Building the USS Chester in 1/700 scale
by Rob Weilacher
click to enlarge
Background:
I really enjoyed building some of Corsair Armada’s cruisers, especially the USS Louisville and I wanted to do another one in a late war configuration because I like the dazzle camouflage schemes. After a little research and some questions answered by some knowledgeable people (notably Mike Czibovic of Corsair Armada Productions), I determined it was possible to build the USS Chester circa 1944 without too much pain. I think it is worth mentioning that Mike happily answers any questions relating to his kits and provided a lot of helpful tips on where to find additional information. I have had many questions answered by him over the years about his kits, ranging from my first resin kit experience (USS Detroit) to the latest kit-bashing possibilities.

 By looking at the Corsair Armada Louisville and Chicago kits, I realized that the Chester was essentially a blend between the two kits.  There were some small modifications, as you will see, but nothing real major, therefore it fell within my modeling skills and I decided to give it a try.  Incidentally, the same two kits can probably be used to make a 1945 USS Augusta, but I have only done some cursory research into that.  It might be that the parts left over will be almost sufficient, but that might be a future project one day. 

 

 I decided I would write this article so other modelers would have a set of instructions to build the USS Chester, if they wanted to.  This is my best shot at the USS Chester, but some other knowledgeable people might be able to pick out any errors or misinterpretation of photos I might have made along the way.  Their input is welcome, as this is a learning experience for me, and it is my first serious ship kit-bash.   

 

Sources:

 
Kits Used: 
 
Part Naming Convention:   The part numbering convention I use will begin with the letter corresponding to the kit it came from (‘C’ for Chicago, ‘L’ for Louisville).  Therefore part C2 would be part number 2 from the Chicago kit, and part L15 would be part number 15 from the Louisville kit.
 

 

Figure 1 – The Basic Parts Layout:

  


Notes for basic superstructure parts shown in Figure 1:

 

Louisville Hull:  Remove the 20mm positions just to the port and starboard of the number two 8” main gun turret.  Add two 20mm positions and their associated splinter shields just aft of the anchor chains on the bow.  There is a good photo of Chester shot at dockside from her starboard bow showing these splinter shields on the bow (see Figure 2).
 

C2+L15+L16  :  Start by sawing off the after part of C2 so it does not overhang into the well deck .   Add a 20mm position to the port and starboard of the bridge superstructure and forward of the quad 40 mm positions on part C2 after attaching parts L15 and L16.

 

C6+C7:  Parts are glued together.

 

L9+L10:  Parts are glued together.

 

 L11+C23 Parts are glued together.  Note parts are from different kits.
 

C14  :  Remove the small deck house from this platform.

 

Figure 2 – USS Chester circa 1944:
 



 




Complete Parts List for the Project (Alpha-Numeric Order):

Once again, parts preceded by an “L” are from the Louisville kit, and those preceded by a “C” are from the Chicago kit.
 
 

 1 x 
C12 – 20mm platform, forward mast   
1 x 
 C14 – 40mm platform, aft 
 1 x 
 C18 – aft control station, signal platform 
 1 x 
 C19 – rangefinder platform, aft 
 1 x 
 C2 – forward superstructure 
 1 x 
 C20 – main gun director / 20mm tub 
 1 x 
 C23 – funnel cap, aft 
 1 x 
 C26 – radar platform 
 1 x 
 C28 – rangefinder + Photoetch Parts to replace C66 
 1 x 
 C3 – communications bridge 
 1 x 
 C4 – navigation bridge 
 1 x 
 C5 – director pedestal, main, forward 
 1 x 
 C6 – masthead, lower supports 
 1 x 
 C7 – masthead, upper 
 1 x 
 L1 – hull, USS Louisville 
 1 x 
 L10 – forward funnel cap 
 1 x 
 L11 – aft funnel 
 1 x 
 L24 – gun tub, #3 turret 
 2 x 
 L27 – catapult pedestal 
 2 x 
 L28 – anchors 
 2 x 
 L29 - paravanes 
 2 x 
 L30 - boats 
 1 x 
 L31 – spare float 
 4 x 
 L32 – search lights 
 4 x 
 L36 – director tub 
 8 x 
 L47 – 5”/25 cal. guns 
 8 x 
 L48 – 5”/25 cal gun bases 
 4 x 
 L49 – quad 40mm gun 
 4 x 
 L50 – quad 40mm gun base 
 4 x 
 L51 – twin 40mm gun 
 4 x 
 L52 – twin 40mm gun base 
 2 x 
 L53  - gun director w/ Photoetch Parts 
 4 x 
 L55 or C55 – boat davits 
 3 x 
 L58 – main gun barrels 
 3 x 
 L59 – main gun turrets 
 1 x 
 L7 – emergency steering room 
 1 x 
 L9 – forward funnel 
 8 x 
 Mk 51 directors 
 2 x 
 Photoetch Catapults (Replaces L60) 
 1 x 
 Photoetch Crane (Replaces L39) 
 2 x 
 Photoetch Fire Control Radars (Replacing C66) 
 1 x 
 Photoetch Part to replace C58 
 2 x 
 Photoetch Parts (Replacing L18 and L19) 
 1 x 
 Photoetch Tripod Mast 
 6 x 
 Tripod Mast Legs 
 2 x 
 Catwalks aft of upper deck (See Part 1 in Louisville building tips) 
 2 x 
 Kingfishers 
 20 x   
 20 mm   Oerlikon   AA Guns (Kit parts or Photoetch)    

 

See Figures 3,4,5, and 6 for placement of parts.  These figures are modified (with permission) versions of the Corsair Armada instructions to the USS Chicago kit (Figures 3,4, and 5) and the USS Louisville kit (Figure 6).

 

Figure 3 – USS Chicago Instructions (modified):

  

 

Figure 4 – USS Chicago Instructions (modified):

   


Figure 5 – USS Chicago Instructions (modified):


Figure 6 – USS Louisville Instructions (modified):

 

 

Painting:

 For painting I use Pollyscale Paints. For this kit, I used Black, Ocean Gray (5-O), Light Gray (5-L), Deck Blue (20-B) and a few miscellaneous colors for small items. The Kingfishers were painted with the appropriate aircraft colors. I use Pollyscale Paints because I do not like the fumes from solvent paints (even though they are better and more accurate in color) and I like the way Pollyscale brushes on. Camouflage Design Sheet CF-118, from The Floating Drydock, provided the camouflage pattern I needed to paint the USS Chester.

 

Finished Model:

 


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