Alan P Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 Hi All, This has been an on-off project for a couple of years since I busted up my knee in a football accident very early in 2012. Build thread is HERE. The sheer size and scale almost put me off it for months on end, and it seemed it would never get finished, but a late burst this autumn saw it finally completed. The kit is very impressive, if a little under-detailed for the scale. The Eduard Big Ed set saw to those deficiencies, along with some scratchbuilding of searchlight mounts, deckhouse details and hose reels. I also used BMK metal barrels for the 5in turrets. The ship is painted in WEM Colourcoats enamel for the camouflage (5-H Haze Gray, 5-O Ocean Gray and 5-N Navy Blue), the black is Lifecolour acrylic, the hull is Halfords red primer. The deck blue is Tamiya XF-17 Sea Blue. I used Gator masks for the hull pattern. Despite the longer drying time required for enamels, these Colourcoats are the best paints I have ever used, and I was so happy with them, I spazzed about £60 on the full range! The ship is portrayed as commissioned, and represents the look of the Fletcher when she went on shakedown trials in July 1942. This is definitely the best model I've ever made, and I hope you like it too! All pics courtesy of Farnborough IPMS website, taken by the polymath Dr Flangemeister! 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shar2 Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 Another top build Al. She looks absolutely superb. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuck Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 Colorful ,interesting , fantastic !! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 Fantastic build, I really like it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russ c Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 I like it too ! Great build Been looking at the Tamiya `350th one, you may just have convinced me 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longshanks Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 Cracking portrayal of beautiful ship 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snapper_city Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 She is looking good. Was a pleasure to see her at Farnborough... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave A Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 As fine an example of a "tin can" as I've seen... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 It may have taken a long time but you have ended up with a real masterpiece. Martin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david v Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 Lovely job, times not important when you end up with something like this. Dave 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AirfixAndy Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 That seriously floats my boat ! Andy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted December 20, 2013 Author Share Posted December 20, 2013 Thanks very much you guys! Cracking portrayal of beautiful ship It is a very handsome design. The whole class really made a nuisance of itself in the Pacific, particularly at Leyte Gulf. I like it too ! Great build Been looking at the Tamiya `350th one, you may just have convinced me Glad Revell made such a good job of the kit, and likewise the Tamiya 1/350 version. I did it as the USS Spence, the pics are on this forum somewhere. The build might prove useful if you want to upgrade the kit to a later timeframe in WW2. Thanks again, Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AntPhillips Posted December 20, 2013 Share Posted December 20, 2013 Super build and finish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deacon Posted December 21, 2013 Share Posted December 21, 2013 This is just superb mate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arkady72 Posted December 21, 2013 Share Posted December 21, 2013 Great job. Model must be huge? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted December 21, 2013 Author Share Posted December 21, 2013 Thanks very much again guys. Great job. Model must be huge? Thanks Artur. It's just under 79cm long, which is still shorter than the Revell 1/72 U-Boats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted December 22, 2013 Share Posted December 22, 2013 Looks stunning,great build thread too, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOUSTON Posted December 23, 2013 Share Posted December 23, 2013 Very nicely detailed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tabio Posted January 17, 2014 Share Posted January 17, 2014 Lovely job, very crisp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gisbod Posted January 18, 2014 Share Posted January 18, 2014 Great job Al, Very tempting.. Wonderland models have them on sale for £33. I'd love to have a bash... Guy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phildagreek Posted January 24, 2014 Share Posted January 24, 2014 Looks super, congratulations on the build. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinx Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 I'm building that kit at the moment and am getting close to painting and I wondered what order you painted it in, especially on the superstructure - decks then vertical surfaces or vice versa?Cheers Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted January 26, 2014 Author Share Posted January 26, 2014 I'm building that kit at the moment and am getting close to painting and I wondered what order you painted it in, especially on the superstructure - decks then vertical surfaces or vice versa? Cheers Martin Hi Martin, I usually stick to the general rule of lightest colour first, so I did the Haze Gray, then the 5-O Ocean Gray, and did the decks last. It worked pretty well, and the slab sides meant i didn't have to do much masking either. Good luck with yours, I actually have another one of these which i plan to do as a waterlined diorama. Someday. Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sinx Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 Thanks Al After the hull I had wondered about doing the main decks first before I added anything to them, and then painting the 'sub assemblies' - vertical then decks. It was the latter I expected to have problems with - trying to mask the vertical. Any tips?! Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted January 27, 2014 Author Share Posted January 27, 2014 I find the slab sides meant that you only needed to mask the very edge around the part where the deck meets the deckhouse sides with 10mm Tamiya tape. I then airbrushed from directly above so there was no overspray on the deckhouse sides. Worked out fine! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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