Dragon 1/350 Buchanan

airtrans Crash wrote:

I cannot stress what you have just said enough. The 20mm machineguns are smaller than a pencil eraser and comprise of 7 pieces. I could get all but the snail magazine on.. those like to flie out the tweezers into oblivian.  the Bofors were a too, but not as bad. lots of small small parts. I have to remove my glasses and/or contacts to do them well (need em for distance clarity). The cyber hobby radar took me a couple hours.  sfcmac wrote:  I got the Cyber Hobby Upgrade with both my kits. I think it is a good deal. The radar is well done and the railings top notch. Not as crazy as the other pricy one that was linked to here but with in my skill level. From what I have heard dealing with the tiny PE gun parts is like brain surgery.

Mansteins revenge wrote:

Awesome, now one more question: Did any of them mount "hedgehog" anti-sub launchers? I want to scratch one and mount it if it was indeed put on these ships...

Do some research (Navsource.org, destroyerhistory.org, etc.) on your own.

I think you will find that the Hedgehog was not a common installation on the Benson/Gleaves and Fletcher classes during the war.   During the war the Navy increased the AA armament, often to the detriment of the ASW and ASuW armament.  Post-war, on DDE modifications, I think you will find that Hedgehog  replaced the 40mm guns on the forward deckhouse aft of the 52 mount.

Hedgehog was a common weapon on DEs which had more of a role in wartime ASW than their larger cousins.

airtrans Crash wrote:

I cannot stress what you have just said enough. The 20mm machineguns are smaller than a pencil eraser and comprise of 7 pieces. I could get all but the snail magazine on.. those like to flie out the tweezers into oblivian.  the Bofors were a too, but not as bad. lots of small small parts. I have to remove my glasses and/or contacts to do them well (need em for distance clarity). The cyber hobby radar took me a couple hours.  sfcmac wrote:  I got the Cyber Hobby Upgrade with both my kits. I think it is a good deal. The radar is well done and the railings top notch. Not as crazy as the other pricy one that was linked to here but with in my skill level. From what I have heard dealing with the tiny PE gun parts is like brain surgery.

Tracy White wrote:

Additionally, most of them did their shakedowns in the atlantic.

... And for you AirTrans, a couple of pages from destroyerhistory.org which might be of interest you.

http://www.destroyerhistory.org/benson-gleavesclass/ussemmons/index.html

http://www.destroyerhistory.org/benson-gleavesclass/ussemmons/research457.html

Happy Holidays

Actually the one I am converting to is the USS Emmons which is currently sitting at about 150ft below sea level here at Okinawa. She actually had many confirmed kills on D-Day in Normandy taking out shore guns.

she was converted to a fast mine sweeper before coming here to meet her demise

Mansteins revenge wrote:

Cool...thanks!  What was the primary improvement(s) the Fletcher class had over the the Gleaves class???

Go here http://www.destroyerhistory.org/fletcherclass/index.html.   Good summary.  Larger, faster, better armed ...

EdGrune wrote:

Mansteins revenge wrote: Did any of these serve in the Atlantic???---I wanna do miner as a sub-killer...  They were involved in the Atlantic & Mediterranean operations.   Their role increased as more Fletchers came online and were assigned to the Pacific.   Benson/Gleaves were withdrawn from the Pacific and moved to the Atlantic.   See destroyerhistory.org's index page on the Benson/Gleaves and follow links to specific ships http://www.destroyerhistory.org/benson-gleavesclass/index.html Four of the five US destroyers sunk or damaged at Normandy were Benson/Gleaves (Corry, Glennon, Harding, & Nelson).   Other Benson/Livermores; the Lansdale, Bristol, and Beatty were also sunk by German action.

Mansteins revenge wrote:

Did any of these serve in the Atlantic???---I wanna do miner as a sub-killer...

They were involved in the Atlantic & Mediterranean operations.   Their role increased as more Fletchers came online and were assigned to the Pacific.   Benson/Gleaves were withdrawn from the Pacific and moved to the Atlantic.  

See destroyerhistory.org's index page on the Benson/Gleaves and follow links to specific ships

http://www.destroyerhistory.org/benson-gleavesclass/index.html

Four of the five US destroyers sunk or damaged at Normandy were Benson/Gleaves (Corry, Glennon, Harding, & Nelson).   Other Benson/Livermores; the Lansdale, Bristol, and Beatty were also sunk by German action.

I finally broke down and ordered mine yesterday...I got it straight from Dragon USA for $42 (includes the the CyberHobby) PE upgrade and shipping) !!!

Did any of these serve in the Atlantic???---I wanna do miner as a sub-killer... 

