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IJN Hiyo, 1:700 Scale

  • Hiyo014
"MSW crew-mate Anthony Kochevar (ajkochev) sends us a fine photo gallery of his latest IJN Carrier build, we present the IJN Hiyo, in 1:700 Scale, in this "On Display" Feature!"

the vessel...
This is the IJN Hiyo in 1:700. She was originally made as a passenger liner but in 1940 was purchased by the IJN and converted, along with the Junyo to a carrier. She was a sister ship to the Junyo but unlike her sister, the Hiyo saw little action and was plagued by US air attacks and major breakdowns. All in all she contributed very little to the war effort however she is a beautiful ship and the wood fight deck was likely breathtaking to look at. Specifications are as follows taken from Wikipedia:

Name: Hiyō
Laid down: 30 November 1939
Launched: 24 June 1941
Commissioned: 31 July 1942
Struck: 10 November 1944
Fate: Sunk 21 June 1944 Battle of the Philippine Sea.
Class and type: Hiyō-class aircraft carrier
Displacement: 26,949 tons
Length: 719 ft 7 in (219.33 m)
Beam: 87 ft 7 in (26.70 m)
Draught: 26 ft 9 in (8.15 m)
Propulsion: System turbine, 56,520 hp
Speed: 25 knots (46 km/h)
Complement: 1,224

Armament: Twelve 5 inch (130 mm) guns
Up to seventy-six 25 mm anti-aircraft guns
6 × 28 5 inch (130 mm) AA rockets (from 1944)

Aircraft carried: 53



the model...
No one makes a kit of the Hiyo, so a late war Tamiya Junyo was used for the base. I had plans for the Hiyo but realized at about 80% completion that they were very wrong. I was able to make the corrections needed, except for the aft AA platform under the flight deck.

This should have been omitted but I could not do so without possibly damaging the flight deck. Tom’s Modelworks IJN Carrier A set was used on the model. No decals came with the kit, all deck lines are painted or created using Testors Custom Decal sheets.

To my surprise, the model won First Place and Best Ship in a regional IPMS contest, to spite my late, and obvious, corrections. I am very pleased with the model and how this little known carrier turned out.

Edit note:
I'm not surprised at the win...great build!
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About the Author

About Anthony Kochevar (ajkochev)
FROM: UTAH, UNITED STATES

I've modeled ships as a teen and started the hobby again in 2005. For some reason I got into the history of the Japanese Navy at this time and started building ships of this navy. I also do N Scale model railroading, reef aquariums and a few video games.


Comments

Nice, Nice, Nice!!! It is no wonder I find carriers so interesting. Thank you for shairng her with us.
SEP 26, 2008 - 01:33 AM
Hi Anthony! Excellent detail all around, and although some parts of your work is covered (hangar, boat deck, forecastle) I really love what you have done here! Also the air wing (sometimes we see good carrier models with overlooked air wing!!) and the flight deck is good too! To culminate, the island! Everything you have done here, resulted in a 1st prize - Congratulations!! I am sorry, but after all this praise, I have to point out something: The writing on the blackboard is all wrong**!!! BZ Anthony! Rui Note: ** I am JOKING! EDIT: Have you considered adding some crew members?
SEP 26, 2008 - 02:45 AM
Beautifully done Anthony!! I love the levels of detail, not only on the carrier but on the aircraft. The hangar levels truly give the carrier a sense of purpose, which would only be surpassed if you placed the odd crew member aboard her. thanks for sharing her with us, Frank
SEP 26, 2008 - 10:59 AM
Really great build. I like what you did with the base, gives us a great look at what you did with the underside of the flight deck.
SEP 27, 2008 - 04:27 AM
Very Nice Work!!
SEP 27, 2008 - 04:49 AM
very nicely done! Thanks for sharing...
SEP 28, 2008 - 02:46 AM
Thanks everyone for the kind words. My plans used were basically the late war Junyo painted to look like the Hiyo! I almost shelved it at that point, but was able to make the changes somewhat successfully. I've always considered adding crew to my ships, however I really don't like the way they look in this scale so all my vessels are ghost ships. As for Rui's comment, all I got to say is writing Kanji in 700 scale is hard! JK Thanks again everyone.
SEP 29, 2008 - 07:58 AM
Oh my lord! It's beautiful! And 1/700th at that!
SEP 30, 2008 - 10:31 AM