Tin can sailor: life aboard the USS Sterett, 1939-1945 by C. Raymond Calhoun,
The last stand of the tin cansailors by James D. Hornfischer,
Admiral Arleigh Burke by E.B. Potter
which stoked an old fire for wanting a nice destroyer model to display with a few U.S. Navy lithographs that I have.
I started a search which lead me to FSM forum and I began to read and search threads that I thought may help me in deciding what to do. Having done some modeling off and on over the years I am beginning to lean toward finding a kit and trying my hand. I noticed a number of references to Mike Ashey’s Basics of Ship Modeling and decided that I should start there. Since I was off to BN to order The Magnificent Mitscher by Theodore Taylor I also had them order Mike’s Basics of Ship Modeling too.
The kit that has caught my eye at this point is the DD 557 USS Johnston by Yankee Modelworks. I was pleased to find that a kit of that gallant ship was available. Has anyone here worked with that particular kit? I have not worked with resin before so if I continue in that direction it should be an interesting challenge and experience.
The Blue Water Navy/Yankee Modelworks kits are excellent. However, by your own admission you have never made a resin ship kit, it may be daunting. I would recommend that you consider a learner kit. They are not particularly difficult, but require a different mind-set from styrene.
Many people also bemoan the higher cost of a resin ship kit. However when you consider that the kit is complete with all parts and photoetch – the cost of a styrene kit plus aftermarket photoetch plus other items to correct the basic kit inaccuracities often comes out a wash.
I have just opened a Trumpeter ‘Sullivans’ destroyer kit to do the Johnston, also. After reading ‘Thunder on the Sea’ I got pumped to do a ship kit again, especially one for the Johnston. The book covers part of her captain’s life and her heroic battle in detail. Also, I’m using this site as a reference:
To with the Johnston, I’m hoping someone releases a Komano heavy cruiser (or at least a Mogami class) kit to display along with my Johnston. I know Yankee Model works has two versions of the Mogami but $275 is a bit rich for me.
Ed beat me to commenting on Yankee Modelworks kits and I agree with him. They’re expensive kits to start a resin project with. If you really want to do the Johnston there are alternatives. The Trumpeter Sullivans kit can be used and there are after market accessories/update kits from several manufacturers for superdetailing a 1/350 Fletcher. How much you finally spend depends on how much detail you want.
I spent about $30.00 for the kit and I’ve seen photo-etched rails go for $20.00 and resin replacement turrets for $12.00. If you were to buy all that’s available for upgrading you could easily reach a $100 plus in total, including the kit.
The L’Arsenal upgrade set for the Sullivans is a one-stop replacement for all which ails the Trump kit. It includes PE as well as correct size & configured 5-inch guns, correctly shaped and detailed 40mm guns (the kit ones are little more than sticks), correctly sized 20mms (the kit ones are 8 to 10 feet tall), and stacks without the grossly misshapen vents. The price is 40 Euros, which works out to about 58 bucks at todays exchange rate. Add to that the 30 dollar price tag for the kit and you are talking the same ballpark price as the YMW kit.
It isn’t generally available yet. I had heard that it would be out following the IPMS-USA show back in August, but according to posts from Jaques Druel of L’Arsenal - it will definately be available at the IPMS-UK show at Telford in the mid-to-late November timeframe
Ed - Thanks for your input and the pointer to the FSM article on “Building a Resin Sub Chaser”. Your suggestions make sense and the cost of the PC-461 class SC looks reasonable for a first build after reading the article. Now I haven’t added in the extra cost of the other items that Phil Kirchmeiser used, but they are items that could be used on following projects and I’d guess they would not add that much additional expense to the project. I’ll sure give it serious consideration for my first attempt.
Aurora-7 - Thanks for the URL to the Samar reference site. I haven’t read ‘Sea of Thunder’, I’ll check and see if the library has a copy. You may want to read ‘The last stand of the tin can sailors’ by James D. Hornfischer. It’s an excellent read on the battle covering the DD’s and the little DE that really went in harms way to try at least to slow down the Japanese in getting at the Taffey III’s CVEs and then into the landing area further south. Those little guys put up such at fight that the Japanese thought they had run into larger ships. What a scrap those gallant crews put up.
