Peterpools

Thanks Kev for the advice and guidance - planning on going slow and I'm sure I'll be more then satisfied using even half of the PE and brass. Many decades ago, I was a model railroader and used Tacky Glue for almost all my craftsman Wooden Structure Kits - great stuff and will be picking some up at Michaels this week. The plyers seem close to what we also use to adjust the Kadee coupler bars and I know I have a pair somewhere - just need to look for them. Any help from Mike would a huge plus for sure. .

Thanks John Been cleaning up the mold lines on the bottom of the hull, waiting for my detail sets to arrive over the next few days. Looking forward to a much-needed change of pace and venue.

🤞

John To my untrained eye when it comes to Luftwaffe aircraft, the cammo and dappling looks mighty good.

Thanks Dennis and I had very similar experiences way back when. Looking forward to digging in and I'm finally back at the bench. Lots to learn and Kev has already been a huge help in answering questions as my nautical knowledge is nearly non-existent.

Kev Nice progress and the details are simply amazing. I'm taking notes.

Finally the kit is here and a build thread has begun in the non LSM Forum -WIP Forum Due to arrive later this week:

TAMIYA 1/350 USS FLETCHER DD445 and INFINITY AND EDUARD DETAIL SETS I just didn’t have it in me to sit at the bench any longer, working on what had been nearly a lifetime of aircraft models. At 76, I hit the wall and the mojo had simply vanished. I had no idea what I wanted to do, or if even modeling was still in the cards. I spent a good week thoroughly cleaning my studio, with half being my modeling cave and the other half my photography studio. The studio has never been cleaner and looking a bit sad without a build on the bench. What was underway, is now packed away, the box marked as started. I kept on pondering the future Since covid, cancer, plus my wife and my medical issues, so much has changed. I was worn out. I’ve always wanted to build ship models and with nearly no knowledge of ships, even thinking about ship modeling made no sense at all. I had followed Kev’s incredible Scharnhorst build from day one and it became the seed of re-kindling my desire to try ship modeling. No way would I even consider tackling such a project as Kev’s, as I would start out small, see what I could accomplish. The Tamiya 1/350 USS Fletcher seemed to fit the bill, a perfect kit to start with, small and manageable. I went a bit overboard with the two detail sets I purchased, as they added not only PE, but a fair amount of brass which hopefully would enhance the kit with corrected and new details. I devoted a lot of time locating what I hoped I needed, purchasing the kit, detail sets and paints, from three vendors; just love those shipping costs. It seems ship modeling is identical to aircraft modeling, as I looked for what I needed, I constantly ran up against the famous roadblocks: Not in Stock and Backordered everywhere. I know I’ll be making all the beginners mistakes along the way and that’s ok. I just want to enjoy the journey, learn new skills and have fun and look forward to time at the bench again. And so, the adventure begins. The kit arrived this morning and I'm still getting acquainted with it, cleaning up very faint molding seams and removing any imperfections on the hull. The two AM sets are scheduled to arrive by the end of the week.

John Looking mighty good.

Looking mighty good.

Kev That was some diversionary gift to your neighbor - sure hope he has it on display for all to see and admire. Getting ready for hopefully starting tomorrow if the kit is delivered as scheduled.🤞

Chris Looking mighty good and you have to be commended on your continuing research - always new information seems to come to the forefront just after you pass that point or discovered the AM you purchased, in the case the wrong Sidewinder version - J's instead of L's. I'm still out to lunch on the painting modulation but with the F4 being so big, some should enhance the model. Holy smokes the detail on the pylons are amazing and look so good.

John Some mighty nice progress and it's easy to see you have whipped the 262 into shape. Fingers crossed all the roadblocks are finally behind you and the finishing stages of the build will go smoothly. 🤞

Kev Got ya. I've been researching the kit and the ship for a good few weeks and also working on a build plan as well. From everything I've read and watched, ship modeling is a series of small assemblies that come together during the build, rather then at the end, with paint work both brush and airbrush done along the way.

Thanks Kev for the vote of confidence. Holy Smokes, your Dragon Fletcher looks awesome and if I can come close and look half as good, I'll be one happy camper.

Martin Looking mighty good and the small details and weathering are a knockout. Looking mighty good

Chris Some mighty nice progress and your researching is paying off. The last few photographs show the F4's very clean and not faded and that would be my preferred way of going. I'm still not sold that masks/hard line cammo is the right way to go but the images do show the cammo is tight and no over spray at all. A tough decision for sure.

Kev It's all your fault ... after following your Scharnhorst build from day one and for years of wanting to try my hand at building a ship model, you started the gears turning again and I decided to take the plunge and ordered all I would need and then some. The kit is very manageable in size, not too complicated as compared to a battleship and have also ordered more AM then I should have but I want to learn. The kit: Tamiya 1/350 USS Fletcher AM: Infinity Detail set with PE and Brass Eduard PE Set Of course, the AM so far cost nearly six times as much as the model, but it should make for an awesome build and learning experience. The kit is scheduled to arrive on Monday and later during the week the details sets are scheduled to be delivered as well.

Mark Nice progress - he tires look so real it's uncanny.

Some terrific progress - looking mighty good.

Rob Absolutely a milestone in the build and you have to be all smiles. Some mighty awesome progress.

Paul Nice small haul for sure. I remember back in the day when Dullcote and Glosscote were the only game in town and I used them on every build. Times have surely changed and I don't use either as much as I use to, but both are still in my paint supply racks and Dullcote does get the call to action every so often.

Carl Yes the dangers are there but you have come through without a scratch and the reward: a great kit.

Scott Fingers crossed but it does seem you have the fix well under control.

Odds are you're so right.