First ship, Tamiya Fletcher

Modeling Subjects Ships
1

Hello everyone,

I am about to start on my first ship model a 1/350 Tamiya Fletcher with a GMM PE set. I was just wondering if any of you guys have built the kit and if you could offer any tips or snags that you came across. Also any tips for painting a camo scheme. I have been doing aircraft for a little while now and I think a ship will be a nice change.

Thanks
Ron

2

Hey Ron,

You’re not going to run into any snags building the Fletcher…or working with the GMM set. You will run into an issue with the Fletcher turrets, as they’re badly undersized. L’Arsenal and White Ensign Models do aftermarket turrets, and Corsair Armada is releasing an INCREDIBLE set of turrets shortly (I have a review sample).

With regards to paint, you have two choices. You can paint the ship in Measure 21, which is overall Navy Blue 5-N, or you can paint the ship in a variety of Measure 12 Revised schemes (this is the pattern you see on the box art). Many ships were commissioned in Measure 21, repainted into Measure 12 Revised, and then repainted back into Measure 21 before receiving any refits.

You cannot paint your Fletcher into any of the Measure 31 or 32 dazzle patterns without upgrading the 20mm and 40mm fits of the ship. Tom’s Modelworks does a square bridge conversion kit to change the bridge structure and add the additional 40mm to the kit.

I wrote a book on Fletchers, the first of the Warship Perspectives Series, so if you need assistance, design sheets, or detail shots, email me and I’ll see what I can do to help you out. In the meantime, you can visit www.modelwarships.com and check out some of the Fletchers in the gallery.

Best,

Jeff Herne
Modelwarships.com

3

Holy crap Jeff…the amount of detailed information you throw at this forum is simply incredible. I don’t know how you retain so much info but keep up the comments - your help is invaluable.

RodC

4

Hey Rod,

I can’t balance my checkbook or tie my shoes but I can tell you what pattern was worn by most ships at various points in their careers…

I’m kinda like the ‘Rainman’ of ship modeling…

Best,

Jeff Herne
Modelwarships.com

5

Driggc55,
You picked the perfect starter pieces for 1/350 scale. I agree with Jeff - you can’t go wrong. The Fletcher is a pleasure to build. The only difficulty you might have is with the PE radar antenna; that’s a little tricky. Enjoy the project!

6

The Fletcher was also my first crack at 1/350 and it was a pleasue to build. It was also the first time I used an airbrush. I had absolutly no snags at all putting this little beauty together. Unfortunately I was not confident enough to try PE though. I have since used PE on many occasions and what a difference!