Landlubber Mike

I forgot to mention that I'm going to go full bore and model the ship in a diorama setting. I have the Waterline Dioramas book from Seawatch Books and always wanted to try one. I've wanted to do a diorama scene with a wooden ship, but it seems tricky to reduce the hull below the waterline (or at least I haven't had the foresight to do so). I know some reduce the plastic kit hull below the waterline for dioramas, but this particular model has a lower hull of only about an inch, which should make it fairly simple.

Hey Joe, thanks for looking in. I really had no interest in plastic when I thought it was like the models I did as a kid - insert tab A into slot B, paint with testor's enamel, etc. Now with the PE detail kits, airbrushes, all the weathering products, and books on the subject matter, it's a whole different ballgame. The detail you can get with PE is amazing relative to the standard plastic parts. That's awesome! It's really rewarding doing something like that together.

I've largely tooled up for plastic parts, including picking up an airbrush. I'm waiting on a few items of primers, paints, and weathering supplies, but in the meantime will probably start doing some of the assemblies and practicing on the airbrush and with the PE. I spent a few hours yesterday going over the add-on kits, marking up the kit instruction manual where add-ons might come in. The improvements from the Hasegawa add-on are nicely referenced in the kit instruction manual in the various assembly stages. As I mentioned before, the Infini add-on set is considerably more detailed than the Hasegawa add-on. There seemed to only be a few minor areas (mostly hidden) that Infini didn't tackle. I'm a little annoyed because on another forum, I asked in a thread about the Infini add-on whether it largely duplicated and made buying the Hasegawa add-on irrelevant. The moderators deleted my post for being off-topic -- say what? I'm a bit annoyed because it would have saved me some money buying the Hasegawa set, but it is what it is. If anything, I can practice working on PE with the Hasegawa before trying the Infini set. The Infini set is fantastic by the way. The parts are incredibly detailed. I'm glad I bought an Optivisor (thanks again to those who made recommendations on an earlier thread I posted) as it looks like I will need it!

Nice colorized picture of the Shimakaze:

Seems like most of the action these days on MSW is with the plastic kits, so I decided to join the crew with the Hasegawa Shimakaze kit. I ended up buying a couple of more advanced plastic kits from a MSW member (noted in my signature), but wanted to start out with something a little easier. Good timing, as my nine-year old daughter wants to work on a Revell 1:48 F/A-18E kit she picked out a couple of years ago when we were at Michael's. So, I figured I can learn on the Shimakaze and hopefully impart some experience and skills to her when she builds her model. History. The Shimakaze is an interesting ship. She was laid down in August 1941 and completed in May 1943. She was based on the Yugumo-class, but included a third quintuple torpedo mount -- the largest torpedo broadside of any WWII destroyer (to accommodate, the hull was lengthened an additional 25 feet). She also had a new boiler and turbine system that provided for very high speeds (40.9 knots) among the fastest of any WWII destroyer, and was also one of the first Japanese destroyers to be outfitted with the newer Type 22 radar. Fairly unremarkable service though, and she was sunk in Ormoc Bay in November 1944. She was the only one of its class to be built - known as the Type C destroyer - as part of Japan's 1939 Program. An additional 16 Type C destroyers had been planned, but were cancelled when the resource strains during the war caused Japan to turn from new or more complicated designs to more established and simple ones. Kit. The kit is one of the newer Hasegawa kits, and seems to have had pretty favorable reviews. I bought the Hasegawa PE and linoleum deck add-ons, and also bought the Infini detail pack. The Hasegawa PE add-on appears like it will be mostly duplicated by the more expansive Infini kit. I also have some other detail add-on kits like the ones below that I might use. Resources. I picked up the following resources that seem to provide quite a lot of detail: In case anyone is interested in picking up a plastic kit, Scalemates.com is a great resource that consolidates reviews, after market accessories, resources, build logs, etc. for kits. The one for the Hasegawa Shimakaze kit is here: https://www.scalemates.com/kits/hasegawa-40029-ijn-destroyer-shimakaze-late-type--995983

I ordered one of those Tamiya turntables (actually, a pack of two) from Amazon - not sure if I'll get them as Amazon emailed me that the seller didn't provide them with shipping info. They are supposed to be here by the end of the month, but if not, I might have to reorder.

Nice approach Javelin. I was wondering what to do about adding exterior PE to the hull earlier in the build so I can prime and paint at same time. Maybe I should rethink that. I’m a bit clumsy around my builds. 🙄

I see I’m not the only one that realizes there is only one logical way TP rolls should be installed. Can you talk to my wife?

