IJN Asashio and Akashi by Landlubber Mike - Pit Road with Five Star and Flyhawk AM - 1/700 - PLASTIC - DIORAMA

[Landlubber Mike]

I've just about finished my Yaeyama, but to be a little more efficient with my time, I decided to build its waterline diorama base at the same time as I do another diorama setting or two.  So, I started another kit (actually two).

 

Asashio.  I'm building the IJN destroyer Asashio ("Morning Cloud"), the lead ship of 10 Asashio-class destroyers built by Japan in the mid-1930s.  It took part in the attack on Pearl Harbor and at the battles at Midway and Guadalcanal, and was later sunk in the Battle of the Bismarck Sea in 1943.  

 

 

Akashi.  In researching the Asashio, I learned that a 500 pound bomb hit the stern of the ship in the Battle of Midway, and it received emergency repairs at Truk by the IJN repair ship, Akashi (named after the Akashi Strait).  Since I also had the Akashi kit, I figured I would try to put together a diorama of the Akashi repairing the Asashio.  The Akashi - completed in 1939 - was the only specifically-designed repair ship to be made by the Japanese (they had converted other ships to repair ships).  The Akashi was quite busy during the war, and was sunk on March 30, 1944 while anchored off the Palau Islands. 

 

[Landlubber Mike]

For the two kits, I'm starting with the excellent Pit Road Asashio and Akashi, as supplemented by the Five Star detail sets for both.  I also happened to find a Flyhawk PE deck set for the Asashio, which has crisper details than the kit.

 

 

 

Edited August 23, 2022 by Landlubber Mike

[Landlubber Mike]

Since the Akashi is a little more complicated with the multiple cranes, I started with the Asashio.  I installed the very nice Flyhawk deck, then worked on the bridge and some of the other details.  The Five Star set is very comprehensive, and includes degaussing cables (first for me to add to a model).  The instructions for the PE are only pictures of the completed item, so you have to figure out how to do the folds.  It's generally not too difficult, but having experience from other models helps.

 

With the other ship models, I've gotten a lot quicker with PE work, so I'm not anticipating this one should take too long.  I couldn't find any pictures of the damage the Asashio took at Midway - the only details I came across were that the ship was hit by a 500lb bomb in the stern area and that it was strafed multiple times (losing 22 crew in the battle).  So, after putting the ship together, I'll get to add some damage to it by carving out a chunk probably behind the rear-most turret.  

 

For some sense of scale, here is the rear funnel that I put together last night 😳

 

Edited August 24, 2022 by Landlubber Mike

[king derelict]

The PE looks really nice and neat. Great work. I think this will be outstanding.

Alan

[Canute]

Ah, younger eyes. Nice work, Mike. I'll be following.

[mikegr]

great work so far keep it up

[Landlubber Mike]

In between other projects, I put in some more time on the Asashio.  There are times when the PE work is frustrating (like when a piece pings off the tweezers and you spend a ton of time on the ground looking for it), but otherwise, once you have a routine, I find it pretty relaxing.  

 

I added some of the piping details to the fore funnel.  I replaced the kit part that runs from the funnel to the bridge with brass - I find the kit parts tend to be a little overscale, at least to my eye.  I also added two more vertical pipes - one on backside, one on starboard front side - again using brass topped with funnel openings that are aftermarket.

 

 

 

I also finished the three main guns.  Lots of PE (15-16 separate pieces per gun, not including the brass barrels).  I find detailing the guns to be some of the hardest PE work in that the rails are a bit tricky to bend and get to adhere to the gun, so I'm glad this step is over though the torpedo launchers are up next.  But, these came out ok I think.

Thanks for looking in!

 

Edited September 8, 2022 by Landlubber Mike

[ccoyle]

My eyes hurt just looking at those tiny PE parts. 😨

[mtaylor]

I agree with Chris.  Incredible work you're doing but makes me cross-eyed just thinking about it.

[Javlin]

The fact you have do this to handle/build  takes me out of the equation Nice Work!

[king derelict]

Mike, you are a master with the PE

 

Alan

[Landlubber Mike]

Quick update on my Asashio build - I've managed to just about finish most of the hull and sub-assemblies, including platforms, guns, torpedo launchers, etc.  I've really enjoyed the Five Star sets in my various 1/700 builds - the PE adds a lot of detail and is quite easy to work with.  

