Mikasa by Tim Moore - HobbyBoss - 1:200 - PLASTIC

[Tim Moore]

Just taking stock of all the superstructures and other details on this boat; this is such a rich subject. Think I’ll continue on with a little more amidships before starting the bridge structures. The Hobby Boss kit manual is very helpful for planning what goes where and the build sequence.

[Tim Moore]

The hanging beams for boat storage complete. The Pontos upgrade provides a more refined result, if a little tedious to assemble. 

 

Edited March 16, 2022 by Tim Moore

[Tim Moore]

Progress: Continuing with the remaining pieces in the inner areas of the centre section. The funnels have a lot of nice details. I mostly followed the Pontos upgrade strategy with them, except I used the kit PE for the funnel caps and some piping, rather than the so-so Pontos pieces. The Pontos plastic is particularly bad, definitely not worth using in most cases. Had a foul up that delayed progress a day or two, classic bonehead issue. I was handling the ship and noticed something was rattling around inside. Turned out to be one of the big 6” guns which had come off its mount and fallen deep into the bowels inside. Seemed impossible to extricate at first, but after delicate surgery we got it back, reinstalled and the entry wounds stitched up.

Musings: This model is a great subject and will be a nice rendition with all the fine detail when it’s finished, but I can’t help feeling it is going to lack something as a built object. Seems a tad underwhelming to me, too small in scale for all the detail, doesn’t pack the punch I expected. Probably just what I’m used to in terms of the larger scale I’ve been working in lately I expect.

Edited March 20, 2022 by Tim Moore

[Tim Moore]

Lots of nice little boats packed on the Mikasa. 

[Roger Pellett]

Tim,

 

I have been following your build with interest.  I saw Mikasa many years ago from am distance while my ship was docked at the. Yukouska Naval Base.  I have long regretted not making an effort to go aboard.  You will have a spectacular model when finished.

 

I hope that you will not mind a friendly suggestion.  Those bumps around the deck edge of the steam picket boats are shipboard made canvas covered rope fenders.  Your boats will look much better, and Mikasa’s First Lieutenant will be happier if the fenders are each painted a different color than the rail.  Perhaps a light grey?

 

Roger

 

 

[Ian_Grant]

Tim, your model is looking magnificent!  Interesting-looking ships from that time. I've been eyeing the kit of the "Maine" for years....

 

I once pedaled from Ottawa to my parents' place in Toronto to use up a couple of vacation days I could not carry over. This was in April and on the 2nd evening I rolled, exhausted, over the causeway to Port Perry and stopped at a hotel. I must have visibly sagged when the desk ladies told me that they were full because fishing season had just opened; they took pity on me and offered to put me up in a cot in the conference room if that was ok. I gratefully accepted and was even able to watch a Leafs playoff game on the room's big screen. Ah, Port Perry memories...😃

[Tim Moore]

32 minutes ago, Roger Pellett said:

Tim,

 

I have been following your build with interest.  I saw Mikasa many years ago from am distance while my ship was docked at the. Yukouska Naval Base.  I have long regretted not making an effort to go aboard.  You will have a spectacular model when finished.

 

I hope that you will not mind a friendly suggestion.  Those bumps around the deck edge of the steam picket boats are shipboard made canvas covered rope fenders.  Your boats will look much better, and Mikasa’s First Lieutenant will be happier if the fenders are each painted a different color than the rail.  Perhaps a light grey?

 

Roger

 

 

Hi Roger thanks for that! It’s funny, this morning I was looking at that very aspect thinking that scalloped edge might be floats, and should really be white or some other contrasting colour. You are obviously correct so I’ll make that change, thanks again for the advice. 

[Tim Moore]

8 minutes ago, Ian_Grant said:

Tim, your model is looking magnificent!  Interesting-looking ships from that time. I've been eyeing the kit of the "Maine" for years....

 

I once pedaled from Ottawa to my parents' place in Toronto to use up a couple of vacation days I could not carry over. This was in April and on the 2nd evening I rolled, exhausted, over the causeway to Port Perry and stopped at a hotel. I must have visibly sagged when the desk ladies told me that they were full because fishing season had just opened; they took pity on me and offered to put me up in a cot in the conference room if that was ok. I gratefully accepted and was even able to watch a Leafs playoff game on the room's big screen. Ah, Port Perry memories...😃

Hi Ian - great to make your acquaintance, what a great anecdote. 
That would have been the Railway Inn I believe. I understand that exhaustion and can well appreciate your cycling efforts! I cycled Canada some years ago from Peterborough to mile 0 on Vancouver Island, know that feeling at the end of a long ride, totally done in after fighting the hills around Lake Superior, the wind across the prairie or the brutal climb to the ice fields in the Rockies. You brought me back to those memories with your story! 

