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USS Decatur DD-936, 1/320 1950s kit brought into the 2010s!


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Finished the USS Decatur DD-936 - the fourth Forrest Sherman-class destroyer built for the US Navy, and the first to be converted to a guided missile destroyer (DDG-31) following a near-catastrophic collision with the Essex-class carrier USS Lake Champlain in 1964.

 

http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/pix1/0593618.jpg

 

Incredibly, no-one was injured in this incident, caused by a steering-gear failure on the destroyer.

 

Decatur (pronounced De-KATE-er) served as a DDG until 1983. After decommissioning, she continued to serve the US Navy until 2003 as Self-Defense Test ship, before being sunk as a target for a SINKEX in 2004.

The name Decatur is currently assigned to the Arleigh-Burke-class destroyer DDG-73, commissioned in 1998.

 

The kit is the very old (1958) Revell kit in approximately 1/325 scale, reboxed by AHM. This model represents the Decatur around 1961, when she was used to retrieve the first (unmanned) Mercury sub-orbital capsule. The kit has been enhanced by L'Arsenal 1/350 5"/54 turrets and SPS-10 radar; Veteran Models Mk32 triple ASW torpedo tubes, 3"/50 rapid-firing guns, Mk56 director and bridge equipment (all 1/350); plus many scratchbuilt details. Cable reels from WEM, and the railings and ladders were from WEM's ultrafine 1/350 set. Whip aerials by Master.

 

Painted in WEM 5-H Haze Gray and IJN Sasebo Grey for the decks (I liked the bluish hues better than the "correct" colours). Rigged with Ezy-line and copper wire.

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Al

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Hi all, thanks so much for your very kind comments :)

Will be starting another 1/350 modern subject next, probably an Arleigh Burke class destroyer. Might do it as a WIP, or save it for a big battleship project as these big Yamato projects are making me very jealous!

Edited by Brokenedge
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  • 6 months later...

That's tempting! The odd scale would make aftermarket parts difficult to find though.

It took 60+ years, but it's probably the best that kit has ever looked! Congratulations on a superb build, and thank you for sharing it with us.

Thanks very much thorfinn :winkgrin:

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  • 10 months later...
  • 3 weeks later...

That is a really good update of a classic old kit, you'd hardly guess its vintage roots.

I do like these projects that bring an old kit into the 21st century, it's kind of like giving them a chance to show themselves at their best and compete on the best terms with the latest new kits.

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