Mikasa by madtatt - Merit International - 1:200 - PLASTIC - pre-Dreadnought battleship of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) - appearance after 1905

[madtatt]

My big towers took a little longer, but they’re finished.
So here’s another little update today.

 

 

Into the barbettes. With their wedge shape, they could still win a design award today, I think.

 

 

And towards the rear. Its unusual shape is truly impressive.

 

 

This completes the main armament and I can now focus on the bridge.

 

 

The Mikasa looks so cool from the front.

 

 

 

 

[madtatt]

Just a quick snack at my shipyard today.
Before I start on the bridge wing and the wheelhouse, I wanted to make a few neat handrails to simplify and make things safer.
For this, I made small, custom-made handrails out of a multiplex board.

 

 

Then cover the surface with BluTack.

 

 

And the two components were placed on top.

 

 

Now I can work on them properly without having to worry about tearing off the outer support struts again.

 

 

I always play it safe whenever possible.
That’s how my workstands, which I like to call dry docks, came about.
By the way, if anyone is interested, I’ve created a short construction guide on the IPMS website.

 

Dry dock

[Jeff59]

Hi Jolle, hope you’re keeping well. That was the first thing l thought, looks like chocolate sponge cake, immediately gave me hunger pangs 😂 you’re model is coming on a treat, sitting here having my super, hungry now 😂 Seriously though, certainly putting the hours in, that £150 kit certainly gets its moneys worth from us modlers, am looking at Bismarck beside me and glad it’s not the Mikasa 😂 think you know where lm coming from there. Must say your painting skills are phenomenal, looking so realistic. You’ll be so impressed with how totally crammed with detail this ship ends up, certainly not the £150 kit you started with 😂🤛 looking forward to your next post 👍 If you got paid minimum wage for every hour spent on this you’d have one fat wallet 😂 Catch you next time 🤛

[Jim Lad]

A clever solution, Ilhan!

 

John

[madtatt]

@Jeff59

Haha, you need strong teeth to bite into that cake.
And believe me, Jeff, I know exactly what you mean. Compared to this small, complex model-building marvel, the Bismarck was as easy to put together as Lego bricks. Speaking of which, when will you continue with your Bismarck? I'm so excited to see how you'll make it.
But I also think the finished Mikasa model will be worth every hour of sweating and cursing.
And I'm very happy when you say my paint job looks realistic.

 

@Jim Lad

Thanks, John.
Yes, that makes handling the delicate components much easier.

[madtatt]

I don’t have too much to report today. I’m finding very little time for model building at the moment, and I’ve had to rethink and implement a few things.

First, the ingredients for the next construction phase.

 

 

First, the door frames were installed. These were painted with a slightly lighter grey to increase the contrast.

 

 

The partition wall and interior fittings for the wheelhouse were then made from styrene.

 

 

Difficult to capture with the camera, but you can get a sense of the room’s interior. More staff will arrive there later.

 

 

On to the steering rudder station. Here’s another picture of the large compass.

 

 

Only the MK1 kit offers anything here. But I didn’t like the way it was supposed to be assembled. The sight glass was simply placed on top of the brass turned part. Unimaginative.

 

 

At first, I considered using the part from the original kit. However, I was annoyed by the poorly designed sprue attachment points. Why not just attach it from below? But I couldn’t really warm to that part either. It was too crude.

 

 

So I looked at the brass part again and thought, hey, I’m a locksmith and I do have files…

 

 

Better…

 

 

And here’s a direct comparison. Which looks better?

 

 

I think, for my part, the Ka set has won the race again. With a little help from me.

 

 

[Canute]

Nice scratchbuilt compass stand. 👍

[madtatt]

Thanks, Ken. 😊

The only thing I don't like about the brass part is the way the adjustment balls look compared to the plastic one. But I'll fix that. I've ordered 0.5 mm thick steel balls to replace the flat disc.

[madtatt]

So Ken, I'm afraid it's all starting over again.

 

The compass was finished except for the correction balls. I then placed it on the two wheelhouses for a test fit and thought, wow, that’s quite a big piece.

Then, together with a sailor, I placed the compass on a piece of modeling clay and wondered, were they really that big, or did Trumpeter and KA Models make a slight mistake with the dimensions?

 

 

The viewing window comes right up to the boy’s chin. And that would mean this compass would be at least 1500 mm high. Probably higher.