 

As I mentioned at the beginning of the log, I'm planning to build this one as part of a diorama getting emergency repairs at Truk after the Battle of Midway.  In that battle, a 500 pound bomb hit it in the stern area so prior to priming, I'm going to rip up the stern to show the damage.  Unfortunately I can't find any pictures of what the Asashio looked like after Midway.  Anyone have any idea of how extensive the damage would be from a 500 pound bomb?  My guess is it would depend on where it landed, whether there were munitions or other explosive materials around, etc.  At a minimum, I think I will gouge the hull and model it as if the bottom blew a hole into the deck.

 

Here are some pictures of the progress.  Thanks for looking in!

 

[Canute]

Mike, my experience is old and it was mostly bombs dropped on ground targets. Made some significant holes. On an armored ship, could punch a hole in the main deck and explode inside the ship. That would probably force the deck up and blow out any number of internal bulkheads. Maybe open the hull in spots, so they'd be pumping the seawater out. That could be an interesting scenario.

[Landlubber Mike]

Thanks Canute, I’ll have to find some pictures.  I don’t think the Asashio had too much damage from the bomb as I believe it managed to limp back to Truk, but I’m looking forward to figuring something out on this.

[Roger Pellett]

If a drydock, floating or otherwise, was unavailable damage to underwater areas of the stern was sometimes repaired by ballasting forward sections to raise the stern.  A bomb explosion at the stern would probably require realigning of propeller shafting.

 

Roger

[Landlubber Mike]

Thanks Roger - I'll have to see if I can get more info on what happened.  Unfortunately can't find any photos.

[Landlubber Mike]

Quick update on this one.  With the Asashio mostly built up, I turned to the Akashi.  It's an interesting ship with five different cranes and lots of small boats, and the Five Star set is another gem for this kit.  The folks at Five Star were also kind enough to email me a high resolution PDF of the kit instructions which already has been of immense help.  

 

I built up one of the stand-alone cranes and its associated platform in the middle of the ship, and added some other easy PE to the deck:

 

Next I started on the bridge.  All this was built using only two pieces from the PE fret!  The middle platform and associated rails fit into the primary assembly, and it probably took me a couple of hours to figure out how to do the folds and in what order.  The instructions just have pictures of what the assembled structures look like, with no instructions on how to do the bends.  It was a lot more intricate than it first looked when I started, but came together nicely.  I still have to add a rear platform and three separate cranes that attach off the back.

Thanks for looking in!

Edited October 10, 2022 by Landlubber Mike

[king derelict]

Gosh Mike

That is wonderful PE work

Alan

[Landlubber Mike]

10 minutes ago, king derelict said:

Gosh Mike

That is wonderful PE work

Alan

Thanks Alan!  I'm slowly getting better at it.  Once you figure out what tools and techniques works best, and how to apply CA properly, it gets easier.  The Five Star set is really nicely done, with pre-indentations along fold lines so folding is pretty easy.  I've also found having a hold and fold tool can be really helpful on longer folds.

Edited October 10, 2022 by Landlubber Mike

[Landlubber Mike]

Quick update on this one.  I added some more PE details to the Asashio in the hopes of putting as much on as possible without interfering with painting later.  

 

 

This diorama is going to be of the Asashio getting repairs by the Akashi at Truk after the Battle of Midway.  The only details I could find were that the ship was hit by a 500lb bomb in the stern area and strafed, and unfortunately, I didn't find any pictures of the damage.  The bomb killed 22 crewman but otherwise the damage couldn't have been too bad as the Asashio not only helped its sister ship the Arashio rescue 240 survivors from the sinking Mikuma, but it also escorted the crippled Mogami to Truk.  Using my micromotor, I went ahead and carved out an area to represent what the damage could have looked like.  Interestingly, these 1/700 ship hulls are hollow, which made the work pretty easy.  Having the brass deck on top helped also to represent the damage to the deck.  From there, I had some extra junk pieces of PE from earlier builds that I ended up twisting and cutting and threw it into the hole to represent debris.  Here is what it looks like at the moment:

There are a couple of paravane towers along the sides of the hull just behind the hole (that sit on the circular platforms in the picture above).  I'll probably twist up the starboard side to show it mangled as part of the explosion.  I'll add some twisted wreckage and other debris, including beating up rack that sits on the rectangular area in front of the hole. 

 

Question for the group:  I might actually extend the hole to the starboard side - does anyone think that is a good idea?  Again, I don't have pictures of the damage, and have to assume that the 500lb bomb didn't create massive damage given that the ship continued operations until it got back to Truk.  The hole still might be a little small though, so I can show a little more extensive damage by taking it all the way to the starboard side.  Apparently the ship received emergency repairs by the Akashi, then went to Sasebo for more extensive repairs.  So maybe extending the damage a little more would be more consistent for what happened.  I also plan to display the Asashio and Akashi pointed to the right, with the Asashio off the starboard side of the Akashi, so the damage will feature prominently in the diorama.

