So not being up with the times i have no desktop or laptop computer. So the pictures of this build log will be posted on my facebook page since right now I can only upload with my phone to Facebook. If interested send me a PM or email and I'll get you added so you can see the process. By the way this will also be my first build long distributed on the web. My skills are not that of most of the gentlemen on here but the only way to get there is put it out there for constructive criticism.

Welcome aboard Norman!! Looking forward to seeing some of the Knox soon! PM on the way.......

Norman

Welcome aboard. The Shipwrights on this site are exceptional with their skills so there is a lot of advice available. Looking forward to seeing your build

Dave

Thanks guys, i have been looking at this site for awhile as my interests change from time to time and ships are my interest at the current moment. Hope i can do this build justice. More pictures are coming soon on my facebook page and if someone can grab them and post them here for me until i can find a way to use my phone to do it that would be awesome. Thanks again.

Norman,

If you can email me the pictures I will post them for you. email them to: [email protected]

Email sent thank you so much as my technical abilities are in the early 2000's and i am behind the times

no worries, thats what we do on this site, help each other out.

Welcome aboard.

Dave

Hi all,

Here are the picture of Norman's USS Frank Knox.













I'm just a surragate so any questions will have to be directed towards Norman.

Enjoy

Dave

Thanks again for posting the pictures. Hopefully tonight i can get more uploaded from my windows 2n1 nextbook.

Hey Norman, welcome!

Your build is looking good so far. Is it the Dragon kit?

Yes it is the dragon kit and the fit is superb. Very little filler required if any. The only let down i have seen is the 20mm mounts seem over scale and there is no railings provided in the kit. With as much engineering this kit has and the smaller details being molded perfectly you would think dragon would have included railing, alas now i need to source a set for this ship. Im not to up on my WW II navy ships so if someone can point me in tge right direction for the rails that would be most appreciated. And thanks for the compliment on the ship I'm only a novice but trying to learn new things every day

You are doing a fine job on the Ft. Knox Norman!! Keep it going!!

As for the railings...I am sure some folks will chime in with their best thoughts for sourcing railings soon.

I would say 3 pop into my head right away:

GMM - Gold Metal Models - Great product. Only issue I found with them was the PayPal issue. They don't use it unless you are dropping some big coin. Shipping is not too bad though and they answer their emails...which is good and will give you a cost if you like.

Alliance Model Works - Decent product and decent pricing. I would suggest checking Ebay. There is one seller that buys direct form them and sells the entire line for the same price but free shipping!

Tom's Modelworks - Decent product and I have hear decent reviews of them. I have not purchased anything from them in a while though, so I cannot comment on shipping costs.

Good luck on the search!!

Cheers,

T

I have the Frank Knox and the Gearing in the stash, and the Chevalier on order, these will be my first serious ship builds so I am following with great interest here Norman!

I have purchased this PE set from Eduard, and I believe that it can be used on any of the three Gearing Class kits.



Cheers, D

Great advice, that's what ive been looking for. Really the railings are the only thing that's missing from the kit. I have built some expnsive ships and models before and im shocked at the price I got the Knox for at the local hobby shop considering the outstanding quality. I was so impressed with dragons quality I also went and picked up the USS Independence aircraft carrier and once again same excellent quality.

Now for and update, I apologize ahead of time for the quality of my photos since im using my phone to take them, now on to the update.

this is the gun tub all painted up, still need the anti slip decals then installed on the deck, minor sanding and I think the walls of this part might have been a little over engineered but could just be the shape of the walls and the use of slide molding. All in all it looks the part.


Here is one of the twin 40mm AA guns, these little guys will test your patience. This is a kit within a kit. add the small photo etch parts and you got yourself a good time killer. While not perfect I think they look the part and turned out fine.


The single AA guns and mounts, these seem a bit over scale but I'll give dragon a pass on this due to the fact how small these parts are and the level of detail they managed to pack into them.


Main guns with the first coat of model master 5-H haze grey. Now here is another let down, with all the detail that is packed into this kit I would have liked to see PE ladders and doors on these, I think that this would have really made the guns stand out, but that's just my opinion.


Last but not least the bridge is painted up and small details added, port holes drilled out and waiting for a clear coat then start the weathering. Hoping soon I can get the hull painted and lay the deck down and start adding all the sub assemblies to the deck. Right now the assemblies are just sitting on my messy desk and I need to get them installed before they get lost. Anyways thanks for looking and any criticism or thoughts would always be appreciated.

Great to see you moving right along on this one Norman!! Things are looking great!

Norman,

It is always a pleasure to help out a fellow shipwright. Your Frank Knox is looking great.I defeinatly understand your frustration when there is PE missing from a kit, especially when that part is a no brainer.

Guess thats why we shipwrights have a stash of extra PE laying around. It was defienatly a lesson learned for me.

