IJN Yamato by RGL - FINISHED - Tamiya - 1/350 - PLASTIC

[CDW]

Once you start working with this small photo etch stuff, you'll probably find that a single PE bender is not enough. You'll want PE benders, plural. 

They come in various shapes, sizes, and types. One will do a job the others won't, so multiple tools are preferable. Tamiya makes two different hand tool PE benders. Both are extremely useful for very small photo etch.

[cog]

Don't make me buy more tools!!! I just got the Pontos for Musashi, and those details are small

[Canute]

Carl, it could be worse. You might be working in 1/700 scale, bending radars to shape.

[RGL]

I'm not touching 1/700

[cog]

You could, ......... without PE it's not that difficult for someone of your prowess

 

So I've opened the box of the Musashi for a sneak peek, but that hanger part is quite different from the new tool. I red somewhere that the Musashi was slightly longer than her sister ship. Odd there is no difference in kit length ... Hope to get my study moved to the new location this weekend so I can start on her. Like to see the differences with your build, Greg. Got some more tools coming - yes, PE related. Couldn't resist, but not those Tamiyah tools, gawd those are pricy for a pair of "pliers"

[RGL]

Yes mate, they certainly are piracy but they are quite useful if not a little too big. Maybe a trip to a "beading" shop as they seem to have some useful hand tools? I think 1/700 is just a little too small for me to achieve the level of detail I'm after without the need of a magnifying glass.

[cog]

Then your eyesight it far superior to mine. I've seen some fiddly bits in the Pontos set for stairs and such, but I know before hand I'll have my eyes screw up in me head, and I take it there won't be much difference in the Pontos set for your Yamato, maybe even more fiddly.

 

The Tamiya benders were AU$ 57 here in the Netherlands, in the UK AU$ 46 (both exclusive shipping and handling), I'll have a look for a beading shop - put my wig on

 

Cheers mate

[RGL]

Au$25 here, have a look at Cornwall Boat models, they have heaps of excellent equipment and very reasonable. When I was building my Endeavour it was cheaper buying stuff from there than in Oz.

 

For some reason anything in Europe is far quicker to Oz than the US

[cog]

That's because it drops down ... under

 

Thanks for the Cornwall Boats tip, forgot all about them ... I only think of them as model kit & drawing suppliers

 

Cheers mate

[CDW]

I love the progress on your Yamato, Greg. Looks super. 

My Yamato will sit for quite a while before I am ready to build it. Too many other models in the queue.

 

One thing to note, items from Japan have become much more competitively priced recently when ordering directly from Japan rather than local. Even with the shipping charges, I have bought several items at a much lower price than anything I could find in the USA. I ordered my Yamato from a shop in Japan and even with shipping, saved close to $100.

[cog]

Greg,

 

I just got the Anatomy of the Ship series for the Yamato, which in fact covers the Musashi too. Browsed through it, and found there is a hughe difference (PE wise) between the way she came from the slipway in 1941, and after a rather intense makeovers, one of which in 1943 fitting a.o  a type 21 radar fire control. In 1944 again improvement on radar, this time air, and surface radar, the surface radar looks more like  pair of loudspeakers to me, than radar.

 

I also saw I need some more information on the "rigging" as it is a tad hard to see where some of it goes and to what point it attaches. Do you have anything on it. I'm currently searching different fora

[RGL]

Nothing difinative but I will go online for that when the time comes, but it appears to be nothing overly challenging (he says now).

[RGL]

Well, back from holidays, a little bit of work on the old girl today.

 

You cannot do anything with the Pontos instructions without other reference material. Moving on to the boat hangars, two for the smaller boats and two for the launches. The back deck includes nice bollards, (the holes in the kit need drilling out to widen), rails and equipment for the winch. You can see from the AOTS is is very busy below decks. .

 

The etch is easy to use just somewhat tiny.

 

For some reason only known to Pontos they do nothing with the hatches or windlass's. I used North star hatches and a Chrysanthemum windlass. You can see from what is circled what is the kit and what is replaced.

 

Then to add some realism, I have added some perforated gussets to the small boat hangars. As I intend to park some boat in there not much will be visible.

 

The larger hangars for the ships large launches are a work in progress but a lot is visible via large doors. I will finish this bit up when I put the hull together. This is all scratch and nothing to do with the kit or the pontos set.

[S.Coleman]

Defiantly a lot going on in the hangers. I can only imagine what the superstructure would be like. Your a brave man. Nice work. Very neat straight and tidy.

