1/350 USS Morris DD-417 (ISW)
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by Fred Branyan |
1/350 USS Morris DD-417 (ISW)
This is the ISW Russell kit built as the USS Morris DD 417 at the Battle of Santa Cruz. My thanks to Rick Davis for photos of the ship and to Gordon Bjorklund for very kindly sending me the search light basket and other valuable parts from his spare parts collection that wound up on this model.Thanks to Rick and a few lucky web site finds I have photos of both sides of the ship bow to stern. If anyone needs them let me know I can email them to you. I tried to make the camo pattern as close as possible to what is in the photos. I used my usual paint colors, with one exception. The one close range vertical photo of Morris shows a very dark deck color, so I used Tamiya Sea Blue for that instead of my usual Lifecolor Deck Blue. For the superstructure I used Tamiya XF 19 Sky Grey and my usual Tamiya XF 66 Light Grey for Haze/Ocean Grey. The Hull is Tamiya XF 66 and Lifecolor Navy Blue. The anti skid mats are Evergreen Sheet Styrene 2025 painted flat black and cut with a portable paper cutter from Staples. I do not have photos showing these mats on Morris but I do on other Sims class DDs so I decided to put them on. I tried to order L’Arsenal mats but no one had them while I was building this one. I could not tell for sure from the photos whether this ship had smoke generators, I think Morris did and since a lot of them did I put them on this model. Same for the white life rings on the bridge, I do not seem them on Morris photos but they are on several other Sims class destroyers. I tried to add the red breakdown lights and the white position lights after I located their color on the web and the mast was already on. Next time they will go on the mast before it is installed. Because the few closeup photos of DDs at Santa Cruz I have only show one whale boat, I put one on the starboard side only since I have a Midway photo with it on that side.
Not sure how I made the mistakes but the main mast is a little short and the aft mast should be a tad further forward. I now have the exact measurements for height of the mast from an online diagram if anyone needs it.
The flags on the signal lines starboard are the NITS flag hoist radio call sign per Navsource. Those on the port side are the initials of my friend and USS Hornet crewman picked up by Morris S1C Elmo Wojahn outboard and his good friend Aviation Machinist Mate 3C Marvin Fagan inboard of his. WWII photos of Elmo and Marvin are included with the ship photos. As always my thanks to Elmo and to Marvin’s family for their service to our country.The following detail kits were used:
- Alliance single 5” gun turrets with blast bags and hollow gun tubes.
- Eduard life rings.
- Fine Molds IJN Destroyer and Small Ships for the 2KW Signal Lanterns used on the yardarm and the position lights on the bridge.
- Gold Medal Models Buchanan PE set for the signal stations on the bridge, combat lights, and depth charge cranes.
- G Factor Benson class props.
- L’Arsenal 20 MM cannons/tubs and searchlights, MK 37 director, and medium life rafts.
