Alan P Posted January 27, 2012 Share Posted January 27, 2012 Don't know what I've got myself into here! Revell's humongous 1/144 Fletcher is a real white elephant of a kit, and putting up a heck of a fight so far! I'll bring what I can to the task but I may give up hope as this build progresses! I'm building it full-hull, to represent her as she was when first commissioned in 1942: The advantage of this is the parity with what's in the box, which represents the ship as first commissioned. The disadvantage is the complex, splotchy paint scheme in three colours, which makes efforts at detailing tough. Aftermarket items I am using for this build are Eduard's Big Ed set, which includes detailing parts for the ship itself, a separate fret for the weapons, and another larger fret for railings. On looking at these, I might not use them as the Revell DIY ones look better in this scale. Here she is with the hull and superstructure parts built and dry-fitted together - about 78cm / 2ft 7in long Some of the Eduard parts fitted: This is the first Eduard set I've used for a ship, and in common with their aircraft kits there is plenty of plastic to be removed. Rather than provide fascias for the existing watertight doors, Eduard has you sand off the moulded doors and fit two-part replacements for each one. Although the replacements are much nicer than the stock mouldings, the hassle and effort in grinding down, sanding, puttying and making good the original plastic for each and every door is quite irritating. But I've finally done it! Now for the kit gripes! This gun tub is clearly shown in the instructions as having the squared sections which match those on the part below it - unfortunately the actual part doesn't have them so I had to make some: Building the kit shows up graphically why any in-box kit review is a total waste of time. The kit mouldings are very nice, although beset with the triple-whammy common to most Revell large-scale kits, namely: large and multiple ejector pin marks on many visible surfaces; huge moulding seam lines on the edges and sides of every part; and indifferent fit. To the kitmaker's credit, the shapes of the hull and deckhouses are absolutely spot on, and the larger pieces like the hull halves and decks fit acceptably together from the box. So far the only seriously warped part was the roof of the forward deckhouse, which I managed to convince into shape without too much trouble. It still took a lot of work to get the hull sides exactly flush with the deck, and the prop shafts also fought me trying to make them straight and true. But these are really minor issues when you consider the size of the kit. Luckily I have this wonderful weapon in the fight: Tamiya light-curing putty! :wub: The advantage of the sunny days we are having has rendered this stuff my favourite modelling accessory of the moment - together with a large chisel-blade, sanding sticks and a Dremel. After much fettling, painstaking preparation of almost every part, and loads of sanding, scraping and careful positioning of each part before gluing with Tamiya liquid cement, we are finally in a position to think about primer, once the last bits of sanding are done! Here she is next to her 1/350 sister: Hopefully there will be more fun ahead... Al 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted January 27, 2012 Author Share Posted January 27, 2012 Actually just reading back through, sounds like I'm really rubbishing the kit! For what it is, it's actually an excellent kit, there are some large bits of plastic in there, and on the whole they are formed well and fit together pretty well considering. With the PE and a few extra bits from L'Arsenal and BMK (gun barrels) this should lok pretty impressive when it's done. Also, the kit cost me £47 - about half that of the Hasegawa Agano in 1/350, and it's way better than half as good! Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted January 29, 2012 Author Share Posted January 29, 2012 Well, I seem to be all alone in here, but hey! I haven't added any extra detail beyond the etched set - the Eduard parts make nice pieces from otherwise bland torpedo tubes: The only other parts are the fiddly and rather tedious splinter shields for the 20mm guns, which again necessitates the removal of the kit parts first: I'm quite pleased i haven't yet sustained any injuries given the amount of plastic that I've had to scrape, grind and cut off so far. I need to get on with the guns next - Looking forward to that! Al 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johndon Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 (edited) Looking good so far Al, seriously tempted to get this one. As for the splotchy paint scheme, I did it on my 1/350th Fletcher and used Humbrol Maskol for the masking of the hull and superstructure - I guess in the larger scale you could still use it but fill in the larger voids with masking tape. As an alternative, if there is a painting guide, get it blown up to 1/144 and use it to cut masking tape to the shapes required... Are you going to use the kit turrets or aftermarket? John Edited January 29, 2012 by johndon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Reeder Posted January 29, 2012 Share Posted January 29, 2012 Keep up the good work Al.Out of all the PE there is for ships I like Eduard the best.IMO it is the easiest to use ,and doesn`t have a