 

Thanks for looking in!

Edited November 10, 2022 by Landlubber Mike

[Egilman]

I do not know how I missed this one mike, I'm sorry.... More of your stunning PE work...

 

On 11/10/2022 at 8:41 AM, Landlubber Mike said:

Question for the group:  I might actually extend the hole to the starboard side - does anyone think that is a good idea?  Again, I don't have pictures of the damage, and have to assume that the 500lb bomb didn't create massive damage given that the ship continued operations until it got back to Truk.  The hole still might be a little small though, so I can show a little more extensive damage by taking it all the way to the starboard side.  Apparently the ship received emergency repairs by the Akashi, then went to Sasebo for more extensive repairs.  So maybe extending the damage a little more would be more consistent for what happened.  I also plan to display the Asashio and Akashi pointed to the right, with the Asashio off the starboard side of the Akashi, so the damage will feature prominently in the diorama.

I wouldn't, a 500 lb bomb wouldn't do that much seeable damage... Maybe, (probably) bulge the deck a bit, possibly split a few seams, if it was an armor piercing bomb it could easily have penetrated completely through the deck and hull to explode below the ship.. (happened to several ships at Pearl, there wouldn't be any serious stand out damage)

 

In my opinion brother, I wouldn't enlarge it any and what you have is more than enough...

Edited December 10, 2022 by Egilman

[Landlubber Mike]

Hi EG, thanks for looking in my friend and your thoughts.  I ended up enlarging it a bit, in part as I wanted to show one of the paravane towers broken down and twisted.  Plus, I can show twisted railings and other damaged items from the blast.  When I looked at pictures of bomb damage, it was interesting - the extent of the damage seemed to be related to where the bomb actually exploded, and what was in proximity to it.  Sometimes bombs when through the deck and exploded and there wasn't much visible damage.  Other times, if the bomb exploded near ordinance - whether above or below the deck - the damage was quite extensive.  I went with a little more damage in that it seemed to fit the theme of the diorama of the ship being fixed by the IJN repair ship Akashi.  

 

Anywhere, here are some pictures of where I am now, and of the damage.  I'm pretty much at the point of being able to prime and paint, but am waiting for my work on the Akashi to catch up so I can do both at the same time.  I did go ahead and use tape to etch in the hull plating lines.  You can see them a little more on the Akashi because of the height of the hull and the fact that the Asashio had degaussing cables.

 

 

Thanks for looking in!

 

[king derelict]

Very nice work Mike

Alan

[Canute]

Mike, looks suitably mangled. Enough damage to require local shipyard time, but not so much it has to go to a major base for rebuilding. 👍

[Landlubber Mike]

Thanks Ken - that was the look I was hoping for!

[Javlin]

Looking Sasweeeeeet Mike!I am beginning to see you have the same fetish as me ........INJ.The lines and layout of their ships are quite appealing to my eyes.Carry On.

Edited December 15, 2022 by Javlin

[Landlubber Mike]

4 hours ago, Javlin said:

Looking Sasweeeeeet Mike!I am beginning to see you have the same fetish as me ........INJ.The lines and layout of their ships are quite appealing to my eyes.Carry On.

Thanks Kevin!  Yes, I do have a preference for the Japanese ships.  Most of my stash is IJN - though, I do have a few US (Hasegawa's Gambier Bay and the Trumpeter Enterprise), German (1/700 and 1/200 Bismarck, and a 1/700 Graf Zeppelin) and a 1/72 and 1/144 Flower Class Corvette.  I'm really looking forward to trying to build some of those pagoda-style ships like the Fuso.  Ultimately, I want to build the 1/350 Hasegawa Akagi.  That's been on my list forever.  Was actually the second plastic model I bought a couple of years ago, but will probably be one of the last I build given the skill level needed to do it justice -- and I might have bought a few kits in the meantime 🤫

[Heinrich der Seefahrer]

The nice Thing withnthese WWLmodellingbis, there is no visuable damage BELOW the CWL so a good Junk of leaking oil in the resine around the damage will give the impression of a deeper damage - also an oily track towards the repairship.

 

Great Job you do!

[Landlubber Mike]

Thank you Christian!  I agree, would be a lot more complicated to accurately represent the damage if it extended below the water line.  I could not find any pictures of the damage to the Asashio, only reports that the damage was light and that the ship continued operations until it reached Truk.  So, I assumed that the damage was limited to above the waterline - artistic license I suppose

[Heinrich der Seefahrer]

So far so better 🤪

 

Great job you do!