SOYA the model

[p-26luvr]

Can't see any mistakes. You're just doing what you are enjoying and learning at the same time. BTW what type of glue are you using. I use liquid poly for the plastic and GS Hypo glue for the etch and don't find either cause me too much of a problem with pre painted parts.

Dave, I use Ambroid PRO-WELD liquid cement, & 10 to 25 second drying super glue for the etch-brass pieces to give me time to move things around before it sets. I have had the paint wrinkle up around a glue joint before, & too , I want a good solid plastic to plastic joint.

At 80 years young, my hand shakes like a leaf in the wind at times while I am working on models & you would be surprised at how parts seem to dance all over the place before I finally get them seated where I want them to be. Thanks to you & others for your kind comments. I appreciate them. Carl T

[Shar2]

No worries Carl. You build it the way you want to. Oh and I know a lot about dancing parts and particularly the dreaded carpet monster.

[p-26luvr]

I am not going to do any painting on this model until after next Sunday, when I will be going down to the Baycon show in South Attleborough Mass. I am going to try to get some of the thinner for the Gunze Sangyo Mr Color paints that were issued just for this model. The hobby shop in Marlborough Mass may carry it.

Dave, the carpet monster has had a very hard time keeping parts from this model hidden. The white plastic really stands out. I have dropped more than 6 pieces on the carpet & found them all very easily. It is the clear pieces that virtualy disappear, even the face plate for the superstructure which is pretty good sized.

One thing to note about working with this model. Over the years I have accumulated a large number of TWEEZERS in varying shapes & sizes. Some have pointed ends, others flat horzontal or angled ends, some have angled & pointed ends. I buy the best that I can find. A medical supply store is a good source. I have done this because I work on all sorts, scales of models & figures & I never have known when I might need something I did not have.

The point is this, I have been using a pair of tweezers that are 3 1/2 inches long with pointed tips, AND SERATED FACING EDGES ON THE INSIDE. These tweezers allow me to hold the smallest of pieces with confidence that I am unlikely to drop the piece. The serated faces grab solidly the smallest piece & keep it from shifting back & forth while placing the part where I want it to go. I generally advise anyone who is going to do a lot of modeling to build up a selection of tweezers. Sooner or later you will be glad that you have. Carl T

[p-26luvr]

This first picture shows part of my collection of tweezers.

This picture shows a pair of tweezers that I use for handling the smallest parts. It is the one on the bottom. As you can plainly see, it has the serated facing pieces. I have included the top pair to show the flat faced faces on some tweezers.

This is the folding tool that I will be using with the etch-brass parts. It is called the BUG, & is, i believe available from Cammets in the UK.

I hope that these pictures give some help. Carl T

[Wonker]

Looking good, Carl. Good luck with the painting.

[Peter O]

Great job so far, Carl! I've got one in the stash, but haven't had a chance to start it yet.

I think I remember you at Granitecon... the bottom of your beard looks familiar

Peter

[MODeller]

I have been conversing with Carl over this model and he has given me the KUTA to take mine down from the shelf of doom, respray it in acrylics and start thinking about a dio scene. Today I have sorted out the Bell 47 using the etched parts set and enclose a couple of photos of the completed article. MODeller

[Iain Ogilvie]

Crikey - that Bell 47 looks ace!!

Iain

[p-26luvr]

THANKS ONE & ALL for your kind comments & encouragement. Brian, the Bell helicopter is the first E/B in line for assembly. Your pictures are really great. The electricity just came back on after being out for over 3 hours so no more modeling for today. Peter jump right in & join our little group of SOYA builders.

BTW. Brian is an inspiration for me with his Airfix lifeboat & scatchbuilt tanker. Carl T

[p-26luvr]

Brian is making an earlier version of the SOYA model, with a lower foredeck than mine. Maybe he will be kind enough to post a picture of the foredeck portion. It would be very interesting if we had some pictures of the model with the later larger helicopter landing pad on thje stern deck for a comparison of the 3 versions of the model that have been available. In my humble opinion, that would make for a very interesting set of pictures all together in one place for future prospective builders of the model. Carl T

[p-26luvr]

I have made a good start on the etch-brass work parts today. I have added several of the ladders. the radar array on the rear posts, & one of the Bell helicopter rear ends. I also bought a piece of pine for the base for this model. It is all a lot easier to do than I had anticpated it would be. I will post more pictures of this part later. Carl T

[p-26luvr]

The first 3 pictures are of the Bell helicopter brass framework being made up. In this one the framework has been folded on one of the rear ends already which you can see if you look closely.

In this picture I have added the first framework to show the before & after assembly.

In this picture you can see the length in 1/32nd of an inch.

I n this picture is the radar array on the rear mast. There are 4 pieces of E/B folded at 45 degrees glued to the mast & to each other.

This is a picture of the superglue that I use with my E/B. I use this almost exclusively. It is slow drying, giving me plenty of time for placing parts. It has a screw top cap. The most important aspect for me is that a bottle lasts for a very long time without hardening in either the bottle or the application point. Carl T

[p-26luvr]

These next few pictures show the work that I have done with the etch-brass parts so far. This is the superstructure that shows the ladders that are in the same place in both sides. They are from a Gold Medals E/B fret of extra ladders that has several different sizes. I used these E/B ladders because the plastic ones in the kit looked too cluncky to me. You can also see the various additions to the smokestack.

This is a closeup of the forward derrick posts with ladders on the side, & railing on the crossbar.

The bow again, but not so close up.

This is the stern king posts from the port side.

And from the starboard side. Both king post are only temporarily in place. Carl T

[p-26luvr]

Yesterday while down in Mass. I bought a second kit of the SOYA, but the earlier version that is like MODeller, Brian, is doing.

