The Ship Model Forum

Hi everyone, here I am again after a week-long break.

A quick update: I’ve made progress on the main rangefinders.
I used aftermarket parts, and I have to say the quality and detail are impressive.
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There are interior parts as well; I primed them before assembly because I doubt the primer would reach inside the openings once they were put together.
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And here they are, assembled.
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Final painting will have to wait a bit, as I plan to do everything at once near the end, with many other components.
Here, I’m starting to arrange all the sighting and communication systems on the open-air section on the of the command tower.
They’re ready for priming, too.
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And finally, the primed tower.
There are still other components to add separately.
I decided to do it this way because reaching every corner and cranny is already difficult enough; if I were to add more parts to the indicated mounts now, I’d risk paint and primer will fail to reach the most hidden areas.
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See you next time!

Hi everyone, a little update. The hull is almost complete. A few details are missing on the sides and the railings, but I'll add them at the end to give me more freedom when picking up the hull without breaking anything. Now I'm returning to the central island and working on the command tower.
The command tower is almost complete; I need to move on to the top rangefinder, which, however, is an extra kit and therefore needs to be assembled and painted separately.
A few modules need to be attached around the tower; I'll also paint those separately and then glue them together at the end.

Now comes a phase where I need to assemble many components, and only at the end I paint them all together and then assemble them.
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Here al little step foward.
I've putted the gun directos on the stern.
Here the difference between the base kit and the upgraded one.
Simply outstanding.
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I left one with the shutters opened so you can see inside the gun director

Hello everyone, I’m finally posting some updates.

First of all, I can tell you that I finally managed to fix the numbers on the raised section of the hull.
I used the dry transfers included in the Pontos kit, but I noticed that on the raised non-slip areas at the bow and stern, they didn't adhere very well.
So I decided to make my own decals and apply them instead. However, I soon discovered that printers can't print white ink, so I had to look for a professional print shop that was able to do it.

It was not easy (I went through about ten of them before finding one, and not all of them have a system that can print on decal sheets).

After that, I had to create the numbers in Photoshop, and I spent even more time looking for the correct font because the numbers 3 and 4 have a very distinctive shape.
Finally, thanks to AI, I found a Japanese website where a guy recreated the fonts used by the Japanese Navy during World War II.
The font is called IJN PN Base.

So I created the numbers in Photoshop and sent them off for printing!
Here is the result on the bow:

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Freshly applied, along with a coat of the Tamiya decal-setting solution that helps the decals conform properly to the fine surface details. Once everything has dried, I’ll apply a matte clear coat to seal it all in place.

As for the rest, I’ve continued working on the main deck area. I built the breakwater along with its associated fittings and the ventilation intakes for the spaces below deck.

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I drilled out the pipe above because it was molded shut, and that didn’t look very realistic to me.

The Pontos paravanes were also assembled—they are highly detailed and quite intricate to put together.

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I also installed all the winches and their lines.

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It’s a shame I wasn’t able to run the actual cable through them because it wouldn’t fit through some sections of the 3D-printed parts.

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Now I’ll work on finishing the stern section before moving on to the central island structure.

Hi Jon, yes you are right!
I followed pontos instructions but I didn't take a loot at my book reference.
The instructions showed number, while the book white rectangles!
So it's better using the last ones

Great work on the weathering. I have pretty much the same aftermarket items as you, but my build is down the road a way. I have seen where some modelers use the numbers, but I thought Yamato used white rectangle instead. Not by any means a big deal, just wondering if you had more info on that. Again, really enjoy your build.

