general melchett

Thanks Rod, much appreciated.

Victor B2 and SR2 instrument panel was Satin Black and so in fact was the whole cockpit from the nose up to the rear of the roof escape hatches, the walls aft of that were a gloss sky colour and the rear crew instrument panel Satin Black also, they only went grey when undergoing conversion to K2's.

Great stuff Al, some really nice detail work going on there, should be a belter. A rather interesting and ungainly version of the old F-16 but then I'm fond of anything with odd lumps and bumps all over it, just ask the wife.....

Thanks Whofan, glad you enjoyed the article and like the photos, always nice to hear that folks appreciate the effort. You're right about the Nagato looking a mixture of both young and old, particularly when compared to a 'modern' designs like Yamato and Musashi. The ship was commissioned in 1920 but underwent heavy modernisation in 1934-36 with upgraded machinery, single funnel, pagoda mast tower, bigger guns and better sighting equipment being fitted, the casemate guns stayed put harking back to the Dreadnought origins of the design, (the same went for the Fuso class too). Later she was festooned in anti-aircraft guns altering her appearance further still but a stately looking battlewagon all the same.....

Thanks fellas, Tony, the water is really quite straightforward, (it's all very 'Blue Peter' if truth be told)...using a mixture of techniques from the great Jim Baumann and Chris Flodburgh with a few ideas of my own chucked in. The sub diorama will be ideal for this...look forward to seeing it. Hood should be next, while at the Huddersfield show rummaging under someone's table I managed to pick up a second hand Italeri 1/720 kit which turned out to have two complete kits in the box, all for the princely sum of £7 so I'll probably do both the early and later paint schemes. According to the Hood website, it's one of the better models of the old lady so should be fun.

Cheers chaps, Dave thanks, glad you enjoyed the article, hope it's of some use to you... there's plenty more to come Sounds like a plan Mike, I'd also like to get a Mutso at some point, (along with an Ise)....also, of course, looking forward to Aoshima's new 1/700th Yamato which should be heading this way as soon as it's released, should be able to chuck a lot of stuff at that! Thanks Colin, funnily enough I find these a lot 'easier' than the bigger stuff, 1/350th is one thing but 1/200th really pushes the boat out (excuse the pun), and the price through the roof once all the aftermarket is taken into consideration. I tried to talk the editor of AMW into getting hold of a 1/200th Rodney and all the extras but he wasn't having it...simply too big to photograph properly without distortion.....I haven't given up just yet though!

Thanks again guys, very kind of you, Neil, Ha, yes been a tad busy as you know, with several editorial deadlines looming fast and Telford just around the corner things don't look like easing off anytime soon. Really must get over to see you, plenty to gas about.... Rob and Kev, thanks, I appreciate that coming from you chaps.

Great stuff mate, your usual standard.... look forward to seeing these two unwieldy beasts on the table in November reminds me, really must crack on with the big Halibag, (the way things are going we'll end up with about six models on said table!). Now, how many times have we all said that!

Thanks chaps, appreciated as ever. Must admit I enjoy these tiddlers, there's plenty of fun to be had. I have a few 1/350th behemoths to build but of course the bigger they are the more detail needs to be added.....it can get a bit hectic not to mention pricey. Keith, if you find the article useful have a bash at the water, it's really not that difficult though it can get a bit expensive using the products I used. On the plus side there's a lot of gloop left in each tub ideal for future projects.....luckily there are quite a few cheaper household alternatives available which give good results.

Hi all, thought I'd post my second 1/700th WWII warship in the form of Aoshima's IJN Nagato 1942, 'Retake edition'. Though she didn't see much active service during the war in 1941 Nagato had the distinction of serving as Yamamoto's flagship and it was from her decks that the order 'Niitaka yama nobore' (Climb Mount Niitaka) the attack on Pearl was given. She participated in a few battles, notably the Battles of the Philippine Sea and Leyte Gulf where she received minor damage but after an undistinguished career was relegated to coastal defence duties acting as a floating anti-aircraft battery. Following the Japanese surrender, she became the last floating IJN battleship ending her days at the bottom of Bikini Atoll following the 'Operation Crossroads' A-Bomb tests, (it took two detonations to sink her). The original Aoshima moulding has been around a long time though it has been constantly updated. This particular kit was issued in 2011 and included extra runners for armament, aircraft and boats which are a nice bonus though I preferred to replace most of these with PE and brass parts. I really like these IJN designs especially those huge pagoda masts which must have provided a great panoramic view for the crew I'm sure but also ideal for being spotted and easily identified from a distance and duly shot at! A lovely little kit that really benefitted from a dedicated PE set, (from a company called Longxing), brass barrels and yardarms (Master) and wood decking and anchor chains (MK1). The paint was provided by courtesy of Tamiya, Mr Hobby Aqueous and Lifecolor acrylics with the weathering/contrast modulation completed using Abteilung 502 and Mig Oilbrusher oils and their pastel powders. As with my earlier Dreadnought rigging was done using Uschi Superfine and Standard line and slow curing CA. Kagero's superb Nagato book helped with all necessary reference material, particularly the rigging diagrams and the excellent ModelWarships.com forum, one of which was helpfully titled 'Calling All Nagato Fans' which contained a lot of interesting detail images and data on the old battlewagon. The model appeared in last months issue of Airfix Model World magazine along with a tutorial on creating water bases for anyone interested. I have a few more old war horses underway including Fuso, Yamashiro, Hood and Tirpitz, all waterline and in 1/700th scale along with most available aftermarket stuff which I'll be posting later. Thanks for looking and hope you like it... Melchie And a couple aged for effect

While the quality and fit certainly isn't uber great it's accurate shape wise, (something that's more important to me personally)...though it has to be a lot easier to build we'll have to wait and see how accurate the Trumpeter kit will be, hopefully it'll be one of their better offerings...hopefully

Extraordinarily careless Martian-Mallow, can't you regenerate one of your tentacle thingies?

Thanks for clearing that up Jamie and definitely something to bear in mind when selecting colours in future. I have a couple of Western and 'Eastern Approach' projects underway so this info will prove most helpful.... Bill, looks like you're having a ball with this one...by George you're throwing everything at it so keep going lad, victory is at hand.

Bebeggared or not Bill, going disguised as an ancient Brummy charabanc is the last thing the enemy would expect and therefore exactly what you should do....either that or a suitably attired 1920's clippy donning said yucky blue regimental colours...

And just who by Jupiters codpiece is this 'friend' of which you mention?, nothing about 'friends working on party frocks' was mentioned when drawing up the rules of engagement, I shall protest to the highest authority which just so happens to be me. Between you and me I would not want the huddled masses to be subjected to such a sight...I shall have to modify the attire ...maybe a little bauble hanging from the pith may add a bit more decorum....