Kallisti Posted March 11, 2019 Share Posted March 11, 2019 (edited) A while ago I saw a photo of an amazing vessel which looked like it should have been in a Gerry Anderson TV show. This thing turned out to be real and is a Water Bus in Tokyo Harbour called the Himoko: I then discovered that Fujimi in Japan make a kit of it in 1:150 scale, so I just had to order one... The content of the kit isn't huge, but they do provide a vey complex looking masking sheet for the windows... What is interesting is they add a couple of extra plastic sprues and include some traditional Japanese buildings as well that might make an interesting little diorama I think this could be interesting adding some plaster rocks and building a little hillside for the buildings to rest on! First though, lets build a futuristic ferry! Edited February 18, 2022 by Kallisti 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robgizlu Posted March 11, 2019 Share Posted March 11, 2019 Wow! Odd and what a great subject - Yes!! I agree about the Gerry Anderson touch Rob 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in Lincs Posted March 11, 2019 Share Posted March 11, 2019 A tour around Tracey island, Wow! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhouse Posted March 11, 2019 Share Posted March 11, 2019 The real thing goes between Odaiba Island and Asakusa - the site of Tokyo's oldest temple. The buildings in the kit are of the temple gate, pagoda and another building {the purpose of which I cannot remember!) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kallisti Posted March 11, 2019 Author Share Posted March 11, 2019 (edited) This is the photo on the side of the box Thanks for the info! Edited February 18, 2022 by Kallisti 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhouse Posted March 11, 2019 Share Posted March 11, 2019 That's the place! It's phenomenally popular. The street leading up to the temple is lined with food/sweet/gift shops and has been packed every time I've been. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigdave22014 Posted March 11, 2019 Share Posted March 11, 2019 That thing looks like it should be cruising the canals or Mars.... Hang on, someone ask the Martian if he's lost his boat 😋 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beefy66 Posted March 11, 2019 Share Posted March 11, 2019 Interesting and very Gerry Anderson 👨🚀 beefy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted March 12, 2019 Share Posted March 12, 2019 8 hours ago, Bigdave22014 said: That thing looks like it should be cruising the canals or Mars.... Hang on, someone ask the Martian if he's lost his boat 😋 Do you mean the canals or Mars or the canals of Mars? Confused of Mars 👽 PS: I need one of these kits and I need it now! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfsup Posted March 12, 2019 Share Posted March 12, 2019 I have seen this Kit advertised and wondered how it would Build. With that in mind will enjoy watching your Build of this strange Vessel.....Cheers mark 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeeKay Posted March 12, 2019 Share Posted March 12, 2019 There's one of these in the RFI section, made by Chris. Cheers BK 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bandsaw Steve Posted March 13, 2019 Share Posted March 13, 2019 A second Himiko water ferry on britmodeller! It’s certainly a groovy looking bit of kit! 👍 Love the idea of a diorama using those buildings. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted March 13, 2019 Share Posted March 13, 2019 Oh well, I resisted for one day, thirteen hours and thirty nine minutes. Martian 👽 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted March 13, 2019 Share Posted March 13, 2019 9 hours ago, Bandsaw Steve said: A second Himiko water ferry on Britmodeller! It will be a third soon There is no way I can keep my tentacles off of this one. Martian 👽 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kallisti Posted March 13, 2019 Author Share Posted March 13, 2019 Good man... er... whatever... but be warned there is a LOT of masking - I spent a long time on it yesterday evening and got maybe 40% done! I'll post a piccy later... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted March 13, 2019 Share Posted March 13, 2019 4 hours ago, Kallisti said: Good man... er... whatever... but be warned there is a LOT of masking - I spent a long time on it yesterday evening and got maybe 40% done! I'll post a piccy later... I quite like masking, there's something therapeutic about it. Disturbed of Mars 👽 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted March 14, 2019 Share Posted March 14, 2019 I have been doing some research on this vessel pending the arrival of my kit and what I assumed was a collapsible mast turns out to be what is described as a "horizontal mast". Can anyone explain what the point of such an item might be? Why not just attach stuff directly to the superstructure? The height difference can't be much more than about a foot. I'm sure there is a perfectly logical explanation but I can't think of it. Baffled of Mars 👽 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kallisti Posted March 14, 2019 Author Share Posted March 14, 2019 (edited) As I mentioned before, I spent about 2-3 hours last night with the initial round of masking and this is how far I had got by the end of the evening This evening, however saw the completion of this task plus the addition of a multitude of