Hi fellow ship buffs and modellers, this is a first for me, so your patience and guidance needed probably by the bucketful!
I bought this model in my local shop in Edinburgh December 2018. I was directed there by my other half whilst she went Christmas shopping. Is there many of us who get away with languishing in a model shop while the Xmas shopping is getting done😀Anyway, I treated myself to this model, so starts this journey.
This version of the Mikasa is the 1902 Hobby Boss kit, the dark grey - light grey colour scheme, which I think is the most striking.
My usual approach at the start of a build is to drill the portholes out; my preference is to drill the holes from outside then countersink the holes on the inside, easier done with the hull in two halves. This is a slow process using a pin vice, finger covering the hole on the outside and you lightly work a larger bit from the inside until you can feel the bit touching your finger - then becomes a visual (and don’t drill my finger affair) until you get the desired effect. Although this is time consuming, it gives the desired effect of a porthole instead of looking into a hole. Which is much better if you are using fibre optics etc.
The hull halves went together reasonably well with the usual filling dressing gets a good result.
Probably at at this stage, I found the Pontos detail set online, which as we all know is an absolute must for ship modellers these days. I remember when they first came out in the early 80s I had a 1/350 set for Yamato - brilliant! Still have some if this set with the instructions. Gold medal models I think. Positively lego Like compared to what’s on the market now. 😂 Problem is, it must add about 2 years to a model build. Don’t actually know - never finished one! Here’s hoping I can change that. Incidentally got the Pontos set for Christmas 2019 I thin. Can’t remember.
Having found this web-site showing all the builds, this has inspired me even further. (I shall mention their builds later.) I am impressed with all the interaction and help on this site. You know what they say; you are never finished learning until you are 6 feet under!
Anyway I started with the porthole etch to the hull. My advice- never hurry, treat every porthole as if it is a one off. Tricky trying to glue these; ended up with my standard practice with a small amount of glue on the end of fine tweezers, applied at the side of etch trying to tack it. Give it a few seconds until it has a hold, then work around the porthole to seal it on the hull. Less glue is best result. Then tidy up with a sharp blade when dry.
I shall stop at this point and pick up where I left off on my next post. I have a question, Is it alright to post photo of kit instructions as a reference to what you are trying to achieve?