multitude of attachment points on the fret. Looking forward to seeing another big Fletcher Cheers Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted January 29, 2012 Author Share Posted January 29, 2012 As an alternative, if there is a painting guide, get it blown up to 1/144 and use it to cut masking tape to the shapes required...Are you going to use the kit turrets or aftermarket? Thanks John, I am "cheating" and using the Gator Mask for the paint work. The hard part is planning the timing of all the building and painting so I don't have to keep re-masking and airbrushing. I'm going to do the Haze Gray topsides first, then mask and paint the Ocean Gray camo pattern on the topside and the hull, then finally mask the Ocean Gray on the hull and paint the Sea Blue (it could be Sea Blue or Navy Blue, sources differ, but the Sea Blue looks better to me, so that's that!) Finally I can mask the whole lot and do the hull red and black boot topping. I'm using the kit turrets with eduard etch and BMK barrels. Haven't decided yet whether to manufacture blast bags or not.... I'm still not convinced about the Eduard etch, part of me thinks they would be better off producing whole etch replacement parts for kit parts a la WEM, rather than their practice of having to heavily modify the kit part to accommodate the etch. Still, the matt coating they apply to the brass certainly makes it easier to work with, and holds paint a lot better than naked brass. Swings and roundabouts! Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonymousDFB1 Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Looking good Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosco Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Looking good. Is there any other etch sets available for this kit ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 That looks great so far Al.The PE defintely makes a difference. Stephen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shar2 Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Looking great Al. I really must get the etch for my example. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted January 30, 2012 Author Share Posted January 30, 2012 Thank you all, we went from to in seconds! Is there any other etch sets available for this kit ? Yes there's a particularly nice Nautilus set but it costs about $100. The brass etchings are superb, and contains parts for later-model Fletchers which opens up the options for modernisation. I've got one stashed away to do a waterline version at war's end. Thanks for looking in, more progress to report soon. This smashed-up knee malarkey really helps the old modelling! Al 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted January 31, 2012 Author Share Posted January 31, 2012 Just been signed off work for three more weeks. More modelling time, but a bummer for the bank account Just made two schoolboy errors with the first gunhouse - first, I thought I'd be clever and add the PE before constructing the turret . Second, i added the four faces of the turret to the base BEFORE test-fitting the roof. Oh dear. Darn thing looks like a chinese hat. Back to the drawing board, and not surprised many people opt for the Nautilus turrets for this bad boy. Score 1 to the kit again.... On the plus side, the gun barrels from BMK are outstanding. Big thumbs up for those, glad i ordered a second set for my other Fletcher. Which I am now dreading, and will put off till much later in the year. The patch on top is a where I had to remove the gun captain's open sights position - the first commissioned Fletchers didn't have them. Luckily they are only on mounts 1 & 5 (the main deck mounts) Al 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonymousDFB1 Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 Sorry to hear about being signed off again Al. and the errors on the gun. Looks fixable? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosco Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 Damn you....got me wanting on of these now Have you just got replacement barrels for the main guns ? There seems to be a fair bit of AM available for this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted January 31, 2012 Author Share Posted January 31, 2012 Sorry to hear about being signed off again Al. and the errors on the gun. Looks fixable? On both counts, Mish! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted January 31, 2012 Author Share Posted January 31, 2012 Damn you....got me wanting on of these now Have you just got replacement barrels for the main guns ? There seems to be a fair bit of AM available for this I thought I'd done enough of a hatchet job on this to put anyone off!! A lot of the AM stuff is produced by Nautilus Models on their own. They also do loads for the Revell 1/72 U-Boats and Gato-class subs. Worth a click HERE I'm aware of some barrels for the 40mm, but to be honest I'll be better off using the kit versions as they are not bad, obviously not drilled but not bad. Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Hewitt Posted January 31, 2012 Share Posted January 31, 2012 Thats huge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray S Posted February 1, 2012 Share Posted February 1, 2012 Hello there, this is looking good, and big too! I always fancied one of these, but I have SO much in the stash I cannot fit this box in. Looking forward to seeing this as you progress, and I am glad people (me included) are commenting now. All the best, Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robtmelvin Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 I'm also working on Revell's big Fletcher right now with the BigEd PE set from Eduard. You are so right about the PE being fiddly. I about drove myself nuts doing the bracing on the splinter shields for the midships 20mm mounts. Right now I'm about half way through the PE for the bridge wings. Also very fiddly. The down size to the large size seems to be that the PE guys get tempted to try even more fiddly stuff than in the smaller scales. It definitely isn't easier than the Tamiya 1/350 Fletcher just because it's bigger. It does really enhance the model, but it is most definitely very tedious at times to deal with. I'm looking forward to seeing more picts of your build. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted February 8, 2012 Author Share Posted February 8, 2012 Thanks Ray & Bob. Bob, I agree. The inside of the bridge wings was a bit unnecessary, and although it does look nice, it's not a very neat or logical solution. It would have been a lot easier if the transverse brace fitted first, and the vertical braces fitted on to it. Instead you have the situation where you have to fit every single vertical brace into the transverse section first, keeping each part exactly vertical so that the completed unit, which is as spindly as spiders' legs fits exactly on to the kit part in one piece. It's just stupid. THIS PICTURE should show what I'm talking about. And i also sustained my first injury - a deep cut to the top of one finger trying to remove the moulded hatches on the gun director. Why the PE parts couldn't just be fascias for the kit parts, I don't know. I suspect the fruitless quest for "accuracy" is the culprit. There are 9 hatches to remove in a space not much larger than a postage stamp, so I just decided, stuff it, it won't look great, but I'm just going to stick the PE bits on top, and there might be a bit of overlap. I am past caring! I just examined the Nautilus set, and their doors and hatches are simple fascias, size matched to the kit doors, praise the Lord! Having a break, although the whole upperworks are now assembled and primed ready for painting, apart from the main director which still lies bloodstained on the table top. So much for a relaxing hobby! Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted February 17, 2012 Author Share Posted February 17, 2012 I've got a bit more done here but I'm going to lay this down for a while. I was aiming to get the main paintjob done and then it'll be ready to go again in the spring or summer. The main armament director ended up looking pretty good, so full marks to Eduard for this piece: The fiddly bridge wings mentioned earlier in the thread - again not too bad once assembled: The completed sub-assemblies to date - just test fitted: The blotchy MS12 Mod camouflage was applied using WEM paints and Gator masks. The masks were great for the hull, but the superstructure ones were pretty lousy - no attempt made to scale them for the 3D shape of the deckhouses, just shapes transposed from a 2D plan drawing. The result was a lot of extra cutting of the spare vinyl mask template to create masks around the corners and deckhouse roofs, most of which overhangs. Also the ends of every structure and turret had to be masked by hand using MIG masking fluid. Still, I have to admit I am very pleased with the final results, although I reckon the WEM Haze Gray 5-H is too dark. Never mind! Signing off on this one for now - more to follow in a few months or less - I hope! Al 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ComfortablyNumb Posted February 18, 2012 Share Posted February 18, 2012 WoW! That radar and rangefinder dome are GORGEOUS! Very clean build Al! My compliments to the chef! -Tim 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted November 5, 2013 Author Share Posted November 5, 2013 (edited) After somewhat of a hiatus, here we are again! Been working on this again on and off for the past couple of months. Decks and hull painting finished, most of the fiddly upperworks complete, and deckhouses are now welded to the deck! All of this is just dry-fitted for now: Here's a bits box full of depth charge racks and throwers, 5-in gun practice loader, bridge equipment, davits, anchors, searchlights etc! The paintjob was a pain, but worth it. Next job is to start the railings - can't say I am looking forward to that! cheers, Al Edited November 5, 2013 by PHaTNesS 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted November 5, 2013 Author Share Posted November 5, 2013 Oh and just a correction to something I wrote last year - the WEM 5-H Haze Gray is not too dark , it just looks it over the dark grey Halfords Primer I've been using. All the WEM paints I've used for this build have been brilliant, just need to factor in the drying time for enamels. Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob 1 Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 First time I've seen this; interesting report on building this iconic destroyer class in this scale. Very nicely done so far, hope to see more in the near future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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