DBMiller's USS Winston S. Churchill 1/350

[DBMiller]

Yup, I'm going to try another ship. I've got too much on my plate already but I want to try it. I really wanted that Yamato to come out nice and all it did was insult me, so this time I will go with a bigger scale and fewer details.

The kit is the Panda Models Arleigh Burke Class Destroyer DDG81 USS Winston S. Churchill.



More photos to come!

[heel]

Alright! Good luck. I'm following

[corpsman23k2]

Nice to see something that floats looking forward to it

[DBMiller]

Ha! You thought I had forgotten about this build! Well, I almost did! It's already August 4th and I'm just starting to glue things together. Will I finish? Could happen. Really.

The ship's own website! There is even a Facebook page for the Churchill!
http://www.churchill.navy.mil/

Wikipedia:
The USS Winston S. Churchill is a $1 billion Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer of the United States Navy. She is the 31st destroyer of an originally planned 62-ship class.
Construction started: May 7, 1998
Launched: April 17, 1999
Length: 510'
Weight: 9,000 tons
Beam: 66'
Builder: Bath Iron Works

I think she is one of the prettiest ships on the water, along with the Ticonderoga Class cruiser.



Boom! The 5 inch goes off!


The box:


The instructions:
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The parts:
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The hull:


I glued a shim under where the deck sections butted up to each other to keep them from flexing when I taped the hull tight against the deck plates.
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And the first layer of decking is on! The fit was quite good and there were no troubles at all! For a change.

[DBMiller]

I kept plugging away last night and added more of the superstructure. I don't think it really needs all that tape but I'm working faster than normal and handling it quite a bit. I don't want parts to form gaps! Only the tail end really needed the tape. I had read a review of this kit and one of the 'warnings' was that the stern end cap didn't fit too well. The review was right and I had to tape it up pretty good!
I will have some photos without the tape in a day or so.

[shortCummins]

not knowing anything about floaty things, is this the same type of boat as featured in the TV show "the last ship"?

rgds
John(shortCummins)

[DBMiller]

I've never seen the show but I looked it up on Internet Movie Database. It looks like it is the same class! Well, isn't that a nice bit of trivia!

From IMDB:
"The US Navy allowed the production team to film scenes aboard the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers USS Halsey and USS Dewey as well as the USS Iowa museum ship. The destroyers were sailed several days out to sea so that the cameras could shoot 360 degrees without having to worry about coastlines, buildings, and other ships appearing in the background. Many of the sailors in the background were the crews of those ships going about their duties as cameras rolled."

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[DBMiller]

Let me start by saying that these instructions suck a bit. In some places they suck a lot. Parts are shown with an arrow pointing in the general direction of where they go. Often those places are hidden behind the drawing and I have to guess that the indentations back there are where the part goes.
Also, the fit started to go downhill as I moved up the deck. Ugh.

Seam lines.
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Hangar deck isn't too bad, but the rear (as the review I read warned) is not so good.
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Then there is this part. There is a nicely marked place for it to go and the instructions show just where it is. But...


It doesn't fit. The parts already in place prevent it from fitting over the locators.
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Unless you push really hard. Then it snaps into place, without breaking anything for a change. Who designed this?



I was wrong. I did break off this locator pin. It isn't shown on the part in the instructions but it is needed for a light (or whatever it is) to attach.


Work on the antenna mast. This is the first place where photo etch is used. This photo etch must be made of titanium! It isn't regular brass but steel or something. It's really hard to cut and clean up. Also, the instructions don't make it clear on which side to put the PE so I guessed. Luckily I guessed right! I found a nice photo on line that shows the mast and where these parts go. Whew.
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That's all for now! Thanks for looking!

[Coen]

Oh no.... I'm totally hooked now!
I've no idea what I'm looking at but I love looking at these ship builds.
This is a pita kit for you I know... But I'm loving watching you build it.

[Danta2er]

Coolness...gotta watch this now...

[modelingaddict82]

The last ship is an amazing show lol the USS Nathan James, as in the series, is the same type of Arleigh Burke destroyer as the build. This is really coming along and really looking forward to more updates keep up the amazing work

[DBMiller]

Thank you all for watching this thread!

I've been adding the little bits to the deck and structures. That takes a while since they are so small! Thankfully I have found all the parts that have shot out of the tweezers throughout!

So, here is the hull with a bit of primer to check seams.


Here is the mast with the photo etch attached. It is a bit (quite a bit, really) clunky looking but will do for me.


Now to some of the Panda instructions fun! See the parts circled in blue containing C46 and the one crossed out? There are 3 parts, some sort of smoke discharger or something.


Now look at the location marks on the hull; the 2 rectangular indents on either side of the structure. That's right, TWO location marks. For THREE parts!


Look at this picture from the instruction sheet. It shows 2 parts on each side, not 3!


Here they are in place. Notice the complete lack of a spot for the third part.


So, I went online and found a few photos that show how many should be there. They all show 3 parts!
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So, since alcohol is not an option for me (I don't drink) I will just have to guess and glue the extra parts close to where they should go!

Now on to some of the other details like the life rafts and anchors, etc.
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What a crummy fit on those mast supports! Oh well.

Here is a broadside showing the mast in place.


And the mast.


And, last but not least, a shot of the real ship with a special guest!

[johnpaulwinn]

The 'smoke dischargers' are decoy launchers; they can be loaded with chaff or flares depending on the threat.

[DBMiller]

No photos just now (I'm at work. ) but I still intend to finish in time!

[DBMiller]

Sneaking in this post at lunch.

I've learned a bit about building a ship. Too bad I learned it too late for this one! The main lesson is that I should have built the upper deck in sections, painted them, then glued them to the deck. Not only are there many nooks and crannies to paint but the hull is harder to mask with the bridge, masts, etc. in place. And I know how I am with masts! Off they go! Over and over and over. The hull is 3 colors: red below the water line, black boot stripe, then grey above that. The deck is a different gray than the hull and the rest of the structures are a mix of greys! Masking all that after the build is going to be a treat.

I've pre-painted the boot stripe. I will mask the stripe and paint the upper and lower hull in turn. When I sprayed the black it was so humid out that the paint went on a bit blotchy. I've since corrected it.
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I've also painted the radar blister.


Here are more shots of the deck and all the bits added.
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The propeller shafts in place.


Top view. Many aerials still to be added!

[Coen]

very very cool stuff!!!!

[DBMiller]

This should be my last post until the finish. Whenever that is, this is going to be really tight. As usual.

Stacks painted. I will touch them up after they are attached. That shouldn't cause too much trouble. I wish.


Started adding the deck color. The 'Deck Grey' is a bit darker than the hull's 'Haze Grey". Since I don't have either I used Tamiya Grey and Ammo's Medium Gunship Grey. I can fix the over spray later. That should also make the darker decks show up better.
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[DBMiller]

I lied. This should be my last post until the finish!

Hull masked for painting. I used Model Master Acryl Insignia Red with about 50% Ultimate thinner for this.


First coat of red!
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[DBMiller]

Not going to happen. I don't want to tape over the red so soon after painting it so there is no way I can finish in time. I wouldn't get the decals done either. Oh, well, it's looking pretty good anyway.

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