Ships of the American Flag GB 2019 -2021

Mongoose,

Where am I going to put it?  The bathtub? 

As for the movie, sounds like a plan!  Though perhaps "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" might be more along the line.

It seems I won't finish the sub before the end of the year as I had hoped.  I managed to get some black paint on it today before the rain set in.  Oh, well!  I have till the end of eternity anyway. 

Some changes to the sub I've made include supports for the forward mast and the "T" mast for the radio wires.

Support for aerials on the side of the conning tower.  They're hard to spot but if you look just below the forward cover for the periscope along the side you might spot their shadow.

And lastly, I added a rear mast for the flag.  I always remember the sailors attempting to raise the flag on the rear of that submarine in the film "Tora, Tora, Tora".  Plus, the propeller guards. 

That's where she stands right now.  I have to give the conning tower a coat of black before I paint vertical surfaces "ocean gray".  Otherwise, they won't match!  Not much longer.

Gary

you are so right, if the primers are so different they will never match! Looking good so far'

More work on my 1:144 fletcher. The signaling flag lockers and the anchors and chains.

Here is my USS The Sullivans currently:

How do I color this thing? Tips welcome. Revell seems to think it is mostly dark grey all over with a black stripe of course before red bottom of the hull. Trumpeter thinks deck blue deck, navy blue side before the black stripe/cocoa brown bottom hull. And what about pre-shading? Help!

John 3:16 KJV

How do I color this thing?

If you are modeling The Sullivans and using the kit decals, the shaded numbers are post war. That would make her Haze Gray (postwar version) with Deck Gray horizontals.

But sometime between 1945 and 1950 she was fitted with a tripod mast, which the kit doesn't have. 

Otherwise, in war time she had small 24" unshaded numbers and was either Navy Blue System (Measure 21), or Graded System (M22).

https://www.shipcamouflage.com/fletcher_class.htm

Of course there are lots of Fletchers, no two exactly alike. FWIW your kit, like the Trumpeter kit; is the later "square bridge", whereas the Tamiya kit is the earlier "round bridge" version.

Yeah, what he said 

Loos great Rob. Love the flag locker.

GMorrison

 

 

John 3:16 KJV

How do I color this thing?

 

 

 

If you are modeling The Sullivans and using the kit decals, the shaded numbers are post war. That would make her Haze Gray (postwar version) with Deck Gray horizontals.

But sometime between 1945 and 1950 she was fitted with a tripod mast, which the kit doesn't have. 

Otherwise, in war time she had small 24" unshaded numbers and was either Navy Blue System (Measure 21), or Graded System (M22).

https://www.shipcamouflage.com/fletcher_class.htm

Of course there are lots of Fletchers, no two exactly alike. FWIW your kit, like the Trumpeter kit; is the later "square bridge", whereas the Tamiya kit is the earlier "round bridge" version.

 

That's awesome! Thank you! 
I may go for 1943. Might as well, as I'm missing the kit's decals. 

I've got going on my 1/700 USS San Diego. The kit is by S-MARS, which I think is a re-release of the original Pitroad kit from the '80s, which has subsequently been released by a whole stack of companies including Revell (USS Flint) and Dragon. There's a bit of work to build and tidy up the join lines on the hull, which is now done. My next step will be to cut it off at the waterline, so it can be displayed on a base.

Cheers

Tony

Awesome Tony. I have a resin kit of the USS Texas. I'll certantly be watching.

Here is the completed mast for my 1:144 fletcher class Destroyer. Note the scratch use of fine lead wire to represent the cables going to the radar units.

Looks great Rob

rob44

Here is the completed mast for my 1:144 fletcher class Destroyer. Note the scratch use of fine lead wire to represent the cables going to the radar units.

 

 

Full flag bags are cool too!

First, some late replies:

Rob> Nice work!  The Fletcher's antenna are pretty intricate.  I thought I had trouble rigging the Gato.

Tony> Good going.  How far along are you now?

John> Are you going to depict The Sullivans underwater?

As for me, I've finally finished my project, a Trumpeter 1/144 scale USS Gato, 1941.  I've built her as she "might" have appeared at the close of her sea-trials at the end of 1941.  I'll let you be the judge.

As noted earlier, I added a few things to her structure -- propeller guards, antenna masts, flagpoles.

But the hardest part was rigging. I've had to do her over 3 times.  Between thread coming off, an incorrect thread which I found too fuzzy, and breaking those thin supports the simple procedure became a nightmare.  Instead of finishing up at the beginning of the year, it was drawn out into a third of the year gone.  You ship guys have my utmost respect!

I know Modelcrazy is a bit busy now, so I don't expect him to get a picture up soon.  I just want to thank him for running this GB and wish him luck on his move.  I'm just glad I finished!

Thank for looking!

Gary

GAF, Your GATO is wonderful! As for rigging, I am using EZ line a strechable ribbon like material. Also uning the UV setting resin like bondic to attach it with. I will be sending some photos soon of the completed rigging. I think the EZ line really makes it so much esier and allows youi to keep everything nice and tight.

If you use thread you can rub it with beeswax to keep dpwn the fuzzyness.

Rob

I use Uschi van der Rosten, but in that scale it would be too small. Uschi van der Rosten is for 1/700 ans 1/350.

here is a picture of the Fletcher rigged using EZ line

Thanks, Rob!

As for the rigging, I used 0.5mm Stretch Magic, which is cord for beads and jewelry.  It's more rubber than cord, but it worked.

And the Fletcher is looking good!

Gary

As a sort of PS to Mongoose about where to put the USS Gato, it's found a spot on the top shelf along with other small scale models (though not in size).

Guess it doesn't have to go in the bathtub! 

Gary

Rigging and flags now completed on my 1:144 Fletcher destroyer. I will start some weathering and getting a 1:144 crew in place!

Looking good Rob 

A great build, Rob!  I wonder what those signal flags say?  Probably "Watch out! Torpe..." 

Gary

Adding the crew. These are 1:144 naval personnel from Shapeways, great poses and amazing detail for 1:144.

Those look great, Rob!  I wanted to get some for the Gato, but decided that cost vs figures used didn't make sense.  Now a destroyer has tons of room for adding crew.

Gary

GAf, I agree these are a bit pricy, but they really give a new perspective to understanding the size of the ship. I may order a set of 1:144 British sailors to add to my British flower corvette.

They are not ready out of the box to paint. You should rinse them off with some alcohol and wash them first.

Absolutely agree, those really add to the ship! Nice job painting them as well! What a beaut.

Looks great Rob! I love crew on a ship, gives it life.

Well My fletcher is finished (sadly) I loved building it. The shapeway 1:144 crew is fantastic and really adds to the whole thing. The weathering is very lightly done.

Looks great, Rob!  Nicely detailed and the crew gives an idea of the true size.

Gary

Like it, love it, want more of it! The crew really sets it off. Nice job all around.