Johnston DD-557

The Blue Water Navy/Yankee Modelworks kits are excellent.   However, by your own admission you have never made a resin ship kit, it may be daunting.   I would recommend that you consider a learner kit.   They are not particularly difficult, but require a different mind-set from styrene.

http://www.finescale.com/fsm/objects/pdf/fpb040422.pdf

Many people also bemoan the higher cost of a resin ship kit.  However when you consider that the kit is complete with all parts and photoetch -- the cost of a styrene kit plus aftermarket photoetch plus other items to correct the basic kit inaccuracities often comes out a wash.  

Aurora-7 wrote:

I spent about $30.00 for the kit and I've seen photo-etched rails go for $20.00 and resin replacement turrets for $12.00. If you were to buy all that's available for upgrading you could easily reach a $100 plus in total, including the kit.

Is the L'Arsenal "Sullivans" set available yet? I heard that it was coming but hadn't seen it offered by them or dealers who sell L'Arsenal products.

It isn't generally available yet.  I had heard that it would be out following the IPMS-USA show back in August,  but according to posts from Jaques Druel of L'Arsenal - it will definately be available at the IPMS-UK show at Telford in the mid-to-late November timeframe

Ed - Thanks for your input and the pointer to the FSM article on "Building a Resin Sub Chaser". Your suggestions make sense and the cost of the PC-461 class SC looks reasonable for a first build after reading the article. Now I haven't added in the extra cost of the other items that Phil Kirchmeiser used, but they are items that could be used on following projects and I'd guess they would not add that much additional expense to the project. I'll sure give it serious consideration for my first attempt.

Aurora-7 - Thanks for the URL to the Samar reference site. I haven't read ‘Sea of Thunder', I'll check and see if the library has a copy. You may want to read ‘The last stand of the tin can sailors' by James D. Hornfischer. It's an excellent read on the battle covering the DD's and the little DE that really went in harms way to try at least to slow down the Japanese in getting at the Taffey III's CVEs and then into the landing area further south. Those little guys put up such at fight that the Japanese thought they had run into larger ships. What a scrap those gallant crews put up.     

A real  life DD reference would be the USS Kidd in the Baton Rouge, LA area. It's supposed to be the best example of a WWII DD that there is. It's still 90% in it's 1945 configuration. Their website is pretty good:

http://www.usskidd.com/

The Sullivans is in Buffallo, NY but it's been upgraded sewveral times from her WWII fittings.

DD-557 wrote:

Ed - Thanks for your input and the pointer to the FSM article on "Building a Resin Sub Chaser". Your suggestions make sense and the cost of the PC-461 class SC looks reasonable for a first build after reading the article. Now I haven't added in the extra cost of the other items that Phil Kirchmeiser used, but they are items that could be used on following projects and I'd guess they would not add that much additional expense to the project. I'll sure give it serious consideration for my first attempt.

From the parts & sources list in the article ...

The styrene strip and sheet is something which many modelers have at their desks to scratchbuild, repair or replace kit items.   A pack of Evergreen costs less than 3 bucks each.

K&S wire -- some brass wire is included in the kit, but like the Evergreen more or different sizes are often needed.  Again its a stock item at many workbenches. 

Bare Metal Foil -- I have some which I use for masking clear canopies.  It comes in handy if you have it,  but you can often make do with other handy materials (Post-it Notes, kitchen aluminum foil,  Evergreen plastic (see above)

Hold-n-Fold tool.  Tools are nice.  I have a lot of them.  I have a Hold-n-Fold.  The Etchmate  is similar.   But such a tool is not required.  You can make folds just as easily using a pair of razor blades opposed to one another.  Place one over the photoetch part and slide the other under.  Raise the lower one in a hingeing motion to make a bend.   It comes easily with just a bit of practice.

The ISW kit comes with the PE which you will need, as does the YMW Johnston kit.   Extra PE is handy to have but not a requirement.

YMW makes WWII decals,  as does ISW, and the Resin Shipyard.  A set of hull numbers is often all which is needed to differentiate one ship from another.

Jeff Herne's book - Fletcher,Gearing & Sumner Class Destroyers in World War Two - arrived  today from Pacific Front Hobbies. I have read only through page 17 but glancing through the rest of the book at this point what a treasure of photos and drawing, paint schemes, etc. This book will be a grand help when I start the YSM Johnston project. Jeff is to be commended for  providing us with this fine research book. Thanks Mr. Herne!

I'll have to check that book out. Thanks for the heads-up.

I see Fujimi is going to produce a  1/350 kit of the Kongo (the battleship that dealt deadly blows to the Johnston). That's a definite for me to get to display along with the 557.

