1/350 Fletcher?

I am working on the Tamiya Fletcher with the GMM PE set. Although not my first ship kit, it is my first time with PE and applying the techniques I have heard of from this and the "modelwarships.com" forums.
The kit is a good starting point into the hobby, as it is quite small but well detailed and (being a Tamiya kit) all the parts fit.
My main problem with the build is the application of the tiny amounts of super glue needed to fix the PE parts, and masking of the camo pattern.
I am persevering with it and hopefully will get a good build at the end.
Hope this helps

It def. does... any tips you have (or discover) about putting on PE, would be much obliged!

As a money saver I think I'll get the Tamiya kit, as opposed to the $100 Resin kit. I'll start off small.

Is the GMM PE set worth it?

The Tamiya Fletcher is a great kit. The Photo-Etch is a must. You can get a resin "square bridge" for a late model Fletcher, but I don't know off the top of my head who makes it.

Tom's Modelworks (www.tomsmodelworks.com) does a square bridge conversion kit, to allow you to modify the Tamiya 1942 into ANY of the 175 ships in the class, from 1942-45.

Your choices are pretty simple...for the round bridge...

Replace the forward 20mm tubs with 40mm Mk 1 tubs and mounts, and build the rest of the ship out of the box...that's good for most of the round-bridge Fletchers through mid-1943. Add in the midship Mk1 40mm sponsons and mounts, and you've got most of the round bridge Fletchers through 1945. Add the Mk2 quad 40mm, replace the forward torpedo tubes with the MK 51 FCD platform, and you've got the 1945 version of the Emergency AA fit Fletchers.

For the square bridge, you can model the early ships by replacing the forward 20mm tubs with the Toms 40mm part. Square Bridge Fletchers never carried 20mm guns in the forward tubs into combat. You can then add the midship MK 1 or MK 2 40mm if you want late war ships.

I recommend my book 'Fletcher, Gearing and Sumner Class Destroyers in WW2' from the Warship Perspectives line...available from White Ensign Models and Hannants in the UK, or from Pacific Front Hobbies or Floating Drydock here in the states.

Tom's set gives you all the necessary parts, and photoetch, for the model...

Regards,

Jeff Herne
(some schlub who knows a little about the Fletchers)

Hey Jeff, thanks A LOT. I am going to save this thread.

Do you think the Fletcher is a good kit for a first time PE build? Actually.. a first time ship build in about 10 years?

MarinR00,
I'll add a little to this. The GMM photo-etch is well worth the money. The only difficulty you're likely to have is the radar antenna; that's tricky. Apply superglue sparingly using a piece of fine wire as an applicator. Try straightening out a paper clip; that works pretty good if you can't find anything finer. Good luck!
Paul

Marin,

It's a great first kit to start with, since the PE is pretty straightforward. Tom's brass is well suited to beginners and those with thick fingers and 5 thumbs like myself. There are other sets out there, but they're finer in detail, making them tougher to work with, and of course, pricier as well.

If you need any help or photos, let me know...I have a *few* (about 4000 at last glance).

Jeff

As my earlier post, I am in the middle of a Fletcher. I have built the hull, all superstructures (not fitted), guns and applied as much PE ladders and rails as I can before I need to put it all together. The anti fouling and boot stripe are done and masked off and today painted the decks. Most of the PE so far has been anything but straight forward. Some of the parts are so small that you need 2 pairs of tweezers, one to pick it up and another pair to bend into shape. You then also need a third hand to apply the glue, a fourth to position the part and even a fifth hand to check the positioning . I did the mast last night and today it looked like giant seagulls had visited. As I scraped away the excess glue, most of the parts fell off. I bit the bullet and started again, cleaning off all glue and sanding smooth. I then had a rethink, and used white glue instead of CA. This gives you more positioning time but the fix is not as strong, so you have to be extra careful not to touch.
I have been more successful today and I did the PE radar assembly. This went OK.
I would post some pics of my progress, but there seems to be a reluctance on this forum for pics (unlike the armour forum).
If you would like pics then please reply.

Please send pics!!

I agree.. the armor forum is great at people showcasing their stuff.

What ship do you want photos of?

J

I'd be interested in seeing some PE work on a Fletcher if that's possible. Just so I can have an idea of what to shoot for. Thanks.

I just ordered Tayima's 1/350 Fletcher and Tom's Modelworks conversaion kit. I'll order the GMM PE set later this week.

One more quick question.... when working with PE, should I paint the basecoat first and then put the PE on, or complete the whole model and then paint and weather? Thank you very much.

Personally I paint the base coat and PE seperately, then put together (usually, there are ALWAYS execptions).

Here are a few pics of my in progress Fletcher with first time attempt at PE. Please excuse the poor finish on some parts but I will be cleaning it up before I start to paint the top coat.
I did not paint the PE before installing it, I wonder if that will make it stick any better.











It is amazing what a camera picks up. It looks OK from a distance. I will persevere with this kit and hopefully it will turn out OK.
Comments and advice welcome

Those look awesome! Thanks for the pics. So the way you do PE is, you bend it to the right shape, then just dab a bit of super glue down, set it, and then it dry?

You run into any problems with the Tamiya Fletcher kit or the GGM PE you could warn us about??

I just picked up the Squadron series "Fletcher DD's in Action" which has some great pics and drawings in it and was only $8. Can't wait for it ti come in the mail so i can get cracking on it.