I asked in a German forum with some maritime experts whether that could be the case. The unanimous opinion was no.

But I had almost expected and feared as much. But whatever, we’re model builders after all, and we’ll master the challenge.

So, I’m starting my compass challenge now. Well, I have plenty of styrene profiles and quickly found the right thickness: 1.5 mm instead of just over 2 mm should be correct. Then I roughly cut them to size to see how they look on a person.

 

 

Next to it you can already see the attempt to create a foot from the good old scrap box.

 

 

What’s still missing is the compass head. I’ve ordered some more parts online for that. This time, 2mm ABS beads.

They’ll arrive tomorrow, and then we’ll see what’s next.

[outcast2]

The ship I was stationed on had theirs about waist high, maybe a little taller.

[madtatt]

Thank you for this information, outcast2.

I measured the compass this morning. I could have done it right away. The result is 8.2 mm. That means it would be 164 cm tall ( 64,5 inch). The diameter is 2.3 mm, which would be 46 cm(18 inch).

So, quite a hefty piece. I don’t think that’s going to work.

So, I already started tinkering with the new compass this morning. The beads won’t arrive until this evening, but I was able to take care of the base.

I think it looks a lot more authentic now, both in height and diameter.

 

Edited November 5 by madtatt

[madtatt]

So, I’ve finished my first test compass. A few things are still missing, like the compensation spheres, since it’s just a prototype. The acrylic beads are quite easy to work with. It’s just rather difficult to hold them steady while cutting them. But it worked.

 

 

And here it is, primed. Now you can really see if it turned out well.

 

 

I think the compass looks quite good. It’s just a prototype; it can be made a bit more accurate. But now I’d like to show you a picture of what actually triggered my compass crisis.

 

 

When I placed the huge thing on the small wheelhouse at the stern, I thought to myself, something’s not right. That’s why all the fuss.

So for now, I’m just glad I’ve found a solution. I’m actually still considering making it half a millimeter taller so it reaches halfway up the window.

 

 

I’ll think about that tomorrow.

Edited November 5 by madtatt

[Canute]

Nice recovery, Jolle. The plastic one is more in scale, since you put the figure into the picture.  👍

[madtatt]

I think so too, Ken.👍

 

So, on to the final stage of construction.

First, cut the acrylic beads into shape. With thousands of beads, it’s okay to produce a little bit of waste to get the best possible result.

 

 

After priming, you can easily select the best ones. The ones on the left were my favorites.

 

 

I’ve since received several photos of various column compasses from friends or found them online. Some of them have a flap over the sight glass. I’ve recreated this feature because, in my opinion, it looks more authentic than trying to depict the glass itself.

 

 

Then I often saw a round inclinometer, which I replicated with a tiny brass plate. There was usually a maintenance hatch underneath.

 

Finally, I attached a vertical tube, which is also found on some compasses. I don’t know its purpose, though.

 

 

And with that, the first compass is finished. Now, the obligatory size comparison with the figure.

 

 

I’m satisfied with that now. I just need to make three or four more.

I don’t know if there was a compass inside the small wheelhouse. I can’t really imagine there was, as the cabin would be quite full otherwise. I think it was just on the roof, right?

 

 

[Jeff59]

Hi Jolle, see you are into dolls houses now 😂 just kidding did the same, think you’re work on the binnacle is far more convincing than the kit part. All looking very impressive indeed 🤛 know the problem with finding time for modelling well, just got back to working on my Lego Bismarck about three weeks ago, doing an update now to show l am alive 😂 Mikasa definitely needs a display case to protect it👍 still to do one for my Mikasa, one that’s not on the wife’s to do list 😂  looking forward to your next post, catch you later 🤪

[realworkingsailor]

On 11/8/2025 at 4:58 AM, madtatt said:

 

Finally, I attached a vertical tube, which is also found on some compasses. I don’t know its purpose, though.

 

 

 

 

Hello Joelle,

 

On magnetic compasses there are many adjustments required to off set various effects of the steel/iron around them.  The deviation spheres on the sides, and other magnets below the compass bowl help to correct for the ship’s inherent magnetism (believe it or not, the direction the ship was pointing when it was built affects the magnetic compass, as the ship’s inherent magnetism aligns with the local magnetic field at the shipyard). The vertical tube you’re pointing also contains a magnet to correct the compass due to changes in the earth’s magnetic field brought on by changes in latitude. The closer you are to the magnetic poles, the more pronounced the vertical component of the earth’s magnetic field becomes (actually to the point where above a certain latitude, a magnetic compass cannot be corrected, and thus becomes useless, and a device called a “dip needle” is required). To neutralize (to a point) the effects of that vertical component, the magnet is adjusted up (closer) or down (away) from the compass bowl.

