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Arleigh Burke Class Destroyer - Best Kit ?


Tiger331

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Hi Folks,

It's been almost 40 years since I last built a model ship but a work colleague of mine has now 'commissioned' me build an Arleigh Burke Class destroyer having seen the 1:48 AH-64D Apache I recently completed for our boss as a retirement gift. I am aware that there are several kits on the market, which rather surprisingly, include several of the actual ship he wants modeled (USS Momsen) so no hunting for aftermarket decals. I have yet to decide whether to complete the model with full hull or put it on a base. I'm also aware that we are talking about several scales and clearly the 1/350 versions will (most likely) be far more detailed than the 1/700. Question is, what are your recommendations, as expert ship modellers ?. Which is the best kit, overall ?. Do I really need to go for one of the 1/350 scale kits or is the 1/700 version a nice enough kit to complete as a show piece ?. Of course, given its smaller and cheaper, I could splash out on some aftermarket P/E (if such exists for the smaller scale kit ?) to really spruce it up.

Advice/Opinions for a novice ship builder would be greatly appreciated !!

Thanks

Mark

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It depends on size ,there is quite a difference between 1/700 and 1/350 in size more than folk realise,if you go down the waterline version,there good plastic displays boxes for both scales by trumpeter and plenty of P.E. for both scales.This is a tug by Orangehobby,lucky I have both scales of this tug.

20140729_203410_zps0597fc9b.jpg

20140729_203428_zps0fd85105.jpg

20140729_203448_zps76d64ac7.jpg

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It depends on size ,there is quite a difference between 1/700 and 1/350 in size more than folk realise,if you go down the waterline version,there good plastic displays boxes for both scales by trumpeter and plenty of P.E. for both scales.This is a tug by Orangehobby,lucky I have both scales of this tug.

20140729_203410_zps0597fc9b.jpg

20140729_203428_zps0fd85105.jpg

20140729_203448_zps76d64ac7.jpg

Chewitt

Thanks for the reference photos…..very helpful indeed . I must admit I'm in two minds about which way to go with this. The modeler in me would like to tackle the larger scale ship but time is a factor……I don't have too long to complete the project and I also believe that most non-modellers (of which the recipient is one) would probably not thank me for too big a completed model unless they are really keen on the subject, want it to form a centerpiece in a room and the other half is happy too !. I figure the 1/700 scale kit will be more 'manageable' both in terms of my ability to put it together in a timely fashion and in terms of 'acceptability' for the recipient. That said, having little clue about the relative merits of any of these kits, I did not want to opt for the smaller scale kit only to find out later that it is grossly inaccurate and simply doesn't compare with its larger brothers. It appears that this is NOT the case and that the Hobby Boss kit is actually very nice but it would be good to have an authoritative, independent view from an expert to this effect.

Thanks again for your help

Mark

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What a coincidence: One of my tenant's granddaughters is presently serving aboard the USS Momson as a newly commissioned Ensign - getting in some sea time before a posting to nuclear propulsion school. I'm looking forward to your progress on this project..

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  • 1 month later...

Having just watched The Last Ship I'm toying with the idea of doing an Arleigh Burke class.....i don't think my eye-sight or fingers could handle 1/700 though. Think I'll limit myself to 1/350. So are Trumpeter the only or best options?

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Hi, i think the 1/700 Hobbyboss are great little kits, and are very nice to build. I have several to do, including Momsen.

IMG_0469_zps7ab29144.jpg

This is the USS Lassen, literally slapped together over a long weekend to give you some idea of what they are like, Please excuse the picture as its a phone pic. Please post any progress for us to look at,

Best wishes

Mick

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Hi, it's 9 inches long, You can get a Bigblueboy photo etch set for the Arleigh Burke, which will greatly enhance the model. This set is for a flight 1, but i suspect most of it could be used on a flight 11/11a. I'm about to start USS Cole using this set, it will be a long process lol. I get my kits from Creative Models on E-bay for around £10 each which is a lot less than most ask for them.

Mick

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  • 3 weeks later...

Think I'll limit myself to 1/350. So are Trumpeter the only or best options?

Short answer - yes.