small details such as handles and ladders to the upper surface of the boat as you can see here One thing I have discovered to my cost is that this transparent plastic does NOT like Revell contacta cement OR Tamiya Extra Thin, my usual choice of glues. You can see the effect its had on the surface texture of the plastic around these ladder rungs, even though I was as careful as possible to avoid too much glue At the rear of the vessel is a piece that slopes back inboard and there are 4 bulbous protrusions which all needed masking - a very difficult job to do with flat masking tape over a shape that curved in two directions and also the masking tape shapes are a little too large. I left off two tiny bulbous windows where the masking shapes were just too persnickety so I will hand paint the frames on these two and add them into the rest once its painted. Finally, the hull of the boat now its had various bollards, hooks and assoted fittings added, alongside the two retractable antenna that come with optional booms to portray them extended or retracted. There are also two anchors to be added. The two cylinders on the stern of the boat appear to be life rafts. Tomorrow might see me trying some paint! What I'm tempted to do is give the whole thing a light coat of Klear first. This ought to seal any gaps around the masking tape in an attempt to avoid or at least minimise paint creep. We;ll see how that turns out tomorrow... On 3/14/2019 at 12:24 AM, Martian Hale said: I have been doing some research on this vessel pending the arrival of my kit and what I assumed was a collapsible mast turns out to be what is described as a "horizontal mast". Can anyone explain what the point of such an item might be? By collapsible mast is it referring to the two things that look like spoilers or antenna that stick up in them middle and stern? My guess would be they are collapsible to get under low bridges and if they are radar antenna, allowing them to be extended makes them a more visible (on radar) presence. There is a long pole that goes from just in front of the forward antenna to just above where the pilot sits, but this appears on the model to be a way of powering the windscreen wiper as much as anything else. Edited February 18, 2022 by Kallisti 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted March 14, 2019 Share Posted March 14, 2019 It was the pole like object that I was referring to. I have seen it referred to as a horizontal mast. Hence my confusion. Martian 👽 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Swindell Posted March 14, 2019 Share Posted March 14, 2019 7 hours ago, Martian Hale said: I have been doing some research on this vessel pending the arrival of my kit and what I assumed was a collapsible mast turns out to be what is described as a "horizontal mast". Can anyone explain what the point of such an item might be? Martian If you check photos's such as this one you will note two fore mast lights mounted at 90 degrees to each other at the front of your "horizontal" mast, and counterweights at the aft end. I think the term "horizontal mast" is referring to a 2 position mast in the horizontal position, not a permanent horizontal structure. There doesn't appear to be any means of remote or power operation, and I haven't seen photo's of it in the vertical position, so I'd assume it remains in the horizontal position whilst in normal operating service, but is manually erected for transit in more open water. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted March 14, 2019 Share Posted March 14, 2019 Thanks David, that makes a lot more sense. Martian 👽 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitestar12chris Posted March 15, 2019 Share Posted March 15, 2019 Hi Martian, if your referring to the horizontal tubular thing over the front its actually the windscreen wiper motor support. Kallisti, a tip before you paint the interior, some of it is visible through the windows, very noticeable at the front. I painted the inside white with a black area at the front to represent the cockpit. You can see it in the photo you posted, heres another one. All the best Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kallisti Posted March 15, 2019 Author Share Posted March 15, 2019 Thanks for that tip, I wondered about the transparency of the windows and was thinking about painting some sort of pattern inside to represent the fixtures that would be visible - that pic is a great reference for that so cheers! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Courageous Posted March 15, 2019 Share Posted March 15, 2019 3 hours ago, Kallisti said: Thanks for that tip, I wondered about the transparency of the windows and was thinking about painting some sort of pattern inside to represent the fixtures that would be visible - that pic is a great reference for that so cheers! With that much transparency, I think you should think about fitting seats and stuff... Stuart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitestar12chris Posted March 15, 2019 Share Posted March 15, 2019 Hi Stuart the windows are mainly blue tint and not very transparent, with the exception of the main cockpit glazing and some curved side windows, Seats and stuff would generally not be visible, i did contemplate this myself when i built mine and experimented with bits to see how it looked. All the best Chris 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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