mini hobbies. When key parts started breaking and because of a lousy instruction sheet I found parts on backwards, I just got to a point that I started just gluing stuff on any way and then I realized that I would be embarrased to show kit so what was the point. It only cost 15 and I probably worked on it about that many hours, so I got my "moneys worth". Right now I'm painting those 2 boxes of sailors. Most are white right now. Figure to do up a couple of sprues in blue. Then try to get flesh colored faces on them at least. They are awfully tiny. I kind of laugh when I look at the boxes which shows insignia and the like.......RIGHT!!!!!!!

I did fit the wooden decks and get the shields trimmed down. I sure did some damage to the deck detail, but as it was going to be covered who cares. I still figure to start painting aircraft. I wonder if I am good enough to paint those little yellow stripes on Fuchidas tail wings?

Holy shmokes. Not only the Shinsengum wood for 1/350 models is expensive or hard to find, well guess what. Its out of stock in HLJ. The only site I know that sells shinsengumi wood. I have the money but it is not in stock. They say it takes about a month or 2 as their latest. But 2 weeks tops. Any idea on where Dade ordered his?

Also any idea on if there was an item number on that Valspar spray? Cause I checked the Lowes website and they have this wierd valspar in this huge bucket.

Shinsengumi decks are usually pretty low production items and each one is basically a "limited edition" sort of thing, so that's why they're pretty rare. I have a bunch of decks for ships I don't even own just in case. Mine came from HLJ, and that's your best bet. Maybe ebay...?

Nah, eBay only sells the famous lionroar detail sets. The Shinsengumi? Nope.

I am using the Hasegawa wood deck. It is cheaper and might still be available. I just bought a spray can of of general purpose spray adhesive from 3M company. Should do the trick as long as you proitect your wood. The underside of the Hasegawa wood has a clear sort of low tack on it. I brought my directoins in with the PE stuff to study at work today. and managed to leave the instructions there. Oh well, I've got hull pieces done. have fitted decks and am happy with that. I plan to build the superstructure sections next and then glue on wood deck and start putting all the itsy bitsy's. As it is College Bowl night I guess I'll live

So anyone got an answer to my Valspar spray question? It should be right above my Shinsengumi Wood question

Holy Shmokes. I just got my Lionroar 1/350 Yamato set today in the mail!! This big bugger costed me about $120's!!!! I am extremely impressed with the set although sort of dissappointed in the fact that the Type 96 25mm (Single mount, Double mount, and Triple mount) are all flat sided. Isn't it supposed to be round?? If I do earn a couple of bucks I will replace those with Veteran Models Type 96 triple guns. Overall the whole entire set is breathtaking. I can see why it is so expensive and why it is known as a famous detail brand. I do hear people say its instructions are slightly difficult to understand. Kind of nervous on that part. Well Dade any tips on what I should watch out on when assembling my photo etched sets? I do plan on priming it first then cut the pieces out so I don't get the shinsengumi wood all hard to decide on how to put it on there.

Hi DeathOfBlades,

Even though the following link directs to a german site you may find it useful to follow the construction there. A lot of pictures are provided as well - making the building process quiet easy to follow. Mike scratch planked the Yamato deck and uses the LionRoar PE Set in his build.
He is easy to get along with so don´t hesitate to ask him if you have a question.

Here we go:
http://marinewerft.foren-city.de/topic,510,-yamato-1-350-lion-roar-detailset-holzdeckeigenbau-3-01.html

Hope this answers some of your questions

Hi guys, I'm sorry to have been away from this build for a while- I'm trying to get a bunch of other stuff done and should be back in action here on the weekend.

Until then, lets try to keep this build log about this build of the 1/350 Kongo, okay? There are many people who subscribe to this build log and get emails when a new post comes in. When that new post turns out to be something about Lion Roar's PE for the Yamato or something, and not about this particular kit of the Kongo, it can be kind of annoying.

I recommend starting another build log for the other projects, so we can keep this particular build "clean" (for lack of a better term). Thanks for reading and for the nice comments, and be ready for an update within a week.

Deathoblades:

Unlessyou are totally stuck on getting the Shinsengumi wooden decks and Feldspar spray, I answered your question. Substitute a can of 3m general purpose spraY 45 FOR THE ADHESIVE AND GET THE hASEGAWA WOODEN DECK SET. i USED THE STUFF TODAY WENT ON LIKE A TOATL DREAM. I DIDN'T HAVE TO CLAMP OR DO ANYTHING. SPRAY, LAY ON PIECE, WIGGLE IT AROUND A BIT TO GET IT JUST RIGHT THEN USED FINGERNAILS TO PRESS IT DOWN AROUND THE LITTLE BUMP PIECES AND TO MAKE SURE EDGES WERE ALL SET. tHEN i PLAN TO LAY IT ASIDE FOR A DAY AND MAKE SURE GLUE DRIES UP. gOT THE ENTIRE WOODEN DECK PIECES SET IN LESS THAN 20 MINUTTES AND INCLUES WALK BACK AND FORTH TO GET PIECES AND GO OUTSIDE TO SPRAY. PIECE O' CAKE

Remember, I'm the guy who said to use 3M spray adhesive. Back on page 5. With this picture:





Shinsengumi decks are not self-adhesive so they HAVE to be attached with something else. In this case, the 3M spray adhesive is what I used, and it's why it's being discussed here. BTW, Hasegawa doesn't make a wood deck set for this kit.

The whole process is described on Page 5 with lots of pictures and everything- no clamps, etc. Basically, the same exact thing Steve described here.

It's easy to forget things on a big, long build like this, so please go back and read the older posts if you're unsure and I think your questions will be answered.

OOPS !!!

