This is a minifig-scale replica of a Fletcher class Destroyer from WW II.

These destroyers were used in a variety of roles, from anti-aircraft defense, submarine hunting, shore bombardment, to engaging other ships.

Armament:
Primary: 5 x 5-inch/38 cal. in five single mounts

Long-range anti-aircraft: 10 x 40mm Bofors in five twin mounts

Short-range anti-aircraft: 7 x 20mm Oerlikon in single mounts

Torpedo Tubes: 10 x 21-inch in two quintuple mounts

ASW: 2 racks for 600-lb. charges; 6 “K”-guns for 300-lb. charges

I have tried to remain as faithful as possible to the look of the ships; one change is a decreased number of "K" gun depth charge launchers (4 instead of 6).

Construction notes:
I began building from the main deck up, as I had no idea if I had enough bricks to really build much of the lower hull. After roughing out the main deck and superstructure, I was able to build down basically to the waterline. I hope to eventually finish down to the keel, but we'll see.


The hull is constructed in four segments attached by just enough friction pins to hold it together. It doesn't take much, because it's not built to be moved as a whole anyway. I have tried to make most of the upper deck accessible for detailing, and segments of the lower hull as well, although this begins to affect the sturdiness of the model.


One area the model is weak on is the railing and rigging. The thin flexible tubing is the best material I have right now, although I would like to use some heavy black thread (like LEGO uses with certain sets) to approximate the railing around the deck.


I also know there are issues with color (more on the inside), but there's only so much I can do about that at the moment :)

Currently, I have only photographed some of the exterior of the ship, although I have begun to do some detailing work on the interior.

I relied extensively on the following site for pictures and information about these destroyers.
Source material: www.domeisland.com/fletcherclass