IJN Mikasa by CDW - Wave Models - 1:200 scale - PLASTIC

[Piet]

Nice work Craig. PE really makes the model, love it.

 

Cheers,

[CDW]

For the moment, Mikasa is in dry dock. Our oldest daughter and her husband flew in from New Hampshire (from Popeye's hometown of Manchester) and we are having lots of fun spending time together and going places. Spent the day at Tarpon Springs today seeing the sites, then had a big family party tonight with cookout.

Let the good times roll. 

[CDW]

 

[CDW]

The rear bridge is ready for paint.

[Old Collingwood]

Looking marvelous mate.

 

OC.

[CDW]

Thank you, OC. Much appreciated.

Edited September 6, 2018 by CDW

[CDW]

The upper deck of the rear bridge. Photo etch structure in place on the bottom of the deck. A dry fit of the deck on the bridge. 

Will paint the deck, then add the wood stick-on deck before adding all the details that go on top of the deck...railings, more superstructure, search lights, guns, etc.

[popeye the sailor]

looks really nice....the PE detail adds quite a bit to the structure   

[CDW]

Finished up the remaining 47mm deck guns today. That takes care of all the secondary guns.

[Old Collingwood]

Very tasty looking guns  - she is coming on really well mate.

 

OC.

[CDW]

Rear bridge with top deck attached. More detail to come on top deck later.

[Canute]

Well done on that bridge. And your weapons work is really good.

[CDW]

Thank you Ken. The two bridges will get pretty busy once it's all done and in place. I think the little structure on top of the rear bridge is the pilot house. I could be mistaken.

[CDW]

I built scale models for many years, but primarily cars, motorcycles, aircraft, and military vehicles, UNTIL I read this little book around/about 1990.

After that, I jumped right into ship models. If you ever have a chance to pick up a copy of this book, by all means, get it. The author does some amazing things with plastic ship models. Inspiring, for sure.

[hollowneck]

Craig,

Thanks for the thumbs-up on my HMS Swan picture posts. You may be interested to know that I'm just getting started on my new build: HobbyBoss 1/200 IJN Mikasa...w/Pontos PE set. I wanted to try something radically different than what I've been doing for the last few years.

I've scanned through your build log and your work looks really excellent, an inspiration....especially when one of those miniscule (no, make that "microscopic"!) parts goes "ping"...and its forever lost.

I'm very excited about building the Mikasa this Fall and Winter.

Ron

 

 

 

 

 

[CDW]

Oh, wow Ron! That's going to be fun to see your Mikasa. I am looking forward to that.

I think one of the prominent features of this ship will be it's boats. I'm going to try to find some reference pictures for them, but may have to use some creative license to get what I want.

I hope you will come back and let me know when you start your Mikasa build so I don't miss it. Thanks for your kind comments and for stopping by.

 

[CDW]

Plodding along.

Here is the rear bridge sans search lights, ladders, and crew figures.

What does one call the two pipes coming up on each side of the binnacle? I'm guessing those are the pipes used for verbal communication with the engine room and so forth, but I have no idea what they're called. Anyone know?

Edited September 12, 2018 by CDW

[Old Collingwood]

27 minutes ago, CDW said:

Plodding along.

Here is the rear bridge sans search lights, ladders, and crew figures.

What does one call the two pipes coming up on each side of the binnacle? I'm guessing those are the pipes used for verbal communication with the engine room and so forth, but I have no idea what they're called. Anyone know?

There called  Voice Pipes mate, very common in pre electronic  versions.

 

OC.

[CDW]

14 minutes ago, Old Collingwood said:

There called  Voice Pipes mate, very common in pre electronic  versions.

 

OC.

That's too simple! Just kidding, but really, I had no idea exactly what the correct terminology was. Thanks for that.

I wonder how they directed their voice to where they wanted it, or did it just go out to whomever was listening regardless of where they were located? I'm guessing everyone heard it.

[Old Collingwood]

1 minute ago, CDW said:

That's too simple! Just kidding, but really, I had no idea exactly what the correct terminology was. Thanks for that.

I wonder how they directed their voice to where they wanted it, or did it just go out to whomever was listening regardless of where they were located? I'm guessing everyone heard it.

Modern days I think they use amplifiers and it goes out all over the ship,  when I lived near a naval base we could hear the commands from a few hundread yards away, mind you sound does carry over water.

 

OC.

