Reviewed March 2026
by Martin J Quinn

USS Stevens (DD-479) was named for both Rear Admiral Thomas H. Stevens, Jr. (1819–1896), and his father, Captain Thomas Holdup Stevens (1795–1841). She was laid down on 30 December 1941 at the Charleston Navy Yard; launched on 24 June 1942, co-sponsored by Mrs. Roland Curtin and Mrs. Frederick Stevens Hicks; and commissioned on 1 February 1943 at the Charleston Navy Yard.

Stevens was one of the three Fletcher-class destroyers to be completed with a catapult for a float plane, the others being Pringle (DD-477) and Halford (DD-480). The catapult and an aircraft crane were located just aft of the number 2 smokestack, in place of the after torpedo tube mount, 5 inch mount number 3, and the 2nd deck of the after deck house which normally carried a twin 40 mm anti-aircraft gun on most ships of the class. (The twin 40 mm mount was moved to the fantail, just forward of the depth charge racks, where most ships of the class carried 20 mm mounts.) It was intended that the float plane be used for scouting for the destroyer flotilla which the ship was attached to. It would be launched by the catapult, land on the water next to the ship, and be recovered by the aircraft crane. It turned out to be not operationally suitable for the intended purpose, and the 3 ships were ultimately converted to the standard Fletcher-class configuration.

For more on the history of the USS Stevens, check out her Wikipedia page here.

The I Love Kit USS Stevens

This is a brand new, injection molded model from I Love Kit, which is another imprint of the Trumpeter Modeling Syndicate. 

I Love Kit’s 1/350 USS Stevens comes in a sturdy cardboard box, with art work of Stevens underway on the top.  Inside the box are sixteen plastic sprues, two photo-etch frets, decals, unblackened anchor chain, instructions and a paint & marking guide. This is the first new injection molded Fletcher-class destroyer, in this scale, in 20 years, since Trumpeter released their USS The Sullivans in 2005 (a 1/350 Fletcher, as built, has been announced by I Love Kit for release in 2026).  This model is, overall, a big improvement than The Sullivans.

The hull is molded as a one piece full hull, with no waterline option.  It scales out pretty much perfectly in length and beam.  There is a very prominent run on plating on the hull, that is more akin to armor plate than hull plating, making the ship look more like BB-479 instead of DD-479.  There are also prominent raised butt straps, each of which has rivet details.  These are also overdone.  Dear Manufacturers: If you can't simulate realistic hull plating, don't do it at all. 

The bilge keels are molded as part of the hull.  On the aft end of the lower hull, there is a raised line to help guide the painting of the waterline, but it stops at the aft end of the "armor belt" and doesn't appear forward of that. 

SPRUE A

This sprue has the shafts, struts, props & rudder.  It also has the forward funnel, prop guards (which are pretty nice for injection molded parts) and a practice loader (not as nice).  There is also an assortment of pipes for the funnels.

SPRUE B (X2)

These two sprues include the "floors" of the turrets, as well as two types of barrels (moveable or with blast bags), torpedo tubes, boats, rafts, flag bags, 20mm guns (pedestrian), funnel caps, smoke dischargers, K-gun davits, as well as "screens" for the funnels (these are nice), boat davits and depth charges.  These latter two items are nicely done, with some nice details.

SPRUE C

Here we have the bridge platform, the searchlight platform for the aft funnel, the parts for the #2 funnel, searchlights, capstans, as well as parts for the torpedo handling crane and the twin 40mm gun.  The 40mm is downright crude.  A Mk37 director, the base for the director, and the lower portion of the forward superstructure are also here.  There is nice detail on the superstructure part and decent detail on the Mk37, other than the oversized molded on inclined ladders (these appear throughout the kit).  On the bottom of the bridge wing platform are the remains of four large knock-out pin, all of which will need to be removed and cleaned up. That is very disappointing to see on a brand new release. 

SPRUE D

This sprue is specific to the Stevens - the nameplate being a dead giveaway.  Along with the nameplate you'll find parts for the crane, bulkheads, splinter shields for the pairs of 20mm waist guns on either side of the ship, parts for the K-gun depth charges and more. 

SPRUE G1

There are two sets of "G" sprues.  These - G1 - are the pair of superfiring turrets.  The have some nice surface details.

SPRUE G2

These are the "double knuckle" turrets for mounts #1 and #4.  These have some nice details as well, including the detail on the reinforced turret roof. 

SPRUE H1

This "sprue" is the pilot house.  There is decent detail on the bulkheads, but another of those oversized molded on ladders on the aft bulkhead. 

SPRUE H2

This "sprue" is the lowest deckhouse of the forward superstructure.  As above, decent details on the bulkheads, like nice watertight doors and molded on fire hoses. 

SPRUE J

This is the midship/aft deckhouse.  As with H1 & H2, there is nice details on the bulkheads, but another of those oversized vertical ladders.  I would have rather seen these included as PE, and not molded on.  The biggest nit-pick I have with this part is the weird raised line on the deck.  They almost look like the raised linoleum tie down strips on Japanese ships. 

AIRCRAFT

The kit includes on OS2U Kingfisher, in clear plastic.  It is pretty mediocre looking. 

STAND

There is a four part stand included.  It very much reminds me of the what you would have found in an old Revell kit. 

ANCHOR CHAIN

There is a small, unblackened anchor chain included. 

PHOTO-ETCH

There are two photo-etch sets included.  Fret A includes the stern depth charge racks, K-gun racks, catapult, crane, Mk4 radar for the Mk37 director, supports for said radar, raft supports, inclined and vertical ladders, and 20mm gun shields.  Also included is an SC-2 radar screen which appears not only to be too wide (from side to side), but is the wrong shape and has the wrong pattern screen. 

The instructions are 24 pages long, in the usual "Trumpeter" format, with a parts manifest, and exploded view diagrams taking you through the construction steps.  There is also a separate, color, painting & marking guide included.

So what have we got?  We have the first-ever 1/350 injection molded model of a Fletcher-class destroyer in it's short-lived "scout" configuration. As with a lot of kits, it is a bit of a mixed bag. On the one hand, its a newly tooled round bridge Fletcher, the first in 20 years, in an unusual configuration.  It has some nice details - the boat davits, the funnel screens, bulkhead details, rafts and depth charges are all well done.  The 5in gun turrets are pretty good too. 

On the other hand, we've got the battleship-like armor belt and overdone hull straps, and some mediocre details, like the twin 40mm gun and the OS2U Kingfisher.  Plus those knockout pins on the bottom of the pilothouse platform.  As mentioned earlier, I wish manufacturers would knock it off with the overstate hull plating.  Better to have a smooth hull than something that looks like it belongs in a Steampunk movie. 

All that being said, this kit recommended, but with some reservations, due to the overstated hull plating.  However, with a little bit of work on the hull, and some aftermarket, most modelers should be able to turn this into a nice representation of a uniquely configured Fletcher-class destroyer. 

This is I Love Kit 1/350 USS Stevens DD-479, kit number 65308. It retails for $99.99 USD, and is available through Squadron Hobbies, which where I purchased mine from.