RGL

I've been very tempted to do this in 1/350, looking forward to it

AKAGI 1927
 
So here I am, sat at the kitchen table, a bottle of Asahi Super Dry in front of me.
My katana is hanging on the wall - I can't see it from where I'm sitting, but I know it's hanging there ... approvingly.
The only thing missing is a stirring marching tune, blaring from cracked speakers, and the picture would be perfect.
I'm building the IJN Akagi.
 

 
I have no intention of stoking the fires of the silly kit vs. scratch debate, but I almost feel a bit ... disoriented here in the kit department.
The scratch build section is where I usually hang my hat, and my darlings generally have sails and had their keels laid down before 1700.
 
I don't really know what happened. They found the Musashi, and I sat through every minute of the 2,5 hour Expedition Live Feed.
Then it was on to IJN battleships on Wikipedia ...
I suppose the fate of all those lovely ships got to me; the wastefulness of it all. 
The Dai nippon Teikoku Kaigun deserves a bit of resurrecting, albeit in 1/700 scale.
 
The plan is to assemble a little fleet of IJN ships.
We'll see how far I get.
 
Anyways, I picked the Akagi as the first ship because she is a bit of an odd one, with her three flight decks.
An aircraft carrier is also completely new territory for me - thought it might be fun.
 
 
WWII is fairly new to me in modelling/painting terms.
(I've only built Russian tanks and painted Finnish infantry before this project.)
So I'll take any expert advice, cheering on, pointers, source material (English, Japanese, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish are all OK) etc. I can get.
 
 
For those interested in the subject, here are some links:
 
http://ww2db.com/ship_spec.php?ship_id=10
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_aircraft_carrier_Akagi
 
https://fiftiethstateofmind.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/akgimg_00071.jpg
 
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/75/d4/97/75d497ac91cd0121abebeac8459d56d4.jpg
 
 
The Kit
 

 
The kit looks nice and detailed and the instructions seem OK. Although I did find som (mandatory) japlish. 

It's good that the black isn't TOTALLY gross, just semi gross.
 
The kit certainly includes the most minuscule aircraft you'll ever see.

No kids or pets around so I might leave the planes loose.
 
 
Weeelll, the sprues have been washed so, here goes.
 
Sam

Simple solution, finish the model, put it in a glass case and park it against the wall with the damaged side facing it! Or just Put some Tamiya fine putty on the mark and sand fine, and overspray.

Simple solution, finish the model, put it in a glass case and park it against the wall with the damaged side facing it! Or just Put some Tamiya fine putty on the mark and sand fine, and overspray.

Simple solution, finish the model, put it in a glass case and park it against the wall with the damaged side facing it! Or just Put some Tamiya fine putty on the mark and sand fine, and overspray.

Don't get disparaged, I have spent 5 days prepping all the final stages of my build, all the etch is done and now just to paint. It shouldn't be work, that pays the mortgage and school fees. And for beer of course.

Haha, you're correct. The 3 colours are white, rust and black. I actually prefer the Uschi brand. I read that it deteriorates in UV light. Still, a lot easier than stretched Sprite as you can lash it.

Apparently it does not like sunlight, I've only started 1/350 in the last 12 months, so time will tell. There are other brands out there but I expect it's all the same compounds.

Don't get disparaged, I have spent 5 days prepping all the final stages of my build, all the etch is done and now just to paint. It shouldn't be work, that pays the mortgage and school fees. And for beer of course.

Don't get disparaged, I have spent 5 days prepping all the final stages of my build, all the etch is done and now just to paint. It shouldn't be work, that pays the mortgage and school fees. And for beer of course.

Don't get disparaged, I have spent 5 days prepping all the final stages of my build, all the etch is done and now just to paint. It shouldn't be work, that pays the mortgage and school fees. And for beer of course.

Don't get disparaged, I have spent 5 days prepping all the final stages of my build, all the etch is done and now just to paint. It shouldn't be work, that pays the mortgage and school fees. And for beer of course.

Mate that's just fantastic! The anchor stock Wales really come up a treat.

And done.Messy at first;
 
Then, they are supposed to be slung below but at they are under tension, they need to be tight, and as the whole assemby is very fragile, it's somewhat nerve racking.

Haha, you're correct. The 3 colours are white, rust and black. I actually prefer the Uschi brand. I read that it deteriorates in UV light. Still, a lot easier than stretched Sprite as you can lash it.

Apparently it does not like sunlight, I've only started 1/350 in the last 12 months, so time will tell. There are other brands out there but I expect it's all the same compounds.

You'll need differing diameters just like a tall ship. It's a pity it does not come in grey. The smallest is very hard to see and harder to work with. It sticks to the oils on your fingers.

Have you tried Ezyline? Very light, does not have to pull hard to get tension and if you knock it, it gives. Try a pinprick of CA to the joins on the rigging just to be sure. Basically very thin elastic bands.

Considering how much even the really expensive aftermarket leaves out requiring even more internet shopping, I'm not going to go larger, as I have lots of spares now, yet alone the storage space required. It might force my hand into buying an airbrush as well which I have been putting off. This scale shows detail without the bulk.
 
Happy to watch others tackle the big stuff!

The spreaders are steel etch that came with the upgrade. I am now in the process of bending the torpedo net Davits, comes in two pieces, so that's 84 pieces, requiring 120 folds for the base, and 42 folds for the davit itself. Eyesight fading.

And done.Messy at first;
 
Then, they are supposed to be slung below but at they are under tension, they need to be tight, and as the whole assemby is very fragile, it's somewhat nerve racking.

Seriously, I did go a little cross eyed. It took me three hours to do the first failure, absolute mess, but it's done and slung, bugger me it worked! Photos to come after the youngest gets off the computer.

There is a special room in hell for the designers of the aerials on the dreadnought. The kit comes with spreaders, and I see most people try and use stretched sprue or thin metal wire, but trying to be consistent I used the ezyline. The first attempt came out like this.

 
A little more thought and going cross-eyed because of the scale, I came up with this.
 
And hopefully I can end up with this.
 
I just have to attach them under tension now. Then I can finally ad some more rigging, and back to making progress.

Torpedo nets will be deployed old chap.

No where near finished yet, railings, aerials with spreaders then more Davits and torpedo nets to go yet! The rigging is going to be complicated.