[lmagna]

3 hours ago, CDW said:

I wonder how they directed their voice to where they wanted it

I could be wrong, but  I think they were both propitiatory and general. There were normally several voice pipes on the bridge with some going directly to important places like fire control or engine rooms. Other might be more general and be like a "party line" where all people at he other ends would listen for commands that related to them. 

 

Voice tubes were kept for a long time after electronic communication was common on warships as back up in case something happened to the more modern gear. The same could be said for the retention of the mechanical engine room telegraph. 

[hollowneck]

Craig,

As Ahnold said in the Terminator..."I'll be Baaaack..." Of course, I'll be back... just not sure exactly when since I've just cracked the boxes and inspected all the ingenious bits n' pieces. This so NEW to me...all the shiny brass...and nearly total lack of good directions on the PE upgrade. I must say, the instructions for the base HobbyBoss kit are pretty thorough, and this manufacturer has made a good effort to show detailed photos and avoid Chinglish: a picture is better than 1,000 mangled words and syntax.

 

My compressor and airbrush kit - I'm a newbie for this stuff - arrived only a few days ago. P/E bending jig, the same. Kool Lifecolor paints. Tiny, tiny glue applicators.....

 

My first inclination on this build was to add the brass bits and LEAVE them as-is; i.e. no painting (on the P/E). Leave them all shiny. And thinking about adding a custom nameplate: "IJN Bling-Bling." Seriously, I let that raw brass, raw idea fade into the background since this is my first plastic model (since I was an 8 year old) as I want it to resemble an actual ship. If I can complete this puppy, then maybe my NEXT plastic warship...Yamato?...Hood?...Bismarck? can be an all brass, bling-bling beauty.

 

I'll be checking-in here frequently and if I have something to contribute that's instructive or constructive, I'll do so. At this point, I don't plan to start my own build log for Mikasa - but that could change.

 

In the meantime - and judging by all your posts n' pics on this log - you are way, way ahead of me.

So many techniques and skills to learn. I'm pumped!...and looking closely at your photos- especially the items on your bench!

Ron

[CDW]

Ron,

The thing about all of these Pontos (and others as well) update sets, is that the pictorial "instructions" are not a build guide at all. They are simply photos of how the parts go together. It's up to the individual  modeler to work out their own assembly sequence as they see fit. You'll find yourself often going over each page of instructions over and over again, trying to find the particular photos you need for the step you're on. Best advice, read, read, read, look, look, look, then decide the way/order you think is best to tackle the model. You can see here how I did it, but that doesn't mean I did it right. There very well may be a different sequence that would work out better than the way I did it. Hope you have lots of fun doing yours!

CDW

[CDW]

Each of the search lights are 15 piece assemblies. I'll paint and detail these, then add the clear lenses and flanges last.

[CDW]

Searchlights, painted, detailed, and mounted.

[Bill Wells]

17 hours ago, CDW said:

That's too simple! Just kidding, but really, I had no idea exactly what the correct terminology was. Thanks for that.

I wonder how they directed their voice to where they wanted it, or did it just go out to whomever was listening regardless of where they were located? I'm guessing everyone heard it.

Indeed, it is that simple.  We called them Voice Tubes. They were made of thin brass and were Point A to Point B. (and reverse) communication.  Ships used them more commonly for lookouts to bridge or on small vessels to the engineering spaces.  In this case they appear to be used for helm and engine order instructions.

[yvesvidal]

What a beautiful model. Truly, a source of inspiration.

 

Yves

[Old Collingwood]

She is looking Superb mate - very fine work indeed.

 

OC.

[CDW]

Next, I have to repeat an almost identical process to finish the front bridge. At least all the searchlights and guns are finished.

 

Do any of you have any sources for period correct Japanese battle flags I could scale to this ship? All my kit came with are some color printed flags on glossy paper. They don't even appear to be in the correct scale. I guess if push comes to shove, I could scan what I have, size them how I want, then print them on clear or white decal paper.

[hollowneck]

Craig,

That's exactly the conclusion I'm coming to on how to approach this challenging project: the instructions only show HOW parts go together, not in what order - which can be critical, obviously - and especially at the small scales. I've already been writing down some sequences to follow as I look at - repeatedly - both the HobbyBoss booklet and Pontos "sheets".

 

Your last pic posts on your bridge detail is stunning. I've already decided to use three shades of grey on my build. And speaking of colors, I've tested stains on the wood applique/overlays and decided to use a maple color, except on the conning tower's floor which will be stained darker to simulate teak. I haven't seen you color your decking yet; have you chosen any colors or do you intend to retain the lighter, natural wood supplied in the upgrade package?

Ron