Tamiya 1/350 USS FLETCHER: Update - 6-11-24: On Hold

[Peterpools]

Thanks Mike. You hit the nail right on the head and I dove in thinking the PE couldn't be that hard and I was so wrong. I'm going to pick up the Fletcher again not too far down the road and finish it, but a lot closer to OOB with railings and some PE.

Agree 100% about the tools and over the years, I have collected a nice assortment of the better level of tools and excellent tweezers including the new ANZY tweezers.  Will be following Robs and your advice about the Tamiya PE benders.

 

[Landlubber Mike]

I recently ordered the ANYZ tweezers and they are really nice.  I haven't used them yet, but just compared them to my Dumont tweezers and they appear to have a thinner and flatter tip than my Dumont ones.  I'll try them out when I next have PE work to do, but I'm expecting that they might end up being my workhorse tweezers.  Even better that they cost much less than tweezers from Dumont!

[KevinM]

Sorry to hear that Peter but had a feeling with all that PE it could be a bit much hence the comment and true I have never used all my PE from a kit.I just don't sometimes I hit the same wall and go WTH forget it.I am unlike Mike with destroyers but again I probably used about 50/70% of the PE and can go from start to finish in a month....now cruisers/battle cruisers/battleships more deck more PE again not all is used.I take Mike's suggestion and my tack pick and choose it's your build and your display and keep kinda simple. 

[CANicoll]

Sorry to hear Peter.  I have to admit, looking at all that PE, railings especially, antennas, etc, keeps me from attempting.  Good luck with the HO and O kits.  HO is comparable to 1/48?

Chris

[FullArmor]

17 hours ago, Landlubber Mike said:

Hi Peter, sorry to read your last update.  The PE for ship building really is a lot more intense than that for planes, so you really have to enjoy (or be able to tolerate) folding and gluing PE minutia.  You could always just build the kit from the box, but then you would be sacrificing a lot of the detail that only PE can deliver.  I've built ships at 1/350 and 1/700, and I'm not sure that the PE work is any easier at larger scales.  Because things are larger, there are just more tiny details that can be represented by the PE as part of either additional folds or separate tiny PE parts.

And destroyers are not easy subjects to start with!  I entered 1/350 scale plastic ship modeling with the Shimakaze destroyer and the Infini set (in my signature).  I figured a destroyer was small and therefore it should be a simple build, but destroyers have a ton of complicated details that you don't find on the larger ships.  Took me a long time to finish that kit as I didn't really know what I was doing.  I build another destroyer at 1/700 (the Hatsuzakura, also in my signature), and I'm currently building a third IJN destroyer in 1/700 as part of a diorama of it being repaired by a repair ship after taking damage at Midway.  They have many times reminded me of how complicated destroyers are to build.

I'd echo what Rob said on tools for any scale ship builds.  For me, I'd be completely lost without my Optivisor (with the clip on LED lights).  Good tweezers are essential, and most tweezers for modeling are not adequate in the slightest.  I have very good tweezers (both regular and reverse action) from Dumont which are used in electronics and science applications.  I sometimes use wax pencils to apply tiny PE parts to avoid the dreaded tweezer ping.  Folding I use a hold and fold device or the Tamiya tweezers Rob mentioned.  It takes a bit of getting used to what tool works better in what application, and after you figure it out, the PE work gets much much easier.

In case you are looking for something to help steady your hands, I picked up the Dspiae hand stabilizer which might be something to consider.  I also picked up two of their vices which I think will help on building some of the assemblies like the bridges, etc.

 

If you end up getting the urge to try ships again, I can share more of what works for me - tool wise, technique wise, etc.  I've tried a lot of things the last few years and have a pretty good system going now.   

Please can someone explain how this Dspiae hand stabilizer works? Is this friction or magnet...

[Peterpools]

Mike

Glad you bought the ANZY tweezers, they are awesome. I've only used them a few times and found them to work much better then I originally though as they are so pointy and sharp. My workhorse tweezers are all Tamiya and coupled with the ANZY tweezers, have everything covered.

I'm going to check out the Dumont tweezers and see what I can use.

 

[Peterpools]

Thanks Kev

I right with you and Mike and will be finishing the Fletcher over the next month or so, just a lot less PE and mostly OOB. Ordering a donor kit and then I get her back on the bench. My goal is to finish with adding all the handrails and anything else is a huge plus for me.

  

[Peterpools]

Thanks Chris

As we use to say in the old day - what a bummer! Just bit off way more then I could chew but I'll finish the Fletcher after my donor kit arrives in a bit - just going to do the build within my abilities at this stage of the game, going mostly OOB.

 

[Peterpools]

Full Armor ... great question  - I'm going to be doing some research on it today myself. At 76, I tend to be a lot less steady these days and any that will help would be a mega improvement when working with such tiny parts and even brush painting as well.

 

[FullArmor]

1 hour ago, Peterpools said:

Full Armor ... great question  - I'm going to be doing some research on it today myself. At 76, I tend to be a lot less steady these days and any that will help would be a mega improvement when working with such tiny parts and even brush painting as well.

 

Please share more info when tested. And detailed pictures also. I am interested about this product.👍

[Landlubber Mike]

50 minutes ago, FullArmor said:

Please share more info when tested. And detailed pictures also. I am interested about this product.👍

There are some YouTube videos out there on the device.  Essentially, it's more gravity/friction than anything - it does not lock into place (for that, you probably can use a similar rod held by a vice).  The ball is really really heavy, and if I remember correctly, there is a rubber pad that helps keep the ball steady.  For delicate painting and PE work, I think it can be of big help.

[Landlubber Mike]

2 hours ago, Peterpools said:

Thanks Kev

I right with you and Mike and will be finishing the Fletcher over the next month or so, just a lot less PE and mostly OOB. Ordering a donor kit and then I get her back on the bench. My goal is to finish with adding all the handrails and anything else is a huge plus for me.

  

Peter, not to add to the cost of your build, but one thing you might want to consider is adding resin/printed add-ons if you are not going to use the PE.  For example, the guns usually end up being a ton of work if you build them up via PE with lots of folds, parts, etc.  Veteran, Fine Molds and others make things easier with resin/printed guns that are mostly already complete, with just a few PE parts to add on.  Here's an example:

 

 

Guns can definitely be a lot of work, but things like ammo cases can be just as bad (and painful) as there are usually a lot of them.  The kit ones usually are ok, but you can find resin/printed ones that have better detail and you just drop them in without needing to do all the folds (this one is for IJN ships, but I believe you can find them for US as well):

 

These aren't necessarily inexpensive options, but I've actually moved towards buying the ammo boxes as folding dozens of tiny crates is tricky at even 1/350 scale, where you sometimes get those annoying gaps if you don't fold them perfectly.

[Peterpools]

Thanks, Mike for the information and ideas.  You're also correct in the addons have gotten to be very expensive and out of hand;

The kit: $35

Eduard PE; $45 with shipping

Infinity Set with shipping" $133

Paints $?

I never dreamed such an inexpensive kit would turn into a bottomless hole for all the details needed. At this point, I just have no desire to keep spending money on the kit and will build it OOB, best as I can.