I started this awhile back. I have the Tamiya kit, Lion Roar, Infini Model and Pontos/Tamiya aftermarket sets. I added hull plating detail using tape and Tamiya Primer.
"Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It's perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we've learned something from yesterday." John Wayne
I hadn't documented this build as I went along because I was in a mad scramble to finish it. I didn't rush it by any means, but I poured a year's worth of work into 6 months. It took 500 hours. Some highlights: I added hull plating detail using tape and primer. I used Pontos, Infini Model and Lion Roar. They all had important additions to the build. I tried to be true to Dan Kaplan's research by removing the stiffener's on the aft turrets, using the Infini Model's canvas railings he initiated instead of the incorrect armor versions. I also modified the torpedo storage areas accordingly. Here are progress and complete photos. I still have some minor odds and ends to add still.
Bit of a late reply, but what width did you use for the tape and did you simply use it to mask and layer on the primer between the gaps to simulate plating, or simply left it on? If it's the latter, I've always worried about it peeling down the line