of days to go through this I think before I try to finish a Resin Kit I might want to do a plastic kit or two.. Is there a good video for building and finishing ships I need to practice with my new air brush.. thanks

                                                                                     Mike

You might want to check the features section of Modelwarships.com.  There are a number of build articles on various ships that might be helpful as well as other articles on technique.   WS

Dreadnought . . . Thanks for the comment! You are absolutely right about those sites.

EdGrune . . . Thanks for the info on PacFront Hobbies!

Bill Morrison

Thorny 196

Thanks guys this information has been very helpful I looked at Iron shipwright and they have some great looking stuff still have not seen the 931 class without the ASW mod and with the hurricane bow but i dropped them an "E" mail it will take me a couple of days to go through this I think before I try to finish a Resin Kit I might want to do a plastic kit or two.. Is there a good video for building and finishing ships I need to practice with my new air brush.. thanks

                                                                                     Mike

What types of changes are there between the ship which you wish to model and an ASW mod with a hurricane bow?   I might be able to help you plan changes in the build to accomplish the goal.   

If it is swapping weapons and locations - that is fairly easy to do.  And you will find that the folks at ISW will help you out by providing a couple of extra gun mounts or launchers.  

If it is something more significant such as a superstructure change, resin cuts and sands easily.   You can cut away the 'offending' shape and replace it with a new shape fabricated out of sheet plastic.  I can give you some suggestions for that too.

I would recommend that you start with the plastic Perry to get your feet wet,  perhaps adding some aftermarket photoetched brass railings and helo netting.  Then if you feel up to it, tackle the resin Knox.   It will be smaller and be a project which will have a definate goal (not a larger long-term project).  Then move to the Sherman with possible structural changes.

As Ed points out, the major difference between plastic kits and resin kits can be the choice of adhesives - for plastic kits you can use what you may be used to, the old traditional tube glue, or one of the newer weld-type glues, or cyanoacrylate (CA), also known as super glue.

Resin demands either super glue or epoxy for the major structural components, although you can use white glue (Elmer's or craft glue) for small items that will not have any stress put on them.  Super glue is a two-edged sword - yes, it has a tenacious grip, but it can also grip instantly, and not necessarily what or where you want it to. Which is why there are different kinds of CA, from thin and runny to gooey and gel-like, each having different "set" times. I personally prefer a slow-setting gel super glue because it doesn't run all over the place and it gives me a few more seconds of working time.

You will have to experiment to see what works best for you. And yes, you will end up with a bunch of half-used tubes of glues of all different kinds. Some of them are delightfully flammable, for modest pyrotechnic displays, should you be so inclined

It looks like the bow is the issue I am having a hard time seeing the models bow close up, I need to look at more pictures (not allot of contrast with resin unpainted models) R/Mike

Sounds like it is decision time with regards to what type of models you want to build - full hull or waterline.

 Most 1/700 resin kits are waterline models. In 1/350, many plastic kits are full hull, or give you the waterline option, and it is a simple matter to cut the plastic along the designated line. Resin kits in 1/350 are usually full hull but it depends on the individual manufacturer. Waterlining a full hull model in 1/350 takes patience, a steady and and access to a power tool like a belt sander, if you want all your models to look the same. http://www.steelnavy.com/ is another site with a lot of kit reviews, as is the previously mentioned http://www.modelwarships.com/reviews/reviews.html . Both usually have shots of the complete hull to allow you to eyeball whatever differences you are looking for.

I will be building the full hull, I will probably start with a plastic practice kit. I need to practice with my air brush..

Hi , and it,s good to have you! I would definitely keep an eye out at flea markets and such for that FORREST SHERMAN. Yes it,s old and not really up to todays standards , BUT , It can be built up into a very nice model AND you can fudge it and use 1/400 generic rails and ladders for her .You can find some other P.E. in 1/400 that will work too ! I recently acquired one at a FLEA MARKET 90% assembled, but , what model car builders call a glue "BOMB" . It took over a week of FREEZING and X-ACTO work to get her buildable again . The first thing you will notice is the "walls" on all the decks . NO FEAR , they are actually the rails which REVELL said to paint silver "way back when " They gotta go . Then you can start to build a mighty fine model.I hope you,re luckier than I and find one "untouched" Here,s hoping        tankerbuilder