Tigerdvr

This is my 98.75% completed Joy-Yard 1/350 USS Missouri. She is shown in early 1945 venue.
I'm finishing some main deck railing work, paint touch up, and a matt clear coat and she will be ready
for her seascape base. It was definitely a challenge for me and I learned a lot. 
I was tempted to walk away from her and did take a ten day period of abstention but the challenge remained.
I spent an inordinate amount of time working through the instruction puzzle. The good amount of supplementary
material I had accumulated was a great help. 
I have the framework for her seascape ready to finish and she will be complete.

This is my 98.75% completed Joy-Yard 1/350 USS Missouri. She is shown in early 1945 venue.
I'm finishing some main deck railing work, paint touch up, and a matt clear coat and she will be ready
for her seascape base. It was definitely a challenge for me and I learned a lot. 
I was tempted to walk away from her and did take a ten day period of abstention but the challenge remained.
I spent an inordinate amount of time working through the instruction puzzle. The good amount of supplementary
material I had accumulated was a great help. 
I have the framework for her seascape ready to finish and she will be complete.

This is my 98.75% completed Joy-Yard 1/350 USS Missouri. She is shown in early 1945 venue.
I'm finishing some main deck railing work, paint touch up, and a matt clear coat and she will be ready
for her seascape base. It was definitely a challenge for me and I learned a lot. 
I was tempted to walk away from her and did take a ten day period of abstention but the challenge remained.
I spent an inordinate amount of time working through the instruction puzzle. The good amount of supplementary
material I had accumulated was a great help. 
I have the framework for her seascape ready to finish and she will be complete.

This is my 98.75% completed Joy-Yard 1/350 USS Missouri. She is shown in early 1945 venue.
I'm finishing some main deck railing work, paint touch up, and a matt clear coat and she will be ready
for her seascape base. It was definitely a challenge for me and I learned a lot. 
I was tempted to walk away from her and did take a ten day period of abstention but the challenge remained.
I spent an inordinate amount of time working through the instruction puzzle. The good amount of supplementary
material I had accumulated was a great help. 
I have the framework for her seascape ready to finish and she will be complete.

This is my 98.75% completed Joy-Yard 1/350 USS Missouri. She is shown in early 1945 venue.
I'm finishing some main deck railing work, paint touch up, and a matt clear coat and she will be ready
for her seascape base. It was definitely a challenge for me and I learned a lot. 
I was tempted to walk away from her and did take a ten day period of abstention but the challenge remained.
I spent an inordinate amount of time working through the instruction puzzle. The good amount of supplementary
material I had accumulated was a great help. 
I have the framework for her seascape ready to finish and she will be complete.

This is my 98.75% completed Joy-Yard 1/350 USS Missouri. She is shown in early 1945 venue.
I'm finishing some main deck railing work, paint touch up, and a matt clear coat and she will be ready
for her seascape base. It was definitely a challenge for me and I learned a lot. 
I was tempted to walk away from her and did take a ten day period of abstention but the challenge remained.
I spent an inordinate amount of time working through the instruction puzzle. The good amount of supplementary
material I had accumulated was a great help. 
I have the framework for her seascape ready to finish and she will be complete.

This is my 98.75% completed Joy-Yard 1/350 USS Missouri. She is shown in early 1945 venue.
I'm finishing some main deck railing work, paint touch up, and a matt clear coat and she will be ready
for her seascape base. It was definitely a challenge for me and I learned a lot. 
I was tempted to walk away from her and did take a ten day period of abstention but the challenge remained.
I spent an inordinate amount of time working through the instruction puzzle. The good amount of supplementary
material I had accumulated was a great help. 
I have the framework for her seascape ready to finish and she will be complete.

Really great work. May I ask what camera you used for the photos?
Thanks for sharing, Harley

Really great work. May I ask what camera you used for the photos?
Thanks for sharing, Harley

Really great work. May I ask what camera you used for the photos?
Thanks for sharing, Harley

You couldn't turn a hull over for planking. If your ship's stem and stern were strong enough you could adjust the fore and aft clamps to work on the deck for instance. I just stick some pieces of firm Styrofoam under the side I want elevated to get a slant as needed.
 
