by John Sekas
1/350 USS Sullivans DD-537 (Tamiya)
I very recently completed a 1/350 conversion of a Tamiya Fletcher into a 1945 square bridge USS The Sullivans. This was more of a test bed for seeing how far I could go (for my limited abilities) from a "box build". Here is what I did/used:
I used the 2 resin bridge pieces from a Tom's MW square bridge conversion set and some of the PE. I scratch built the mid-ship bulwarks, Mk 51 platform, the quad 40 tubs, almost all the after deck house, forward funnel searchlight platform, and the 20mm tub on the quarterdeck. I turned a piece of brass rod in a drill so as to taper it for use as the foremast. I soldered the yardarm to this and attached the rest of the GMM bits to it. Rigging was with some 0.004 Dai Riki monofilament. I found out right at the last moment, that the Corsair Armada turrets were so much larger than the Tamiya ones, that the turrets would not sit in-line with the centerline of the ship. Per the plans, it looks like Corsair Armada got them right and Tamiya mis-measured them. She is painted in MS 22 with WEM Colourcoats.
I have received loads of help from the fine folks on this site and it they have given me a lot of encouragement!
