Ravens Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 Hi everyone, this is my first ever WIP thread; I thought it would be interesting to share my progress on a build; the kit is Tamiya's 1/700 IJN Yahagi. I won't be buying any upgrades for this build, so any extra detail will have to be scavenged from my spare bits or otherwise scratch built. Any comments, observations or advice are most welcome. The first step is to begin work on the sub-assemblies and clean up easily identifiable parts in preparation for priming; the fiddly stuff I will prime on the sprue and remove unwanted lines after cutting. Apologies if the picture quality isn't great, as my camera isn't of the highest standard and light levels aren't ideal at the moment. From what I can determine the kit seems to be an older release, and like many Tamiya ships in this scale there is a lack of vertical detail on the superstructure; the lower half of the bridge tower has none at all. It would be a shame to leave it like that since the rest of the kit is of a more than acceptable standard. Using pictures of the 1/350 version of Yahagi as reference I drilled some portholes and added some doors and ladders; some moulded on detail was removed and will be replaced by railings later in the build. The turrets will get the same treatment. I have a concern about the PE parts - the doors resemble slightly chunkier versions of the ladders and it's harder to tell them apart; I will address this in the painting. Two possible options are: 1- apply a recess wash to the outline of the door and to the entire ladder or, 2- apply a recess-wash to the entire door and leave the ladder the same as the hull and treat it as soft detail. I am leaning towards the latter. Regards, Ross. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OzH Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 Good start, will be following this one.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravens Posted January 26, 2015 Author Share Posted January 26, 2015 A quick progress update: The Agano class had a sort of buttressed design around the base of the super-firing turret; I recreated this with strips of florist's wire cut to the appropriate length and held in place with PVA glue. A ladder has come loose behind B turret and will need correcting. The chrysanthemum was a prominent symbol of Imperial Japan and featured on the bows of IJN ships; I crafted one from 'green stuff' modelling putty and glued it onto the bow. Some cleaning up of parts is now required before undercoating. I'm going to avoid using a rattle-can in case of pooling occurring on the ladders, and run some acrylic primer through an airbrush instead so I'll have better control over the flow. Unfortunately Thursday will be the earliest I can pick up the primer so it's back to decaling the Voyager until then. Incidentally, does anyone happen to know what the intended purpose of the metal bar provided for the base plate is? It certainly adds weight to the model, but I was wondering if it is also included to prevent the hull warping when glued to the base. I had a waterline ship in that scale turn slightly banana-shaped after the glue dried, resulting in the ends of the ship curving slightly upwards - a problem I don't seem to have when these metal plates are in place. Regards, Ross. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 More to watch excellent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 (edited) Incidentally, does anyone happen to know what the intended purpose of the metal bar provided for the base plate is? It certainly adds weight to the model, but I was wondering if it is also included to prevent the hull warping when glued to the base. I had a waterline ship in that scale turn slightly banana-shaped after the glue dried, resulting in the ends of the ship curving slightly upwards - a problem I don't seem to have when these metal plates are in place. Regards, Ross. I thought it was just a ballast. Not everyone mounts their waterline 1/700 on a base - seems to be common in Japan to have them all lined up on a shelf in a cabinet for show. I suppose it is magnetic as well, for securing your ship when it's done? Not that it is a magnet, but being steel it'll stick to a magnet. Just fishing really, no idea if it serves any other specific purpose! Edited January 26, 2015 by Brokenedge 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravens Posted January 26, 2015 Author Share Posted January 26, 2015 I thought it was just a ballast. Not everyone mounts their waterline 1/700 on a base - seems to be common in Japan to have them all lined up on a shelf in a cabinet for show. I suppose it is magnetic as well, for securing your ship when it's done? Just fishing really, no idea if it serves any other specific purpose! Good point - I forgot they have a lot more earthquakes and tremors over there, and a flat-bottomed model gives the opportunity to secure it magnetically or at the very least stop it from moving about as much. Ross. