The Ship Model Forum

I�ve made a little more progress on the superstructure. Most significantly, I ended up giving in and getting the Eduard PE set. It has some pieces that the Pontos kit just doesn�t provide. I�ve been trying to fashion deck prices from a diamond plate PE sheet, and the shapes needed are tough to cut in a clean fashion. The Eduard set has these pieces, making it a much easier fix.

I�ve been working on the funnel on and off. There�s a lot of detail that can be added. The anatomy of the ship and super illustration books are invaluable here. I decided to remove the pipes that are molded onto the funnel structure. They are actually separate, secured by fittings at various points along their length. I�ve started to reconstruct them with the appropriate PE pieces added behind. I added some other small modifications as detailed below.

I�ve been working more on the funnel. After sanding the molded-on pipes, I attempted to recreate them with styrene rod , resin ends, and brass brackets. I�ve also added a few hatches and other small details.

Some slow progress has been made this week. I�ve worked on the bridge structure. To make it accurate for 1945, some of the protuberances on the kit pieces had to be removed or revised. There�s a lot of sanding and filling and a little scratch building involved.

I�ve been working on a couple things lately. I�ve put together the supports for the rangefinder of the main tower structure. I had to be a little creative with this, since the Pontos parts were made for the new tool, and on the old tool the support itself is molded onto the observation deck below. I also added some supports for the bulwark of the deck. I did the same for some other parts of the bridge superstructure. I also started tackling the rangefinders themselves. There is a lot of detail to be added to these parts.

Great work!

Hi DMC,
I like how you are using your research and adding lots of minute details.

You do exceptionally neat work; should be very noticeable when the model is finished.

Pardon my ignorance, but I don't know your real name and therefore can't find out if you have any completed models in the MW gallery. It would be really fun to see a finished one, as it would add to the anticipation.

Regardless, I will pop in here on occasion--it inspires me to put more effort into my projects

BTW, I LOVE those gusseted rails!

Regards,
Chuck

Chuck,

Thanks for your post; you�re very generous. My name is Dan Chase. I have a few ships in the gallery. Speaking of completed ships, I really like your battleships in the gallery. They�re a pleasure to look at.

By the way, are you the same person who had an article about detailing ships in Fine Scale Modeler earlier this year?

Hi Dan,

Yes, I am the author of two recent articles in Fine Scale, and one older one about my HMS Repulse. There's likely to be a third article published in the Fall, plus I have one more ready for submittal.

Thanks for the referral to your gallery. Very nice models, varied subjects and seascapes. I really enjoy the creativity in your subject choices and the artistry in your presentations.

This project is going to keep you busy for a long time but in the end you will be very pleased--and so will all of us viewers.

Cheers,
Chuck

Beautiful work.

I�ve been working on the bridge tower lately. Using Anatomy of the ship and the Super Illustration books, I�ve found a couple things I felt I had to fix. I realize that no model is totally accurate, and that even the different sources disagree on some things, but these is a searchlight platform missing altogether. There�s also a side gallery that is molded solid that ought to be a place people could stand in. This is probably being too detail-oriented, but I went ahead and tried to correct them anyway.

I�ve been plugging away at the bridge tower. The ladders and platforms have been added to the rear of t structure, and a few smaller details have been added. The rangefinders have been completed except for the radars. It�s slowly taking shape.

There�s a few small additions. I�m coming to the end of the bridge tower construction. At this point, I think it�s time to prime and paint it. I was able to finish off the range finder�s radar. There�s a lot of small details that go into this structure. I am leaving off the gun and searchlight directors and the searchlights for the moment to make painting easier. I�ll paint them separately and add them later.

She's coming along very nicely.

I agree. Very nice work going on here.

Those platforms are a neat find.
Kind of odd though; seems like there should be a ladder or steps to get up onto them.

Dan K - Thanks for the encouragement.

Chuck - thank you as well. You�re right about the ladder to the platform - I found a drawing in the Super Illustration book that shows a ladder and I added one (see below). Also, I think I figured out why some models have the platforms lower. Looking through Super Illustration and Anatomy of the Ship books, I�ve found that they were lower in 1941, but were moved by 1945 to the higher position. Since I�m wanting to model the ship in its final configuration, the higher position is correct.

I need some advice from you guys. Should I finish the details on the superstructure (railings, etc) and paint it before putting the wooden deck on, or should I put the deck on now to avoid damaging details and mask it with tape when painting the superstructure? I�m open to suggestions.

Over the last couple weeks the forward segment of the deck was glued in place and the deck and superstructure were primed and painted. I decided to do this before adding all the superstructure detail because I planned to add a wooden deck, and I was afraid of knocking a lot of small details off. In retrospect I think this was the right call.

I used the Artwox wooden deck. Since I�m trying to model the ship in its final configuration, I chose the blackened deck. It is very uniform in color, so I think some weathering will be needed. A lot of minor trimming was required to get a good fit. I like the overall look, however. It�s looking more like a ship!

After a long absence, I have resumed work on the Yamato. Life intervenes in my hobby time sometimes, as I�m sure everybody has experienced. I was look at where to pick up, and I�ll realized that the black deck I had just put on looked too perfect. I experimented with a few of the scrap pieces of the deck, and decided to try sanding some of the black ink off to give it a more uneven or weathered look. I�d be curious to know what people think of the result. Does it need more taken off? Should I leave it alone? Or is the effect not at all what I was going for?

You're doing a really amazing work!
Addons plus scratch builder! Top

Yamato will my last warship I'll do in my plans because I consider it the most difficult, and you confirm it seeing your images!
Follow with interest!!

I like what you've done with the deck. Looks better a bit scuffed up.