Harley

I've been using mine for a couple of years now. Big enough to easily handle the ME Confederacy. Configuration is very flexible. I've even used some the
parts independent of the base. You won't use all the fixtures all the time. The wing nut idea is the way to go.
Is it better than what works for you right now? Probably not but I think it's pretty handy and have not been tempted to use anything else since I got it.
 
Cheers, Harley 

Doing very nicely. PE is definitely a love/hate relationship. Sometimes it's your best friend and then there are those other times. 🤪 Your work station looks well set up also.
 
Cheers, Harley

Doing very nicely. PE is definitely a love/hate relationship. Sometimes it's your best friend and then there are those other times. 🤪 Your work station looks well set up also.
 
Cheers, Harley

Why do I get the feeling that YOUR build may cost ME a bunch of money?🤑☺️

A person can go nuts trying to get the correct combinations of grays and blues. And to add to the equation
it depends what time period you are choosing to portray, exposure to weather, what was the ship's operating area etc.
www.shipcamouflage.com/measures.htm is a very good source as has already been mentioned.
Johnathan11's picture is of the USS Kidd DD-661 in Baton Rogue, LA. I think you will find the Missouri would have
had about the same scheme in early 1945. 
That nice wood deck you have that looks so good will end up BLUE.
Enjoy, Harley

Greetings Bossman, I must add my accolades to all the previous positive comments on your Confederacy. As one who has been exposed to the challenges presented by this kit, I feel I have a special appreciation for what you have accomplished. Your work and attention to detail is just outstanding IMHO. I think your project is what Chuck had in mind when he designed this kit.
If you ever consider rigging her, I have the rigging plans which you would be welcome to use.
Thanks for sharing a well done build log. It makes great reference for others.
 
Cheers, Harley

I think I'll always be a beginner. I've gone through most phases of model building and spent the last 4 years building the Syren which is completed. I think an important thing for a new builder to do, regardless of which ship they may chose to build, is to have a realistic outlook on their own skill level. It's easy to look at the beauties on this site and get discouraged because you can't match the skills of a craftsman who has been doing this for many, many years and has already made all the mistakes that the new builder will probably make.
This is supposed to be fun. When it gets to be a chore, take a break. I adopted " an inch rule" which is how close can I get to a model before it starts looking unacceptable. Take a look at the whole model from a couple of feet away, it will probably look better than from a couple of inches. Another item comes to mind. In the time it takes to build one model your skills will probably improve so the things you did when you started don't look as good as you thought they did. You'll do better on the next ship.
This website is wonderful for us beginners as long as we don't get intimidated.
Turn off the rant now, cheers

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?

You couldn't turn a hull over for planking. If your ship's stem and stern were strong enough you could adjust the fore and aft clamps to work on the deck for instance. I just stick some pieces of firm Styrofoam under the side I want elevated to get a slant as needed.
 
Harley

I've been using mine for a couple of years now. Big enough to easily handle the ME Confederacy. Configuration is very flexible. I've even used some the
parts independent of the base. You won't use all the fixtures all the time. The wing nut idea is the way to go.
Is it better than what works for you right now? Probably not but I think it's pretty handy and have not been tempted to use anything else since I got it.
 
Cheers, Harley 

I just received the Joy Yard Missouri kit. A cursory inspection shows that the advertisement hype is
no exaggeration. Even the packaging is first class. The PE is in a separate box wrapped like a piece of jewelry.
The details are really outstanding. The instruction manual is full color and appears very complete. The directions
for bending a PE part specify which direction and how many degrees of bend to use.
I only hope I can do this kit justice, it will be a challenge in deed. I have to finish my Indianapolis first.
Here are some pictures to show some of the kit highlights.

Enjoy, Harley
 

Review of WIP, Joy-Yard 1/350 USS Missouri
 
I have delayed starting a build log to concentrate on the kit itself. Maybe I should keep my mouth shut but I feel I must share some observations with folks that may be considering this kit.
 
