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The Last Ship USS Nathan James DDG 151


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Welcome to my build of the USS Forrest Sherman which will be done as the Nathan James, the fictional DDG 151 from the TV show The Last Ship, series 3 of which starts tonight on Sky 1.

Trumpeter kit and a lot of parts compared to the Fletcher in the same scale. Includes PE rails too....

The superstructure has some very complex shapes but fit is excellent and the pictures below reflect just 2 evenings at the bench. Haven't decide to go full hull or waterline version but am toying with the idea of doing it in a water base. I must be mad 😊

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Will leave one hanger open the other closed as it was converted to the research lab

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Will be watching,I'm building 1/350 HMS Hero, Leander class frigate, from the TV series made in the 1970's "Warship".check youtube.

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There are a lot of complex shapes in the superstructure but the fit if parts is excellent. Very few gaps requiring filling.

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So I decided to attach the main superstructure parts before painting in order to get a good solid bond and as there is some cleanup/filling needed at the joins in the sides.

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And these little chaps arrived yesterday. Beautifully cast but so tiny they are going to be fun 😃

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Plus these sets originally ordered to complete my USS Independence LCS which I will get around to one day. It's only been sitting in the shelf for 3 years

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Decided to put one of the VM SH60s together. The kit does come with two of the Trumpeter clear plastic helicopters but I'd borrowed them for another project. Some very small parts including torpedo and MAD(Magnetic Anomaly Detector). 4 PE parts for the main rotor but the smallest bit was for the winch above the side door. But with all that and my poor eyesight it still went together very well. A bit too much glue in places but that was my fault.

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Just noticed the Forrest Sherman has no rear CIWS platform. No front one either. But Nathan James has the rear CIWS so I'm going to have to scratch build the platform. The guns at least are in the kit. There are also different side panels for the rear smoke stack superstructure so they will give me the correct sides at least.

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I have the following reference book:

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But as I'm building a fictional ship, where two real ships were used for the filming, the main reference is the show itself. And the Nathan James has the rear CWIS and the flat stack tops.

Quite pleased with how my scratch built platform came out:

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And also started painting the decks

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And that's it for evening 6! Unbelievable progress for me. But it will slow down once I get on to all the detail bits

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  • 2 weeks later...

Finally got my airbrush so practicing on a few other bits before tackling the superstructure painting. Also got Mr Hobby Grey FS 36270 which looks close enough to the right colour for me. And thanks to a colleague in IPMS Ireland who printed the crest on decal paper for me

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So we'll be underway again shortly

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Lovely work. I watched the series for awhile, but it didn't stick. The ship itself looks gorgeous and you are doing the Burke proud!

I agree, you are doing the Burke proud Sean.

Like Thom, I watched the series for the 1st season and then stopped watching it during series 2.

Keep going Sean, I am enjoying watching this build.

Rick

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Thanks Gents. I bought this about half-way through Season 1 and only started it with the start of Season 3 :) Maybe I'll even get it finished by the end of the season.

And as of yesterday Season 4 has got the green light for anyone interested.

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I have decided to give this series another go from the beginning. I am currently downloading it on sky.

Sean, can I ask which kit this is you are building and also whether the decals include the numbers for the Nathan James, whether you are getting the names done etc? What is the book you got and where did you get it from ?

Thanks,
Rick

Edited by Rickpadwick1801
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Hi Rick,

I'm basing it on Trumpeters USS Forrest Sherman but because it's a fictional ship, and more than one real ship was used in the filming, you can base it on any Flight II (has the hangers) kit, so if the DDG number is 79 or higher. The other noticeable bit that varies is the CIWS. In most scenes the Nathan James has only the rear CIWS but in the title shot before each break, for the current season anyway, it also has the forward CIWS. So you need the rear one, forward is optional. However Forrest Sherman doesn't have any so needed a bit of scratch building as you can see above.

The kit only contains the hull numbers for the version in the box but there are plenty of aftermarket generic number sets available. I did get a name-plate decal done also and provided I don't destroy too many you're welcome to one and the crests for the funnel sides. I won't actually have them in my hand until the next Dublin branch meeting later this month.

The book is by Signal/Squadron and I managed to pick it up for about €10 in my local hobby shop. I see it's on Amazon for £35! Another good one is Warship Pictorial No 24 but it's on Amazon for £45. I'll probably be happy to sell my one when I'm done. While enjoying the build I think one Arleigh Burke is enough....so if you're happy to wait.

Hope this helps

Sean

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Hi Rick,

I'm basing it on Trumpeters USS Forrest Sherman but because it's a fictional ship, and more than one real ship was used in the filming, you can base it on any Flight II (has the hangers) kit, so if the DDG number is 79 or higher. The other noticeable bit that varies is the CIWS. In most scenes the Nathan James has only the rear CIWS but in the title shot before each break, for the current season anyway, it also has the forward CIWS. So you need the rear one, forward is optional. However Forrest Sherman doesn't have any so needed a bit of scratch building as you can see above.

The kit only contains the hull numbers for the version in the box but there are plenty of aftermarket generic number sets available. I did get a name-plate decal done also and provided I don't destroy too many you're welcome to one and the crests for the funnel sides. I won't actually have them in my hand until the next Dublin branch meeting later this month.

The book is by Signal/Squadron and I managed to pick it up for about €10 in my local hobby shop. I see it's on Amazon for £35! Another good one is Warship Pictorial No 24 but it's on Amazon for £45. I'll probably be happy to sell my one when I'm done. While enjoying the build I think one Arleigh Burke is enough....so if you're happy to wait.

Hope this helps

Sean

HI Sean,

Thank you very much for the offer. I would definitely be interested in the book and decals as I intend to build a Burke class destroyer. I was actually luckily enough to be in Portsmouth Harbour on the day the USS Winston Churchilll arrived last year (and she's a Flight II ship).

I have some pictures somewhere if that would help you with the build ?

I also saw the book on Amazon for £35 and the other one you mentioned for £45. I had thought of looking on Ebay for it as well but as I don't have a kit yet I will wait for yours to become available :-)

All the best,

Rick

Edited by Rickpadwick1801
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I probably should have started with the red bottom, then grey and then the boot line but too late now. Took a top down approach.

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I really do like that Mr Hobby paint for spraying. It was so easy!

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Looks like you are going all out with this build Sean

this kit looks much better than the Dragon one I have sitting on the Ohh did I start that shelf

Beefy

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No rush Rick.

First coat of the Hull Red by Vallejo. Went down nicely. However it would appear I got a bit carried away with the airbrush so some over-spray to be cleaned up.

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Very nice Sean, I have a flight I underway and have just started watching the series, I'm rather impressed with the inclusion of a Kirov too.

Have you seen Bootnecks Arleigh Burke pictures in the walkround section?

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I've seen Battleship alright Warspite. Totally ridiculous story but I actually enjoyed it. And yes, some good naval clips in it.

Yes Jockster, I've seen those pics by Bootneck. They are great clear close-ups!

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