_GOTOBOTTOM
General Ship Modeling
Discuss modeling techniques, experiences, and ship modeling in general.
FEATURE
Kanpai - Battleship Hyuga 1945
goldenpony
Visit this Community
Zimbabwe
Joined: July 03, 2007
KitMaker: 3,529 posts
Model Shipwrights: 2,419 posts
Posted: Monday, October 11, 2010 - 02:05 AM UTC
Ahoy Shipmates!!!

MSW Crewmember Karl Zingheim [Captsonghouse] brings us a scene from the closing days of World War II, Kanpai - Battleship Hyuga 1945.

Link to Item

If you have comments or questions please post them here.

Thanks!
Gremlin56
Joined: October 30, 2005
KitMaker: 3,897 posts
Model Shipwrights: 3,301 posts
Posted: Monday, October 11, 2010 - 02:53 AM UTC
Beautiful work Karl. Really captures the sad and forlorn look of the destroyed Japanese capital ships you see in the photos taken during the US Naval technical survey after the end of the war in the Pacific. Really very good !
cheers,
Julian
MrMox
Visit this Community
Aarhus, Denmark
Joined: July 18, 2003
KitMaker: 3,377 posts
Model Shipwrights: 985 posts
Posted: Monday, October 11, 2010 - 03:22 AM UTC
A very different way on a battleship, very nice work, the oilspill is just icing on the cake

Cheers/Jan
bigal07
Visit this Community
England - East Anglia, United Kingdom
Joined: January 07, 2009
KitMaker: 887 posts
Model Shipwrights: 575 posts
Posted: Monday, October 11, 2010 - 03:59 AM UTC
I like this diorama simply because not many people are brave enough to comit themselves in such - dare I say - waste of a good model, I beileve if a diorama calls for such action, then allow the diorama to unfold.
If I add a slight view from my humble point. The hulk of this ship hasn't just happened, its been laying there a while, and while the rust appears okay, it could use other shades, MIG make and sell several and believe me worth every penny, the sea around the ship, yes it should be flat, but I'd like to see a lap of water up on the structure, don't try and tear plastic, istead drill your hole, split open just a little wider, then use tin foil stuck down with PVA glue. When using gell, its always a good idea to mix paint directly with the gell, then simply encrease or decrease the amount of colour for depth, again using pigments such as smoke and dark sand would make a good comb of colours.
I am taking nothing away from your diorama, and to be blunt, if I didn't like it I honestly wouldn't bother leaving a comment.
oil 009
On these red and white plastic bottle tops, I've used 3 types of rust, pigments from the MIG range, and much better then Tamiya, you can also fix the pixments and build up the rust in several layers.
oil 006
One last little comment, is there any chance of seeing more B/W photo's ?
All the best.
Alec.
Hope you don't mind, 99.9% of my models don't have a back-drop, imagine if this fine photo had a back-drop ?
18
Gremlin56
Joined: October 30, 2005
KitMaker: 3,897 posts
Model Shipwrights: 3,301 posts
Posted: Monday, October 11, 2010 - 04:20 AM UTC
Like this:



Julian
(this is the Ise)
skipper
Visit this Community
Lisboa, Portugal
Joined: February 28, 2002
KitMaker: 5,182 posts
Model Shipwrights: 4,070 posts
Posted: Monday, October 11, 2010 - 05:50 AM UTC
Hi Karl

Well, before anything else, let me explain my thoughts...
1 - It takes courage to make a destroyed ship diorama, because is very difficult to make it convincing, with the damage realistically reproduced and in scale.
2 - Water effects, in this case oil spills are in the same category of splashes, waves and water color, meaning, difficult to achieve.

This said, I can say that you Karl, are a brave modeler managing to achieve these points. My only criticism, is for the (apparently) same blue all over the scene... you could have made it more interesting, with subtle color changes, representing shallower water in the aft area. But this is not a critic situation...