[Keith_W]

Great work! Is it just me, or is that diamond cross-hatch deck pattern out of scale? It seems way too large to me. 

[RGL]

I actually thought the same thing, but AOTS confirms it

[RGL]

Continuing on withe the upper hull, I tried adding step ladders but not really happy with them so I will only do the one side.

 

There are about 250 deadlights where the portholes were covered later in the war. The kit just has them as blobs but as usual, there is an aftermarket for them.  About 2 days of painful work.

[CDW]

Wow, that's a lot of porthole work. You have my respect for that challenge. What method do you use for a clean cut of the porthole from the brass "tree"? I can only imagine trying to file away a blemish from a porthole that wasn't cut perfectly away from the tree. Would be next to improbable if not impossible.

All I have done is stare at my brass porthole set with a feeling of dread. So small and delicate.

Edited October 10, 2016 by daddyrabbit1954

[RGL]

They come free floating (the dead lights), the ringols have to be cut from a curving line from Alliance modelsworks but are a pain to apply.

[cog]

Foregive me my ignorance, but what are ringols, the deadlights I found in a dictionary, so I got that one covered (pun intended)

[RGL]

I think the eyelets that go over to portholes to keep water out, like an eyebrow

[Old Collingwood]

Wow, that's a lot of porthole work. You have my respect for that challenge. What method do you use for a clean cut of the porthole from the brass "tree"? I can only imagine trying to file away a blemish from a porthole that wasn't cut perfectly away from the tree. Would be next to improbable if not impossible.

All I have done is stare at my brass porthole set with a feeling of dread. So small and delicate.

 

sore fingers and eyes and not to mention brass paper cuts  - I would have thought

 

 

OC.

[RGL]

I'm at a bit of a loss as what to do next, so I commenced the rear aircraft deck. There is a lot of work to do on it and I keep breaking 0.3mm drill bits in an attempt to make the 60 stanchion holes as it does not like the steel etch.

 

Multiple rails to be added and turntables, and underside there are the carriers for the ships launches.

[BANYAN]

Some seriously nice PE detail there Greg; wonder you didn't go cross-eyed doing those porthole deadlights though

 

cheers

 

Pat

[Old Collingwood]

I'm at a bit of a loss as what to do next, so I commenced the rear aircraft deck. There is a lot of work to do on it and I keep breaking 0.3mm drill bits in an attempt to make the 60 stanchion holes as it does not like the steel etch.

 

Multiple rails to be added and turntables, and underside there are the carriers for the ships launches.

Now Thats the Business  gonna look Brill 

 

OC.

[RGL]

Continuing on with the rear flight deck, there are 30 individual rails which consist of 2 pieces each which need t be glued together, making 69 bits to cut off and glue.

 

Once attached there is more to add, which are non slip lino strips with brass. 

 

Then there are the turntables.

 

None of these are glued down yet as I will paint them individually.

 

I finally managed to drill out holes for the stanchions and now can flip it to add the underside details.

[Old Collingwood]

Greg can i pick your brains please,  re - port hole pontos surrounds,  I have discoverd quite a few of my port holes have drilled slightly over scale, but tonight I have found about 40 or so in my pontos fret,  what would be the best and tidyest way to attach some of these,  would a pin work by sliding the surround onto the pin and dabbing a tiny bit of glue on the port hole, then by sliding the pin inside the port hole and sliding the surround into place,  would that work do you think?

 

OC.

[RGL]

Use the eye end of a needle, dab some CA on it then into the plastic hole so it forms a glue rim, then use a sharpened pencil to place the metal porthole. If you don't do it this way the metal will stick to the pin as CA bonds to metal very very quickly but it won't stick to the pencil. Does that make sense? I don't use the portholes any more as the portholes only have eyebrows and I wasn't happy with the full circle look. Happy to explain more if required.

[Old Collingwood]

Use the eye end of a needle, dab some CA on it then into the plastic hole so it forms a glue rim, then use a sharpened pencil to place the metal porthole. If you don't do it this way the metal will stick to the pin as CA bonds to metal very very quickly but it won't stick to the pencil. Does that make sense? I don't use the portholes any more as the portholes only have eyebrows and I wasn't happy with the full circle look. Happy to explain more if required.

Thanks for the help greg,  would undiluted PVA work as an adhesive using the same method you described?  it would be a lot cleaner and safer to the already painted sides.

 

 

OC.

[Elijah]

Nice job with that photo etch! You do a very good job with it!