Aurora-7 wrote:

I see Fujimi is going to produce a  1/350 kit of the Kongo (the battleship that dealt deadly blows to the Johnston). That's a definite for me to get to display along with the 557.

Please keep us posted.

DD-557 wrote:

Jeff Herne's book - Fletcher,Gearing & Sumner Class Destroyers in World War Two - arrived  today from Pacific Front Hobbies. I have read only through page 17 but glancing through the rest of the book at this point what a treasure of photos and drawing, paint schemes, etc. This book will be a grand help when I start the YSM Johnston project. Jeff is to be commended for  providing us with this fine research book. Thanks Mr. Herne!

Jeff's book is an excellent resource and IMO is better than the Squadron book on the Fletchers.  However, the ultimate reference on the Fletchers is the Floating Drydock's Fletcher Class Plan eBook.   This is a CD with a PDF Format book containing all sorts of detail drawings.  Bob Steinbrunn, builder of an award winning model if the USS Kidd which was the cover story in FSM and several other model magazines, called it his number-one most indispensible reference.  I agree -- it is highly recommended.    I have the old paper copy - and am thinking of upgrading to the electronic version

http://floatingdrydock.com/update.htm

About half-way down the page.   The other plan ebooks are excellent sources too.  

Lee Johnsons book on dazzle camouflage is good if you are a camo junkie,  but most of the information is available elsewhere

EdGrune wrote:

However, the ultimate reference on the Fletchers is the Floating Drydock's Fletcher Class Plan eBook.   This is a CD with a PDF Format book containing all sorts of detail drawings.  Bob Steinbrunn, builder of an award winning model if the USS Kidd which was the cover story in FSM and several other model magazines, called it his number-one most indispensible reference.  I agree -- it is highly recommended.    I have the old paper copy - and am thinking of upgrading to the electronic version

Ed - Another thanks is due for letting us know about Floating Drydock's Fletcher Class Destroyers of World War Two PLAN eBOOK on CD. After your comments about it being the ultimate reference on the Fletchers I put an order in the mail this morning. Another thanks for just mentioning Floating Drydock. I began to feel like a one eyed dog in the butcher shop as I went down the list of items they show in their on line catalog.

One of their other items that really caught my eye is their Cannon/Edsall Class Destroyer Escorts of World War Two Plan eBooks. I have an interest in the DE 413 Samuel B. Roberts that was with the Johnston at the battle of Samar Island. Although she was of the John C. Butler Class maybe the Cannon/Edsall Class eBook would help out. I do believe that Blue Jacket Shipcrafters has a 1/16 scale wood kit of the Roberts but if possible I would like to stay at 1:350 with a resin kit. Anyway, something for the future. The Johnston will come first after the learner project.

Now I'm off to see if I can find out which issue of FSM had the Kidd on the front cover. If it's still available I'll order it.

I need to slow down on ordering stuff and get to work on my Patrol Craft learner project. 

The Floating Drydock's Fletcher Class Plan eBook Adobe version arrived yesterday. Spent a short time scanning throught it and was very please at all the pictures and draws presented. I don't have it loaded at the moment but I believe there are approx. 385 pdf pages contained on the CD. How convenient it is to be able to print off a page that you may need for what ever reason. I sure see why Ed is considering adding it to his hard copy book.

PS Floating Drydock's service was excellant. Turn around was very good.

I recently completed a scratch build of the USS Zellars, DD-777 FRAM II.  This is a Sumners Class ship, I found the Floating Drydocks e-book for Sumner-Gearing Class ships to be of great help. I also referenced the Sumner-Gearing Class Destroyer by Robert Sumrall. The Fletcher and Sumner class are closely related and basically have the same hull lines.

Another source you might want to look into is Fletcher-class engineering drawings from Bath Iron Works. I never purchased these but I did find them in my research on the Zellars.

Zellars,

You're link in the label has an extra 'http' in it. Here's the link in the raw which I think it it's supposed to take you to:

http://www.destroyerhistory.org/destroyers/store.html 

Thanks for finding that error and fixing things up for me.

Zellers,

Thanks for pointing us to the aditional resource. 

How convenient it is to be able to print off a page that you may need for what ever reason.

You need to find what page you want to print. Then click on the printer icon in the Adobe menu bar. You should find an option the print only a selected page or pages. Type in the page number and hit print. Or something like that. It's pretty easy once you find everything. 

DD-557 wrote:

To print off a page just use the normal Adobe print functions.

I see where you thought I was asking how easy is it to print off a page. It would have been better if I had worded it as in the above. Thanks for your reply. I'll try to be more careful with my chose of words in the future.