Congratulations Karl


Rui
goldenpony
Visit this Community
Zimbabwe
Joined: July 03, 2007
KitMaker: 3,529 posts
Model Shipwrights: 2,419 posts
Posted: Monday, October 11, 2010 - 05:53 AM UTC
I have got to say this Ise and Hyuga are two of my favorite ships of WWII. So, this is one of my top 5 of this years builds.

I will say it does take some serious guts to take a kit of this level and "tear" it apart.

BZ Karl!

bobcicconi
Visit this Community
Pennsylvania, United States
Joined: April 25, 2007
KitMaker: 157 posts
Model Shipwrights: 156 posts
Posted: Monday, October 11, 2010 - 11:47 AM UTC
Nice job! I lke the water and the way you made it look like the ship settled very realistically.
#027
Visit this Community
Louisiana, United States
Joined: April 13, 2005
KitMaker: 5,422 posts
Model Shipwrights: 5,079 posts
Posted: Monday, October 11, 2010 - 12:42 PM UTC
Beautiful work Karl.
rea00cy
Visit this Community
Florida, United States
Joined: April 29, 2009
KitMaker: 47 posts
Model Shipwrights: 44 posts
Posted: Monday, October 11, 2010 - 07:54 PM UTC
Very nice piece of work, Karl. It's not only refreshing, but highly original and that makes your attempt significantly difficult. I've never seen something like that in any other ship model gallery. The oil spill effect is very convincing as well as the rusted areas after to the loss of paint due to fire.
I don't really mind to wreck a model if it is to make a representation that I'm willing to make. The fun and satisfaction in this hobby comes NOT for being in the top of the mountain but to climb it, so I really applaude your effort and result.
I tend to agree with Rui regarding the monotony of the water color; it would have been nice to have different shades on it. But that would be my model, not yours...
Keep innovating!
Happy modeling,

Jorge
RedDuster
Visit this Community
England - South East, United Kingdom
Joined: March 01, 2010
KitMaker: 7,078 posts
Model Shipwrights: 6,649 posts
Posted: Monday, October 11, 2010 - 11:09 PM UTC
Great job Karl, and very brave indeed. really captures the feel on an abandoned wreck.

Si
CaptSonghouse
Visit this Community
California, United States
Joined: August 08, 2008
KitMaker: 1,274 posts
Model Shipwrights: 1,236 posts
Posted: Tuesday, October 12, 2010 - 08:37 AM UTC
Somehow I knew this was going to be an evocative feature when I submitted it...

Thank you all for your kind and sincere comments on the diorama.

Rui, you make an excellent point on the water coloring, and with your recent River Tagus example, you speak with an authority on the matter no one can challenge. My next scene does occur in a harbor entrance of sorts in proximity to shoals, so I will reinforce the coloring accordingly before putting it before the lens. Thanks!

Alec, you are spot on with the rust, however, Jorge is also correct in this instance since the steel on the Hyuga was exposed to oxidation from blast/fire and then from the maritime air. Both wartime artist Standish Backus who painted the scene from life, and the color motion film footage of the wreck on the internet show how vibrant the oxidation colors were. Even accounting for the hue challenges early color film had and the fact it was shot at midday when direct sunlight tends to wash out colors, the brightness of the rust was striking. However, the depiction was still a challenge and I hope it conveyed the distressed nature of the metal.

Regarding the use of this kit for such a scene, that's what spells the difference between pure scale modeling and dioramas. For one, the kit (and associated aftermarket products) is the thing, and for the other, it's all about the story and the kit is but an element in the storytelling. In any case, I have always abhorred the carrier-battleship hybrid design, so using this kit for such a scene was easy for me. Since I prefer the full-battleship version, I scratchbuilt the after turrets and saved the kit ones for a future retro kitbash with another Ise kit if some company fails to produce a full-BB version in 1:350.