Looking good. For the planksheer, I believe I sanded it flat with the first planking. For the second planking, I’m using a thicker plank. It seemed impossible to keep planksheer extended past the hull an even amount along the full hull.

Wow beautiful work! Love the weathering!

Looks great Javelin! Colors look fantastic. Your experience with the PE makes me a little nervous. I started going through the kit this morning, and am marking where there is duplication between the Hasegawa PE and the Infini PE. Will probably practice on the duplicate parts to get a handle on this PE stuff.

It might be sold under the name "Modelspan" too - my limited understanding is that modelspan and silkspan are pretty much the same thing.

Thanks Harley, great advice. Well, I have everything ordered so should be able to start soon. Just need to clear out some other projects I've been working on, and then can start working on the Shimakaze. Just wanted to thank you all again for your tips and insights. Members here are so great about helping beginners move up the learning curve quickly (and better yet, start higher up on the curve). Really appreciate it!

Research, learning about plastic kits after not working on one in the last three decades, acquiring supplies, etc. Amazon and eBay tell me I have a lot of goodies waiting for me when I get home from work. Actually I’ll probably start this weekend (I’m building the Hasegawa Shimakaze 1:350 with Hasegawa and Infini upgrades). Not sure if I’ll do a build log as it might be littered with frustration and bad language. 😐

It’s logs like this that made me want to try plastic models. Incredible job!

Thanks! I ended up going with Tamiya. I’ll have to check out that resource.

Thanks guys! This has been a little bit of a pain. Maybe I'm overthinking it, but trying to go for the particular shade of Maizuru in the Vallejo realm is going to be harder than it looks without paint chips. I thought I found the answer in that conversion chart, but as rcmdrvr pointed out, the colors in that conversion chart refer to Vallejo Model Color, and not Model Air - doh! I found some paints in the Model Air range that look like close analogs to the Model Color paints, but comparing colors on a computer screen is probably not all that accurate. So, I think what I'm going to do is just go with the Tamiya paint (either the spray can or the bottle), and maybe pick up Vallejo colors and other items to add highlights and lowlights, weather it, etc. It's my first plastic model, so I'll try to go easy on myself.

Sorry to come with more questions. I ended up spending a few hours researching options for the various colors, etc. for my upcoming IJN Shimakaze build. The main hull color is "Maizuru Naval Arsenal." It looks like there are a few options I can use: (1) Mr Color SC03 (what the Hasegawa kit references), (2) Tamiya XF87 (bottle), (3) Tamiya TS-99 spray can, or (4) mix Vallejo French Mirage Blue (900) and Intermediate Blue (903) in 1:1 ratio according to this helpful Vallejo conversion chart: https://img.fireden.net/tg/image/1474/29/1474297046471.pdf There's also a Model Master Maizuru bottle that's available, but it looks like it's enamel and I want to stay water based for now. I'm still leaning towards sticking with Vallejo for the range and general availability of colors, but was wondering about the Tamiya spray can. I saw a video of someone who built I believe the same kit using Mr. Surfacer 1000 as primer, then only used Tamiya spray cans to apply colors. Are the Tamiya paint cans good, or since I'm getting an airbrush anyway, should I just go with bottles of paints that I can airbrush with a thinner line of paint? Also, if I decided to go with the Mr. Color or Tamiya paints instead of mixing Vallejo paints to get the same shade, would I be able to use Vallejo paints and weathering applications on top of the Tamiya? I'm going to be working on a Revell F-18 fighter with my daughter, and it seems much easier to collect the paints I need for that build through Vallejo (and so maybe I should just stick with Vallejo to the extend possible). Thanks in advance as always!

Thank you all, this has been incredibly helpful. Lazy Saint, I agree about the beauty of forums like this. Honestly, I can't fathom starting in this hobby (wood or plastic models) pre-internet. I fumble around quite a bit now - I can only imagine how much I'd fumble around if I was stuck trying to figure things out alone. So a big thank you again to everyone for their generosity of time to share their experience and techniques!