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfqweofekwpeweiop4 Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 I think the weight is a good idea, I try to salvage them from old models to use in new models that don't come with them. thanks Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxy Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 Nice work so far Ross. Seems the iron for weight has been answered. What etching are you using for this ship, or does it come with it. Foxy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravens Posted January 28, 2015 Author Share Posted January 28, 2015 Nice work so far Ross. Seems the iron for weight has been answered. What etching are you using for this ship, or does it come with it. Foxy Thanks foxy. Thus far the etching comes from a White Ensign Models set titled 'R.N. Ship Fittings Pre-1950', apart from the ladders on the turrets, which were surplus from a Trumpeter 1/700 HMS Queen Elizabeth kit. The railings will also be taken from the WEM set when it's time to fit them; accommodation-ladders and oars for the lifeboats will be salvaged from other various spare P.E. frames. I've yet to post any updates focusing on the aft section of the ship so here's a photo. There wasn't much to do in this area other than add portholes and ladders to the deck-house at the base of the crane. I couldn't find any clear pictures of doors on this structure in my research, but it's possible that they are concealed behind the aft turret or in the alcoves. Regards, Ross. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 Hi Ross, According to the pictures I used to make the 1/350 Agano there are two watertight doors at the front of the crane deckhouse side by side, and one each side underneath the 13mm gun sponsons. On Yahagi it's possible that the 13mm were replaced with 25mm, so those side doors might have been removed to make way for the beefed-up sponsons. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davetwin Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 Lovely work so far, looking fofward to seeing more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravens Posted January 28, 2015 Author Share Posted January 28, 2015 Hi Ross, According to the pictures I used to make the 1/350 Agano there are two watertight doors at the front of the crane deckhouse side by side, and one each side underneath the 13mm gun sponsons. On Yahagi it's possible that the 13mm were replaced with 25mm, so those side doors might have been removed to make way for the beefed-up sponsons. Thanks Brokenedge, that helps. I will definitely include the two side by side ones, and will make a decision on the port and starboard ones. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravens Posted January 28, 2015 Author Share Posted January 28, 2015 The front of the funnel has received some laddering. I added a pair of doors to the aft deck-house, plus another to the forward structure. The aircraft are partially assembled and the waterline base was undercoated with Halfords grey primer spray, and then airbrushed with Tamiya Hull Red. Now I just need that acrylic primer and then I can get started on the main paint job, hopefully tomorrow evening. Ross. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 Very good-looking ships these were. Looks like this is shaping up to be a great rendition. Al 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravens Posted January 28, 2015 Author Share Posted January 28, 2015 Very good-looking ships these were. Looks like this is shaping up to be a great rendition. Al Thanks Al. The Agano class has really grown on me since starting this build; I'd love to do one in 1/350 at some time in the future, full-hull preferably. Oh, and I decided against including the extra two watertight doors for the aft deck-house. Ross. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 Yeah, I was trying to zoom in on the pictures scanned from LaCroix and Wells bible on Japanese cruisers, and I couldn't say for sure the doors were there. I did a build log of the 1/350 version (just search for Agano) which you might find useful when the time comes! Enjoying following this one though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravens Posted January 30, 2015 Author Share Posted January 30, 2015 I completed priming all of the parts last night, after a nightmarish airbrush session that saw the thing clog up within seconds of spraying, three times in a row. I used Games Workshop Imperial Primer thinned with Liquitex slow-dry fluid retarder. It sprayed just fine, but the paint on the test sprue was watery and formed small beads immediately; increasing the thickness of the paint only led to the aforementioned clogging issues. I might have pulled the plug on it right there, but the paint on the test sprue settled quite nicely so I gave the whole model a liberal coating of somewhat thin undercoat. I'm actually quite happy with the finish, most of the imperfections are due to particles landing on the model. The Imperial Primer was strange stuff, I'd hesitate before recommending it for this job and I suspect that there's a very fine balance required between the paint and thinner in order to get the best result. I think I'll try Vallejo purpose-made airbrush primer next time I try something like this, or maybe just add the PE after the undercoat. Ross. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfqweofekwpeweiop4 Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 (edited) I use Halfords Grey primer on just about everything and it sprays on just fine! Top tip for Yahagi, glue the AA guns on with a drop of PVA. That way if you really like the way your model turns out, there's an easy way to make it look even better. Fine Molds do a series of 1/700 detail parts, including single, twin and triple IJN 25mm AA guns, that look far better than anything in etch. I find etch AA guns are too 2 dimensional and flat. The Fine Molds IJN AA guns are much finer than the kit parts but still retain the 3D feel - trust me, if you do get them, you'll see how bad the kit parts are by comparison! If you use PVA to glue the kit AA guns on, it will be easy to take them off, without a fight! thanks Mike PS - if you do the same with the crane and catapult, you can swap them for much nicer etch ones at a later date. Edited January 30, 2015 by Mikemx 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravens Posted January 30, 2015 Author Share Posted January 30, 2015 I use Halfords Grey primer on just about everything and it sprays on just fine! Top tip for Yahagi, glue the AA guns on with a drop of PVA. That way if you really like the way your model turns out, there's an easy way to make it look even better. Fine Molds do a series of 1/700 detail parts, including single, twin and triple IJN 25mm AA guns, that look far better than anything in etch. I find etch AA guns are too 2 dimensional and flat. The Fine Molds IJN AA guns are much finer than the kit parts but still retain the 3D feel - trust me, if you do get them, you'll see how bad the kit parts are by comparison! If you use PVA to glue the kit AA guns on, it will be easy to take them off, without a fight! thanks Mike PS - if you do the same with the crane and catapult, you can swap them for much nicer etch ones at a later date. That sounds like a good idea, I'll have to check out those parts, the crane in particular as the plastic ones just don't compare to an etched one. Ross. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravens Posted January 30, 2015 Author Share Posted January 30, 2015 A base coat of Tamiya XF-53 Neutral Grey was applied to the hull and superstructure. Next up is the linoleum deck and other horizontal areas, then it's on to the fiddly parts of the build. Ross. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravens Posted January 31, 2015 Author Share Posted January 31, 2015 More Base coats have been applied. The upper decks were brushcoated with Revell aqua Guunship Grey mixed with some Citadel Abaddon Black. The aircraft platform and foc'stle area were brushed with a mixture of Citadel Boltgun Metal and Abaddon Black. Finally the hull and super structure were masked off and Tamiya XF-64 Red Brown was airbrushed onto the main deck. Now it's time to go about correcting the areas where paint has gone where it shouldn't, as well as attending to the various small details. Regards, Ross. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfqweofekwpeweiop4 Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 Word of warning before you go any further. The IJN painted the metal decks the same colour as the hull. You should only use one type of Grey on the whole model! thanks Mike 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravens Posted January 31, 2015 Author Share Posted January 31, 2015 Word of warning before you go any further. The IJN painted the metal decks the same colour as the hull. You should only use one type of Grey on the whole model! thanks Mike Thanks for the heads-up Mike, I'll make the appropriate corrections. Ross. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfqweofekwpeweiop4 Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 No problem. The IJN's grey paint was described as Dark Grey tinged with Blue and all the shipyards were supposed to use the same Grey. However, the 4 main shipyards of Kure, Sasebo, Yokosuka and Maizuru all mixed the paints a little differently. Sasebo and Yokosuka were darker and Maizuru was the lightest. The Grey you have used looks to me more like Maizuru Grey, I can't remember what Grey is right for Yahagi but to be fair, only IJN experts would tell if you had the Grey shade wrong, so don't worry as long as it's the same Grey all over. At least it looks like one of the possible shades! If you have any questions on this, or future IJN builds, please ask and I will see if I can answer. thanks Mike 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smyfe Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 According to the Yahagi TROM, she was completed at Sasebo, so would be painted Sasebo grey in her early colours but had a refit at Kure in june/july '44 and therefore could have been repainted in Kure grey. http://www.combinedfleet.com/yahagi_t.htm Mick 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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