For any UK modeler that might be intertested in buying the BUG folding tool that I recomend,there is a half page article about the availability of it in the October 2011, issue # 75 of MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL on page 4, or please contact Paul at info@little-cars.co.uk There are both oictures of the tools available & UK prices. Carl T

[p-26luvr]

A little digression here, if I may. This ship, the SOYA, becomes ever more interesting, & fascinating as a modeling project as more and more information becomes available to me. The first solid item was the tabulated history that I found on the internet under " ammunition ships ", plus the enlargeable color picture on WIKIPEDIA. Last weekend I bought another of the models, but of an earlier configuration, which chages the look of the model completely. In the box is a 48 page booklet with a lot of pictures & text; all in Japanese. I am trying to find both an English translation of that booklet, & if there is one, a full length book of the ships history We are all familiar with the history of the famous WW2 wartime ships that are generally done as models. Unlike most of them, this ship had a much longer useful life, some 40 years, before being turned into a floatin museum, which it still is. It did sterling service in whatever capacity it was called on to do over it's whole lifetime which is some 73 years now. As a real ship & as a model in the type it is being made it is very coloful, & a worthy ship to make a model of. Carl T

[p-26luvr]

I would like to point out to any modeler that may be interested in building one of this model who may be put off considering doing so because of the use of etch-brass detailing parts; please do not let the E/B stop you from buying the kit. This model can be built to an acceptable standard straight out of the box. A lot of the details that the E/B parts replace are already moulded in plastic parts or as part of another piece. While the E/B is a very neat way to replicate detail to a high standard, it is not an absolute necessity. In fact, the only reason that I am using E/B with this model is because it was included in the model package. This whole model came as a complete surprise to me, as reguards to quality, number of parts, the E/B parts & most of all the pleasure it has been to build. My advice to anyone that thinks you would like to build one is try it, you might like it. REMEMBER THIS I AM USUALLY A MODEL AIRCRAFT BUILDER, I RARELY BUILD SHIP MODELS. Carl T

[p-26luvr]

This mornig I sent in 2 seperate orders for etch-brass, the first one is for the 3rd corps version of the ship model which is quite different from the other 2. I also ordered 2 of the Gold Medal Models extra ladder frets, & 1 of their railing frets, all in 1/350th scale. Tomorrow, if I am lucky, I will buy the 3rd corps version of the model. More on all of this later. Carl T

[p-26luvr]

Yesterday I went over to Nashua, N H & bought the 3rd version of the SOYA, so I now have all 3 versions that Hasegawa has released of it. I spent several hours today working on this new kit. I have the hull together with the fore deck & lower stern deck in place, & the front facing of the superstructure in place. I have not added any of the small detail pieces as yet. I placed the larger helicopter landing pad in place to find out how it would look once finished, & then placed the 2 models together side by side, & what a very real difference there is between the models. I will post pictures in a few days. Where I just barged ahead with the first model it is readily appearent that with this one I am going to have to plan well ahead what will come next in the construction & painting. Stay tuned for more yet to come. Carl T

[p-26luvr]

These first 2 pictures show the artwork on the last 2 models of the SOYA that I have bought.

The top one is the 3rd corps version, the one I am now working on. The next picture is of the 1st corps version. I am including these 2 pictures because I think that the paintings are of the highest calibre & evoke the area where the real SOYA worked.

This is the stern under deck on the version that I am now working on, which is the 3rd corps one. My earlier model is of the 2nd corps one. There is a lot more detail to be added on to this deck.

This picture show the larger helicopter pad & upper deck just laid in place.

I hope that these views are of interest. Carl T

[p-26luvr]

In this picture I have wanted to show the detail that is on both the top & bottom of the larger helicopter landing pad/deck. The ribbed part is the underside which will not be readily evident once the deck is mounted in place. If you look real closely at the top you can see the raised detail that is there. On the 2 models that have the helicopter hanger there is structural detail inside of that as well. Carl T

[denstore]

Must say that I love this thread. Interesting subject, good descriptions, and something out of the ordinary.

[p-26luvr]

These 2 pictures show the added plastic parts for the lower rear deck. The larger helicopter deck will go over this. The etch-brass set for this model is on its way to me in the mail, from Sprue Brothers & I expect that there will be etch-brass pieces to add in this section.. If you will look closely you will see several of the very small pieces in which I used the serated faced tweezers to hold those pieces.

As with all my models that have a large number of sprues I used a fine pointed black Sharpie pen to mark the sprue letter where I can easily see it somewhere on a flat area on the sprue.Where there are about 19 sprues with over 200 parts in this model doing this makes it much easier to find what is next.

Now that I am doing all 3 models I am planning to show the major points of diffrence between the various models so that anyone interested in buying/making one can make a more informed choice as to which one suits him.

Carl T

[p-26luvr]

This picture shows the rear deck of the earlier model for comparison to the above 2 pictures. Carl T

[p-26luvr]

Thank you very much for your kind words Denstore, I appreciate them. If you or anyone else has any questions ,suggections, or other comments please feel free to ask away or say anything you like.

After adding the small details to the forward deck, I will be starting on the last of the 3 models.

For those who might not like the use of etch-brass detailing parts, I plan to show the plastic parts, that E/B replaces,just layed in the place where they would normally be. Where I have the E/B parts for I will be using them, with one exception. When the time comes I will show the plastic parts I will use & explain why I am using them. Carl T .

[denstore]

Would it be possible to convert the ship to her earlier configuration, that of the WWII ammo supply ship?

I have a couple of Hasegawas ship, but this one has eluded me. But my guess is that if it is something like the others, it's a great kit. Both Hasegawa and Tamiya make that extra effort when doing japanese subjects. Even their older (70-80's) kits of japanese tanks and airplanes are quite good.