Long answer - yes - though there is an inferior kit (Dragon /Panda) which may well cost more. Trumpeter includes PE railings and other bits as standard. It's pretty accurate and fits together nicely with sharp details. And there are enough boxings to fit almost any ship in the fleet, but you will need the generic decal sets by Hawk Graphics as Trumpeter only give you decals for the one in the box.

Edited by Brokenedge
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  • 2 weeks later...

I am planning on getting the 1:350 Trumpeter kit and will either buy the USS Cole or one of the more updated kits so that I could build the USS Bainbridge.

Has anyone on here built one ? If so please post a link to the finished article and give your opinion on the kit. Is there a britmodeller review?

Rick

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I've built one, but I don't have a link to the finished article as I've not uploaded any photos of it online.

It's a nice kit that goes together well. The main issue I had was that there were no instructions in my kit as to where the PE railings went, so I had to use photos and measurements to cut them to the right length before folding them to fit.

The most important thing is to carefully plan out what needs painting and when, so you don't end up struggling to get certain areas painted or having to repaint some of the smaller details.

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Sorry, got called away and had to cut the post above short last night.

I do have a few questions if anyone can help

1) Decals: I did a search for Nathan James decals and no-one is doing them yet. But what would be a good source for the hull number decals? That would just leave me short the DDG-151 emblam at least

2) The different flights of DDGs have different configurations particularily for the CWIS (2,0 or 1) The Forrest Sherman has 1. Did anyone spot how many the Nathan James is meant to have? I know there is at least one....

thanks

Sean

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From what i have found out from searching around the web, Nathan James has a single CIWS Phalanx at the rear of the aft funnel, hope this helps. Apparently the Nathan James is played by USS Halsey DDG 97 so the Forrest Sherman DDG 98 should be fairly close.

Mick

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  • 3 weeks later...

Back looking for some help folks.

As you say Mick they filmed on the USS Halsey (DDG-97) but also the USS Dewey (DDG-105)and the USS Iowa museum ship. Researching the USS Forrest Sherman I can find pics of it both with & without the CIWS. From what I can gather this is one of the items of gear on the DDGs that seems to change quite a bit. It seems to have been ommitted from the initial Fight II vessels then re-instated on later versions and retro-fitted to earlier flight IIs. Looking through the parts in Trumpeters Forrest Sherman kit I can see some partsof the CIWS is included in the box (I presume it's all there) but no mention in the instructions. If anyone has a Trumpeter Arleigh Burke class that does have a CIWS as part of the instructions could you please scan the instructions that cover the construction and placement of it please?

Thanks

Sean

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  • 2 weeks later...

You lot have forced me into buying a 1/350th USS Cole :coolio: , I have a picture from google of her in a very sorry state being tended by a tug in Scotland. I would love to have a go at reproducing this in model form, but have been unable to find any models of an Azimuth tractor drive tug. Sean, I have also ordered a set of decals with hull numbers, so may be able to help you out when they arrive. I must say that the Trumpeter 1/350th Burkes look even better than the 1/700 Hobbyboss.

Mick

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You lot have forced me into buying a 1/350th USS Cole :coolio: , I have a picture from google of her in a very sorry state being tended by a tug in Scotland. I would love to have a go at reproducing this in model form, but have been unable to find any models of an Azimuth tractor drive tug. Sean, I have also ordered a set of decals with hull numbers, so may be able to help you out when they arrive. I must say that the Trumpeter 1/350th Burkes look even better than the 1/700 Hobbyboss.

Mick

Can you post a copy of that picture ? I would be interested in seeing it, especially as I didn't she had been over this way.

Rick

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Hi Rick,

534c2422717ee_hires_zps5d65852a.jpgThis is a pic I found searching google for the Cole. The blurb reads:

FASLANE, Scotland (March 28, 2014) The guided-missile destroyer USS Cole (DDG 67) prepares to moor in Faslane, Scotland. Cole is in Scotland to participate in exercise Joint Warrior 14-1, a semi-annual, United Kingdom-led training exercise.

If you click on the pic and full size it, you can see how rusty she got. If anyone has any idea to a 1/350 tug to match the one in the picture I would be most grateful.

Hope this helps

Mick

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