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by Richard Sliwka |
1/350 USS Sampson DD-394 1940 (Yankee Modelworks)
USS Sampson (1940)
This is the Yankee Modelworks' (YMW) 1/350 scale Somers destroyer kit
modified to represent the USS Sampson circa. 1940. I decided to build this
version as I knew I would be building YMW's USS Sampson 1943 version kit;
and, thought it would be interesting to build models of the same ship at
different time periods. I used drawings in Friedman's US Destroyers, Warships
Special 2 Super Destroyers, and a 1940-41 era magazine (National Geographic?)
Sampson picture that I found in an antique mall as my references.
The kit was a relatively easy build. The only problem I found was that the forward torpedo tube mounting column is located about 1/8" too far forward--if not corrected the torpedo tubes will impact the bridge superstructure. I discovered this problem too late to correct on my "build" so had to shorten the tubes by making and "folding back" the tube blast shields. The bridge and aft superstructures were slightly modified with scratch-built details to reflect the Sampson's 1940 configuration. L'Arsenal's 5" brass barrels, 1.1" quad mounts, and whaleboats as well as WEM's .50 cal machine guns were used. The 26' work boats were from a YMW's Porter kit. The 5" gun house side platforms were fabricated from Special Shapes PE grid and the mast/mast details were brass tubing/rods. Nylon fishing (Tippet) line was used for the halyards, radio wires and supporting lines. The model was painted in the pre-war peacetime scheme of #5 Standard Gray and #5 Deck Gray using Model Master acrylic paints. The "build" took about 125 hours.