 

Andy

[Jim Lad]

Just to add to Andy's expert description, the "maintenance hatch" you refer to also gave access to correcting magnets.

 

If there was no compass in the wheelhouse, then there would have been a reflector on the wheelhouse deckhead showing the compass card above - the helmsman needed some way of knowing where he was steering!

 

John

[madtatt]

@Jeff59

 

That's right, Jeff, we're going to make the puppets dance now. 😄

 

Now, to be honest, your build report inspired me to do this. That's why I put so much effort into the compass, and I'm happy if you like it. All four are finished now.

 

 

And of course, it has aged.

 

 

@realworkingsailor and @Jim Lad

 

Thank you so much for your very detailed explanation. 👍

My maritime knowledge is constantly being improved by users like you. I also learned from a user on shipmodels that these soft iron bars are called Flinders bars, after the inventor Matthew Flinders. Oh, I also learned that there was a compass in the wheelhouse towards the stern. That's why I made four.

It's fantastic what you can still learn in these forums..

 

Edited Friday at 06:36 AM by madtatt

[Jeff59]

Seen your comment on herby’s build log before l realised my mistake, the post was on the mast build so never seen the rest of log, see when you get to my age gives you an excuse for being daft 😂 on your build not herby’s 😂 the  rear Bridge had me chopping and changing quite a few times, trying to get the orientation correct with what side the ladder goes on, what window face forward and rear and what way to set up upper compass, bit of a minefield here 😂 🤛

[madtatt]

The good thing about getting older is, I'm getting there too, Jeff. I'm already looking forward to all the stupid things I can do then.😅

 

The bridges are demanding all my attention as well; they're really tricky. Especially when, like us, you have a tendency to get bogged down in details.

 

But we'll rock it.💪

[madtatt]

And now a small step further.

Both steering wheels and the engine telegraphs are finished.

 

 

Let’s start with the small wheelhouse towards the stern. It’s quite cramped. The floor is still a bit shiny from the glue, so I touched it up with matte clear varnish.

 

 

I initially wanted to put figures in here, but I decided against it. Otherwise, it would look too cramped.

I also did a little trick with the compass. I cut a piece off the bottom part with a scalpel so I could get it as close as possible to the front wall of the wheelhouse and the steering wheel would fit properly behind it. You can’t see any of it afterward.

 

 

And I even tried placing it on the Mikasa to see how it works.

 

 

I am very satisfied with that.

 

 

 

 

[Landlubber Mike]

Joelle, this is looking so good as per your usual high standards.  I have the Hasegawa 1/700 kit with the Infini set in the stash.  Your 1/200 build is a "big" inspiration!

 

Nice catch on the scale difference for the compasses - that would have driven me crazy had I experienced that!

[madtatt]

Thanks a lot, Mike.

Believe me, that really annoyed me too. Especially since you spend a lot of money on these aftermarket kits, which makes it even more frustrating.

I would be very happy to see a little twin of my ship in one of your build reports.

 

Preparing the interior of the wheelhouses proved to be a real challenge. After a few setbacks and starting over, it finally worked.

And the many helpful tips from users in all the forums where I post my build logs contributed greatly to the success.

But now, on to the forward wheelhouse.

There was much more space here than at the stern, and I could really let my creativity flow.

You probably know how it is. Making and preparing repetitive parts is often a tedious and boring task. But when it comes to arranging them on the model, it’s like Christmas and Easter all rolled into one. That’s when I really enjoy it.

That’s exactly what happened in the Mikasa’s wheelhouse. I arranged the individual parts as shown in the pictures of the museum ship. Again, I positioned them a little further away from the base of the compass mast to save space.

 

 

Officer and sailor on deck and full speed ahead.

 

 

In room two, a sailor I had modified sits in front of the desk. The officer is shouting instructions.

 

 

Let’s put the lid on and see what else is visible of the whole scene.

 

 

It’s very difficult to get a proper exposure with the camera. Because I have to get the lens very close to the wheelhouse, I’m blocking the light from the work lamp.

 

 

However, I think you can see enough to guess what is going on in the room.