Scale: 1/125
 
Recommended to help build a "square bridge" Fletcher-class destroyer from:
Lindberg 1/125 scale “Blue Devil Destroyer”, USS Melvin DD-680
Lindberg 1/125 scale "Greyhound of the Sea", USS The Sullivans DD-537
 
The 2,050-ton Fletcher-class was one of the most successful wartime and post-war destroyer classes of the US Navy and arguably the most significant class in the Pacific war. 175 ships of the class were produced over a 32-month period during World War II. They were produced in two groups:  58 were built with a high, "Round Bridge" and 117 (two-thirds of the class) were completed with a low, "Square Bridge" which afforded better visibility for anti-aircraft defense. Several Fletchers served in foreign navies, the last, Mexico's Cuitláhuac, the former USS John Rodgers, retired in 2001.
 
This model kit is designed for Fletcher-class destroyers with what we are calling the "Bethlehem Steel" door configuration, having an airtight ("A/T") door on the aft bulkhead and no exterior door to the captain's sea cabin.
 
Our references indicate that the following ships were built with a pilot house that had the "Bethlehem Steel" door configuration.  Check your own references to be sure this pilot house is correct for your model.
 
DD-532 Heerman
DD-535 Miller
DD-540 Twining
DD-558 Laws (post war)
DD-571 Claxton
DD-596 Shields (post war)
DD-630 Braine (post war)
DD-631 Erben
DD-642 Hale (WWII)
DD-644 Stembel (post Korean War)
DD-649 Albert W. Grant
DD-650 Caperton
DD-651 Cogswell
DD-652 Ingersoll
DD-653 Knapp
DD-654 Bearss
DD-655 John Hood
DD-656 Van Valkenburgh
DD-657 Charles J. Badger
DD-658 Colahan
DD-659 Dashiell
DD-661 Kidd
DD-674 Hunt
DD-675 Lewis Hancock
DD-676 Marshall
DD-677 McDermott
DD-680 Melvin
DD-681 Hopewell
DD-682 Porterfield
DD-686 Halsey Powell
DD-687 Uhlmann
DD-688 Remey
DD-689 Wadleigh
DD-792 Callaghan
DD-793 Cassin Young
DD-794 Irwin
DD-795 Preston
DD-796 Benham
DD-797 Cushing
DD-798 Monssen
DD-799 Jarvis
 
A pilot house with a different door configuration, what we are calling the "Bath Iron Works" configuration, is available separately (click here).
 
Features:
Accurately scaled from Bath Iron Works builder's plans.
Open, exterior 5'-6" airtight ("A/T") door locations per Bath Iron Works drawings and photos of actual Fletchers.
Open, interior door frames for lightweight metal joiner ("M/J") doors. "M/J" doors are not included.
Interior bulkheads have accurately positioned structural framing for the pilot house forward, the starboard side light locker and the cabin's sea cabin.
Interior radio, compass and electrical component replicas positioned on bulkheads matching those found on the museum ship USS Kidd DD-661.
Scale, open, exterior 16" diameter airports (portholes) in proper locations.
Scale, open, interior 10" diameter airport (porthole) on bulkhead between the pilot house and the fire control station.
Integrated Mk.37 Fire Control Director base (Mk.37 available separately).
Exterior airport (porthole) wiper motor locations per Bath Iron Works drawings.
Mast support frame.
Ship's bell suspended from mast frame.
Integrated loudspeaker (also known as a "reproducer").
Standard antenna lead-in insulators in proper locations.
A set of separate doors of the correct type is included so that they can be posed open.
Rooftop handrail, typical 1944-1945 configuration for many ships of the class.
Radio direction finder loop antenna.
 
This 3D-printed model is designed to match the overall dimensions of features of the real ship as recorded in official Navy blueprints.  It is not a copy of any injection molded plastic or resin kits' parts and therefore may be differently shaped and sized.  Some adjustment to your kit, or other aftermarket products such as photoetch, may be necessary for best fit.

© Model Monkey LLC.  This 3D-printed product may not be copied or recast.