Higaki Kaisen by BRiddoch - FINISHED - Woody Joe - 1/72 scale - SMALL

[BRiddoch]

   Not to forsake my Constitution build but I had the opportunity to purchase this kit while in Japan during the month of April.  A Japanese friend of mine picked it up on Japanese Yahoo for a great price.  It was delivered to his house the next day and I hand carried it back to San Diego. 

 

    The Japanese Cyprus wood used in the kit is outstanding and the laser cut parts are of the highest quality.  I quickly noticed that when sanding the wood there is a very pleasant odor.  Smells like Nana's old cedar closet.  The only downfall of the kit is that the instructions are entirely in Japanese.  Fortunately, there are not a lot of written instructions.  The instruction format is 90% graphics.  The packaging of the model is superb as seen below in the obligatory box / contents photos.

 

My goal is to complete this kit in time to show at next years 40th Rope Exhibition in Tokyo.

 

    The Higaki Kaisen (hee-gah-kee-kah-ee-sen) is an Edo Period cargo boat used from 1600 to about 1868.  Higaki was a Trades Guild in Osaka, Japan and Kaisen translates roughly to Cargo Boat.  During the Edo Period, Osaka was the center of the national economy and Edo, which is Tokyo today, was a big consumer city.  The Higaki Guild held the chartered right of maritime transportation of consumer goods from Osaka to Edo.  The Higaki-Kaisen were the sailing freighters of the Higaki Guild.

 

   The Higaki Kaisen hull structure has no framing.  Instead, its' hull consisted of only planking firmly joined with nails and clamps.

 

    I want to give a special thanks to Clare Hess.  Clare has helped me get this started and has provided me with numerous photos and information on his build.  Thanks also to Don Dressel who just completed his build and has provided me access to his model.

 

      Bob R.

[BRiddoch]

As I mentioned in the Intro, the Higaki Kaisen had no frames.  The model is built around a set of molds which will be removed later.  It is flat bottomed.  I broke a piece of the planking and Jeff quickly came through with a nice thin slab of boxwood which is about the same color but without the heavy grain of the Cyprus.

 

  Bob R.

[MEDDO]

Very interesting kit.  Interested in see it come together.

[BRiddoch]

Thanks Michael.

 

         The next part is where I had a problem and actually broke one of the pieces.  Clare Hess was a great help at this point providing me pictures of his build as a reference.  You can see the piece I had to make out of boxwood supplied by Jeff at Hobby Mill.

 

 Bob R.

[riverboat]

Looks like a fun build Bob.... nice kit !!

Frank

[Jim Lad]

Looks a fun and interesting build, Bob.

 

John

[BRiddoch]

Building up the sides.  Again, this wood is great to work with.  This model is almost like a jigsaw puzzle the parts are so cleanly cut.  Note that the second plank up on the starboard side is the replacement piece of boxwood.

 

         Bob R.

Edited June 11, 2014 by BRiddoch

[catopower]

Hi Bob,

 

Glad to see you started your MSW build log. That boxwood piece looks great. Did you use the opposite piece as a pattern? 

 

I agree that the Hinoki (Japanese cypress) smells wonderful. I always thought of my Woody Joe kit build as a form of aroma therapy. A Japanese friend of mine carved a piece of the wood and saved the shavings because they smelled so nice. I'm going to have to build more of their kits, just for the therapeutic effect.

 

Looking forward to your posts!

 

Clare

[Jim Lad]

Yeah, keep it coming, Bob.  It's fascinating not only to see your build, but to see the shape of this unusual (to us) ship emerge.

 

John

[Chuck Seiler]

Bob,

 

Your CONSTITUTION feels forsaken and unloved. First the longboat, now Woody Joe.

 

I look forward to your progress.

[BRiddoch]

Thanks all. 

 

Clare, I actually used the empty spot in the billet where the original piece was.  I traced the pattern onto the boxwood and carefully cut it out.  From there I matched it to the other side.

 

In the next set of photos I have added a couple of coats of Minwax wipe-on Poly.

 

  Bob R.

[Chuck Seiler]

This kit category is a tough crowd.  Slack off a couple days and you slip to page 4.

 

Bob, I have it on good authority that you had a good 8 hours of build time Saturday.  Let's see some updated pictures of that balsa wood pirate ship.

 

Chuck

[BRiddoch]

Pictures will be posting this evening Chuck.

 

 Bob R.

[BRiddoch]

A marathon modeling session on Saturday at the San Diego County Fair where our Guild mans a booth at the Design in Wood pavilion.  Got most of the hull done and I have started on the structural work to support the housing topside.

 

 Bob R.

[BRiddoch]

A few more pictures.

 

 Bob R.

[BRiddoch]

Back to back marathon sessions on Saturday and Sunday at the San Diegio County Fair.  Pictures at 11.

 

    Bob R.

[BRiddoch]

As promised.  Two 8 hour marathon days of modeling on Saturday and Sunday.  It's starting to look like a boat.  I have to say, the parts are outstanding and the fit is great.

 

   Bob R.

[BRiddoch]

More pictures.  By the way, no power tools have been needed yet.

 

        Bob R.

[BRiddoch]

The stand came with the kit.

 

 Bob R.

[Chuck Seiler]

Rumor has it that you were soliciting Fair go-ers to find Japanese speaking/reading folks to help with the instructions.  How have you been able to cope with the Japanese-only instructions?  Any recommendations for somebody considering this kit?

[catopower]

Bob,

 

Beautiful job on the hull! You did a better job than I did. The model is looking great. Now you're making me miss building this kit. But, I'm enjoying watching you build yours.

 

Clare

[BRiddoch]

Chuck,

    There are some tricky parts in the instructions which require some Japanese assistance.  There are certain parts where you should not apply glue that are pretty important and these are usually designated in Red Kanji.  I have found that if you carefully study the instruction photos (which is 90% of the instructions) and look ahead to what will be affected, you will have no problem.  If you look at Clare Hess's website, he gives a clear path to the "glue / don't glue" issue. 

    Bottom line is that I would highly recommend this kit.

 

Clare,

    As always....thanks.

 

         Bob R

[Chuck Seiler]

What is the URL for Clare's website?

[BRiddoch]

Clare's website has a lot of great information not only on the Higaki Kaisen but many of his other projects.

 

http://shipmodeler.wordpress.com/home/

 

                  Bob R.

[Jim Lad]

Bob, you certainly put your eight hours to good use.  She's looking 'ichiban'.

 

John

[BRiddoch]

Domo Arigato John-san.

 

    Bob R.

[Chuck Seiler]

Bob,

    Thankee.

[dgbot]

A unique model Bob. I found your build very interesting. Nice job.

David B

[BRiddoch]

Thanks David.  It is a fun build...so far.

 

         Bob R.

[BRiddoch]

As I prepare for a final marathon day at the San Diego Fair, I spent the week working on the decking aft.  The grain of the wood almost gives it a tatami mat quality.

 

   Bob R.

Edited June 28, 2014 by BRiddoch