Tamiya IJN Kagero

[S-boat 55]

The funnel is looking very nice indeed

[Tim Reynaga]

30 minutes ago, S-boat 55 said:

The funnel is looking very nice indeed

 

 

Thanks. Those etched funnel grilles are a great boost over the plastic parts!

Edited January 5, 2024 by Tim Reynaga

[ArnoldAmbrose]

       Gidday Tim, that's very intricate work on those funnels and the signaler's platforms. Details like that certainly enhance a model.

I think the Japanese vessels were very good. The destroyers and some cruisers didn't look very imposing with the small superstructures but I think their crews knew how to get the best out of them. They gave us bloody noses on more than one occasion.

       She's looking very good.       Regards, Jeff.

[Tim Reynaga]

11 hours ago, ArnoldAmbrose said:

       Gidday Tim, that's very intricate work on those funnels and the signaler's platforms. Details like that certainly enhance a model.

I think the Japanese vessels were very good. The destroyers and some cruisers didn't look very imposing with the small superstructures but I think their crews knew how to get the best out of them. They gave us bloody noses on more than one occasion.

       She's looking very good.       Regards, Jeff.

 

Thanks Jeff. I agree, the destroyer forces were among the most effective components of the Imperial Japanese Navy.

 

 

The small curved cowl vents that go in front of the main funnel are nicely done by Tamiya, but like all the kit vents, they come with their faces molded solid. Opening them up (using a small round Dremel burr) was simple, although their round faces will be hard to see once they are in place between the funnel behind the bridge structure.

 

 

I also opened up the oval faces of the vertical steam discharge pipes mounted at the front and rear of the funnel.

 

 

The Infini set comes with a nice etched replacement AA platform, but I’ve decided to use the kit part. Although Infini platform is thinner, its tread pattern just doesn’t match Tamiya’s molded tread patterns on the rest of the ship’s decks.

 

 

You can see the mismatched tread pattern between the kit decks and the Infini searchlight platform behind the stack. I hope the discrepancy won’t be so obvious once the railing is on and there is a big searchlight in the middle of it...!

[Tim Reynaga]

The Infini set includes some beautiful etched replacements for Kagero’s gantry cranes (used to handle reload torpedoes).

 

 

The support towers for the cranes are clear improvements over the kit parts, although assembling the delicate brass origami can be a challenge.

 

 

 

The horizontal overhead gantry cranes themselves were a similar folding puzzle, but, much to my annoyance, I screwed up the first one beyond repair! The kit parts were still pretty good, though, so I salvaged some of the Infini gantry details and used them to dress up the plastic cranes.

[beefy66]

Great detail work Tim enjoying following this.  

 

Stay Safe

beefy

[Micha_Pol]

That is some high quality photoetch work - very neat. The open pipes also look very convincing. Good luck!

[socjo1]

Excellent job, Tim! Very clean and precise. Could you describe us something more about installing these tiny brass rails (for example around funnel?) Are you drilling holes at first or positioning rails? Which glue you use? 

Thank you and best regards, 

Michal

[Casey]

On 1/5/2024 at 6:06 AM, Tim Reynaga said:

 

 

Thanks. Those etched funnel grilles are a great boost over the plastic parts!

THIS gives my arachnophobia a tingle

 

But it looks awesome.

[Tim Reynaga]

1 hour ago, socjo1 said:

Excellent job, Tim! Very clean and precise. Could you describe us something more about installing these tiny brass rails (for example around funnel?) Are you drilling holes at first or positioning rails? Which glue you use? 

Thank you and best regards, 

Michal

Thanks Michal. The funnels actually already have the rails represented on them as subtle raised lines, so the technique for fitting the brass rails is pretty simple; I just fit the Infini rails on top of the lines and fix them in place with liquid plastic cement applied with my smallest paintbrush in tiny dabs. You can still see the lines under the etched brass parts if you look carefully.

 

 

The cement doesn't work on brass, but it melts the plastic below to form tiny welds. The upside is that the cement is quite a bit easier to work with than super glue, and before it sets you can reposition the part as you maneuver it into its exact place. The downside is that the bond is fairly weak - but the rails themselves are so fragile that a stronger bond isn't really an advantage anyway. Key tools are a good pair of forceps (I use Revlon eyebrow tweezers), a good plastic cement (I use Testors as it is free flowing but not quite as thin as Tamiya Extra-Thin cement), and a good whiskey to steady the hands (I recommend Jack Daniel's Old No.7 Tennessee sour mash). 

[Tim Reynaga]

 

The forward facing edge of the kit’s torpedo stowage on the aft superstructure is blank; the Infini brass details busy things up here neatly.

 

 

 

The superstructure comes with nicely rendered door and handhold detail, but the Infini brass makes it even better.

[Alun Gallie]

Lovely detail work - this gives me headaches fitting the rails at 1/72 on my Leander let alone smaller scale - I probably missed it but what scales the kit ?

