1/350 Carriers Taiho and Graf Zeppelin

[S-boat 55]

@ArnoldAmbrose @Thom216 @johndonThanks for the comments guys, 

[Courageous]

The PE AA gun looks cool. Deck is also looking great. Good work.

 

Stuart

[IJNfan]

On 3/5/2023 at 6:50 PM, S-boat 55 said:

Hi All,

 

I'm in the closing stagesbon Taiho and having needed to paint some parts during assembly I mixed all of the paint, it's then taken me weeks and weeks to get to the point of doing the main spray and you guessed it the mixed paint in the tajiya mixing jar has started to cure in places, hoped it'd come back with a long mix as it needed thinning anyway, but no joys, loads of bits of 'film' in it that just clog the airbrush, 

 

Any idea what I could use to strain it? I've heard people suggest coffee filters but no idea of that's a legitimate idea or not. Can't get more paint as it's out of stock, 

 

Help!!!!!!! 

 

 

Sam

 

 

 

 

It is probably way too late to be of help for this instance, but I use Tamiya panel liners to stain the deck, the dark brown and black one to be precise for that dirty look. Otherwise the normal brown and grey can also provide interesting effects.

 

If you want a cleaner but still dark look I would suggest tea a dark tea as coffee filters could leave residue grains behind, due to which i ind the use of it a questionable idea.

 

Maybe it ll help in the future if you run out of oils again. 

[S-boat 55]

Hi All, 

 

Thanks for bearing with me, made some good progress on Taiho (photo dump below). Graf Zeppelin will be back, i pulled her out the cupboard the other day and after an hour and half of masking that camo i realised she's going to be a little while as i just lack the drive to sit and mask for hours at a time so Zeppelin will run alongside me working on Graf Spee when Taiho is done. 

 

This is the initial air group I'll going to go with for now and I'll add more over time, it should hide the bleed on the deck fairly well, (still annoyed by that), layout look okay?

 

Bit of paint on the underside, much left to do on them

 

Sorry nerding out a little with this one, just really like when you can see through elements of a model

 

Boats are 95% done, just two to redo the interior on as they hand to the sides and a don't look right to me, this is one i'm happy with, (i've since sorted the mast out on it)

 

few bits left to put on, 

 

Including, wiggling the ships boats into here, 

 

You mar recall this marking has been causing problems, this was the start of the third and last attempt if not it was getting removed, greyed and then the decal used, 

 

Please to say it did come out okay though, 

 

The guy wires were remarkably easy to do, always the way isnt it that the things you think will be awful are easy and then vice versa lol, 

 

 

Boats went in which some gentle persuasion, each going in on its side and then having to be flipped the right way up by tweezers from both sides... got there in the end, 

 

 

 

 

 

And with that she is essentially 95% done, there's two tiny bits of railing i have missed off but they are under the stern overhang and so i may not be able to add them now and really wont notice. Touch up is a problem as i have just a congealed gritty mess left, so i'll see if i can resurrect a tiny bit for it, if not I'm not really sure what best to do. 

 

I'm toying with the idea of a slight satin sheen being added, i know us lot often strive for a dead matt finish but a slight satin shows up all the raised details and curves etc without the need for a wash (which i would not be doing at this stage). What are people thoughts, part of me really doesn't want to risk getting brush marks all over her etc?

 

Aside that there is just paint touch up and rigging to go on her plus the planes. I'll be displaying her along with Dunkerque and a couple of small bits at Gloucester's IPMS show a week Sunday (21st May) so should be able to do most of that over the next week, 

 

Thanks for stopping in, 

 

Sam

 

 

 

 

[Tegethoff]

Stunning work. 

[beefy66]

Great little details all over this build like the ships boats and all the anti aircraft weapons.  👍

 

Stay Safe

beefy

[Jagdtiger1]

*long moan* Beautiful! May I join you in nerding out over that island picture? That type 13 radar and yardarms are incredible!

 

That deck and those boats are looking neat and tidy, and that wind breaker net looks lovely, sitting proud up front.

 

Re; satin varnish. Have you maybe thought about getting some spray cans if you don't want to risk brush marks?

 

Can't wait to see this rigged up!

 

James.

[Courageous]

Looking fantastic, good work. Love those little boats look cool and the air wing with individual markings will be the icing on the cake .

