Tamiya Models Fletcher Class Destroyer

Tamiya is one of the premier model manufacturers in the world. Everything fits with ease.I’ve been building models for a long time and this was my first destroyer! I began by research, and there are a lot of books on these terrific destroyers of ww2. Most can be found on amazon! I decided to try pe with this kit. There are three different manufacturers, I ended up using Tom’s. Along with a brass barrel set. These greatly improved the ships overall look! . The model is okay without the pe and very suitable for a reasonably experienced modeler. If you choose to go with pe get your magnifying equipment out!!!I built most of the subassembly separately leaving them off till the major hull and super structure was glued on and painted, depending on the paint scheme, you will want to do the same!Tamiya supplies decals for three different ships and this one is the very first of the fletcher class. Later mods included many more anti aircraft guns. And some pretty wild paint schemes. Along with a different super structure and gun mounts, radar and torpedo mounts!Overall a great and fun kit! If you want the later version Trumpeter offers one!

So far so good, great quality ship. It is a small model, but this destroyer was much smaller than other ships. It is an accurate 1/350 scale model. There are 4 part sheets, the hull with screws, as well as some decals for the ship and stand. The hull is one piece, and the deck pops in perfectly. The deck comes with a part sheet, so you have to pop it out or cut the tabs. I'd recommend a file and an razor to smooth it out so it fits perfectly into the hull. So you know, there are a few different paints that Tamiya recommends to get. They are: XF-1 Flat black, XF-9 Hull Red, XF-17 Sea Blue, XF-24 Dark Grey, and XF-53 Neutral Grey. I got those from the diagram included in the kit. The instructions are short but written well and easy to understand. The kit I received was produced in 1996.Overall this is a great low price model ship for someone to have in their collection. Take your time and do it right. Because it is small, it's tempting to race through building it, but the finished product will be beautiful!

Box seal broken, and box crushed. The box is part of the product, and therefore the delivered product was not new. The interior parts are apparently ok.Tamiya well known for its great products. Amazon and its vendors poor. Recommend buying from dedicated hobby suppliers.Won’t punish Tamiya for Amazon’s and its vendors’ unsatisfactory performance. Buyer beware.

The number of time you needed to make the same group of parts were vague, and so was the labeling of the assemble drawings.

When I purchased this I selected the free shipping option; since it ships from Japan it estimated 4-6 weeks. No problem, I have some other projects going on and didn't mind the wait. Then, just 2 1/2 weeks later it arrives in the mail and I am duly impressed. A cursory inspection has all parts accounted for.A note on plastic injection molding: I'm a Mechanical Engineering student, and I know a fair amount on the subject, and it can be very tricky. If the molds don't line up correctly you get lots of chaff and flash on the edges, and sometimes parts can overlap and be completely unusable, and if the wrong plastic is used you get brittle pieces and even voids which compromise integrity of parts. I have gotten model kits like that in the past, but not this one. I'm looking at it now and I can't see ANY flash on any of the parts. Tamiya impresses again.

I got this Tamiya model ship kit for $27. That is a great value for classic model Fletcher destroyer kit. I received the kit a week after I ordered it, which is quick for this product. I am happy with the purchase.

A32 is missing in my kit.

Can’t wait to build this kit. I’ve rarely been disappointed with a tamiya kit.