1/700 scale IJN Ships make over

[rtfoe]

Today I tried to fit the replacement destroyer Hatsuyuki onto the existing spot after scraping away some of the plaster waves...



Prior to that I added gun covers and some anti-splinter bedrolls to the front anti-aircraft gun tub.



The back gun tubs as yet to have the anti-splinter bedrolls.



I'm calling this the horn which I replaced with a finer one from Skywave.



That's all.

Cheers,
Richard

 

[rtfoe]

Yesterday I was buried in PE and lost track of time and finished at 5am this morning. It all started with preparing the PE and reading the instructions over and over again. Apparently the Hatsuyuki didn't have those communication pipes running over the superstructure but it had some wierd cages along the left side.

These were someI had pre-painted in grey. The three above are the cages then there are the depthcharge racks and part of the railings...



Most of the PE on and yet to be touched up...



You can see the areas where the paint has come off the PE and the glue stains which need just minor sanding and a swish of paint or matt varnish.



The cage supports will need some highlighting to be seen. I should have opened a new bottle of super glue as the PE kept pinging off.



I didn't use the bttom run of the depth charge rack assembly as I had already glued the depth charges down so I just glued the top and sides down.



Forgot to take shots of the boats and davits paint and assembly but they're on already.

Today perhaps I'll continue with the anti-splinter bead rolls for the rest of the gun emplacements.

Cheers,
Richard

 

[Steven000]

Great progress Richard!

 

[rtfoe]

Thank you Steven...one day of continous swearing. I just don't get it why some guys just love swamping their builds with PE.

Anyway here are some more pictures after some tidying up and highlighting...



Now all it needs is a dark wash, more highlights and rust to make it seaworthy.



Cheers,
Richard

 

[rtfoe]

Ok, final etch parts on, anchors on and a coat of Future to take the wash weathering.



If you look closely you'll see the ladders I have added to the turrets, gun emplacements and stairs to the split decks...



Cheers,
Richard

 

[Jim R]

Hi Richard
Wonderful work. You forget just how small this is. You do need lots of patience to fit this tiny PE.
Jim

 

[Deleted member 6559]

Marvellous work Richard, and at such a small scale.

 

[rtfoe]

Thanks Jim and Peter for the kind remarks. I am looking forward to the PE figures with a little apprehension as there could be more than 100 of them for the dio. I have 5 major ships to populate at around 20 figures each and not counting the harbour and the auxiliary vessels.

Currently I'm adding PE to the Kuma while the varnish cures on Hatsuyuki.

Cheers,
Richard

 

[Steve Jones]

Another wonderful read through. Your work is stunning. I just noticed the white coverings on the barrels. Are they kit parts or did you replace them with something else?

 

[rtfoe]

Hi Steve, thanks for dropping in and commenting. The gun barrel coverings don't come with the kit , its two part putty applied with a tooth pic. Same as the anti-splinter bed rolls...they're putty too. I guess after every firefight some sailors won't get to sleep well with bed rolls peppered with holes.

Cheers,
Richard

 

[rtfoe]

Yesterday was a good day for PE. Finally after 15 long years Kuma gets some metal work. Thankfully the glass case lessened any dust but a quick blow and dusting with a soft brush just to make sure.



I started off with some copper wire davits to replace three that were missing.



The only PE that I ahd done 15 years back were the crane and the catapult...I then made gun barrel covers from two part putty just like I did for the Hatsuyuki.



There were seven of these guns. I has replaced them with ones from Pit-Road/Skywave accessories as they had better gun breech details. First set of railings added to the gangway and stairs as well.



Cheers,
Richard

 

[rtfoe]

Hi,
Today I finished up the rest of the PE...basically the railings.



The straight ones were easy to attach but curved gun platforms in the rear were a pain.



Ladders were added to the structures in between the smoke stacks....



...on the catapult base or turntable...



...and even leading up the mainmast to the observers stations.



I wonder how it got the name Kuma...it wasn't built in India...doesn't sound Japanese and the sister ship is named Tama...ok, at least it sounds Japanese.

Cheers,
Richard

 

[stillp]

I wonder how it got the name Kuma...it wasn't built in India...doesn't sound Japanese and the sister ship is named Tama...ok, at least it sounds Japanese.

Kuma District, Kumamoto - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[rtfoe]

Aso...thanks Peter for that. So it's a short form for Kumamoto.

Cheers,
Richard

 

[Fernando N]

Hi Richard, just had a good read trough of your fine undertaking.
Smart to tack the ships in back then and replace them easier now.
Love the upgrades you’re giving the base and the ships, very fine work

 

[Jim R]

Hi Richard
Having done a couple of 1/700 scale ships I can really appreciate the very skilled work going into this. Superb added detail.
Jim

 

[rtfoe]

Hi guys, have been busy helping SWMBO with tidying up the computer room so haven't had access to the forum.

Fernando, lucky I thought ahead...it would have been a mess trying to pry the ships of the base. Now I can put the finishing touches to the Haruna and the rest of the ships.
Thanks Jim, I hope my eyes can last this marathon build. There are 5 vessels to add PE and anti-splinter bed rolls. So far it's been quite enjoyable.

Okay, pried the three ships that will be spruced up...and the harbour looks empty...



Cheers,
Richard

 

[Steve Jones]

Awesome! Looking forward to seeing those bad boys being launched

 

[rtfoe]

Thanks Steve, so do I Steve, so do I.

I do though still have the Kuma Air Reconnaissance unit to add in the shape of an aircraft. So today I did up a Nakajima E8N Dave with spare railings for the struts and propellers.



Cheers,
Richard

 

[rtfoe]

Hi,
I got lazy and airbrushed the little Dave in two tones of IJN Green and white. The only areas handpainted was the nacelle, props and spinner.



Propped it up on a toothe pick and a ball of blu-tac. The wings still look a little fat even after the sanding down. I didn't bother thinning the tail wings. I made a trolley just visible underneath the float.



Next up gloss and decals.

Cheers,
Richard