[Ian_Grant]

Wow!  Cycling east to west across Canada is gung-ho!

[Tim Moore]

1 hour ago, Ian_Grant said:

Wow!  Cycling east to west across Canada is gung-ho!

Yes I foolishly didn’t consider the prevailing wind direction. It was epic.

[Tim Moore]

…and more boats….a whole fleet of them on board.

Took Rogers guidance on the picket boat fenders. Painted them white at first, looked great but way too pretty, so overpainted them in grey.  
Model is starting to look more interesting. Think I’ll leave the gun installations here on the boat decks until later after the railings are in, so they don’t get in the way as I’m fumbling around with that work. move on to the main guns now and then superstructures. 
I find some of the more satisfying modeling work is the small boats on ships. The Bounty and Fifie had good little boat projects that really added to the final product.

I'm soon going to have to suspend this build for a while as I’m travelling out west for a couple of weeks, and construction season will begin soon after I return, which means a lot less time in the shipyard. 

 

[Roger Pellett]

Looks good!

[Tim Moore]

Thanks Roger. Main gun assemblies are straightforward and move quite well after mounting. Well that’s about it for the time being, I will be away from the shipyard for the next few weeks at least. Thanks for looking in and I’ll pick this up whenever I can get back to it.

Cheers Tim 

[SigEp Ziggy]

I'm converting the large motor launch into SP 545/USS Idaho, as it was the closest in size, anyhow, the plastic gods should be pleased, as well as me. Great Job!

[jlm]

Tim,

 

Could you describe the bluing process you use on the brass?  I particularly like how subtle the effect is on the hatches and coal scuttles on the main deck.

 

Jeff

[Tim Moore]

Jeff I apologize for not getting back to you - work life takes over during the building season and my head was elsewhere, didn’t read your inquiry until now. If you still need my bluing info let me know. I’m just about to start back up on finishing Mikasa, will be moving it out to the cabin to work on it there in the fall. The first job, regrettably, will be to repair all the damage due to me dropping it when moving it over the summer. Several guns and boats were among casualties, but usually these repairs take less time than first feared I find. 

[Javlin]

Tim while the build is really quite Nice I esp. like the life boats and launching craft they add a dimension of reality when done right and my attempts fail thus far.

[jlm]

On 8/26/2022 at 3:22 PM, Tim Moore said:

Jeff I apologize for not getting back to you - work life takes over during the building season and my head was elsewhere, didn’t read your inquiry until now. If you still need my bluing info let me know. I’m just about to start back up on finishing Mikasa, will be moving it out to the cabin to work on it there in the fall. The first job, regrettably, will be to repair all the damage due to me dropping it when moving it over the summer. Several guns and boats were among casualties, but usually these repairs take less time than first feared I find. 

Tim,

Yes.  I would still be interested in learning about your bluing technique.

 

Jeff

[Tim Moore]

Hi Jeff. I use gun blue for my brass blackening.
I usually cut away a contiguous chunk of related parts from a brass sheet to begin with,, usually a few square inches or more to be manageable. I dip it in 10% cleaning vinegar to clean, wipe dry with a cloth, then dip in a weak solution of gun blue and water (50/50 or less). If I’m going for a dark gun metal I leave it in for a minute or two, let it dry on a paper towel then rub it with a rag to get the final patina. If I want it darker I might do it again. In cases where I want a lighter bronze rather than gunmetal I reduce the time in solution to just a few seconds. An example of that on Mikasa are the upper boat decks, which are brass sheeting, and some of the small boat parts. 
I sometimes do a light rub with 400 sandpaper on some edges of a blackened or bronzed piece to highlight the edges or give a suggestion of wear.

[Tim Moore]

I’ve finally shipped out to the model cabin to begin work on completing Mikasa. Damage from the drop was repaired, so I’m starting on the forward bridge, which involves a lot of superstructure and added Pontos brass work. The main guns have taken on an interesting patina from the gun blue over the intervening months. I can probably deepen them to black but they look sort of beautiful like they’ve been fired. 

[Tim Moore]

Installed the front bridge with all the Pontos minutiae. Modified the two larger guns to be a bit more in line with a photo of Mikasa which showed them with steel shrouds, or whatever the correct term is. Just checked the Vegas odds on me managing to finish this without mangling the extremely fragile railings at some point. 1000-1.

