1/700 scale IJN Ships make over

[rtfoe]

Hi,
I got a little ahead of myself and glued Dave onto the catapult. I was so excited about Kuma finally having its aircraft on board so now I have to add the decals in situ....



Decals have a slight silvering even after administering decal solution which I can touch up with paint.



I will make a note that grease stains to be added to the run of the catapult when I weather.

Cheers,
Richard

 

[rtfoe]

Hi, I just remembered that I can use cellulose thinner to rid of the silvering. This only works with tiny decals as it dissolves the paint underneath the transfer and blends. Will try that approach.

Cheers,

 

[Allen Dewire]

Wow Richard,

I have been silently following along and you haven't disappointed at all. I just can't believe how small this whole shebang is. The floatplane is what, a pair millimeter's big??? Drive on brother!!! I'm going blind watching you...………...…………...

Prost and Bleib Gesund
Allen

 

[rtfoe]

That makes two of us Allen. The fact I'm still driving this is because I have found a liking for actual miniatures. I remember trying to carve polystyrene ships this scale and failing miserably with the details so this is refreshing.

Cheers,
Richard

 

[Steve Jones]

Ah! My weekly fix of all things miniature that float. Not this time though as we have a wingy thing. Luv it too bits LOL

 

[rtfoe]

Hiya Steve, sorry to dissappoint with a wingy instead of a floaty. At times I'm not sure I'm in the right place, the theme is ships but it's in a dio which has trains, buildings, trucks, artillery, planes and the occasional ship or two.
Been busy revisiting the West Wing on TV so not very productive. Will be resuming soon.

Cheers,
Richard

 

[Andy Belsey]

Excellent Richard!
Andy

 

[rtfoe]

Thanks Andy, it's your kind of thing...smaller than 1/72.

Cheers,
Richard

 

[rtfoe]

Hi, in between episodes of WestWing I wriggled more threads of putty and cut them to size for the anti-splinter bed rolls.



Then I dusted off the Haruna and prepared to mount her onto one of the box covers I had for easy handling...



While I waited for the putty to cure I put together a PE crane. The cables and hook aren't painted yet.



The bed rolls application commences...



Cheers,
Richard

 

[Jim R]

Hi Richard
Really impressive stuff. This is coming on a treat.
Jim

 

[rtfoe]

Thanks Jim, too bad I don't have any WIP of the Haruna as I built this in 2003 way before I joined any forum and never took any photographs. This was when I had more patience and actually cut the slats for the windows of the bridge and look out floors and replaced with PE. Fujimi at the time only gave decals for it and it didn't look good. There are 3 levels of it.

The Japanese had the habit of very high pagoda like structures I presume to sight the enemy first from the multiple lookouts and large binoculars.

Cheers,
Richard

 

[rtfoe]

Hi, took myself away from the monotenous gluing and highlighted the row of rail cars, engine and trucks with a spray of white. This will help me see details to paint.



For those who have just come into the thread, the above will be featured on the harbour dock side in the diorama.

Cheers,
Richard

 

[Jim R]

Hi Richard
I do like the tiny train.
Jim

 

[minitnkr]

Amazing. PaulE

 

[rtfoe]

Hi Richard
I do like the tiny train.
Jim

Ya, Jim, cute isn't it.

Cheers,
Richard

 

[rtfoe]

Amazing. PaulE

Paul, it's a challenge switching from this scale to 1/35 as I'm building two dioramas at a time.

Cheers,
Richard

 

[rtfoe]

Hi Guys, since Haruna has never been featured here as a WIP, I could tell you a bit more about what went into building it...

The kit is the old Fujimi IJN Kongo kit labelled under SeaWay Models and is pretty basic with not much detail. It has extra fittings to make the Haruna as all four sisterships nearly had the same hull but differed in the super structure and rear structures. The funnels were slightly different with each ship, Haruna having her aft funnel raised level with the front one.



The turrets and guns were replaced with upgrade sets from Skywaves 3 sets of accessories for heavy, medium and light IJN vessels.



The triple AA guns were also from Skywave and so were the searchlights and range finders.



Fujimi provided decals/stickers for the bridge windows. I cut out slots and replaced with PE.



There were three levels on the pagoda style super structure and the back support was drilled out. Missing portholes also were drilled out.



Actually nearly all weapons including the side casemates and boats were replaced with Skywave accessories



The anti-magnetic wiring along the side was thin stretched sprue and cut plastic strip spacers. You will notice I have moved the planes around so it doesn't obstruct the stairway detail leading from the seaplane deck to the main aft deck.



I re-worked the solid side of the seaplane deck by replacing the whole section with plastic card and strip for the covered work stations below it with windows and supports.



The crane base wall was lengthened so it sat in a covered groove. The PE for all fittings are from Goldmedal.



The other feature that set Haruna apart from her sister ships was the squared aft deck structure that housed a huge array of AA gun tubs that are raised and envelope the aft funnel.
Rigging this ship will be a nightmare...these were ships built in the first world war and carried lots of rigging.

That's the tour of the Haruna. If you do want Kongo class battleship, get the latest new tooled Fujimi or Hasegawa kits.

Cheers,
Richard

 

[Steve Jones]

Outstanding!! A quality build. Thanks for the walk around

 

[Jim R]

Hi Richard
A most enjoyable tour. Wonderful work. To add/improve detail at this scale is remarkable.
Jim

 

[rtfoe]

No problem Steve, glad you liked the walkabout.

And you too Jim, thanks.

Cheers,
Richard