Alec also made an interesting comment about backdrops, and this is a subject peculiar to internet modeling. Since our projects must be set up for photography, even dioramas need good backdrops to compliment what is taking place within the confines of the dio base. In the case of the Hyuga, she had a picturesque wooded highland nearby, but I could not get the shore to fit in that scale. Perhaps a custom one-off painted backdrop would have worked--something I must contemplate in future projects!

You have all brought out wonderful points and I look forward to seeing the like with future features!

--Karl
skipper
Visit this Community
Lisboa, Portugal
Joined: February 28, 2002
KitMaker: 5,182 posts
Model Shipwrights: 4,070 posts
Posted: Tuesday, October 12, 2010 - 11:32 AM UTC
Hi Karl

All I can say is: If you need help, please ask! It's strange to write it down, but perhaps I can take shots of my future project (while doing the seascape), but working wet-on-wet with acrylics can be tricky...

All my sea base "colors" have been accomplished in less than 15 minutes (if you take a look at my builds you'll notice that there aren't two ocean/rivers in the same tone/color)

Again: Congratulations and Shout if Help is needed


Rui
potchip
Visit this Community
Australia
Joined: August 19, 2008
KitMaker: 85 posts
Model Shipwrights: 67 posts
Posted: Tuesday, October 12, 2010 - 11:55 AM UTC
A great subject. IMO the best modelling comes from projects that requires a bit of imagination and a modeler's own interpretation.

An similar project can be done for Haruna in '45, with the striped camo on main guns and many other guns removed. Also cuts a forlorn image with quite a few high res pictures available.
CaptSonghouse
Visit this Community
California, United States
Joined: August 08, 2008
KitMaker: 1,274 posts
Model Shipwrights: 1,236 posts
Posted: Tuesday, October 12, 2010 - 06:31 PM UTC
Rui, you've just talked yourself into a "How To" feature! Right, Mark?

--Karl
loucar
Visit this Community
Malta
Joined: July 12, 2009
KitMaker: 62 posts
Model Shipwrights: 53 posts
Posted: Tuesday, October 12, 2010 - 07:23 PM UTC
Brilliant work Karl...Immagination and courage.....a very effective Diorama....
very well executed.....
Best Regards
Louis
DieselDog
Visit this Community
Minnesota, United States
Joined: July 16, 2010
KitMaker: 67 posts
Model Shipwrights: 69 posts
Posted: Monday, October 18, 2010 - 01:49 PM UTC
Karl,
I really like it and I had thought of the words " forlorn" and "lonely" when I saw it rising out of the water. Just out of curiousity since i've never done a waterline diorama....
Do you get that same sensation of sadness when you look at your model in person or does photography make it seem larger in scope and therefore more of an emotional hit?

Chuck "Diesel Dog" Bauer
CaptSonghouse
Visit this Community
California, United States
Joined: August 08, 2008
KitMaker: 1,274 posts
Model Shipwrights: 1,236 posts
Posted: Tuesday, October 19, 2010 - 07:01 AM UTC
Hi Chuck!

You ask a very interesting question. Although dioramas should make a statement, the added element of photography for the internet does two things: depending on the modeler's imaging software, added effects even as subtle as tinting or toning down individual reflections can create a sense of atmosphere not present in the physical product. The other thing is the act photography itself.

By that I mean taking an image means you are essentially looking at your model through another eye. Sure, you can point and focus the lens, but the resulting picture is really an interpretation of a machine's light and digital physics. Maybe it's just me, but most times a picture of my work and looking at it from exactly the same angle don't produce the same impression. Strange, isn't it?

So, bottom line, it's possible to get one emotional interpretation from a set of carefully posed photos with backdrops and imaging tweaks than from seeing the same dio in ambient light with no contextual surroundings.

At any rate, I'm grateful you found the effort intriguing.

--Karl

JMartine
Visit this Community
New Jersey, United States
Joined: October 18, 2007
KitMaker: 1,698 posts
Model Shipwrights: 1,514 posts
Posted: Wednesday, October 20, 2010 - 09:27 AM UTC
great job Karl, thanks for sharing!
 _GOTOTOP