I have rather recently completed this ship, build it out of the box, but I am very unhappy with the rigging. It doesn't even come with jack staff or ensign staff.

I am wondering if anyone around here has completed this build and done some rigging. I'd love to see a picture or two and would be happy to get some advices. How would it be done with PE parts? I have the Anatomy of Takao, so I'd more or less know what to do, but what I have done so far looks poor.

Rigging on IJN ships seems to be a by guess or by golly . There seems to be different ways they are depicted and of course the limited availableity of high quality pictures doesn't help. Look at the ship and you decide how much and what looks right. I researched the Yamato and found nothing. There are some depictins with lines going every whichaway and probably in real life there was extensive rigging. I just chose o do a simple one.

Has anyone around here actually done this model?

Just in case I'm the first one, I'll leave my impressions.

The Aoshima 1/350 Takao 1944 is a big model, not surprising if you consider that the originals length is in excess of 200 meters and therefore longer than most WW2 battleships. The Japanese cruisers of the 1930ies had a very distinctive look, and the model does it justice. The 1944 kit represents the Takao in the battle of the Phillipines configuration.
The model is one out of the Aoshima Ironclad series. Among others, there is also a 1942 Takao and a 1944 Chokai available. All use the same basic parts. Which means that the kit is somewhat modular and there are seams that do not look very nice, for instance the torpedo bulges (which are separate parts as Chokai did not have them) or the deck around the C turret (which is separate because Maya in 1944 had it removed).
The kit is very easy to assemble, but the assembly instruction contains a few goofs, so one has to be careful and needs to think ahead for a few steps. The assembly instruction also lacks good information on painting, so quite a few of the details are guesswork or need to be derived from other IJN model kits. The precision of the parts is mostly good to very good, there a only very few problems if any. In some cases, that is remarkable.
The details of the parts are only mediocre, probably less if compared to the more recent releases. The 3x25mm AAA for instance looks like upscaled 1/700, the planes have no props, the cranes no hooks, no binoculars on the bridge and there is no staff to hold a flag. Other things, like the deck surface, which for instance depicts the anchor chain and some leashing, are nicely done.
The model is rather expensive, and I don't think it is worth 100% of the money. I could have gotten a Tamiya Musashi plus a super PE set for the same money - probably the better deal. I still ended up with a good model, and I figure some of you guys can turn it into a gem, but my overall rating is only 55%.

If you like the ship, you'll like the model. If you're looking for a nice model kit, you better look elsewhere first.

Since I really love the IJN cruisers I've gotten me another one, the 1944 kit for Chokai, which I intend to finish as a 1942 Maya. Except for some piping on the funnel and some unmodeled venting holes these two are identical. With my experience gained from the previous Takao I intended to avoid my mistakes and not allow for sloppyness so I'd end up with a better looking model than before. It all went well until about 5 minutes into the build, where I had to discover that the port half of the hull was bent, i.e. stern and amidship fit nicely, but the bow is 3 mm lower than the starboard half. Not a big deal, I bent it up, glued and it was ok. What I didn't notice until fitting the deck is that now the entire hull, while on even keel, is bent to port, leaving a small but ugly v shaped gap on one of the many deck seams. Since I have to fit some things right over it, it's probably not the biggest deal, however I can see it coming that the bridge won't properly fit, i.e. will be too short on one side. It's also rather minor, but I see my good intentions go down the drain.

My question to you folks: Is there a good way to bend a plastic hull with an already mounted deck? Did you ever had to try something like that? Or is it just filler, paint and pray?

if it wernt a gigantic job Id probably use acetone to disolve the ca glue and start again after fixing the warp by adding internal strengthening.

For what it is worth, usually these things end up looking pretty good unless you are real hypocritical. You know they are there so your eyes always will go there. Most of the rest of us won't pick up on it unless it is real glaring.

This was a kit I wanted, but I never could get it at a decent discount. I am glad I waited, the Myoko is coming out and I always liked that class better seeing how these two were real close in appearance. I had aways referred to the Takao's as beefed up Myoko's

I think that isn't possible anymore, because I don't think my glue can be dissolved. It would eat right through the kit. But if it was, it would indeed be a huge task, at least for me. Also, see below.




You're probably right, I took a look at it again after a good nights sleep and it was a lot smaller than I remembered it to be. I came to the conclusion that I can live with it.

The Myokos are probably a bit more elegant, but the Takao look more brutal, which is a look I like on warships. Since the Japanese only had 18 A-class cruisers it's likely I'll eventually get all of them. In due time.

Elegant....what a marvelous descriptive word. I like it. That is also how I would descibe the Yamato as initially constructed. You can sense the power with those huge 18 inch turrets and 4 turrets of 6 inchers, but overall she looks "elegant" with the curves and non cluttered main deck.

So I finished this Chokai, and I finished it as Chokai 1942. When researching the minor differences between Maya and Chokai I found a picture of Maya in her 1944 configuration where she actually looked good. So I figured I might give this most unique version of the Takao's a try, so 1942 was to be covered by Chokai. Backdating the 1944 kit to 1942 was the most easy task one can imagine, firstly because there are only minor differences such as AAA and radar, and secondly, because the assembly instruction and the kit are actually for 1942! The only 1944 thing in the instruction was a photograph of the finished 1944 kit, all drawings and steps up to the final were for the 1942 version. And then there is a very small PE set, containing like 6 parts, which make up for most of the 1944 additions, but come without instruction and on occasion have to be used instead of a plastic part the instructions told you to install. I find that a bit poor for such an expensive kit.

However, the final ship looks very nice indeed, nicer than the 1944 Takao and I figure I made the right choice with the 1942 Chokai. I think if I had to recommend one of the class, I'd recommend this one. The lack of the awful bulges (as present on all other Takaos) is definitely a plus. Assuming that the bent parts were unique to my kit, I'd go up to 60%.

Thanks for your comments on these kits. I am planning on building a '44 Maya after the build I'll start in June (a '44 North Carolina). I will be using Veteran Models' 12.7 cm and Type 96 AA, searchlights, and other AM parts. The cost is skyrocketing, but I hope it will come out right.

When I get around to that build, I'll post my comments, just in case they are usful to anybody.

I'd love to get a second opinion (maybe, after all, it is just me who's having troubles), and I'm positive the other folks around here think the same.