Hi all,

Well I cleared out the track thingy's from the work bench and since I have two of these in the stash and since I had enlisted in the Pacific +70 campaign I figured I would crack this open and get started. OK, truth is I have been aching to build a destroyer and this campaign is just an excuse to start something new.



I have ordered the Gold Medal Models PE set for this kit and when it arrives I will dive deeper into the kit. But for now I have only started the basics.

Of course, what is the first thing I do...yep, break off parts.



Luckily I did not lose any of these small parts but unfortunately having to glue them back on will make it difficult to drill out the centers...oh well.

Started with adding the rudder and the prop shafts.





There was minimal molding seams to scrape off but nothing to intense.

This will be a slow build as I do not have the paints on hand to put some color to the build. So this will be my project while the IJN Maya and the USS Dace are drying.

Eventually this will be incorporated into a larger diorama but until I figure what that is going to be it will be my practice for painting US warships.

thanks for looking in and as always comments, suggestions and criticism are always welcome.

Dave

Looks like a nice start, Dave. Happy modelling

Bernd,

Thanks for the comments. It will be a slow build but something to fill the time while things are setting and drying.

More to follow soon.

Dave

David,

I look forward to following your build, are you going to finish her as she was at Guadalcanal?

I'll be following this build Dave.
Tamiya's Fletcher has long been on my wish list.

Hi David, i am looking forward to your progress, its good not to rush.For me, i can only do modelling on one of my builds, when i am really motivated for it.
Will you build her in this camo scheme from the box art ?

Nice one, Dave

following along with interest

Russ

Hi all,

Not much of an update, still waiting on the GMM PE set to arrive. But since the hull is ready I went a head and laid down a coat of primer.



@Irvin and Bernd - Not sure if she was in the scheme that is on the box while at Guadalcanal, still doing some research but in the end I am going to go with the box art.

@Stephen and Russell, welcome along for what I hope to be a short ride. This is filling the gap until I can start the USS North Carolina and the IJN Noshiro.

Welcome all and thanks for looking in. As always comments, suggestions, and criticism are always welcome.

Dave

David,

I think she may have been in Ms 21 Navy Blue part of the time when she switched from Ms 12 Mod to Ms 21 is unclear. A number of destroyers were operating in either colors in 1942.

Great seeing this one pop up on the bench David!! Off and running nicely too!! Keep up the good work!!

Hi all.

I just wanted to provide an update regarding a change in plans for this wonderful ship. My original intent was to build her as the USS Fletcher, however i recently had the opportunity to purchase Aoshima's 1/350 IJN Heavy Cruiser Haguro which avails me the opportunity to build a diorama that I have been wanting to build.

So now I am building this kit as the USS Heermann DD-532 which was one of the major contributors during the Battle of Leyte Gulf.

More updates to come as I reconfigure my plan of action for this incredible ship.

Dave

Hi Dave,just saw this thread. I'm looking forward to your build log.

Later

Bruce

Welcome aboard. This is my first destroyer build so it'll be interesting

Dave

Dave, so you join the destroyer crew at last

Now I'm going to throw a spanner in your works, Heerman was a square bridge Fletcher were the Tamiya kit is the Round bridge version. For Heerman as per my Hoel you'll need the Trumpeter 'The Sullivans' kit or a conversion for the bridge. If you go the Trumpeter route you'll need to look at replacing the gun houses as they are completely the wrong shape. I'll admit looking the Tamiya kit in the stash I'd even consider replacing the gun houses in that kit as well.

Heerman at Leyte was finished in MS32/24D check out http://www.shipcamouflage.com/fletcher_class.htm


Photo from Navsource

I hope I have not wrecked your project and I'll still be following along.

Luciano,

Thanks for welcoming me to the destroyer crew. I have been wanting to do it for a while.

Regarding the square bridge, you didnt derail my plans you just confirmed what I thought was the the facts. I found a picture on NAVSOURCE that indicated the Heerman was a Round bridge configuration J so thank you for confirming the square bridge for me.

I bought a square bridge conversion from ebay not too long ago so that is what I am planning to use. I will post some pictures tonight and I would ask if you could let me know if it will work.

The kit also came with some 5 inch main guns so I will look at those too and see if they fit the bill.

thanks again for the information. I am looking forward to moving ahead with this kit.

Dave

Not a problem Dave, just glad you have the bridge covered This site lists all the destroyers and may be of help in the future. It states that the first 25 Fletchers were round bridge and the rest from DD-518 were of the later square bridge, designed to improve AA coverage.

The site I listed on the previous post, if you find the ship in question and the year it lists the camo scheme, click the scheme and it will bring up the US Navy Bureau of Ship design template, very useful but still check if possible any photos in case the Hermann had any parts not painted to spec (like I found with the Benson). Hope that is of help.

Luciano,

Thanks for the link. It is full of good information. Here is what I have for the square bridge. I would appreciate your opinion on its suitability.





I am thinking I could hollow out the center and open the port holes. I will definitely be replacing the molded water tight doors with PE.

Interested in hearing your opinion.