 

[Tim Reynaga]

8 hours ago, Alun Gallie said:

Lovely detail work - this gives me headaches fitting the rails at 1/72 on my Leander let alone smaller scale - I probably missed it but what scales the kit ?

 

Thanks Alun! The ship is in 1/350 scale with the hull a little over 13 inches in length. 

[Tim Reynaga]

 

Now, on to the weapons!

 

 

The type 92 quadruple torpedo launchers as provided in the kit are quite nice with accurate shapes and the numerous surface details credibly represented.

 

 

 

Good as they look built right out of the box, the delicate Infini brass details add a sharpness and three-dimensionality to these mounts that really makes them pop!

Edited January 11, 2024 by Tim Reynaga

[Courageous]

The PE is definitely adding sharpness to the build, really like those torpedo turrets. Good work.

 

Stuart

[Tim Reynaga]

On 1/11/2024 at 12:10 PM, Courageous said:

The PE is definitely adding sharpness to the build, really like those torpedo turrets. Good work.

 

Stuart

Thanks Stuart!

 

 

 

The kit 12.7cm gunhouses, like the torpedo launchers, are pretty good right out of the box; I especially like the sculpted canvas blast bags. Tamiya even provided a full set of alternate barrels/bags so you can show the guns at high elevation. Nice!

 

 

The one area where these assemblies fall down is the surprisingly crude rear doors...

 

 

...but the Infini set includes one-piece brass replacements which fix things right up!

 

 

  
Another small change was to replace the faintly depicted side port covers with .033 inch discs punched from .005 inch plastic for a sharper look.

 

[Tim Reynaga]

Also, I should mention that although horizontal strengthening strakes were represented on the front and sides of all the kit mounts, these were actually only fitted to Kagero’s forward gunhouse (as stiffeners to resist seas coming over the bow), so I removed them from the two aft gunhouses leaving their fronts and sides smooth (the last pic above).

[ArnoldAmbrose]

20 minutes ago, Tim Reynaga said:

although horizontal strengthening strakes were represented on the front and sides of all the kit mounts, these were actually only fitted to Kagero’s forward gunhouse (as stiffeners to resist seas coming over the bow),

       Thanks Tim, I didn't know that. And yes, the alternative gun barrels is a nice touch. I've only seen that once before, on a 1/700 Royal Navy QE or R class battleship. But in that case it was with or without blast bags. Regards, Jeff.

[Micha_Pol]

Torpedo launchers look fabulous. Great job. 

[Tim Reynaga]

So much for the easy part – now come those tiny footrails for the gunhouse sides!

 

 

 

 

I started with the forward mount. After anchoring the U-shaped upper rail to the brass panel on the gunhouse rear with a dot of super glue, the rest of the piece was lightly secured to the sides with dabs of liquid plastic cement as were the two lower side rails. The cement doesn’t work on brass, but is softens the plastic just enough for it to grab the brass legs and tack the parts in place.

 

 

This long piece is designed to be shaped around the perimeter of the gunhouse roof...

 

 

...but the complex bends required seemed to be too much to keep track of for a single part, so I cut it into left, right, and aft sections which can be bent to shape and applied separately. The side parts are a pain to get just right, but here’s the portside piece ready to go:

 

[

 

And in place.

 

 

The starboard top piece was similar. I’ve also attached the curved section for the back edge of the roof.

 

 

The various smaller roof rails were then set in place.

[ArnoldAmbrose]

Gidday Tim, I'm glad it's you doing those rails and not me - that work you've done is waaaay out of my league. It's superb. Regards, Jeff.

[Tim Reynaga]

13 hours ago, ArnoldAmbrose said:

Gidday Tim, I'm glad it's you doing those rails and not me - that work you've done is waaaay out of my league. It's superb. Regards, Jeff.

 

Thanks  Jeff, but the etch isn't really all that difficult; the Infini set fits perfectly. It just takes some good eyewear, tweezers, and a bit of patience! 😄

 

Finally come the Infini brass barrels which fit directly into the kit canvas bloomers.

 

 

The plastic kit barrels would have worked just fine, but these lovely brass parts come with open bores and perfectly round, subtly tapered tubes without any mold lines.

 

 

 

The simple 6 piece Tamiya forward gunhouse has thus ballooned into a complex 29 part assembly – but it does look better!

 

Now to do this two more times... 

[ArnoldAmbrose]

Sorry Tim but the three photos in your last post aren't visible to me. All the others are. Regards, Jeff.

[Tim Reynaga]

21 hours ago, ArnoldAmbrose said:

Sorry Tim but the three photos in your last post aren't visible to me. All the others are. Regards, Jeff.

I reloaded the photos... any better?

 

 

 

 

 

[

 

[ArnoldAmbrose]

1 minute ago, Tim Reynaga said:

I reloaded the photos... any better?

Gidday Tim, definitely. I actually saw them yesterday on another forum, and can see them here now too.

Very skillful work and impressive detail. Regards, Jeff.