Looking good, Dave

Gents,

Thanks for the comments.

The "Wee Men" were a new approach. The Fujimi IJN sailor kits are nice and have plenty of figure but they are limited in their body positions. Would be nice if North Star created some IJN in working position figures.

More to follow soon.

Dave

Looking forward to the next update, I like Your work very much Dave.

Naseby,

Thanks for the comments. Hopefully I will have another update this weekend. Gained an unexpected four day holiday.

Gotta love Corps Change of Command.

Dave

Dave,

sorry for my absence over the last couple updates - great work!!

Your bridge really looks absolutely impressive, and the sailors are adding a lot of depths to the model.
I found that scale issue you are talking about as well when building the REPULSE - some of the Veteran Models Observation Equipment wouldn't fit into the compass platform without being 'shortened' - but then again - the plastic parts are quite thick, so the walls and roof are some 30 cm strong. To get the outside dimension right, I would imagine the the inside of the bridge /pilot house is to small.

Great progress on the stack and aft structure - best of luck with the instructions!

Cheers

Jan

Awesome modelling, not only the extra detailing with PEs but also a great paint job and how you fixed the fitting problems.

The japanese heavy cruisers are really good looking and interesting subjects, could be something for me.

Well do so far, reading these topics here brings a lot of motivation to do more naval projects.
Best Regards
Bernd

Bernd,

Thanks for the kind comments. I have developed a soft spot for the IJN fleet in general but am finding the Heavy Cruisers to be extremely fun in building and challenging all at the same time.

My next IJN build will be the Light Cruiser Noshiro and from conducting a detailed review I think it will be just as much fun.

I have a long weekend coming up so I should have another update soon.

Dave

David, hope your long weekend runs well and modelling is free fron stress.
Can t wait to see more

Hey all,

Well it is time for an update. This long weekend had provided me plenty of time so this is going to be a lengthy update.

The last time I left off I was working on the AA Platform. Converting from the kit part to the PE part.



This is after I finished adding the support legs.

now for the support structure.





Now for the 25mm ammunition boxes



The round tub is for an observation post. 20cm binoculars to be added soon.

I decided to tackle a bunch of the fiddly parts before applying a coat of primer to the AA Deck.

Here are the two catapults.



The two catapults were nicely made and a lot more detailed than the Eduard set for the Musashi.

Next I moved on to the lifeboats.



and the 9m Motor Launch





and the covered 9m lifeboat



Both 9m lifeboats will go onto the boat deck while the two life boats will be hung by the davits.

Next I moved on to some accommodation ladders, the searchlight platform and other misc stuff.





After this came a coat of primer.



What is not pictured are the two funnels also got a coat of primer.

I noticed I forgot to add the railing to the AA Platform.



And after that cured for 24 hours a coat of Tamiya Sasebo Gray.







After that I tackled the main guns. I corrected the issue with the barrels and finished adding all of the PE.



Since I was going to lay a coat of primer I decided to tackle more fiddly parts such as the float plane, accommodation ladders and other items.

here they are covered in primer.



not that you can see it really clear since everything is black but its there.

Here is one of the main guns.



and the floatplane



I prepped a bottle of Sasebo grey so it will be more readily accessible so this week I will apply it to what I primed today.

After that I will tackle the final steps for the funnels and mount them to the ship. Once that is don there will be some significant assembly as everything flows around the funnels.

well that's it for now. More to come soon.

thanks for looking in and as always comments, suggestions and criticism are always welcome and encouraged.

thanks

Dave

Hi all,

Well now that I got all the fiddly parts painted I couldn't help by dry fit everything. I am glad that I did as I have identified a few challenges that I will face when attempting the final build.

So here is a taste:










Well that's it for now, more to come soon.

thanks for stopping in and as always, comments, suggestions and criticism are always welcome.

Dave

Well, for 'comments', I am still struggling to get past WOW...but working on it! As for 'suggestion', I don't think anything I could suggest is going to aid you in anyway...and then comes the criticism...you're showing too much modelling porn! Outstanding work David! The detailing is excellent as is your clean work! Love seeing the primer too!! Well done so far!!

