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WEM K 3554 1/350 USS REUBEN JAMES 1941
1/350 Multi-meda kits from White Ensign Models
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updated 24/07/02 with pix of Peter Hall's build of the kit (see below)
"Hi John and Caroline,I received the Reuben James today, and it is a beauty. I have heard the phrase "crisp casting" before, but this is beyond that. To whomever created this, please tell them for me that this is a piece of art. I'm really looking forward to building it.." Frank Lemond
"Caroline, I just opened the package containing the Reuben James. I had to ask myself a couple of questions.
1. Why did I wait so long to discover the world of WEM?
2. How did they make such a thing of beauty.
The castings are amazing!, the instructions are a delight. I can only hope that my efforts are worthy of your efforts. Now comes the hard part--which WEM is my next project."
Ron Schmitt Puyallup WA USA
"Just a note to say I received my Reuben James kit today. Despite the best efforts of our respective postal services, the kit arrived intact. The kit is absolutely beautiful!! I have already begun fitting it together. Also, thanks for adding a tin of paint to meet the new minimum order requirement. I can always find a use for it. Thanks again for your wonderful models and great service." Doug Fritz
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Above: Peter Hall's waterline build (click on thumbnails)
USS Reuben James (DD-245) was laid down 2 April 1919 by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation, Camden, New Jersey, and launched 4 October 1919. The ship commissioned on 24 September 1920.
Assigned to the Atlantic Fleet, Reuben James sailed from Newport, Rhode Island on 30 November 1920 to Zelenika, Yugoslavia, arriving 18 December. During the spring and summer of 1921, she operated in the Adriatic and the Mediterranean out of Zelenika and Gruz, Yugoslavia, assisting refugees and participating in post-war investigations. In October 1921, at Le Havre, she joined Olympia at ceremonies marking the return of the Unknown Soldier to the United States.
At Danzig, Poland from 29 October 1921 to 3 February 1922 she assisted the American Relief Administration in its efforts to relieve hunger and misery. After duty in the Mediterranean she departed Gibraltar 17 July 1922.
Based then at New York, she patrolled the Nicaraguan coast to prevent the delivery of weapons to revolutionaries in early 1926. In the spring of 1929 she participated in fleet maneuvers that foreshadowed naval air power. Reuben James decommissioned at Philadelphia on 20 January 1931.
Recommissioned 9 March 1932, she again operated in the Atlantic and Caribbean. From September 1933 to January 1934, she patrolled Cuban waters during a period of revolution. Sailing for the Pacific from Norfolk on 19 October 1934, she arrived at her new homeport of San Diego on 9 November. Following maneuvers that evaluated aircraft carriers, she returned to the Atlantic Fleet in January 1939. Upon the outbreak of war in Europe in September 1939, she joined the Neutrality Patrol and guarded the Atlantic and Caribbean approaches to the American coast.
In March 1941 Reuben James joined the convoy escort force established to promote the safe arrival of war materials to Britain. This escort force guarded convoys as far as Iceland where they became the responsibility of British escorts.
Based at Hvalfjordur, Iceland, she sailed from Argentia, Newfoundland on 23 October 1941 with four other destroyers to escort the eastbound convoy HX-156. While escorting that convoy, at about 0525 on 31 October 1941, Reuben James was torpedoed by the German submarine U-562. Her magazine exploded and she sank quickly. Of the crew, 44 survived and 115 died. Reuben James was the first U.S. Navy ship sunk by hostile action in World War 2.
This is kit is the second WW2 U.S. subject that we have undertaken to produce, after the 1/350 PT-109, with John Snyder handling research and development. The patterns were built by Peter Hall and the kit will come complete with its own individually designed photo etched brass detail set. The casting is being handled by JAG in the U.S.A. at this time.
THE KIT:
Resin cast full hull, with resin and white metal parts. Extensive photoetched brass fittings are supplied and the kit has extremely detailed instructions for assembling and painting.
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Above, the white metal castings
LIST OF PHOTOETCHED BRASS DETAIL PARTS
1. Boat Skids
2. Machine Gun platform bracings
3. Foremast yardarm
4. Searchlight Tower
5. .5" Machine Guns x 6
6. Cowl Ventilator Grills
7. Ships Wheels
8. Prop Guards (British and American Patterns)
9. Jettisonable Fuel Drum Rack
10. Bridge windows and partition screens
11. Anchors and chains
12. Vertical and inclined ladder
13. DF Antenna
14. 286 Antenna
15. Funnel Cap Grills
16. Torpedo Tube trainer sights x 4
17. Depth Charge Rails ( Two Types )
18. Depth Charge Stowage Rack
19. 20mm Oerlikons x 4
20. Foc's'le Railings with shell case catcher nets
21. Thwarts etc for 24' whale boat.
22. Rudders for motor boats.
The kit comes with a comprehensive set of instructions and full colour painting guide
The kit is priced at 64.64 Pounds ($90.00 approx) Post Free. U.K. and E.U. price is 75.95 Pounds. The patterns are currently being designed for a 1/350 HMS BURWELL 4-Stack destroyer due for release in 2002
Telephone: U.K. 0870 220 1888 or Fax: U.K. 0870 220 1786 or
For full paper copies of all our lists, fax, phone or E-Mail Dave Carter, John Snyder, or me, Caroline Snyder Alternatively, please write to White Ensign Models, South Farm, Snitton, Ludlow, SY8 3EZ, U.K. for a wide selection of warship kits, books, etched brass, naval videos and plans.