SOrry, I have Hasegawa on the brain as I have been hunting for the other 2 PE sets for Akagi. The kit is Fujimi as is the wooden deck set and the PE.

I do not think Hasegawa has a 1/350 Yamato wooden deck. Plus I'm stuck into Shinsengumi

Hey guys,

Sorry for my absence- I was writing an in-box review of Fujimi's 1/350 Haruna for MSW (the Haruna is a better kit than the Kongo...) and getting some other stuff done.

I spent the day working on installing the ladders, gantries, and gun shields on the Kongo so a photo update will be coming soon. Once again, there are instructions corrections... More to come.

Okay, back in the saddle and have gotten a lot done on the Kongo- I intend to have her finished next week and I'm on target for that. I will be posting pictures tomorrow after I do the good old Photoshop work to make the corrections/ additions to the instructions. BTW, a custom display case is being built up for this. I will be attending the 32nd annual Atlanta Military Figure Society show (and AMPS show as well) in February if anyone in the area would like to see the Kongo there and chat in person a bit.

For now, I thought I'd share a little trick for removing small PE parts. This isn't really a new idea, but I don't see it talked about much. As shown in the picture below, the gun shield supports are quite tiny. Normally, cutting them would send them flying off into infinity. I just put a strip of Tamiya tape across the back of the fret where I will be cutting. Turn the fret back over and cut... the tape will keep the parts from flying away and will hold them in place until you need them. Tah-dah!

Dade,
Sorry for the off topic, but since you mentioned it. I was not planning to go to Atlanta, but, you might just have changed my mind. Seeing the Kongo in person would be a treat.

Hi Dade, good to see you back in the saddle with the old tub! BTW: Again, if you have already covered it: how do you manage the CA with such small pieces as the gun shield supports? I have a h*ll of a time applying enough but not too much with such details. ? Stephen

Jim, excellent, I hope I see you there! I'll also be bringing the Nachi and Hatsuyuki (have to finish that by the end of this month after all ). I may bring the Mikasa, but we'll see-- she's a finicky traveler...

Hi Stephen, I usually sharpen a toothpick down to a tight point with a blade and apply a small dot of CA at the "base" of wherever the part will be glued. I then get a little more CA and run it along the part, letting the capillary action "suck" the glue in. I keep a small piece of tissue nearby to wick away the excess glue if there is any... touch a corner to the CA and the tissue sucks away the excess. I will sometimes also use white glue or something similar if the area permits it.

Thanks and more to come later today!

The latest update:

First, we have the "usual" PE instructions corrections and additions...



From the top: the forward gun shields are mislabeled as A42. These should be A108. Note that when you assemble these, that there are exclusive left and right pieces although they aren't labeled as such- just use the etched lines that the supports fit into as your guides (they should be on the bottom of the parts when attached.

Middle: the forward small gun shield of the aft section isn't labeled. This should be A109.

Bottom: the ladders that go on both sides of the midships structure are not labeled. They should be A107. If you look closely at the illustration, at the left-most top corner of the picture, you can see an arrow head with no line or label. Maybe this was where the label would have gone, but something happened.


Next comes an issue that will pop up if you use a Shinsengumi wood deck. Among the items that you'll have to remove are two transport rails for one of the whalers on the port side. You'll have to scratchbuild these items (and makeshift cradle) after the deck is attached. In my case, I used two pieces of styrene strip measured to the length depicted in the picture below (I measured the original lines before I removed them). Two scrap pieces of PE were used as cross members with the B60 PE parts attached. Two B60 pieces go on the other side as well, but with no rails, etc., so they're easy enough.




The gun shields are attached with their small supports. This is tedious but rewarding work. See the trick above for keeping those little supports from flying away. The ladders and stairs have all been attached as seen on the flight deck area.





Funnel walkways and searchlights are added. The lights will get lenses after the final dull coat, so they're open for now...




Finally, the ladders have been attached to the bridge superstructure area. Note the afforementioned part A107 peeking out from the lower left...




Now it's on to the railings...

Looks great Dade!

I am new to ship modelling and just bought the Hase Nagato but am seriously tempted at getting the Kongo. You mentioned that the Haruna is a better kit than the Kongo- in what way?

Also with this build have you only stuck to the Fujimi PE?

Cheers

Question on the valspar spray. I checked the Lowes website and it showed paints from the valspar company. Dade any idea on if there was an item number on your spray? Also do you prefer white glue or the adhesive spray. If the adhesive spray where can I buy that?

It keeps getting better, very nice.

Wow, this build is amazing. Loving the in-progress pics. Looking forward to the final photos.

As always, thanks for the very nice responses!

Anthony, welcome to ship building! Yes indeed, the Haruna is definitely a better kit than the Kongo. Check out my review of the Haruna here for all of the issues and improvements over the Kongo. If you haven't bought a Kongo yet, and you want to go with Fujimi's kits, the Haruna is the way to go.

Yes, the PE is exclusively Fujimi- while the deck is Shinsengumi and 5" and 6" guns are Fukuya, I tried to keep this build log as much "in the family" as possible since this is an official build for Dragon (who provided us with the kit).


Mr. Blades, unfortunately, I don't have that can around anymore (sprayed a bunch of decks and then was done). But it's carried in Lowes, Home Depot, etc., so if you print out the picture from page 4 and take it along, you should find it. Page 5 of this build log (click the 5 at the top) shows my mounting process for the deck. I prefer the spray adhesive by 3M-- I also bought that at Lowes. As with the Valspar, pretty much all the home improvement places carry this stuff in the US, so you can find it anywhere.



Regarding the build, the railings are finicky to mount because they don't have "feet"... but they look good when done. Another update in a couple days after I get these crazy things mounted...