CDW

Funnels detailed, painted, and attached.

Next, some rigging perhaps, then the masts.

Thanks for that photo! Hmmm...that would be an interesting way of displaying the nets.

Oh and by the way...I was talking to a life long friend and hobby shop owner today, and showed him my Mikasa photos. He knows a local author and ship historian who actually wrote a book on the Mikasa after studying, measuring, and photographing it in Japan some years ago. My friend thinks the author will be interested in buying my model. We'll see.

11 minutes ago, lmagna said:

Will the nets be in the stowed or deployed position?

I'm thinking deployed. Have not seen any photos to know how they would have been stowed. That may be interesting, too.

44 minutes ago, lmagna said:

Starting to get used to the funnel stripes. They remind me of the wing stripes on D-Day aircraft of WWII. I bet they were very effective in line of battle recognition. She is becoming a very full and detailed ship as you would expect in a pre-Dreadnought. 

 

Great work.

Thanks Lou...and there is so much more detail yet to be added. Some very full sheets of photo etch and turned brass parts yet remain to be done. I'm trying to decide whether to use the Pontos supplied torpedo nets or build my own. I've seen some very convincing torpedo nets that can be made from readily available materials and they look much better than the photo etch ones in my opinion. Those won't be done until last, so I have time to experiment and decide.

Thank you kindly for the nice comments gentlemen. Much appreciated.

Just do what the old Jimmy Buffet song says to keep from going insane...just laugh and move on. It works.

Funnels with details added

The funnels will get a lot more detail before they are done. Just seeing how they fit/look before it's too late to make changes if needed.

1 hour ago, Chuck Seiler said:

I have tried to use tissue paper in the past and have had issue with it tearing while printing.  You have to take care when attaching it to a piece of paper.  Subsequently, based on a friend who does miniatures, have gone to cigarette paper. 

 

    Downside 1:  You are limited in size.

 

    Downside 2:  When you go into the tobacco store to buy the cigarette papers you get the knowing "I know what you are going to use that for" look.   ...but, hey, it's legal in California now so.....

If you buy Price Albert rolling papers, you don't get those same strange looks as you do with Zig Zag papers. 🙂🤐

It's shocking how far off those hull bulkheads were from the true dimensions. 

The stern appears much more voluptuous with the deck hardware in place.

She turned out a beauty, Greg. Outstanding work.

8 minutes ago, Old Collingwood said:

Thanks greg,   im finding the thick quick setting gaitor pva glue a real help, as it grabs the rail and within minutes its starting to set,   they are actually less hassle than I thought they would be.

 

OC.

OC

Is that Gator Grip glue you are using, in the bottle with a green and white label?

If so, that is a great glue for photo etch railings. Excess glue can easily be brushed away with a damp (with water) paint brush, then wick away the water/glue with a dry brush. Makes the join invisible. And it's strong, too. I probably use the thin set version more than the thick (green label) but I think you can thin the thick glue with distilled water, so it makes having both thick and thin bottles redundant. 

Whatever issue there may be with the strips, your model's hull looks superb. Beautiful work.

Had the itch to buy this model for quite a while now. Will follow your build with great interest. 

Onward and upward.

More deck details to come, then funnels, masts, and rigging.

Thanks for the nice comments, Ken and OC. It's a big difference going from 1:350 to 1:200 scale, in as much as the details that can be added without nearly as much difficulty (for me) as 1:350 scale.

I have no idea how the modelers who do 1:700 scale can pack so much detail into such small models. I have seen some incredible work from those 1:700 scale modelers. By comparison, 1:200 scale is much easier IMHO.

1 hour ago, Old Collingwood said:

Thanks carl,   she is getting there bit by bit,   soon will be the deck railings(still looking at seeing if I can do them in managable lengths not long runs).

 

OC.

Manageable lengths is a process done by many good modelers. One long length is very problematic as it often does not fit the contours of the deck. Make your cuts at a post, then allow the rails to slightly overlap each successive length. I have done this many times before and it works very well.

Thanks for the kind comments gentlemen. Much appreciated.

I liked her with teeth, but she now looks totally mean with her fangs in place.

42 minutes ago, RGL said:

wow, in context to military ops, that's really scary.

Wait until you find out there are military officers who know all kinds of obscure facts like, how many farm tractors are in Kaplica Czaszek, Poland? (or pick any city in eastern europe) and any facts pertaining to office space, hardened facilities, fuel storage, equipment, manufacturing capability, so forth and so on.

It's all part of logistics and pre planning in case of war and the potential necessary military occupation of any given city of strategic importance. It's both mind blowing and scary at the same time that there is that degree of intelligence data in the hands of very capable people. 

12" main gun turret

Nice job! Takes some real dedication to do that many gun ports. Yikes!

Mine have not even begun. 🤨

1 hour ago, mtaylor said:

I didn't know there plane-spotters, OC.  I'd heard of train-spotters though. 

 

I used to do the same thing as CDW.  Most airports even had parking areas off the end of the runway.  Those were the days... 

We had one little executive airport on the harbor where we all took our girlfriends in high school to watch the submarine races. It was nice, peaceful, and never a problem (that I knew of). Police would come by and check to make sure everybody was okay.