Hi everyone, here's an update.
I've been slowly progressing. I finished the bow using aftermarket chains that are much smaller but, more importantly, more accurate as links.
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In the meantime, I've tried weathering the wooden deck. I didn't want to overdo it. I've seen decks that are much older, but since this is my first complete weathering of the entire ship, I don't want to risk doing more damage than good. If necessary, I can apply a few more dabs of dark brown.
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Now I need to add numbers across the entire ship. I discovered that the Japanese numbered the side oh the hull along the ship's length so they could immediately identify the impact locations.
The numbers aren't decals, but dry-transfer.
Overall, they're coming out pretty well on the wooden deck.
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It's the ones on the armored deck that worry me. Since it's corrugated, it definitely won't adhere well and will look ugly.
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I thought about making a small square with the tape and brushing on a clear coat to create a smoother layer for the numbers to adhere to, but I'm not sure what clear coat to use, and especially how to keep it contained within the tape.
Any suggestions, or did I just say something completely silly?

Thanks Mr. Church but this time I bet you won't say looking well!!

Here's the next step.
This time I think I did worse than good.
I did my first weathering on the hull by watching tutorials, reading, etc.
Since I'm not a master, I obviously always went with small attempts. The problem is that I watch videos where they just brush and it seems like the liquid settles the videomaker' command. Nothing works for me!!
So in some cases some examples seen on tutorials didn't work with me.
Before weathering, I applied a coat of matte clear so as not to touch the underlying layers of paint. However, in one spot, the base red of the hull was coming off.

In this case, I'm happy to take advices, but I'll start by saying:
I use Tamiya paints and use lacquer thinner (yellow cap) for thinning. If I spray with an airbrush or use a brush, everything's fine. However, if I smooth it with a cotton swab to try to blend it, it dissolves the paint underneath.

If I use the Tamiya Thinner X-20 with a blue cap, however, the color doesn't mix with the thinner; it remains like oil mixed with water.
So, in the end, I took three oil paints (white, black, and brown) and use the Tamiya X-20 with a blue cap to thin them or blend them with a cotton swab.
Let's say my fear is that I'll repeat what happened with the Bismarck, where all the paint dissolved (it's true that this time I applied clear coat).

I definitely lack of knowledge on colours andd their thinners above all for with the fading technique.

Here the pictures

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Looking well. She really is such an impressive size at 1:350.

Then here the ship coloured
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See you next time!

Goodday everyone, I'm finally posting an update on the ship. I haven't been idle, but I preferred to do a more substantial update rather than just small steps.

I painted and installed two boats at the stern.
I had to install them already because I installed the deck at the stern, so it was impossible to add them later.

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Then I added the support beams for the rear deck.
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I moved forward with the bow.
Added cleats and supports for the paravanes. Let's say I put everything I needed to put in as photoetch
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and then primered the entire ship.
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Here's the completed photo-etched hull. I drilled the holes for the vents.
I added the degaussing cable all around the hull and all the foot-steps. It was a long job, but I'm happy with it in the end.
The next step is to place two lifeboats in the rear hangar (it's a pity that only the rear part of each will be visible, nothing else) then I can place the entire deck on the rear and ready to prime it!

Here the pictures!
[img]https://i.imgur.com/Pi0EYZr.jpeg[/img]
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Hello everyone, the work in progress on the hull continues.
Let's start by installing the photo-etched portholes. There are quite a lot but with patience I managed it.
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Now I need to insert the ventilation fans on both sides as indicated in the instructions.
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Looking at the details in the book, do you think it's better to drill the hole to add depth or leave it closed? Because if I leave it closed, the back would also become the color of the hull, whereas I imagine it would be black inside due to the lack of light.
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Suggestions?

Hello everyone, a little update, especially since I haven't made much progresses.

I've finished filling all the hull parts. I need to check the various sanding operations. Sometimes I'm worried about leaving too many grooves or sanding the plastic too much.

[img]https://i.imgur.com/C3ME5qd.jpeg[/img]

[img]https://i.imgur.com/njsHoQ2.jpeg[/img]

And finally, I've made a little more progress with the photo-etched parts on the main structure. The top cap is just resting on the top to make sure everything lines up. I need to make a few adjustments to the side windows.

[img]https://i.imgur.com/TB0th5F.jpeg[/img]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/NyEzmXL.jpeg[/img]

See you next time

Hi everyone, after a month, I finally managed to get the ship back on track.

