USS Reuben James FFG-57

Casey Rupley
My first ship and I had the bright idea to take on the most ambitious PE project I've ever done. Here is how far I've come in two weeks time. Hull is assembled, main structure is assembled, filled holes for kit railings, removed molded details from structure and bow that are to be replaced with PE, primed the hull, put the top PE deck on the main structure and filled/cleaned the edges, and have started to cut out and organize all the PE for the main structure. Kit and PE instructions are both horrible. This is going to be quite the puzzle.

Looking for some help from an experienced ship builder on how/when to assemble and paint all the structures and PE sub-assemblies. Not sure if it's best to assemble the whole thing and then paint, do it by section, or what. I'm a plane builder, so this is a bit overwhelming.

Steven Van Dyck
I'd assemble as much as possible the more fragile PE-parts, but railings can be kept apart to be painted on both sides and then added to the finished deck.

Casey Rupley
Thank you for the advice, Steven. I will definitely save the outside deck rail for last now. Do you ever have problems getting proper paint coverage in all the nooks and crannies if you build and assemble everything first? Wondering if I should plan on painting the sub-assemblies before I put the whole thing together.

Ive never used rub-on decals before either. Any advice there? Im planning on painting on the flight deck markings, but dont know how well the dry decals will work for the ship name and number. Apply on top of a gloss coat?

Steven Van Dyck
Casey, if you would afterward find corners that are left unpainted and can't be reached with airbrush, just use a fine brush and finish the job, or mask off the undesired surface. For dry-decals you don't need gloss, they were in my Pontos wood deck kit for the Independence class so I guess they work best on a raw surface. [img1]
[img2]
Take good care to cover the entire decal surface with the pencil, or it will rip. Here a link to my Princeton build where I used that Pontos set. CVL-23 USS Princeton | Project by StevenVD (1:350)

Casey Rupley
I finally have all the major PE sub-assemblies created and ready to be primed. Horrible instructions, lots of frustration, many fights with the carpet monster, but everything looks good. The main mast was quite challenging, but I'm impressed with the end result. Bottom of the hull and the black strip are also painted.

Next up: priming everything above the waterline, then getting the main structure attached. Then I'll start attaching all the subassemblies. So far so good, I guess. Just taking forever.

Casey Rupley
A year and a half later, much of that on hiatus from this beast while building other things, and I'm finally done. Never again! So.much.PE! I had to resist temptation on numerous occasions to throw it against the wall, especially when attaching all the fiddly parts was two steps forward and one step back. The model may be more CA glue than plastic at this point. Anyway, I'm happy with the result and will be pleased to never build things that float again. Back to something with wings.

Steven Van Dyck
Well, it's the result that counts, and I would have hoped to see more of that on Scalemates. But it can take a toll. That mast looks great!

Gary Victory
Really nice job Casey and well done for keeping your patience...!!! That P.E. is a work of art.😉 Thanks for sharing your build.

Casey Rupley
Thank you very much, Steven and Gary!

Kyle DeHart
Lovely job!

Michael Kohl
Wow, all that PE was worth it. Great job.

Neuling
A masterpiece.

James C
Impressive work on the photo-etch. A stunning result 👍

Casey Rupley
Thank you, Kyle, Michael, Neuling, and James! I'm taking this to my local IPMS club Friday night. I hope it survives the trip!

Michael Kohl
If it does not survive, just do another one 😉

Ingmar Stöhr
I love the Hazard-Perry frigates and you did a fantastic job on this one!

Casey Rupley
Ha! Not sure I ever want to build another one. Thankfully, it did survive the trip and was well received at the club. First place and Best of Show makes for a good night.

Thank you, Ingmar! I like your SSBN-608 Ethan Allen. I know I just complained about building ships, but I still want to do a sub at some point. I've thought about doing the Red October to go with my Rueben James - might as well keep it all in the same movie since I love it so much.

Ingmar Stöhr
Thank you! Well, that novell was the reason to build Ethan Allen. Red October might not be the easiest pick for a submarine, as it has those sound absorbing tiles. This will mean some extra work around the joint line of the top and bottom hull parts. USS Dallas will be much easier 😉
If I ever build my Reuben James, it will be in an earlier timeframe to match the novell "Red Storm Rising".

Villiers de Vos
a very nice presentation.

Rui S
Beautiful work 👍