1/700 USS Glover FF-1098 (Corsair Armada Productions)

I have modified the Corsair Armada Productions' USS Garcia DE-1040 kit, once again.  The first one was the USS Brooke DEG-1 and this latest one is of the One-Ship-of-a-Class USS Glover FF-1098 as she appeared in 1982 photos.
 
Commissioned on November 13, 1965, the USS Glover was initially designed to be a research and development platform for Anti-Submarine Warfare systems.  She was also equipped as the fleet's only ship with Pump Jet Propulsion.
 
She was initially designated as AGDE-1 and then re-designated AGFF-1 in 1975.  As the USS Glover's participation in regular fleet operations increased, she was re-designated, once again, as FF-1098 in October 1979.  The USS Glover was decommissioned on June 15, 1990 and scrapped in 1994.
 
Using photos from Navsource.org and drawings from The Floating Drydock, the first modification that I had to make on the original kit's hull was the obvious "barn door" on the stern of the ship and the raised fantail.  Early on, this door was used to deploy a towed, variable-depth sonar system.
 
Using the optional bridge configuration pieces included in the kit, the next modification was to the configuration of the bulkheads around the bridge wings and then the extension of the compartment forward of the MACK.  The O2 Level's superstructure was extended aft from the step-up to the O3 Level.  The kit also includes options for DASH or Helo hangars.  The USS Glover was DASH capable and had a DASH hangar.
 
Additional bulkhead details (doors, vents, fire hoses, refueling hoses, folding ASROC loading platform, accommodation and vertical ladders)  were added throughout the exterior of the model and new, scratch-built spray shields were created.  Deck details were added atop the hangar and an ASROC loading winch and a capstan operating station bulwark were added on the forecastle.
 
In lieu of the resin radar arrays included with the kit, I substituted these with photo-etched ones from Gold Medal Models.  The inclined ladders are from Gold Medal Models, as well.  I replaced the ASROC launcher with one from DRAGON/Pit-Road.  The railings are a combination of L'Arsenal and Tom's Modelworks.
 
The decals are mostly from JAG and I created DESRON 2 emblem decals, myself, along with the ship's name on the stern.
 
I painted the horizontal surfaces with Model Master Acrylic Neutral Gray and the decks with Engine Gray.  The non-skid areas are Engine Gray with black pastel chalk and the areas clear of non-skid were painted with Gunship Gray.
 

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