1/200 nagato scratch built

[russclark]

I am starting to build nagato,just trying to get all the measurements on the plans right at this time .If there is some intrest in a fairly detailed log of the build i will post my progress.Is this o.k to start a new thread or should i post on steves thead "1/200 nagato."

[Timmy C]

For sure post your build log in your own thread Looking forward to this one!

[russclark]

Thanks timmy,i was not sure on the right thing to do.I started printing out my frames and they always came out wrong,I was going nuts trying to fiqure out what i was doing wrong.I was taking the whole width of the drawing and it came out to big,this was because you have to take one side and double the distance.plan has front part on one side and the back on the other.heres what i mean.somtimes i go brain dead.There is also a couple of pics of my plans,they are quite good

[Dave Wooley]

Another interesting build to look forward to .
Dave Wooley

[russclark]

this is going to be a very complicated hull to build,i am going to really have to pay attention to all the little kinks and curves in the frames.i am going to cut the frames in half and butt join them to the center runner,i have found that trying to make the frames slid into the centerpieces was very hard to keep them sqaure.each frame has to have 1/8 in. cut off the side that butts to the center to allow for the 1/4 in. center piece.the frames also have 1/8 in. taken off.this allows for a beam of 113.3 ft. beam.now the job of cutting all the frames all 42 of them.my poor scrol saw is going to earn its worth.

[GTDEATH13]

What a challenge!!! Will be following this thread closely...

[russclark]

there is a fellow also building nagato,I think he is fron japan,very talented.he did his frames differrant than the plans show. It makes it a lot easy'er to do the guns in the hull.It was giving me fits trying to fiqure out how to build all this on the hull.here is what he did. This way the complicated guns and jogs will be built seperate from the hull. Got to love the internet.

[russclark]

heres an update.nagato has 4 indents in her hull,2 at the bow and to at the stern.i belive thay are hull bulges and armor belt,whatever they are they are a bugger to build.i spent 10 hrs on this small amount of planking,my hull frame drawing shows the bulges but my side and top view does not show the bulges.this made things difficult to line up.this has been my most difficult hull yet,i belive most battleships that had torpedo bulges added are the same e.g.warspite,queen elizabeth. it is very satisfying to spend hrs on a detail and have it come out right.heres some pics

[Dave Wooley]

Hi Russ a interesting approch to what is a complex hull form . I assume from the construction that your Nagato will be non working . I ask this because if it was to be working then there would be a host of other problems relating to access into the hull? Secondly are there "any" out of water photos that would show the shape of the hull below the waterline?
A real challenging build.
Dave Wooley

[russclark]

hi dave,yes she will be a static model.i should make myself clear on the bulges.i have drawings for then and lots of pics,it's just that the drawings are in1/400 scale,i have to scan then resize .i find most plans always seem to have some thing lacking. i have 2 sets of hull frame drawing for the same year and they are differant from each other.go fiqure.i see you are working on planes you must be getting close to seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

[J. Soca]

That hull is not a picnic , no sir is not! great progress so far though Russ


Jose

[russclark]

i have been following your build jose.it is coming along very nicely.there is another build by a fellow in japan i think.it is very good.heres the link http://www.teikokukoubou.com/gallery/nagato/top01.html .this is what he did with the bulge at the bow,i am going to redo mine the same.he cut a piece of styrene and faired it into the hull on the trailing edge.very smart.

[Dave Wooley]

hi dave,yes she will be a static model.i should make myself clear on the bulges.i have drawings for then and lots of pics,it's just that the drawings are in1/400 scale,i have to scan then resize .i find most plans always seem to have some thing lacking. i have 2 sets of hull frame drawing for the same year and they are differant from each other.go fiqure.i see you are working on planes you must be getting close to seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

Hi Russ the building problems associated with bulges and knuckles always seem to present problems . In terms of re- scaling small drawings , I have encountered the same problem with Kiev and before that Moskva . I noticed when checking A.J Watts "Japanese Warships" that Nagato underwent a major refit in 1934-36 when the bulges where added . and all the exhaust trunked into a single funnel . Looking at the as built 1920 configuration it was certainly less complex . I guess the reconstructed bridge ,tower and foremast will be quite a challenge. As for Kiev well the air group is a long job but as you say I can now see a clear end to this long running project.
Dave Wooley

[Akula]

Hello
I have the 1:200 hull sections from Fuji Art plans and the Fuji Art book on the building of a 1:200 Nagato. These are the most accurate things on the planet. They were drawn from the original Nagato plans.

You got to see them if you need to work on the hull.

[russclark]

thanks for the help akula,i look forward to any advice or help.the hull frame drawing i went with is pretty well the same as what you show here.they come out to a beam of 113.3 ft. at the bulges.which is the correct beam after 1936 ? i belive that was the year of the big rebuild.lengthening the hull,adding torpedo bulges,trunking funnels."etc,etc".

[russclark]

she's coming along fairly good.got all the planking done,roughed in the bow and stern,i then mixed up a batch of resin and coated the hull inside and out, this is not for strength,it is to make sure that if any glue is weak the resin has every thing stuck together .i set styrene pieces in the bow and stern to hold the shape,it is tougher than the wood so it will not lose its shape when i am am sanding. this is a trick i picked up from bill waldorf,he did this on his indiana,it makes a nice crisp bow.

[russclark]

hello guys, being sort of retired give me lots of time to build,trying to get all the smelly stuff done before it gets to cold to be working in the garage.the wife complains if i do smelly stuff inside i hope what i am posting is not to repetitious or old hat.but i am sure there are some who have not built a scratch hull.after giving the hull a good coating of resin the next step is fiberglass bondo,this is allowed to set up and then sanded down,then a coating of reguler bondo,then bondo glazing and spot putty to fair the hull, this takes many coats sanded in between untill there are no dips and bumps i am sold on bondo the spot putty puts any of the hobby shop stuff to shame at a fraction of the cost.hull is sheated with 1/8" sheating which is fairly fragile,after all the above steps it is tough as nails.heres some pics ,here the hull has only the resin and fiberglass bondo on it,it already gained a bit of weight.

[russclark]

i have been fairing the hull for the last couple of days,coming along good.i have found that when applying the bondo putty on large areas i put a good amount of putty at the top and useing a credit card pull down in one motion as far as you want to go,do not piddle around with it to much,if you do it seems not to make it any better,it is easy to sand off, so if there is to much it is better.after the big areas are done then it takes 3 or 4 touch up applications to fill in the little dips.

[russclark]

this is my first public display,my daughter works at a eye clinic ,they are putting on a display about ww2 for rememberance day, and wanted some displays,so here is massacuttets and me . she says there are lots of people looking

[Timmy C]

That's pretty neat, if a bit ironic - I can see patients coming in and saying, "But isn't working on all those tiny parts bad for your eyes?"

Naggy coming along nicely too!