Russell,

it is in fact a test in patience but I am enjoying the challenge. There is much more to go and I am ready to take it on, more updates to come soon.

Dave

Hi Dave,

Work on the Mogami is slow but still progressing nevertheless. I've completed the 10 AA guns. Man, those things are small! I'm also preparing a lot of sub assemblies for priming and painting. I just haven't had time to take WIP photos. I will post them on the Leyte Gulf Campaign thread as soon as I do.

Thanks,

Joseph

Looking good Dave,

The brass strips on the deck are going to be a labour of love, but they will be worth it.

Great stuff.

Cheers

Si

That's always the way Dave. You think you have things lined up but when you look later they are all over the place like a mad woman's breakfast... so frustrating.

Si / Warren,

Thanks for the comments. It is definitely a learning experience that I will use again in the future.

I am having surgery on Tuesday followed by 30 days at home so I plan on getting the Maya done during that time. Can't wait to have that much time to work on here..

More to follow soon.

thanks

Dave

Good luck Dave,

hope all goes well, and looking forward to seeing the build progress.

All the best.

Si

All the best for the surgery, Dave...

thanks for the well wishes gentlemen,

Im sure all will go well. Walking will be a challenge but it wont prevent me from sitting at the table and focusing on some builds.

My goal over the next 30 days is to finish the Maya, the USS Dace, and the Tiger I i have on the bench. That way it is clear for the Noshiro and the USS North Carolina.

Keeping my fingers crossed.

Dave

Hi ya'll

well the surgery went well and everything is fixed. Now I get to enjoy 30 days of con leave which equates to 30 days of ship yard work. The hobbling around and not being able to drive an easy price to pay for such work time.

So with that here is one of what will be many updates. I started with the Maya by continuing the brass strip.

unfortunately it is not as straight as I would have hoped but you really cant tell from an off angle.

For those that are going to attempt this great challenge please let me know what process you use. I have not found one that will guarantee a straight line.

The North Star IJB Brass Stip is good but it is flimsy and bends quite easily.

So here are the pictures.

here is where I left off



and here are some in work pictures.



and here is the aft deck complete







that was about twelve hours worth of work. I am taking a break for a little bit before I get started on the fore deck. But in the mean time I am going to continue to work the fiddly parts and begin to build her up.

well that's it for now but keep watch, more updates soon.

thanks for stopping in.

Dave

Wow Dave nice work on the brass strips it makes a big improvement.

I must of missed your post about surgery, hope everything went well and on the bright side you get time at the bench while you recover.

Luciano

Thanks for the comments. The brass strip really does make it come together

The surgery went well, have some bad hips. Guess 25 years in the army is catching up to me

But I do get a lot of bench time.

Dave

Glad to hear you're on the mend from the surgery....enjoy the extra bench time!!

Nice work on the deck strips!! Very nice detail!! Someone should talk to Archer and see if they can make up some waterside resin strips! Keep up the fantastic work!!

Looking great, those brass strips came out straight and true, good job, looking forward to more,

Bryan

Great work with the Brass strips Dave, totally inspired.

Must have a go at that when I get round to the Harugo.

Cheers.

Si

Good to hear the surgery went well, Dave!

cracking job on the brass strips!

Gents,

Thanks for the well wishes, everything went good and I should be back to normal (as normal as I can be) within a few months. For now I get plenty of bench time.

So with that, here is a small update on the Maya. I began the brass strip on the foredeck.





Tomorrow I will finish the foredeck and then move on to building her up or working on some fiddly pieces. The end is in sight and she should be commissioned within a couple of months.

For those that are thinking of attempting the brass strip. One, the North Star Brass Strip is first rate. It is flimsy and bends easily but it looks great. I will however get the Alliance Model Works or Fly Hawk Brass Strip for the Noshiro just so I can compare them.

Second, a good digital inside / outside caliper is essential. I have no idea how I would have accomplished this without mine.

Last but not least, quite a few sharp #11 razor blades. The little nubs on the side of the brass strip are difficult to remove and with the small size of the strip it is near impossible to sand off the nub without damaging the strip.

Well that's it for now. More to come tomorrow.

thanks for stopping in.

Dave

Nice!! More fiddly brass pieces installed!! Looking great Dave!!

Dave that sure beats painted brass strip and looks so good.

Thanks for the advice on applying the stuff, I have a decent 12" spring divider that I brought for doing railings so I'll be trying that when the time comes. Any Japanese ship is some way of though as the dry dock and steel works are geared up for American, British and German ships at the moment.

Looking good Dave,

Those brass strips are superb.

Cheers.

Si

Wow, Dave!

amazing work with the brass!

Hi ya'll,

Well another little update as the Maya moves towards her commissioning date. I have finally finished all of the parallel brass.

Here is the Starboard side



and then a complete shot



the next step is to place the perpendicular brass strip and then she will be complete.

With all that I though I would take some shots and provide a run down on my process for laying the brass strip. Hopefully it will be helpful to someone someday.

So the first step was using my inside calipers to measure determine the required length for a given location.



The inside calipers provide more flexibility and was able to maneuver in tight spots as opposed to the outside calipers.

The next step was cutting the required length. To prevent the brass from flopping all over the place and to ensure I got an accurate cut I used my etch folder to secure the brass strip. I would lover it down just enough so that I could still move the brass and then using the calipers I would take my measurement. Than I would tighten don the etch folder and re-measure. You know the old saying, measure twice, cut once.



Once I had the right measurement I would cut right alongside the edge of the etch folder.



this ensured a good cut and the right length.

After that I would move on to placing the brass strip on the ship. I used diluted Gator Glue to hold down both ends of the brass strip and a small spot in the middle. This prevented too much glue from being spread all over the deck.

While the glue was still moist I used a spare piece of deck with the molded brass strip to ensure the right distance between pieces of brass.



I did not figure this out until I moved to the fordeck and it has made things much easier and straighter than the aft deck.

Once a comparison was made I would adjust as necessary and then put a little pressure on both ends to ensure a good grip.



Once all that is done I sprayed a relatively thick coat of clear gloss over the entire area to ensure that the brass strip was secure.

Simple but extremely tedious and time consuming.

Well I hope someone finds some use for that and if you think of a better way please share. I have a large stash of IJN Cruisers requiring brass strip so I will be doing this again in the near future.

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

Dave

Hi Dave,

Great post, thanks for sharing your method on applying the brass strip. It will of great help when I get round to the Harugo.

Cheers,

Si

I agree with Si, thanks for sharing your technique. You are doing great with your ship. Hats off!!

In short: WOW !
Stunning detail work, these brass stripes look great, so well applied.
Excellent work !

Gents,

Thanks for the words of encouragement. It is definitely a learning experience. Just a bit more and she'll be complete with the brass strip and on to mounting the reels and other fiddly pieces

More to come soon