I cannot stress what you have just said enough. The 20mm machineguns are smaller than a pencil eraser and comprise of 7 pieces. I could get all but the snail magazine on.. those like to flie out the tweezers into oblivian.

 the Bofors were a too, but not as bad. lots of small small parts. I have to remove my glasses and/or contacts to do them well (need em for distance clarity). The cyber hobby radar took me a couple hours.

sfcmac wrote:

I got the Cyber Hobby Upgrade with both my kits. I think it is a good deal. The radar is well done and the railings top notch. Not as crazy as the other pricy one that was linked to here but with in my skill level. From what I have heard dealing with the tiny PE gun parts is like brain surgery.

Jester75 wrote:

After reading this thread in its entirety, my Buchanan is on the way along with the $2.00 Cyber-Hobby PE set from Dragon USA!! Looking forward to finding this one sitting on the doorstep!!

Is the Cyberhobby PE fret any good? I mean, its just 2$ bundled up but wondering if you need anything else, or just generic WW2 DD ladders/railings and such.

williamsfw28 wrote:

I was affraid it was going to be a no,  I have both of those kits but at this stage of the game not looking to bash the two kits together.  I still want the Dragon kit so the Buchanan it is.

You can bash the two together, a company called L'arsenal also has an update/accurizing set you can purchase as well, albeit I'm not sure if it gives you the exact details for the fit you'd need.... 

EdGrune wrote:

williamsfw28 wrote:   I was wondering if the this kit could be used to make the USS Johnston? Im not a ship builder but was facinated with her after watching(Dog Fights) what her Capt. did at the battle of Layette Gulf.   thank you  No, the Johnston of the Battle of Samar was a square-bridge Fletcher.   Your choice in 1:350 scale-styrene is the Trumpeter 'The Sullivans'.  There are problems with the secondary armament - and the non-skid walkways are more like concrete sidewalks than rubber bath mats.  The Tamiya 1:350 scale Fletcher is a round-bridge variant. The Laffey is a Benson.  It along with the Gleaves (i.e. Buchanan) was the class which preceeded the Fletchers.   The Benson/Gleaves had a break in the deck levels.   The Fletcher's deck was all one level.

Wow, sounds like if you like WWII U.S. Navy Destroyers you'll be in Heaven with all these choices. 

williamsfw28 wrote:

I was wondering if the this kit could be used to make the USS Johnston? Im not a ship builder but was facinated with her after watching(Dog Fights) what her Capt. did at the battle of Layette Gulf.   thank you

No, the Johnston of the Battle of Samar was a square-bridge Fletcher.   Your choice in 1:350 scale-styrene is the Trumpeter 'The Sullivans'.  There are problems with the secondary armament - and the non-skid walkways are more like concrete sidewalks than rubber bath mats.  The Tamiya 1:350 scale Fletcher is a round-bridge variant.

The Laffey is a Benson.  It along with the Gleaves (i.e. Buchanan) was the class which preceeded the Fletchers.   The Benson/Gleaves had a break in the deck levels.   The Fletcher's deck was all one level.

  I was wondering if the this kit could be used to make the USS Johnston? Im not a ship builder but was facinated with her after watching(Dog Fights) what her Capt. did at the battle of Leyte Gulf.

thank you 

Yes hull bottom is molded separately from hull.   Bottom is molded same color as rest of parts -- not in red plastic

Here is a picture from the In Action Book. May help with the color question.

 Please note that the image shown in the In Action book is not the Buchanan. It is simply a generic DD painted to look like the Buchanan. Some of the most obvious errors include the deckhouse under the bridge lacks the steamlined front that should extend beyond the front of the bridge, the exposed aft funnel trunking was covered on the Buchanan, and the searchlight platform is too short. Those are the most obvious errors, but there are many more. If you need good photos of the Buchanan, Classic Warships has a new book due out in a couple of months on the Buchanan. It will include full color views of the camo pattern.

for those that cannot see the lines on the Gator mask I saw in another thread that someone had taken a soft pencil or a crayon and rubbed in on the mask, then wiped it off... the graphite or crayon stayed in the cracks, making them more visible.

mine will be in measure 22 so I dont need to use a mask..

lets see some progress pictures!

JMart wrote:

Gator's mask http://gatorsmask.com/ 350 a sickness? Let me enable you a bit.... http://www.modelshipwrights.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=4447 http://www.modelshipwrights.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=SquawkBox&file=index&req=viewtopic&topic_id=127375&page=1 http://www.modelshipwrights.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=4452 http://www.modelshipwrights.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=4443

Here is the link Squeakie! The Gator Mask got hit pretty hard by Ike but I think they are back up and running! They were just a bit delayed in sending mine but got it here. They should be back on track now. The owner makes his living making signs. The colored version may not be a bad idea especially given the size and our old eyes.