Also, I made a mistake with the rails in the stern area of ​​the ship and had to buy an extra sheet from Pontos.
In the meantime, instead of waiting, I started working on the conning tower.

[img]https://i.imgur.com/ZhCsMqe.jpeg[/img]

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I'll add the portholes, steps, and doors in PE.

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I've filled the gap with putty. I've discovered that Tamiya glue makes the putty more liquid and therefore easier to work with.

We need to start adding the binoculars. Now let's get started with the extra kits.
[img]https://i.imgur.com/TK3rJXC.jpeg[/img]
Here's the difference between the resin binoculars and the basic kit.

[img]https://i.imgur.com/wDgdCtf.jpeg[/img]

[img]https://i.imgur.com/uys46kt.jpeg[/img]

Plus, let's add the voice tubes.

[img]https://i.imgur.com/GxeC5da.jpeg[/img]

I have to jump from the basic instructions to the Pontos ones to figure out which ones belong to which!

[img]https://i.imgur.com/TSVzHJQ.jpeg[/img]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/pxrKzf7.jpeg[/img]

Once we reach the top, we also need to add the wind shield.

[img]https://i.imgur.com/WGpUjyU.jpeg[/img]

And here is the tower, with some upgrades.

[img]https://i.imgur.com/qVSoIxI.jpeg[/img]

[img]https://i.imgur.com/rgvvF6W.jpeg[/img]

[img]https://i.imgur.com/5b4I0Hf.jpeg[/img]

[img]https://i.imgur.com/gLRfbv1.jpeg[/img]

Meanwhile, the piece has finally arrived, so I can resume work on stern

[img]https://i.imgur.com/u1OJvSN.jpeg[/img]

[img]https://i.imgur.com/eZMCvIN.jpeg[/img]

See you next time!

Hi to everyone, a little update.
Unfortunately, I'm pretty stuck because I made a mistake on the tracks on the stern and so I had to reorder a sheet of photoetched parts from Pontos.

In the meantime, I've been pursuing an obsession of mine that I can't understand why Pontos doesn't reproduce, especially considering they do it on 1/200 scale models, so all they need to do is convert the plates to 1/350 scale, i.e., the steps!!!
This is the first thing I thought needed to be removed:
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So I slowly started drilling holes with the 0.3mm drill and gradually replaced them.

[img]https://i.imgur.com/YQS10Ux.jpeg[/img]

[img]https://i.imgur.com/y7zUv6Z.jpeg[/img]

[img]https://i.imgur.com/ZYVfDRS.jpeg[/img]

And then I'll add the steps last when the entire hull is assembled and ready for priming.
Here's a test one.

[img]https://i.imgur.com/y6Jqoru.jpeg[/img]

Only problem: out of 11 boxes of drill bits I have, I broke 10 0.3mm drill, so I don't have any left! And I miss the steps on the bow!!

See you next time!

You are my reference topic!! Waiting for your updates :whistle:

Hi Edoardo,

nice to see you picked up the Yamato, I'm returning back to it in 2026 too, hope it all goes well in your case :woo_hoo:

Waiting for future updated!

Hello everyone, a little update.
We've moved on to the stern. We need to start working on the hangar.
This is where the Pontos kit starts to fit.

First, we need to smooth out the plastic because we're going to put a large PE on it.
[img]https://i.imgur.com/swMWMS6.jpeg[/img]

Unfortunately, I noticed that one of the two bottles of 5-minutes two-component adhesive has dried out. So, while I wait for the package to arrive from Amazon, let's move on to the rest of the hangar.
Same thing. Erase everything!
[img]https://i.imgur.com/V05PMdf.jpeg[/img]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/G3CxoxS.jpeg[/img]

In the meantime, let's start laying the tracks. I prefer to put everything together first and then glue the PE for greater convenience, especially since I then have to hold the tracks in place while drying.
[img]https://i.imgur.com/U9TvWqa.jpeg[/img]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/NdO4GaR.jpeg[/img]

See you next time!

Yes I mean that user