Scale: 1/350

Set includes 3 mounts (turrets) for Allen M. Sumner and Gearing class destroyers as they appeared in World War Two, before the addition of external stiffeners.  This set is also suitable for Wind class icebreakers and Italian Navy Impetuoso class and Impavido class destroyers.  No barrels.

Recommended for:
Blue Ridge Models 1/350 scale USS Allen M. Sumner DD-692
Blue Ridge Models 1/350 scale USS De Haven DD-727
Blue Ridge Models 1/350 scale USS Shea DM-30
Blue Water Navy 1/350 scale USS Gearing DD-710 (1945)
Blue Water Navy 1/350 scale USS Dennis J. Buckley DDR-808
Dragon 1/350 scale USS Gearing DD-710 (1945)
Dragon 1/350 scale USS Frank Knox DD-742 (1944)
Dragon 1/350 scale USS Chevalier DD-805 (1945)
and more!

Features:
accurate dimensions scaled from official US Navy blueprints and confirmed by photos and measurements taken from actual Twin Mounts
detailed armored viewfinder and rangefinder hoods
separate trunnion with slots for brass barrels or kit barrels (barrels not included) to allow the modeler to choose any realistic elevation from +85 degrees to -15 degrees, just like the real mount
crew access hatches and maintenance hatches with hinge and bolt-head details
bolt-heads accurately sized, number and all in accurate locations
 
Reference photos indicate that external stiffeners were applied to some of the 5" mounts fit to Allen M. Sumner class and Gearing class destroyers.  Stiffener configuration varied wildly between the many ships of the two classes, and often changed over time, even on the same ship.  Early ships had no stiffeners when commissioned.  Others were built with stiffeners or gained additional stiffeners over the course of their service lives.  There are simply too many possible configurations.  Therefore, these 3D-printed mounts are intentionally designed without external stiffeners in order make an excellent basis from which to model any ship of the two classes.
 
These models are scaled from official US Navy drawings.  These models are not 3D-printed copies of any plastic or resin model kit's parts therefore they may be sized and shaped differently.  Some adjustment to your kit's parts or other aftermarket products such as photo-etch may be necessary for best fit.

Assembly advice:
1. Insert the trunnion through the opening on the bottom of the mount.
2. Align the trunnion so that the barrels will be oriented to the desired elevation.
3. Fix the trunnion in place with cyanoacrylate (CA) glue, or other suitable glue of your choosing, from the inside of the mount.  Use a toothpick or other small applicator inserted through the open mount bottom to apply the glue.
4. Insert the barrels into their slots and fix the barrels in place using CA.  If your kit's or brass barrels are too large, carefully drill out the trunnion slots to fit.  If your barrels are too loose, use thick, gel-type gap-filling CA glue to help fill the gap.
 
© Model Monkey LLC.  This 3D-printed item may not be copied or recast.

Among naval historians, the US Navy 5"/38 caliber gun is considered the best intermediate-caliber, dual purpose naval gun of World War II.  Lighter and squater than the earlier, heavier versions designed for battleships, aircraft carriers and cruisers, the "Mark 38" version of the twin mount was designed specifically for Sumner and Gearing class destroyers and other ships where weight was an important consideration.  This version also had differently shaped rangefinder hoods.