Also I purchased the GMM PE Set for the Fletcher, is that good enough or do you recommend another set?

thanks again for the websites and the insight. It will definitely help me in the long run.

Dave

Dave from what I can see the bridge looks OK, I'm at work at the moment so don't have access to any ref so I'll check back once I get home. The only thing that does look off is the director in the photo it looks a little flat/squashed it may just be distortion from the camera.

The GMM pe sets that I have used and seen so far are all very good, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them. I only used the L'Arsenal set on the Hoel as it came with replacement resin gun houses, director, boats etc as well as the pe.

If you need a replacement director or gun houses I'd recommend the L'Arsenal sets as they do them all as separate parts, as your in the US you can get them from the US partner Here you don't need to order from France.

The interweb is your friend, spend an hour or two searching for images of Heermann, find and save the ones that depict the ship in the right time frame then go over them to find the ones that give you the most info for radar fit, odd non-standard paint, extra non-standard items etc. If you have your computer near your bench then get up the photos while you model (turn off the screen saver while doing so) do the same with the camo scheme and re-size it so it matches the model when held against the screen.

I hope this helps you on your way and can't wait to see what you do with the Heermann. Next year once the Cruisers and Guadalcanal campaigns are done I'll tackle the Johnston although I'd love to convert the Tamiya Fletcher into USS Stevens with the catapult on the back.

Luciano,

Thank you for the recommendations. I will definitely keep them in mind as I progress with this build. The Gun Director is a little distorted from the camera but I intend to use the kit provided one verse the white metal. I am a little adverse to using white metal parts as they never seem to be right. Maybe it is me but that is the experience I have had in the past.

I will look into the Sullivan upgrade from L'Arsenal, they o have great products. Only draw back I have had so far from them is the limited supply that the US distributor has had in the past. I have had to order from France a couple of times.

My vision for the Heerman is to replicate the scene where she launched three torpedoes towards the IJN Haguro during the Battle of Leyte Gulf. We will see how that vision develops as we move forward. Since I just found out that I wont be moving as soon as I thought I may get the chance to complete the scene.

thanks again for all the suggestions.

Dave

hi all,

Well I finally got a chance to continue some work on the USS Heermann. I am taking little steps until I can get some reference material. I moved forward with building the main structures and adding some PE Watertight doors.









here she is dry fitted





now with the square bridge conversion kit I have





Well that's it for now. Will be a few more days before I get back to the Heermann.

thanks for looking in.

Dave

A very nice start, Dave

Will be good to see how well the AM bridge marries up with the rest of the kit

Russ

Some nice clean work there Dave! The new bridge definitely looks the part!Keep up the fight!

Gents,

Thanks for the comments. I am waiting for the reference material to arrive before I move much further.

As far as the resin conversion kit, who ever built it made sure that it fit perfectly into the slot for the kit provided round bridge. No gaps.

I hope that the reference material will arrive soon so I can continue.

Dave

Hi ya'll,

Well since the last update my reference material arrived and provided me with a beautiful full color and line picture of the USS Heermann. It also showed that converting the Tamiya Fletcher into the USS Heermann was not going to be as easy as I though. So with that I purchased the USS Sullivans for spare parts.

So with all that I dove back in and realized that I had jumped the gun a little too much and that I had to go back and make some corrections. I also realized that the resin conversion kit I purchased had what I needed and that I might not have to rob from the Sullivans to build the Heermann. Well I thought that. But on with the update and I will get to the Sullivans soon.

So I had to go back and do a little destruction of the Fletcher to convert her into the Heermann.

First I had to remove the molded forward 40mm Gun tubs.

Here is a picture before



here is a picture of the replacement 40mm gun tubs.



and here is a picture of the destruction.



Now here it is all together



The destruction consisted of removing the old gun tubs and sanding down the left over nubs. I also had to remove some of the build in railing so that the new gun tubs would sit flat. There is a little bit of a lip at the back of each gun tub but I can live with it.

The next issue where I jumped the gun was that the USS Heermann had waffle water tight doors instead of the standard water tight doors. So I had to remove all of the etched doors and replace with the waffle pattern.





Now all the correct water tight doors are mounted.

So I moved on to the rear 40mm gun tub and that is where I ran into another issue. The USS Heermann had a tear drop shaped gun tub as opposed to the Fletcher which had a round gun tub. Amazingly enough, the Tamiya kit had a random tear drop shaped gun tub on the sprue with no apparent purpose. Its not listed in the instructions or mounted anywhere.

Here is a picture of the USS Fletcher 40mm gun tub.



overhead shot



here is where I had to take some pieces from the USS Sullivan kit. I used the base structure consisting of three parts and added some styrene to create a roof.

The Sullivan parts with styrene





and now the Sullivan parts with the random tear drop shaped gun tub.





I have a little more to do with this such as finding some round stock to add a tub for the MK51 fire director and to add a little definition to the base structure.

But so far I think it looks the part.

Well that's it for now. More to come soon.

thanks for stopping in.

Dave

Looking good Dave! Nice to see the PE getting installed and I am digging the resin AM stuff! Keep slapping this one around the bench!!