A real life DD reference would be the USS Kidd in the Baton Rouge, LA area. It’s supposed to be the best example of a WWII DD that there is. It’s still 90% in it’s 1945 configuration. Their website is pretty good:
The styrene strip and sheet is something which many modelers have at their desks to scratchbuild, repair or replace kit items. A pack of Evergreen costs less than 3 bucks each.
K&S wire – some brass wire is included in the kit, but like the Evergreen more or different sizes are often needed. Again its a stock item at many workbenches.
Bare Metal Foil – I have some which I use for masking clear canopies. It comes in handy if you have it, but you can often make do with other handy materials (Post-it Notes, kitchen aluminum foil, Evergreen plastic (see above)
Hold-n-Fold tool. Tools are nice. I have a lot of them. I have a Hold-n-Fold. The Etchmate is similar. But such a tool is not required. You can make folds just as easily using a pair of razor blades opposed to one another. Place one over the photoetch part and slide the other under. Raise the lower one in a hingeing motion to make a bend. It comes easily with just a bit of practice.
The ISW kit comes with the PE which you will need, as does the YMW Johnston kit. Extra PE is handy to have but not a requirement.
YMW makes WWII decals, as does ISW, and the Resin Shipyard. A set of hull numbers is often all which is needed to differentiate one ship from another.
Jeff Herne’s book - Fletcher,Gearing & Sumner Class Destroyers in World War Two - arrived today from Pacific Front Hobbies. I have read only through page 17 but glancing through the rest of the book at this point what a treasure of photos and drawing, paint schemes, etc. This book will be a grand help when I start the YSM Johnston project. Jeff is to be commended for providing us with this fine research book. Thanks Mr. Herne!
I’ll have to check that book out. Thanks for the heads-up.
I see Fujimi is going to produce a 1/350 kit of the Kongo (the battleship that dealt deadly blows to the Johnston). That’s a definite for me to get to display along with the 557.
Jeff’s book is an excellent resource and IMO is better than the Squadron book on the Fletchers. However, the ultimate reference on the Fletchers is the Floating Drydock’s Fletcher Class Plan eBook. This is a CD with a PDF Format book containing all sorts of detail drawings. Bob Steinbrunn, builder of an award winning model if the USS Kidd which was the cover story in FSM and several other model magazines, called it his number-one most indispensible reference. I agree – it is highly recommended. I have the old paper copy - and am thinking of upgrading to the electronic version
Ed - Another thanks is due for letting us know about Floating Drydock’s Fletcher Class Destroyers of World War Two PLAN eBOOK on CD. After your comments about it being the ultimate reference on the Fletchers I put an order in the mail this morning. Another thanks for just mentioning Floating Drydock. I began to feel like a one eyed dog in the butcher shop as I went down the list of items they show in their on line catalog.
One of their other items that really caught my eye is their Cannon/Edsall Class Destroyer Escorts of World War Two Plan eBooks. I have an interest in the DE 413 Samuel B. Roberts that was with the Johnston at the battle of Samar Island. Although she was of the John C. Butler Class maybe the Cannon/Edsall Class eBook would help out. I do believe that Blue Jacket Shipcrafters has a 1/16 scale wood kit of the Roberts but if possible I would like to stay at 1:350 with a resin kit. Anyway, something for the future. The Johnston will come first after the learner project.
Now I’m off to see if I can find out which issue of FSM had the Kidd on the front cover. If it’s still available I’ll order it. [:)]
I need to slow down on ordering stuff and get to work on my Patrol Craft learner project. [:I]
The Floating Drydock’s Fletcher Class Plan eBook Adobe version arrived yesterday. Spent a short time scanning throught it and was very please at all the pictures and draws presented. I don’t have it loaded at the moment but I believe there are approx. 385 pdf pages contained on the CD. How convenient it is to be able to print off a page that you may need for what ever reason. I sure see why Ed is considering adding it to his hard copy book.
PS Floating Drydock’s service was excellant. Turn around was very good.
I recently completed a scratch build of the USS Zellars, DD-777 FRAM II. This is a Sumners Class ship, I found the Floating Drydocks e-book for Sumner-Gearing Class ships to be of great help. I also referenced the Sumner-Gearing Class Destroyer by Robert Sumrall. The Fletcher and Sumner class are closely related and basically have the same hull lines.
You need to find what page you want to print. Then click on the printer icon in the Adobe menu bar. You should find an option the print only a selected page or pages. Type in the page number and hit print. Or something like that. It’s pretty easy once you find everything.