Moderators, if this out of line I will understand any actions you deem appropriate.
 
First let me say this kit is my fourth plastic ship build since coming over from the wood world. Each of these builds has various PE levels and scratch build components. I have been involved in model building of one kind or another for decades.
Early on I found there were some errors in the instructions. Joy-Yard has provided an on-line version of their corrected manual. I found more errors that still existed in their updated version. Nothing unsurmountable, just unexpected.
 
It seems that we look at the kit features and then decide if we want aftermarket (AM) replacements. This kit is the opposite. There is so much detail that I, for one, have had to consider are the kit details worth the effort compared to similar AM offerings. I realize that is personal decision based on skill level. The 20mm Orlikons are an example. Eight pieces X 49 guns. The magazine is a separate plastic piece. Picture how small that is. I did a couple of samples and they are quite accurate.
 
I started making a list of the discrepancies and problems I ran into. It has become a constant puzzle of parts misidentified, on a different fret than the instructions call for, not shown on the instructions at all. ne has to spend time searching the manual because the pictures, while many in color, skip around and  if you expect to go 1,2,3,4, the manual shows 1,3,4,2, or 1,2, --, 4. If you compare the instructions to the picture of their completed model in the manual, they don’t match. I have excellent line drawings of the ship in the same time period as the model which look like their finished model is okay but disagrees with the manual.
 
I don’t intend on giving up on this yet but IMHO, Joy-Yard has obviously put a great deal of work into making this kit better than the others available. And while there are some very creditable features in this kit, the overall package just doesn’t cut it and isn’t worth the money. I could not, in good conscience, recommend the kit to a friend.
I have never written a review like this before and rather be raving about how great this kit is.
 
Again, this is just my opinion after two months of work on this kit.
 
Harley

Review of WIP, Joy-Yard 1/350 USS Missouri
 
I have delayed starting a build log to concentrate on the kit itself. Maybe I should keep my mouth shut but I feel I must share some observations with folks that may be considering this kit.
 
Moderators, if this out of line I will understand any actions you deem appropriate.
 
First let me say this kit is my fourth plastic ship build since coming over from the wood world. Each of these builds has various PE levels and scratch build components. I have been involved in model building of one kind or another for decades.
Early on I found there were some errors in the instructions. Joy-Yard has provided an on-line version of their corrected manual. I found more errors that still existed in their updated version. Nothing unsurmountable, just unexpected.
 
It seems that we look at the kit features and then decide if we want aftermarket (AM) replacements. This kit is the opposite. There is so much detail that I, for one, have had to consider are the kit details worth the effort compared to similar AM offerings. I realize that is personal decision based on skill level. The 20mm Orlikons are an example. Eight pieces X 49 guns. The magazine is a separate plastic piece. Picture how small that is. I did a couple of samples and they are quite accurate.
 
I started making a list of the discrepancies and problems I ran into. It has become a constant puzzle of parts misidentified, on a different fret than the instructions call for, not shown on the instructions at all. ne has to spend time searching the manual because the pictures, while many in color, skip around and  if you expect to go 1,2,3,4, the manual shows 1,3,4,2, or 1,2, --, 4. If you compare the instructions to the picture of their completed model in the manual, they don’t match. I have excellent line drawings of the ship in the same time period as the model which look like their finished model is okay but disagrees with the manual.
 
I don’t intend on giving up on this yet but IMHO, Joy-Yard has obviously put a great deal of work into making this kit better than the others available. And while there are some very creditable features in this kit, the overall package just doesn’t cut it and isn’t worth the money. I could not, in good conscience, recommend the kit to a friend.
I have never written a review like this before and rather be raving about how great this kit is.
 
Again, this is just my opinion after two months of work on this kit.
 
Harley

I am working on a report of my progress and observations with this kit. Arild and I have been corresponding about our experiences.
Beginners, IMHO, this kit is not intended for you. 
Hope to provide an updated report in a couple of days.
 
Regards, Harley