Kurt and Craig, thanks very much! This is incredibly helpful. Of course I now have some follow-on questions if you don't mind: 1. If you prime the PE while on the fret using something like the Tamiya spray primer, once you remove a particular part from the fret, do you need to touch up that one spot where the part attached with primer? If so, do you have to use a brush-on primer? Or are the spots where attached so small that you are usually ok? 2. If I'm going to be priming PE frets and something like a plane or a ship's hull (or superstructure) for for 1/350 model, is it easier to just go with a Tamiya rattle can? Or is that thicker than priming through the airbrush? 3. Any recommendations on whether to start out going with Tamiya versus Vallejo? Thinking practically, it looks like I can pick up sets of Vallejo paints through Amazon prime, whereas Tamiya is on a bottle by bottle basis which might come from Japan. On that basis I might just try starting with Vallejo unless Tamiya is much better? 4. I'm assuming that if I decide to go with Vallejo for paints, I can still use a Tamiya primer? From the little I understand, it seems like you should stick within a brand when using thinners with paints, but seems like primers can be different from the paints. Really appreciate all the help. It's a little overwhelming starting out, when I've barely used paint on the wooden model ships except for Admiralty paints (and never thinned them), and used Testors enamels decades ago straight from the bottle when I did plastic models as a kid. This looks fun, especially with airbrushing, weathering, etc.

This is really helpful Lazy Saint, appreciate it! Love your planes! My daughter and I just started working on an F/A-18E from Revell and I hope our work turns out half as nice as yours! I ended up sourcing a bunch of PE and other add-ons so I think the kit has potential to come out pretty nicely. Couple of more questions if you don't mind: 1. Should I clean or pre-treat the photo-etch as well? Is there residue, etc. that needs to come off? What is usually recommended for that? 2. For paints, should you always use thinner regardless of whether you are hand painting or airbrushing? I guess what I'm wondering is, if you are using something like Vallejo Model Air which can be used in the airbrush straight from the bottle, do you have to then thicken it for hand brushing? Or do you just do extra coats if hand brushing? Thanks again!

I actually kinda like it with the dark wood 😛 Either are great kits, especially if you upgrade the Fly kit (I went with the Pegasus for the figurehead). You can get plans for either ship from the NMM if you want to build a more accurate model. The Pegasus is close to being spot on, but there are a few changes I made to my deck and bitts to conform to the NMM plans.

Ikea has a few good variable height desks. There is one with a hand crank and one with an electric crank. A friend of mine has the hand crank one and likes it (I believe he fixed his own top to it also). Based on his recommendation, I drove out to Ikea and looked at the tables. I ended up deciding on a different table that I believe was a little larger, that you can manually raise up and down (but not by crank). I didn't see the need to be regularly adjusting the height of the table - probably just to lower it when doing final rigging - so why spend the extra money for the hand crank one. Take a look at the reviews if you're interested in the electric one - a lot of reviewers ended up having problems with it, which scared me away from that model. It could just be that they overloaded the table and overworked the motor. It didn't seem to be a system designed for heavier work, and the one in the store seemed to have issues. People at my office have electric desks and those seem much more robust when it comes to the motor, etc. I'd probably go with a heavier duty model if I wanted an electric crank.

Thanks guys, this is really helpful. I really appreciate it!

I’m going to try my hand at plastic models and had some questions about how to approach painting plastic and PE add-ons. I’m still in the process of figuring out an airbrush, but intend to do as much with an airbrush (or rattle can?) as possible. I’ve been reading lots of build logs and other resources online, but am still a bit confused with the basics. 1. Cleaning PE? Does the PE need to be cleaned before using? Any recommendations on what to use? And do folks clean a PE sheet at a time, rather than clean individual pieces? 2. Prime both PE and plastic? I’m assuming it’s best to prime PE, but do you also have to prime plastic? The PE add-ons for my kit are so small (gratings have openings that seem the size of a strand of hair) - any recommendations for super thin primers? 3. General recommendations of paint and primer brands to use? I’ve used Vallejo in the past and liked them, and saw that they had a Model Air line that I think can be used directly in airbrushes without thinning. Is Vallejo Model Air good? Tamiya? Other brands? Also, any recommendations on primers? 4. How to find colors? I saw some kits refer to certain colors. Is there a resource that says Brand A’s paint X is comparable to the shade of Brand B’s paint Y? Any resources on typical paints/colors used for modern fighters and WWII Japanese ships? 5. Sealing painted parts? How do you guys seal your models? Do you use a spray can to spray it down at the end? Or so you seal as you go by brush? 6. Weathering decals? Are there ways to weather decals? In some cases they seem awfully bright if you’re going to weather the rest of the model. 7. Gluing PE to PE or plastic? Any recommendations on gluing PE to PE? PE to plastic? I have CA, and just order some Gator Glue. For plastic to plastic, I have some Testor’s glue and Tamiya Cement. Many was thanks in advance!