1/240 USS Buckley DDE - Work in progress

Very nice. Looking good. Keep us posted as you continue.

Looks might impressive so far.  I've always like that kit.  In some respects (most notably the guns) it clearly doesn't come up to today's standards, but in the 1960s it represented the state of the art.  I especially remember the details cast into the superstructure bulkheads - down to and including fire extinguishers and mops.  In those days the artisans at Revell put far more detail into their kits than they needed to in order to make themselves.

Maybe I shouldn't mention this now that you've gotten this far with the project, but Gold Medal Models makes a set of photo-etched detail parts specifically for this kit.  (Actually, if I remember right, the set fits out this one and the old Forrest Sherman-class destroyer kit.)  I haven't seen the set, but everything I've seen from Gold Medal has been of outstanding quality.  A good way to get a description is via the Steel Navy website:  www.steelnavy.com .  (Click on the Gold Medal Models icon on the homepage.)  As I understand it, White Ensign Models distributes Gold Medal products in the UK.

Do keep us posted.  This is going to be a nice model of a handsome - and important - ship.

I goofed in my description of the Gold Medal Models photo-etched detail set in my last post.  The two kits it covers are the Revell Buckley-class destroyer escort and 4-stack destroyer.  Sorry about that.  Here's the link:  http://www.goldmm.com/ships/gms2buwa.htm

jtilley wrote:

Maybe I shouldn't mention this now that you've gotten this far with the project, but ...

... Trumpeter has announced that they will be releasing a 1:350 scale Buckley-class DE as the USS England.  They are also doing a 1:350 scale square-bridge Fletcher as The Sullivans.

It may not be your preferred scale, but a state of the art styrene model of a DE is on the horizon.

Check the movie 'The Enemy Below' for good onboard pictures

jtilley wrote:

Maybe I shouldn't mention this now that you've gotten this far with the project, but Gold Medal Models makes a set of photo-etched detail parts specifically for this kit.

Thanks for the tip, however I don't usually use AM parts on my models, mainly for budget reasons.
I can't afford to spend as much (or more) on AM parts as on the kit itself, I'd rather buy another kit
with the money and scratchbuild the details - I enjoy scratchbuilding providing I can find the reference
material needed (which is often difficult).

In any case I'm not a great fan of PE! My one attempt at using PE parts on a ship - Eduard
railings for the 1/350 Academy Tirpitz - did not work out well. The railings bent out of shape as soon as you looked
at them, getting them to glue down straight was almost impossible, and even when glued in place they're very fragile and
prone to being crushed or torn off.

The Buckley's railings are made from fine copper wire glued with CA onto styrene stanchions. I used
the original stanchions on the deck, and scratchbuilt ones on the upper deck (all of the kit stanchions had
broken off, and about 30% of them were missing)

jtilley wrote:

Looks might impressive so far.  I've always like that kit.  In some respects (most notably the guns) it clearly doesn't come up to today's standards, but in the 1960s it represented the state of the art.  I especially remember the details cast into the superstructure bulkheads - down to and including fire extinguishers and mops.  In those days the artisans at Revell put far more detail into their kits than they needed to in order to make themselves.

I definitely agree here! When I bought the kit (never having seen one before) I assumed I'd have to add things like lifebelts and hatches myself - I was surprised at how detailed the superstructure mouldings were.

I'd like to build the 4-stack destroyer (Campbeltown/Buchanan/Ward) in the same scale, however this one seems to be a lot rarer than the Buckley. It usually goes for high prices on eBay whilst the Buckley can usually be found for around £15. I bought mine at a kit sale for £3 (around $5) as the box was damaged and a few smaller parts were missing.

I certainly sympathize with anybody who balks at aftermarket parts.  On the larger scales they do get pricey.  I also think that, though the basic process and concept is terrific, photo-etched parts have their limitations - and the limitations get more pronounced as the scale gets bigger.  To my eye, photo-etched railings on 1/700 scale look great (and don't cost much).  But from 1/350 up they start looking like pieces of tape with holes punched in them.  I suspect the wire and styrene ones will actually look better.

That 4-stack destroyer is a grand old kit - with one big reservation.  Somebody on the design staff took a great deal of trouble indicating the seams between wood planks on the deck.  And the deck piece, if I remember right, fits under a prominent raised rim molded in with the hull halves.  The problem is that those ships had steel decks - without rims of any sort around them.  Fixing that blunder would take a while, but it certainly could be done.

  Great looking destroyer you have there!  I'm in the same boat (pardon the pun) as you in regards to aftermarket items...the wife doesn't understand how the details for a pt boat can cost ten times what the kit did.

    Looking forward to some more pics !

             greg

One final question:
Anyone know what colour the life rafts (Carley floats), life belts/buoys, and depth charges should be?

I'd have thought the life rafts and belts would be orange or yellow but maybe this was too bright + conspicuous
for a fitting on a WW2 warship! As for the depth charges, black would seem the obvious colour but I've seen many
models with them painted in dark olive green.

The life rafts were painted the same color as the surface they were mounted on or in front of.  If a dazzle splinter ran across the bulkhead - the dazzle splinter also ran across the raft.   This is per to the camouflage painting instructions reprinted on shipcamouflage.com.    Refer to photo referenced for your specific ship shubject.  

Depth charges were delivered painted in a standard gray color.  They were an expendable ordnance that were normally kept below decks in the depth charge magazine (at least the K-gun DCs). They were not painted to match their surroundings or otherswise treated specially.   Black would not be correct, as would green.   Most likely a mid-tone neutral gray to somewhat darker such as 5-O Ocean Gray.