Tamiya 1/700 Fletcher

Thanks for looking in subfixer, I appreciate it.

I managed to get a couple hours at the workbench on the Fletcher tonight.

After setting up my stuff to work on the Fletcher, I had to make a decision.

The more I looked at the pics of the bow railings, the less I liked them. So, I decided to give it a go at trying to fix them before I went any further.  I don't really have the right optics or holding tools, so I gave it a try.

I carefully removed the rails and cleaned up the glue residue.

Of course its right up to par for me when I do things like this, I managed to break off one of the lifeboat davits.  I was tempted to use the PE ones but I decide against it.

It took me a bit of time but I managed to get the bow railings back on & in better position than before.  So, while they aren't perfect, they are much better and I'm satisfied with them.

After I let the bow rails set for a few minutes, I added the back superstructure, torpedo tubes, remaining 5" mounts and the 40 mm platform.

I've got 7 hours in to the build so far, and, as 'practice' builds go, I'm very satisfied.  It could always be a bit better but I'm OK for now.

More tomorrow or so, I'd like to have this build wrapped up by the weekend.

Thanks for looking in.

Adrian

TD4438

It's lookin' good for just winging it.I cannot imagine doing 1/700 PE.

It's clear that he is a better man than I am.  

Thanks TD, I appreciate it.

I felt the same way about tackling 1/700 PE and I'm coming to the realization that my preconceived notions seem to be right on the money - so far anyway. It's almost, but not quite, an exercise in frustration.  Of course, I knew it was going to start off this way, that's why I just bit the bullet and dove into this 'practice' build.

I'm kinda suckin' just a bit at 1/700. I'm just hoping it gets a little better as I go. I may wind up getting another Tamiya Fletcher (or maybe the square bridge Cushing boxing) and try a second 'practice' build before I start on my Dragon Livermore & Monssen kits.

The small pieces are laughing at my clumsy fingers.  I spent an hour tonight on the floor searching for one of the searchlights to be mounted on the stack platform.  Thank goodness I don't have carpet or that little sucker would have been long gone.  

But I found it so I'm all better now. So far, so good.

I do see some problems with the PE railing on the bow that I'm going to have to fix.  I'll need to get better magnification before I tackle that tho.

I worked on wrapping up the 5" mounts, the bridge and the 40 mm platform tonight.  I also mounted the boats, the forward torpedo tubes & stack and the waist 20 mm's.

I know the paints aren't quite right but I'm using what I have on hand for this build.  The decks are done in MM Intermediate Blue while the sides of the superstructures and 5" mounts are base coated in Neutral Gray.  I'll be using two other shades of gray to finish the camo scheme.

A couple of pics for the nights work.

Thanks for looking in.

Adrian

It's lookin' good for just winging it.I cannot imagine doing 1/700 PE.