Ah, there's still a couple left in me, I think. When finished, I'll create a MOD with much nicer pictures, and then it's the long process of collating all of this crazy stuff into the feature review article...

Quick sitrep:

After a couple days of work, the rigging is done and the flags have been attached. Also, the insulators have been done too. I'll say now that this is probably my best rigging job yet. Pictures a little later.

I intend to have this finished by Monday. Tuesday I pick up the custom display case...

Whoa!!! Seriously Dade I must know how you did the rigging so quickly??? I mean where do you find your research on where the wires are placed and How are you able to glue it on the plastic?

Is this what the show-biz people call a 'tease?' Really looking forward to seeing the rigging (and to learning how you go about doing it). Never thought I'd be anxious for Monday to arrive!

Barry

By any chance dade, on the radar tower where you have the two radar boxes. Well how did you glue a metal to a metal? I tried using plastic glue but it only works when you glue a PE to a plastic but PE to a PE I just am having difficulties. Any ideas?

All of the construction is now done. Right up to the end, though, this build still tasked me. The starboard accommodation stairs on the sides came apart after bending the steps up to be horizontal an then bending the stair sides. This shot was taken after positioning the steps back into shape before gluing the side on...



Because of the annoyance of this whole procedure, I left the steps alone on the port side. Being that they're vertical instead of horizontal, they don't look perfect, but at least they didn't come apart. I'll restate what I've been saying all along. This is NOT good PE. It's often too thin, comes apart easily during/ after bending, and doesn't have solid bend points.


Another big usage of time, was finishing the accommodation stairs gantries and cabling. Canvas covers go around the gantry sides and top. I made these out of receipt paper because that paper is thin, but strong, and works better than tissue paper. It was glued on with white glue. The actual stairs are lowered by cable attached to a davit. Because Fujimi doesn't give you these specific davits in plastic or PE, I improvised by using PE part B-17 on each side for the stairs davits, and had used the plastic parts where the other PE davits would normally go. This was then rigged with cable just as the real one would.

This picture shows the finished accommodation stairs and aft plank attached. The canvas will receive weathering as part of the final step with the clean canvas dirtied-up some.




Regarding rigging, I'll use the explanation from the thread on my Nachi, as it applies to all my ships...
I use fly fishing tippet which is a type of resin coated thread that will hold its shape and is very strong (lures are made out of this stuff). Now comes the voodoo. For my support rigging (funnels and masts) I use 6/0, which is .005 mm. For standard rigging, I use 8/0 which is .003 mm. Did you catch that? The higher number tippet corresponds to the SMALLER diameter. The stuff I use is called UNI-Thread. It's available in many colors (I have black, brown, and tan) and sizes and comes in 200 yards, which is more than enough.

To expand on this, I unravel a large amount of tippet from the spool so I won't have any issues with the spool colliding with the kit. I put a small spot of CA glue where the rigging will start (use a toothpick). After the CA has dried, I start to run the rigging to where it next needs to go (say, the top of a mast), put a dot of glue there to secure it, and so on. The nice thing about tippet is that thanks to the thin resin coat, it can be "shaped". So if your rigging has to hang loose and bow along a curve, just run your finger along to shape it before anchoring to the second point.

For items like the small insulators seen near the rigging connections, that's just a small dab of white glue that will congeal into a blob naturally and works pretty well. Then paint it when dry.


Regarding gluing PE, I use CA glue for all PE work. Usually Zap-A-Gap.


Here's a quick shot of the Kongo. She's all done with the exception of some paint touch up and final weathering to be done on Monday.




Here's a closeup of the midships area with rigging and flags...




And now to go into the final phase after a good night's sleep (it's 3:30 am as I write this). Barry, I hope this will be worth the wait!

Gorgeous work Dade~!
I must make a trip north of me to the local fishing/hunting clluster of stores, to get myself some rigging line, lead weights and few other "hobby" supplies Cheers

Nice!! I've been thinking about the rigging on the Akagi off and on. Now I'll just click on this link . BTW, where can I pick up some on the UNI-thread that you're using.

Thanks guys. Blah, I really thought I'd be done today, but ran some errands, then some more, and then some more and suddenly the day was gone. I've done all of the paint touch up, weathered the flags and accommodation stairs canvas. Now I just have to put on the final dull coat and powders. So I'm 99% done. I've gotta get some other stuff done over the next few days, but will definitely finish this thing once and for all on Friday. Besides, I'll be getting the case tomorrow, so when I take the final photos, I can take some in the case for a full presentation.

Dave, I get my UNI-Thread from FishUSA.com.