Nice one Dave, it's been great watching you pull this one together and I've been taking notes for when I get around to tackle the Takao. Love the little motor launch and life boat.

On your dry fit you mention challenges, what are they, anything major?

Wow Dave, that was a huge update,

Went from sub assemblies to ship in a flash. Thats awesome progress and excellent PE work, especially on those large constructs like the gun deck and the catapults.

I especially like the motor launch,

Looking very good,
Bryan

Looking fantastic, Dave. The sub assemblies, like the turrets and the boats are little models in their own right.
Your detail work is really impressive.
Cant wait to see more

Cheers
Bernd

Wow Dave!

Most excellent! Really looking good!

Russ

Gentlemen,

thanks for the kind comments. The long weekend provide amble opportunity to dive into the Maya and begin tackling the fiddly parts.

Luciano, the challanges identified are primarily around the AA Platform. As you can see it is a very tight fit in that area so aligning the support poles into their slots is a little difficult. Also once the PE is added to the funnels there is limited if any place to grab the funnel and install it onto the ship.

I am considering removing the support structures that are on the A platform and replcaing them with scratch built so that I so not have to fiddle will trying to get the pin into the hole.

But other than that I am excited that I am getting closer to putting her together permanently and commissioning her.

Dave

Cracking job Dave,

The only suggestion I have is keep going the way you are,

Really coming to life.

Cheers.

Si

Hi all,

So I finally arrived at a dreaded point, the installation of the brass strip.

I decided to start on the boat deck so if I made a mistake I could cover it up with the lifeboats.

So here is the beginning shot,



In progress shot,



And the final shot



as you can see I miss measured a few but as I said earlier I will over it with the lifeboats.

I used a caliper to determine the measurements and then used thinned gator glue to secure the strips to the deck. Once the glue was dried I over layed with thinner Vallejo Gloss coat and then when finished I sprayed another coat of gloss coat.

It seamed to work well and blend in the earlier clumps of clear coat.

After that I began working on the aft funnel. This was a little frustrating as the brass does not fit the funnel to well.



you can see the gaps between the brass and the funnel. I will figure out a fix later.

well that's it for now. More to come soon

thanks for looking in.

Dave

Hi Dave,
The brass strips looks great and it's good to have a place to practice
I know how fiddly those pieces around the funnels can be. For the Mikasa I made them all up into their circlets and slid them on to the funnel before adding anything else. Then after I added the top and funnel grate, I moved them into position with the external piping. I am not sure that works for you at this stage though especially if they just fit to the shape of the funnel.

cheers

Michael

Michael

Hi all,

Michael, thanks for the comments. It was good to have a place to practice without wasting what is a limited resource right now. Also thanks for the tip, I will use that in the future. Unfortunately for the Maya the Funnel rings are not really rings but half for each side. So the challenge is to get each support to touch the funnel and be aligned with the other side. So far I have been able to keep them aligned but there are some supports not touching. In the end I think I am good with what I was able to achieve.

Well I continued working on the brass strip, this time starting at the aft of the ship.

Keeping the long pieces straight is a challenge right along with cutting the center connecting pieces. I decided to cut the center pieces a little long, test fit, and then cut to size. Hope that does not leave me short of brass strip in the end.

Anyway, here are some progress shots of the aft deck.



and with connectors.



I did not sand down the aft deck so much that it didn't leave a slight rise for the molded brass strip which I am grateful for. It definitely helps with placement.

Well that's it for now, will have more this weekend

thanks for looking in.

Dave

Some excellent detailing David!! More power to you...I think I would be blind or stuck together by now...LOL!!!

Todd,

Thanks for the compliment. That represents about 4 hours of work and I was cross eyed by the end. The hard part is making sure that the brass strips are straight...well they looked straight until I took the pciture.

Anyway, a lot more to do over the next few weeks. More to come soon.

Dave

Hi David,

Your Maya is looking great! Installing those brass strips must be very challenging but you are pulling it off.

Joseph

Joseph,

Thanks for the comments. It is a challenge but that is one of the reason i love building the ships. How is you Mogami coming along?

Dave

Those brass strips are an exercise in patience, Dave.

I take my hat off to you for sticking with it!