My main problem was with the small size of some of the parts, holding them in place and applying the glue. I guess that this will improve with practice. The GMM set is well worth getting and totally transforms the kit.

Awesome, I can't wait for mine to get here. I got the Tamiya kit, the GMM Fletcher Kit, the GMM 20mm/40mm kit and Tom's square bridge conversion kit on the way.


Guess I'll have to get some good sets of tweezers! Anymore tips from anyone would be greatly appracited.

Thanks again Daveash. Good luck with yours. Can't wait to see some pics when its done.

Done a few more bits tonight, cut off and replaced the moulded railing on the 2nd funnel with PE, fitted the bridge railing, brush painted the camo on the hull (needs a second coat) and cleaned up some excess glue from my earlier attempts.
I will post some more pics tomorrow.
MarinR00 - If you want I can e-mail the pics direct.

Before you apply any brass to the model...soak the part in acetone or paint thinner.

The creation of PE parts involves spraying photoresist and sensitizer on the sheet, exposing it to a light source, then soaking it in ferric chloride. In the end, the frets are dipped in water to stop the chemical process (etching), but there's still residual chemicals on the brass...this inhibits things like glue from sticking...same holds true for plastic parts, wash them in warm soapy water to get the mold release off...and everything will stick better...

I don't have many photos of Fletchers in-progress, but I'll see what I can come up with for you. Also, the Squadron Signal book is okay if you want a general overview of the ships with some photos, but you really need my book if you want details.

http://www.modelwarships.com/reviews/books-plans/wrpress/fletcher/wr-fletcher.html

Jeff Herne

Ever the salesman, eh, Jeff.

Well hey, ya know, I was being nice...but when it comes to details, my book blows the SS Fletcher book out of the water!!

At this point, I don't make enough from the annual sales of this book to make a difference...hence the term 'starving writer'.

J

HAHA, well either way thanks for the tip to was the parts in thinner before trying to glue them on. How much does your book go for and where can I get a copy of it? The SS Fletcher is lacking on camo schemes and color samples.

You can order my book from Pacific Front Hobbies, White Ensign, Floating Drydock, Hannants, Snyder and Short, Research in Scale, and Warshipbooks.com

I'm sure there's other places as well, but those are the ones I know of...it retails for about $25.

Jeff

Hey Jeff are you ever going to send the items we traded for 2 months ago or should I begin posting bad trader notices?

Jeff's Fletcher book isn't bad. It has plans for the various upgrades and patterns for all of the camo schemes. Get the Squaron book though for more photos of Fletcher DD's or just go over to NavSource for photos.

This is an e-mail I sent to Jeff, but I thought other people might be able to add additional information and maybe it can help out a few people....



How are you doing? You seem to know a great deal about ships, particularly the Fletcher so I was wondering if I could ask you a quick question. I am doing research prior to building the U.S.S. Johnston at the time of her sinking during the Battle of Samar. In doing so, I talked to the author of the book Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors, and got the following information about her color scheme.

REPLIES
Rob, from a man who would know, former Johnston BM 1/c Bob Hollenbaugh, president of the Survivors' Association, we have the following answer: "All gray. Never anything else on the old girl." Good luck with the model.

Now, when he told me that I was wondering what shade of gray it was. I found this website, http://battleships.freewebsitehosting.com/Camo.html , that has the different shades and I was wondering if you could shed any light on which on it is. Thanks a lot and I appreciate all your help, especially with the PE. I will probably post this under the "1/350 Fletcher" post, so many some other people can benefit as well. Thanks again.

MarinR,

All evidence I've seen shows Johnston to be in Measure 21 Sea Blue overall. I recently (last week) talked to a vey from the USS Storm King AP-171 he said his ship too was overall gray. When I got the photos from the National Archives I have 2-Port and Starboard, showing the ship painted in pattern camouflage Design 1F. Did you know that the Johnston was a square bridge Fletcher? Toms Modelworks makes a resin conversion that inclused bridge and 40mm gun upgrades..........Mike T

Check out this page from shipcamoflage.com:
http://www.shipcamouflage.com/fletcher_class.htm
It says the Johnston was only in measure 21.

Johnston was painted in Measure 21, which calls for overall 5-N Navy Blue. She's wearing this in the work-up photo I've attached.

Destroyers wore three types of patterns by 1943-1944, Ms 21, Ms 22, and dazzle, Ms 31, 32, or 33.

'Gray' seems to be the most prevelant response from the WW2 vets, even with color photographic evidence to the contrary...remember, most of those guys are now in their 80s...

5-N did have a tendency to fade, a perfect example is the USS NJ, she was known as the 'Black Dragon' because her blue paint had faded to a dark gray. Later on in the war, the USN did revert to neutral shades of gray, but Johnston had been sunk long before these tech orders came down.

The nature of the paints was simple...you had tinting material 5-TM, and base 5-B. 5-B was white, and 5-TM was a very dark purple/blue. By mixing pre-determined amounts of the 5-TM with 5-B, you got all of the shades used by the USN, 5-H, 5-O, and 5-N.

Jeff

Thanks everyone for your help. Yes, I was aware that she was a late-war destroyer, and I've already ordered the conversion kit! Thanks again modelguy.

Looks like I got some paint mixing to do. It seems to be my lot in life to constantly ask people for tips, so here is another one.

Anyone know any good formulas using Testors Model Masters (or a straight up color) that can match the "Gray" of the Ms 21?

Thanks again you guys.