Hi Dade - well worth the wait, thanks! Barry

I have greatly appreciated all the photographs and advice you have given these past couple of months. I am slowly but surely creating my own. I have the foreward conning tower pretty much done the airdeck needs all those nfty airplane runners I have sections of the center section done and the wood glued to the deck. Still a long long way to go, but when I put the built components togethr for a dry fit, I can see I've really done a lot of work, and I think that keeps me from being burned out. Look forward to your "consolidation" story.

Congratulations Dade!

Simply stated,.... this is one fantastic build. You've done her proud. I look forward to the MOD pictures.

Frank

Thanks a ton guys for joining me on this journey and for all of the encouraging words. They've meant so much to me these past few months and I hope this build will help those of you who plan on tackling this kit. I've taken all of the photos and have mounted the Kongo in the case. After almost 250 hours (yes, I work slow), she's done at long last.

Starting next week, I'll be cleaning up all of the photos for a MOD, and then doing the long task of consolidating all of this info into a review/ guide on this kit. Thus, you'll be able to read all of the pertinent info in one article, with my ratings. I intend on also using this to make a booklet to accompany this kit to any shows I take it to (Modelpalooza, etc.) so viewers will know just what all went into this. Thanks again for joining me and here are some of the studio shots to whet your appetite for the MOD and review.

Take care!

Hi Dade,

Seeing all those makes simply
I will definetly follow your build in my Kongo. Thanks for all photos and detailed explanations and efforts you spend since months for sharing with other people.

Regards

No, I think you work with determination and focus on every detail, this is propably one of the best and must inspiring BLOGs I have read on shipbuilding - a virtual gold mine filled with treasures of techniques and ideas.

An a beautifull result to crown the work - congratulation on a job very well done!

Cheers/Jan

Dade,

Reading this thread has made me come back to ship modeling... something I have not done in over a decade and which I used to enjoy very much.

So thanks, and congrats on a great ship!

Dade - thanks for taking us along! All I can say about the finished work is 'WOW!' Barry

Dear Dade,

When I had a look at the kit instructions and the PE instructions -which forced you to check quiet often and sometimes to guestimate- I was wondering how you would manage the situation in the begining. With all that PE this was a demanding task to accomplish.



However, your commitment to the process and your intense research really made a gem out of that kit. The wealth of information provided on your building process helped a lot to comprehend how to overcome given obstacles.

For this, my congratulation to finishing a brilliant representation of the IJN Kongô. You have set the bar quiet high!

Pretty much the same here, very nicely done!

Wow, thanks so much for all of the kind and inspiring words. I'm not exaggerating when I say that you guys and your comments helped me keep my chin up during this difficult build. I'm so happy that this Blog can help others to tackle this kit as I know you guys will do great work.

I also want to apologize for being very quiet on some of the other topics in the forum the last week or so. I've been very busy and just wanted to push through with getting this build done. I'm sorry for being such a stranger, and will be rejoining the community.

Thanks again and cheers!

Dade,

BZ

Inspirational!!!

Yes, Dade...what can I say. Now I know what is possible.... Looks like it came off very good! Just like you hoped? I'm sure there's some secret glitches that only you will ever know about it. No, I won't ask!

But I do note one thing, and a thing that I note on every single ship build that I have seen, here or elsewhere. The canvas covers for the guns and small boats. Do they really stay so white after years at of use at sea? Perhaps new canvas is brought out for the accommodation ladders when the admiral visits, but even after (repeated) laundering, I wold expect some graying. And if the ship is going to get a full weathering, why not the canvas, too? Was it a common practice to use chalk on it, or something similar?

just wondering. Stephen

Hi Stephen,

A similar discussion happened about the boat covers with a fellow IPMS member. While I will likely fade out the covers for the boats a little more at some point in the future, I'm happy with the blast bags and accommodation stairs canvas. For the stairs canvas, it's because they hardly get used- generally only at port, and as you say, even then on a very rare occasion. Besides, it's no problem to simply dump a bunch of bleach in the laundry to make them shine (this info comes from a few navy men, including my father)-- you'll notice they're the brightest parts... this is on purpose.

The blast bags always "pop" in many photos, and I'm happy with the wash I put on them, as for whatever reason, they often look bright. Even so, you'll notice they're the darkest of the "white stuff".

There is also the case that even though my photography is pretty good, a lot of this stuff looks more subtle on the model in real life. As stated, at some point, I plan to dirty up the boat covers a little more, but I'm very happy with them as they are, so it may be a couple months before I get around to it...

now that this build is over what am I going to do with myself , Its like my favorite soap just got cancelled I hope you get back to your Hiryu build, I love watching your work
Nice work Dade