IJN Yaeyama by Landlubber Mike - Five Star - 1/700 - RESIN - Japanese minelayer

[Landlubber Mike]

Part of the delay on this build is that I'm bit stuck on what color to paint the hull on this one.  The Maru book has a lot of black and white pictures of the ship, which went through various refits over its service life and different colors - from what looks like white, to a lighter gray, to a darker gray.  FiveStar doesn't indicate what period of ship the model is supposed to represent, but it seems to be closest to one of the lighter/white shades.  Anyone know what "white" color the IJN used to paint its ships?  I'm assuming not stark white, but maybe something like Insignia White or even a little darker.

 

White hull:

 

 

Grey hull (colorized):

 

 

Other minelayers:

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 2, 2022 by Landlubber Mike

[Javlin]

Well Mike it's hard to say a full white but it's real close look at how the forward gun projects itself on the building.Then their is a building behind the center of the ship a couple hundred yards looks white.I think if you go for this pic as your driving force for the build white with a touch of grey better yet find some other pics of peace time no matter the ship as long as Japanese Navy.

[Glen McGuire]

I think your simulated hull plates turned out very nice.  Love the creative method of achieving that look!

[Landlubber Mike]

Thanks Kevin.  It looks fairly stark white, similar to the colors of the ships in the late 19th century through the 1930s.  

 

Thanks Glen - I can't take credit for it, as I saw it on another build log   Helps add a little more detail and interest to the hull I think.

Edited May 2, 2022 by Landlubber Mike

[cog]

You are quite apt with PE on this scale, Mike. I don't know if I could do it so well. Lovely details, those runners around the stags are always a pain to add even at larger scales.

 

Concerning your colour question, you could try something like British Off White  grey-ish instead of the brownish the British is. Either use a drop of black in white paint, but you might need to much white to compensate. You could use some light/middle grey or greyish-blue to mix with white. I found that most Japanese war ships tend to be some tone of grey, never white. That is my two cents 

 

Again, lovely build, especially since resin is not very forgiving

[Landlubber Mike]

Thanks Cog!  I ended up spraying it with a light coat of Mr. Color off-white.  I figure with some washes, it will darken a bit so didn’t want to go too dark.  I’ll post some pictures later this week.  
 

Thanks for looking in!

[Landlubber Mike]

Some pictures of where I am at the moment.  I ended up spraying a thin coat of Mr. Color off white, then added a base coat of some darker gray to the non-linoleum deck sections.  I'll probably spray a clear coat on this evening in preparation for the washes, etc., and then I can add the railings and various detail pieces.  

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for looking in!

[king derelict]

Very tidy work Mike. i like the colour scheme a lot too

Alan

[Glen McGuire]

Great work with the paint scheme.  What is that thimble-looking thing you are using to hold the ship?

[Landlubber Mike]

Thanks guys!

 

14 hours ago, Glen McGuire said:

Great work with the paint scheme.  What is that thimble-looking thing you are using to hold the ship?

 

It's a plastic shot glass.  About the size of a Tamiya paint bottle.  I put a little blue tack on it and i find it helps give me something to hold the model while I work on it, put it on the bench, etc.

[lmagna]

44 minutes ago, Landlubber Mike said:

i find it helps give me something to hold the model while I work on it,

Plus on those days when nothing seems to be going right, it is easy to find and you only need to flip it over and fill it up a few times.

[Landlubber Mike]

15 minutes ago, lmagna said:

Plus on those days when nothing seems to be going right, it is easy to find and you only need to flip it over and fill it up a few times.

Exactly  😆

[Landlubber Mike]

I did a little weathering and added a few other pieces to the model, including the starboard and port side stairways.  Still have a bit of touch ups, final weathering and clear coating to go, then comes the davits, small boats, anchor chains, figures and rigging.  Then of course there is the final adjustment of some of the PE - I don't like constantly fiddling with it as the pieces are so small they likely will break.  I'll put it in a diorama setting at the same time as my Asashio/Akashi build for some efficiency.  It's been a fun model to work on, and a pretty detailed set from Five Star, though as I mentioned earlier in the log, you have to supplement some of the items.

 

One thing I might do in the future is use Mr. Color Metal Primer on the PE frets.  I notice that even Mr. Color and Tamiya paints can come off when trying to glue PE to the model - either from handling, the CA, or most likely, both.  I like to pre-paint some of the items like stairways, davits, etc. as it will be difficult to paint them when installed on the model - or I'm just too lazy to deal with the taping that would be involved.  I think having the metal primer on the frets should helps make the paint adhere a little better and hopefully reduce some of the touchup work later.

 

Sorry for the crappy pictures - I need to figure out a better setting on my phone.  Thanks for looking in!

 

[king derelict]

For me Mr Color Metal Primer has made a big difference compared with Vallejo primer on the PE. Paint seems to stick better and doesn't peel off so easily.

Very nice progress. I need to get back to 1/700 again

Alan

[Glen McGuire]

Nice progress!  And glad to see you back in the shipyard, Mike!  

[Landlubber Mike]

Thanks Alan and Glen!

 

Alan, I moved away from Vallejo primers on metal as it seems to have a tendency to peel off, especially if you need to tape it. I just got the glass bottle and rattle can of Mr. Metal Primer so will give it a shot.

[Javlin]

She is coming along Nicely Mike man I wish I could do 1/700 just so small.

[Landlubber Mike]

Thanks Kevin!