Awesome Julian! Thanks for the info! You to Kevin! Everything looks great! She's really coming along.

Hi Jason, remember: this is a hobby, a way to relax and a way to have some creative fun. Experiment with oils, filters, pigment, acrylics and enamels, ( and I have probably forgotten some things ) enjoy yourself...................
cheers,
Julian

Update October 8th: AA gun tubs fitted to port and starboard sides:






Cheers,
Julian

Impressive work. I have this kit buried in my stash - nice to see it coming to life here.

Thank you very much Martin, glad you like the results so far. It's a nice model to build , fit and detail being quite good.
Cheers,
Julian

October 10th update: Have been working on the aft director tower and aft funnel. Lots of PE used here. The aft funnel looks a bit ratty at the moment but the filter was still wet when I took the snaps and I still have to paint the funnel cap black so it will get better, ( and less blue when the filter dries).











Cheers for now,
Julian

Update October 11th:
Funnel dry and funnelcap in black which makes things fit in better. Dry fit of the aft tripod mast: magic, fits perfectly so no worries there.






Cheers,
Julian

Wow Julian that stack is looking really good there and progress is being made unlike mine Cheers

Thank you very much Kevin, I hope to get some more photos up this weekend.
Cheers,
Julian

Beautiful work Julian! I'm really enjoying your build log and seeing it come together. It's interesting to see how other modelers build and I'm learning a few things from this. I'm looking forward to your next update!

Thank you for the kind comments Scott. Glad you are enjoying this build. It does seem to be going together well with only the instructions supplied with the PE being a source of irritation.
Cheers,
Julian

Update Oct. 15th: This is the reason to use PE in spite of the irritations caused by the Fujimi instruction sheet. The searchlight towers are held together by masking tape until the Gator glue has hardened. Then they are fitted to the searchlight platform, (Gator glue again here). After spraying they look magic !
The mast has been treated to its coat of paint and the hanger blocks have been fitted as well:







All for now,
cheers,
Julian

Update 17th Oct: First crewmen boarded I love this: gives an idea of the scale of the ship. Working on the foreward searchlight tower. Gently, gentlly is the way to go here:








Beer time
Julian

Great work so far Julian. I have the Aoshima Kongo in my stash and a Flyhawk PE and barrel set to add to it. Hope the deck fits a bit better than yours did!

Good luck with the rest of the build.

Cheers

PS Uh oh.. Just dry fitted my New Jersey deck and it is a bit short, like about 3mm!! Oh the pain....

Hi Warren, Thanks, having a bit of an issue with the PE frame under the forward searchlight platform. How is the Flyhawk PE? Hope you get a clear set of instructions The gap in the deck has more or less been camouflaged on the Haruna with strips of poly, putty and two hefty gun tubs. Hope you can make your 3mm gap vanish in the same way. Think I mentioned this before but Revell managed to get the fit of the deck right on their 1/350 Tirpitz, ( a feat you wouldn't expect from the Revell of ages past. Shows they have cleaned up their act on the new molds).
Cheers,
Julian

While the Aust Dollar is good I ordered the Bismarck and Tirpitz..

Now I just have to finish the 400 or so models ahead of them..

The Tirpitz is a pretty good base to work from. Adding PE for railings etc. is a must because the supplied railings are pretty dire. For the price they are a very good buy. 400 kits in the stash I recognize your pain I have worked out that I have to live to about 123 years of age to clean out my stash at my present build speed; trouble is that I buy faster than I build. I blame it on all these companies making fantastic models, forcing me at gunpoint to buy their latest creations
Cheers,
Julian

18th Oct. update: 4 of the six searchlights fitted to platforms:





cheers,
Julian

The railings in the Revell kits are way to thick and if you want the kits to look at all realistic you need to add PE railings.. well for me anyway!! I already have an old Tamiya Tirpitz and home and an Eduard Super PE set for it but I think I may be selling it now I have the excellent Revell Tirpitz kit. I was thinking I may be able to use the PE set on the Revell one though... maybe... I am having the same dilemna with a Revell USS New Jersey (Modernised) I have had for decades. One PE manufacturer says you can use the set for the Tamiya kit on the Revell kit as well... I think I will take the risk and grab one of the sets that should arrive before I need it for the build. GMM, WEM, Eduard... all have sets but the Eduard one seems by far the most comprehensive... but is about $10 more...

I just finished a 1/400 Queen Mary 2 with GMM Set for my Wife and the GMM stuff is easy to work with. I know Eduard is as well as I have used many Eduard PE sets before. Maybe I will give the cheapest set, the WEM set, a try as it is the second most detailed, but the cheapest in price..

Choices choices...

She is coming along very nicely Julian. I enjoy watching your Builds....Cheers Mark

Hi Warren, I can't give much advice on the PE subject as this is only the second time I have used an extensive PE upgrade on a model. I do have the WEM PE set for the Borodino in my stash and I have used their German porthole covers and cable reels and it is all high quality craftmanship. I have gone ahead and ordered the Eduard PE for the Revell 1/144 Fletcher and that should arrive this week so maybe I can cobble up a review on that. Budget constraints and postage costs are the big factors for me when buying after market sets.
Hi Mark, thank you very much. The latticework underneath the second searchlight platform was a struggle and fought me to the finish Luckily enough a third set of searchlight platforms will fit in front of the second platform and "mask" the bent lattice work. The faults are always very evident in photo's and tend to poke you in the eye, while the problem becomes less obvious when using the plain old "eyeball Mk. 1
Cheers,
Julian

I was able to put in a couple of hours work today due to the weather: rain and lots of it The second funnel has been fitted, the third set of searchlight platforms and the first heavy AAA. Now the bridge superstructure can proceed skywards again:











Thanks for taking a peek at the work,
cheers,
Julian

One quick observation Julian, it may be my monitor, or your camera, but that linoleum looks very orangy.. Or am I mistooken?

Good morning Warren, it is still rather eye smackingly orange-like at the moment : Vallejo Cavalry brown . It will tone down with one or two raw umber oil washes.
Cheers,
Julian

October 24th update: work continues on the superstructure:










The linoleum in a couple of the pic's is still wet from the raw umber washes that I apply so that is why it has a glossy sheen.
Cheers,
Julian