 

Edited October 13, 2022 by Tim Moore
Delete duplicate shot

[Tim Moore]

Haha I just noticed the man (wasp) overboard on that first picture. He didn’t make it sadly.

[king derelict]

The railings look really nice. Congratulations

Alan

[yvesvidal]

Beautiful work Tim.

 

I like your approach to models, there is something different and special coming out of them. The weathering is very subtle and the overall effect is sublime, in my humble opinion.

 

Yves

[Tim Moore]

2 hours ago, yvesvidal said:

Beautiful work Tim.

 

I like your approach to models, there is something different and special coming out of them. The weathering is very subtle and the overall effect is sublime, in my humble opinion.

 

Yves

Thanks Yves! you are too kind.

[Jeff59]

On 2/17/2022 at 9:14 PM, Tim Moore said:

Progress:

Delay waiting for supplies, paint etc and due to various domestic duties but I’ve punched back in at shipyard now. The 14x6inch guns are all done and look mighty good I have to say. I’ve removed all the hull detail to allow for the Pontos upgrades, pre painted the base hull and finished with a satin acrylic topcoat to fix it. I will be applying most of the brass detail after bluing to add realism and retain a metallic patina. I’m hoping this will give the model an interesting texture and visual appeal, retaining all the Pontos complexity. I scribed the lower part of the hull to etch in a series of plates before painting, which I wanted to do in a white grey tone originally. Didn’t really care for how it looked, a bit too dramatic for my taste so I sanded it down and reluctantly went with the traditional red oxide. The plating is much more subtle now, although not sure it shows as well in photos as it is in reality. I’ve gone for a true black above the water for contrast with all the later fittings. It all looks a little stark at the moment but when all the detail and weathering goes on it will be a different kettle of fish. 
Kit Musings:

After looking through the Pontos box it all looks like a piece of cake and I should be launching this Mikasa by about mid century. My plan is to do most or all of the attachments on the hull, and then set that aside and work on the deck and superstructures, and only marry the two much later in the build. If any of the Mikasa alumni are reading this and know of a flaw in this strategy please let me know.

Love the hull plaiting really works well. 👍

[Jeff59]

Glad to have found your build Tim, what you did to simulate the hull plating after painting was really effective wish I had done this. 👍🤛

[Jeff59]

On 2/27/2022 at 6:40 PM, Tim Moore said:

Progress: some more hull detail added, used a wash to darken it, which looks way better, and add visual interest/texture and definition between plate lines. Still much more work to do on that. It’ll be more subtle when finished, hopefully with the richness I’m looking for. Added a grey trim piece just below the black, and painted the deck trim grey, both to give more definition overall. I’ll play around with the hull a few more days then probably set it aside and begin on the deck for a change of pace. I’ll leave most of the weathering until later to tie it all together. 
Musings: my hat goes off to the PE enthusiast Swiss watchmakers out there. I’m good with doing it a while under the glass but after a day or two the tiny brass work gets a bit tedious to me, particularly if there isn’t a visible payoff. I suppose I’m just more at home with woodwork at present. I’ll probably do some PE editing on Mikasa, dispense with one or two things where it isn’t very visible or that different from the kit package after finishing. On the 4” fore and aft guns, for instance, I completed the Pontos upgrade on one, looked nice in my hand, installed it and realized the work is largely invisible. The brass props are nice, I aged them in gun blue for a few seconds just to take off the raw shine that wouldn’t work with the presentation I’m doing, repolished them with the dremel and painted the nacelles. I’m keen to get the 6” guns I finished earlier mounted in the hull I think it’s going to look sweet. 

Think you are going to enjoy building this Tim, clad I stumbled across your build whilst looking on Mikasa Meuseum page, not going to rush to get up to date, just going to take it all in, like it though, I’m presently working on fore mast, making corrections when you see the difference you wonder how Pontos never spotted the errors, not that I don’t make them. It’s a slogging match for sure but it gets better closer to the end. 👍

[S-boat 55]

Some how ive only just seen this thread, have very much enjoyed seeing your progress shots,  she's a real stunner!

[Tim Moore]

Thanks s-boat and Jeff. I’ve been keen to get back into the workshop to finish Mikasa, but a renovation job has me extending the contracting season a bit. Should be back to it next week, finishing off the rear bridge and railing madness, then I will post an update.