Look forward to watching as you move forward.

Dave

Thanks again for the compliments, i found anothe issue with the PE. The center bars of the antenna are missing like the etching solution ate them, now i dont want to have to buy a whole etch set for one antenna so im undecided yet to either use the kit part or just go ahead with the photo etch one and live with it. Im posting from work but when i get a chance ill upload a picture of it and show you what i mean so others with the gearing kits can check theirs to see if this is a mass issue or just isolated to my kit.

So here is the picture of the kit photo etch. As you can see in the bottom left of the picture where the antenna is the center bars are missing. Im not sure how to fix this without buying a new etch set with the antenna or use the kit supplied part. Any other new ideas would be appreciated. On a side note my daughter is also building her first ship. 1/700 USS North Carolina. I might add some pics of her build too because she has impressed me with the quickness that she picked up the hobby and has made her daddy proud!!!!!

LOL..nothing wrong with sliding a few pics of your daughter's build in her!! Great to hear another youngin' is picking up the modelling virus!!

Made a little progress tonight and hope to get the pics up soon. Mainly working on the fiddly parts on the main deck. Also the gun director is built and painted. For those building the dragon destroyers i would look into replacement depth charge racks, the kit ones are less than ok. There are two parts to them and it leaves a gap that would be all but impossible to fix because of the shape. Might look for replacements myself as this will bug me. That's it for now hopefully can get the pictures up tomorrow.

Ok here's more pictures as promised.

Here is the depth charge racks painted and installed. The racks are made up of two pieces. The main piece has rhea barrels and most of the rack and the second piece has the remaining side. The problem is there is no good way to sand/fill the gaps or imperfections because of the round barrels, I thought about gluing sand paper to a toothpick but I'm out of fine grit sand paper. Time to raid works unlimited stash. Oh the benefits of working in aviation. The consumables are free and endless.


Some of the fiddly parts installed on the bow. I think I have the perfect anchor chain that has presented itself. The Mrs. Necklace chain broke and is not repairable so I'm going to see if its to scale.

Last but not least the gun director, here would have been good use of PE for the radar screen. It has PE edges though, the fit is really good but someone with more AMS than I could make this a masterpiece with some PE and copper wire. I like how it turned out though and compared to some pics of WW II gun directors it looks the part as is. I may have forgot to mention at the beginning of this that this will be OOB except for railings, this kit needs very little aftermarket as is and for those in a slump I would highly recommend this or the other gearing class as these build up quick and are nearly flawless OOB. I started it because I needed a break from the 1/350 USS Indianapolis from academy, its the premium kit which is stellar and I might start a build log on it too but my soldering skills are horrible and it frustrated me. Anyways feel free to comment. I'm always open to new ideas or criticism.

I think you are doing a fine job there Norman! The racks and the radar look great! It would be nice to have somethings in PE but like you touched on with frustration levels with some aspects of the builds, in this case soldering of the PE, it is best to crack something you can relax and have some fun with!

Hope you decide to start a thread for the Indianapolis. Its a great kit and would love to follow along. You could always start it up and toss out some questions you have about soldering and I am sure the fellas would swing by and lend a hand where they can! I know I would! Half of the battle is patience...the rest is process and that is just a matter of a few things that make soldering a lot easier...the right solder, the right heat, good tip and flux...how to hold the pieces too. One step at a time!! Fire away with a question...the crew will have an answer!!

I completely understand what you are saying. I have been in a bit of a slump here lately and this knox kit has brought me out of if, i also have a couple 1/700 ships and the dragon USS Independence CVL-22 that I'm looking forward to. Just need to clear some room on the desk. I have a bad habit of switching between the kits too as frustration sets in or repetitive assembly. I'm really wanting to get my hands on a 1/350 LHD i also had the idea of doing battleship row in 1/700 prior to the bombing but if my math is right the base would be pretty big. Might tackle that when i get a larger space but have started collecting the ships. I already have the West Virginia and my daughter has the 1/700 USS North Carolina.

LOL...we all have that "I need to start something else" feeling sometimes my friend! All part of the Modelling Disease!

I think a 1/700 scale dio of battleship row would be awesome!! Not exact but I have to guess 8feet or so. Would be impressive! Wish my eyes would handle it I think 1/1200 would be manageable...LOL!! Your daughter North Carolina would be great for a "what's to come" dio as she wasn't at Pearl that day...still in sea trials I believe. I would have all I could do to finish just the ships alone in the row, forgetting about the setting...LOL!!

Yeah the dio would be huge and yes the Carolina wasn't there but finding good kits of the Oklahoma, Tennessee would be kind of hard to collect in plastic, i know they make resin ones but just waiting on trumpeter to release the rest of the row boats in plastic. I thought about breaking up the dio as each ship in its own mini dio where they were parked. Think that would be a little easier to pull off.