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1/144th Scale USS Chevalier DD-451

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Mr. Bill:
Greetings!

One of my more recent projects is the early Fletcher Class destroyer USS Chevalier from the recent Revell 1/144th kit.  I always wanted to build a large scale early round bridge Fletcher, but hesitated in attempting to convert the square bridge offerings that were available in a larger scale.  The Revell Fletcher is a very nice kit, but like most kits it has some areas that can improved upon with a little scratch building and some modifications.  I also wanted to build the kit with what I have on hand rather than invest in all of the excellent after market items available for this kit - those gems will have to wait for the next 1/144 Fletcher build. 

These are photos of early phase of construction.  Many of the parts are dry fitted in these photos and may appear to be our of alignment.  Also, please excuse the sanding dust and rough spots in some of these photos, these items will be taken care of later.

First shot shows overall basic forward superstructure and bridge.  Drainage slots were cut into the kit part for the 20mm gun shields in the arrangement carried by Chevalier.


Closer shot showing some details.  Note the ladder has been removed from the turret side.  Chevalier had these ladders located at the rear of all five turrets.


Overhead view of bridge area.  The Revell kit lacks all of the equipment items that were normally carried in this area such as pelorus, torpedo directors, and signal lights.  This shot shows my preliminary attempts are scratch building these items missing from the Revell kit.  I originally tried to thin down the oversize kit railings, but the result was poor, so I cut down some old PE which looks far superior and can be somewhat "rounded" with paint. 


Rear view of bridge area showing some details and the two antenna lead trunks - another item Revell missed.


Side view of forward superstructure.


Sorry for this poor quality photo.  This is my attempt to scratch build the quad 1.1 gun carried by Chevalier, but not included in the Revell kit.  I used photos and diagrams as my main references sources.  I am not sure I like the flash suppressors on the gun barrels, diagrams show this item but most photos do not.  I may remove these and replace with very short stub barrels as shown in photos.  This image also shows corrections concerning the gun shield which is not properly formed in the kit, a real design flaw in the kit.


Forward stack and torpedo mount with modifications to kit parts.  More details needed to torpedo mount.


Details of the aft emergency steering position.  This is another area that Revell neglected.  None of the equipment items are included with the kit and have to be scratch built.  Note antenna lead trunk.


View of after superstructure showing some details.  Mk 51 director still needs to be scratch built - the kit part is a bit lumpy looking.


Overhead view of forward stack.  The grab rails around the top of the funnel were a challenge!


Rear stack showing modifications to kit parts.  Old cut down PE was again used to replace the oversize kit railings.  This is a good clear view of the funnel hand grips.  The kit has the speed light at the rear of this stack which is not correct for Chevalier.  It should be at the rear of 1.1 gun shield as shown in the other images.


Last image for today showing the forward stack. 


Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, advice, or suggestions.  Whatever you have to say is important!

Cheers,

Bill

Siara:
Fantastic detailing Bill.
Your model will be beautiful with all the effort you put into the details.
I love this kinda stuff.

Big bag of popcorn in my hand, sitting in the first row, and watching. ;)

NZSnowman:
Also eager to watch the fabrication of the Fletcher Class destroyer USS Chevalier.

Rokket:
Yes, ditto on detail, it really "pops it out"

Mr. Bill:
It is probably just me and my way of looking at things, but I am a little surprised that Revell managed to get some very obscure details correct in this kit and yet totally ignored other, more obvious features.  It strikes me as a not very balanced approach.  With just a bit more effort, they could have made this a far better kit in terms of detail and accuracy.  My plan is to do what I reasonably can to improve the kit with some scratch build details, modifying parts, and creative use of items in the spares box.  This is a compromise between straight out-of-the-box construction and super detailing with aftermarket details and extensive scratch building / modifications.  I work very slow and would like to get this one done in under a year!

Cheers,

Bill

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