 

Stuart

[S-boat 55]

Not technically an update but i wanted to share a pic or two of my small display at the Gloucester IPMS show a fortnight back.....its taken that long to get around to it! I took Taiho along with Dunkerque, Dreadnought and my Type XII, 

 

Taiho had quite a few interested observers and I must say there is something very satisfying about seeing people look at something you have built and smile in approval, 

 

Unfortunately I didn't have time to rig her or finish the decals for the planes completed so far, painting photo etch canopies takes a while evidently!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Curious as to which lay out of planes people think works best, i cant decide, 

 

Think I'll do 10 zero's to go on her, rig her and call it done, save the other planes for another carrier at some point, (hopefully Kaga)

 

Thanks for looking,

 

Sam, 

Edited June 2, 2023 by S-boat 55

[Bertie McBoatface]

Personally, and purely for the look of it, I prefer two columns of aircraft. 

 

The carrier overall looks very good to me. Lots of excellent workmanship. 

[S-boat 55]

To quote Heath Ledger;

 

"And here we go" - starting the rigging, why i dont know - you can  barely see it, 

 

Thought ahead for a change and got these in place pre nets - though did then forget and come up with another way of doing it only to rediscover id already put these on (i wonder about myself at times!)

 

Using Uschi 0.3mm thread

 

 

 

2 hours to do 5 lines......

 

Also it would appear i some how missed a bit when painting - i shall have to get the brush out

 

Thanks for stopping by, 

 

Sam

[Jagdtiger1]

Ugh rigging. I get tremors in my hands just by someone mentioning it!

 

Even 5 lines in its already looking better and more "complete" Sam, at 2 hours for that you're easily faster than me!!

 

James.

[Faraway]

11 minutes ago, Jagdtiger1 said:

Ugh rigging. I get tremors in my hands just by someone mentioning it!

 

Even 5 lines in its already looking better and more "complete" Sam, at 2 hours for that you're easily faster than me!!

 

James.

Rigging is, for me, a necessary evil.

Same as railings, a ship just doesn’t look ‘dressed’ without them.

It’s the little things............

Jon

[Faraway]

1 hour ago, S-boat 55 said:

you can  barely see it, 

Sounds about right. 
You making a stunning job of this build. 

Jon

[Tegethoff]

Wow. That looks extraordinarily complex rigging, on unstable foundations (single thickness PE pieces!!!). Looks great. 

[beefy66]

Great thread work very neat.    👍

 

Stay Safe

beefy

[S-boat 55]

1 hour ago, Faraway said:

Sounds about right. 
You making a stunning job of this build. 

Jon

Thank you Jon and all for your comments, so close on this one now, 

[Courageous]

7 hours ago, Faraway said:

Rigging is, for me, a necessary evil.

Same as railings, a ship just doesn’t look ‘dressed’ without them.

It’s the little things............

I have to agree with you Jon, just a tad more difficult at 1/700.

Back to the build, lovely bit of rigging.

 

Stuart

[Thom216]

Thread that needle! She's looking great.

[S-boat 55]

Hi All

 

In the process of rigging her I've knocked one of the nets again, this time rear starboard, its gonna take a lot of very very gentle caressing to rectify it, ive already had to repair the port side once, - lesson learned = pay attention to both ends when moving the wee blighter.

 

However thought I'd share where I'm at with the rigging, been focussing on the island and forward starboard area, 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To do this lot has taken 8 hours or so, over all the rigging is at about 12 hours so far with a little bit left to do, not much left not though,

 

thanks for stopping by

 

Sam

[Thom216]

You don't have me fooled. I know you've been using trained spiders to do your rigging!!

[Bertie McBoatface]

6 hours ago, S-boat 55 said:

I've knocked one of the nets again, this time rear starboar

 

You have so many fragile things sticking out all around that any movement must be perilous. Dusting it in years to come will be very entertaining. 😉

 

The overall effect of the tiny parts is to make the ship look massive. The detail suggests the size. It's all very impressive to me.

[johndon]

Excellent work on the rigging, no excess glue to be seen anywhere 👍

[S-boat 55]

7 hours ago, Thom216 said:

You don't have me fooled. I know you've been using trained spiders to do your rigging!!

I'll confess that they were very sweary spiders lol

 

 

[beefy66]

2 hours ago, S-boat 55 said:

I'll confess that they were very sweary spiders lol

 

 

 

Sweary or not they deserve a lot of praise and a good rest after all that amazing thread work.  

 

Stay Safe

beefy