1/350 Mikasa Build by a newby

[rollsroyce]

Hi All

Well here we go with my first work in progress thread. Please excuse the picture quality My photo booth is the lid of the ox with the side cut off and the camera isn't very good at close ups and struggles with the colours on some pictures. Also learning about photo bucket and this took an age.. Thanks to the tutorial I have just about managed to post pictures.

Anyway enough of the computer incompetence. I have built ships before and getting better with each and now getting a bit more adventurous with additions such as PE and now a wooden deck and brass barrels. I am going to build the Hasegawa 1/350 IJN Mikasa. There is a great British connection with this ship in that it was built in Barrow in Furness for the Imperial Japanese Navy and was from what I can gather she was the next step up in the pre Dreadnought’s following the Formidable class. I will also be using the Eduard PE and a Hunter wood deck. I also have bought the Master brass barrels. This should be interesting. I have seen a couple of other builds of this ship on forums and WOW…. Please don’t expect those standards and you will all just have to imagine there has been a terrible storm which bent a few railings as my PE skills are fairly new. Bending and gluing is still a bit of a learning curve.. I’m looking the parts and then my finger tips…. knowing me; later in the build both will be firmly attached to each other while the kit sits on the bench …

So the box and what is in the box.

Sprues

Here is the hunter wooden deck. It is self adhesive so looks like I won’t need to glue this down. Looks good and well printed and laser cut. We shall see if all the holes and cuts line up but time to put it in a safe flat place as this will come much later.

The Eduard PE looks nice as well. It is quite thin and lots of small parts. I have done some PE before by my bending and especially gluing are not that great yet. My main concern here is the last railings I used had a bar along the bottom of the railings. This made it a bit easier to stick them to the edge of the deck. These just have the poles (Sanctions I think they are called) and have never done this before. Still we are again a long way off that.

So to start assembling. The hull is in two halves with five cross members to give strength and then hold the decks in place. Before gluing together I drilled out all the portholes. This is easier for me than trying to paint each one as some are very shallow in the moulding. They were a perfect match for my 1mm HSS drill bit. The hull halves then went together ok with a bit of squeezing around the bow and the stern. There will now need to be a bit of smoothing and sanding as the glue squeezed out some melted plastic around these two areas.

Next is getting the deck on. The middle has to go on first then the two ends. There are a couple of bits that need a trim and removing the injector marks to make it sit flat. I don’t think I put the hull together tight enough as there is a gap around the deck edges. I then realised I also had to reposition one of the cross members to then make it sit flat. I not sure it this is me or the kit but it doesn’t seem as good a fit as the Hasegawa aircraft. Done all that and the deck again and still got gaps… This will now need some filler.

I’m dreadful at sanding in corners and also in small areas. Here is what I do. Put the filler in and then before it is dry wet a cotton wool bud and just remover the excess. See the picture to explain. It leaves a nice smooth fill that doesn’t need sanding and I have not had it crack or shrink yet.

Well it's good enough for me at this stage in my modelling career!!!

Next is getting some paint on the hull. The ship does not have a black stripe along its waterline. I was going to paint one just because I like them. I didn't though. I wonder if she did have one when she left Barrow in Furness on her way to her proud new owners in Japan.

Once the paint has dried I put on a couple of coats of Pledge floor polish so it can cure nice and hard in readiness for masking to paint the upper hull colour. I have also painted some of the detail on the hull with black as seen on previous builds on the forum. Lets see I my painting skills can make this worthwhile.

Well that all for this week. Any feedback is most welcome as most of this will be building on some basic skills and out of the comfort zone.

All the best to all

Guy

[Billydick]

Going to follow your build if I may ...... (I've got this in the stash)

BillyD

[Martian]

Good start! I love these pre-dreadnoughts.

Martin

[rollsroyce]

Hi

BillyD. Please do all are wecolme. I'll try and highlight any issues so you can have a heads up when yours gets onto the slipway.

Thanks Martin. The hull assembly is always the easy part. Thinks will become a little more challenging and a bit slower now. Especially looking at the PE and there are 7 funnel rings!

Looking forward to it though. If anyone has any tips on PE Funnel rings then will be glad to hear.

All the best

Guy

[Thom216]

You might may me want to buy this one! Nice progress.

[prowler0000]

This one BEGS to be followed....

Are you anticipating weekly updates with this build, Guy?

[rollsroyce]

Hi Thom216. Thanks for looking in and comment, appreciate it. The kit looks ok so far buy the hull fit has flagged a bit of concern but again it could be me. We shall see later.

Hi Prowler0000. Thanks for following and your very welcome. I will be updating weekly as I only get to actually build once a week as work tends to get in the way. I'm not a very fast builder so some weeks there will only be a few bits to follow. When it comes to PE still learning so that will be even slower.

Roll on Sunday when I can get back to the bench.....

Cheers

Guy

[prowler0000]

When it comes to PE still learning so that will be even slower.

Yeah, Welcome to my world.....

Look forward to the next instalment.

[foxy]

Newby or not that's some project you have there.

Welcome aboard matey and may you prosper in your efforts.

That's a fine kit you have there and do not listen to some that say this was not added in such and such a time, just enjoy the build.

foxy

[rollsroyce]

HI Foxy.

Thanks for the rely and look in. Enjoying it a lot and will have the next instalment up soon.

Your Victory is look fab by the way...

Cheers

Guy

[rollsroyce]

Yeah, Welcome to my world.....

Look forward to the next instalment.

Hi Prowler.

Will be getting an update in line over the next few days. It takes me an age to load pictures and write up what I have been up to. Having spent some time at the bench today you will know I'm spending the evening removing superglue from my fingers.

Cheers for now

Guy

[RichO]

Mine has the Pontos package. I'll be watching for the next installment.

[rollsroyce]

Hi RichO

Welcome along, the more the merrier.

I did look at the Pontos set. It contains a lot of extra stuff and the added benefit of the barrels and masts. How you getting on with it?

Given PE is a fairly new venture for me it the contents looked a little daunting and could have been a costly experiment.

I’ll will be adding a couple of updates later this evening.

All the best

Guy

[rollsroyce]

Hello everyone and thanks for all the comments and likes so far.

Welcome back to the build. This week I have painted the upper part of the hull and that pre-shading looks to have worked well giving the detail a bit more depth. I may go over with some dark wash a little later to bring out some of the finer lines.

Then it was onto the smaller parts. I have assembled the bases of the funnels and then the funnels themselves. The funnel tops in the instructions have moulded on funnel caps. Eduard have these in PE. I saw on a previous build on a forum there are parts in the kit that fit in the tops of the funnels. Simply use parts 34 instead of parts 35 as shown below.

These were drilled out again with the 1mm drill bit then fitted in the top. They look a lot better and I’m going to add the PE a bit later.

The next part was the rings that go around the funnel. These are PE. I found these a little tricky.

I painted the black at the top and then masked off before fitting the rings in case I break them off again while trying to add masking tape. The funnel isn't doing an impression of a master chef. I also only put 6 on each funnel as when looking later on in the instructions the bottom two may interfere with some of the other parts.

Here they are on the funnel….and it took a while. Like I said in my intro my bending and gluing is still improving. This model with photo etch will look like it has been through the most terrible storm that bent the railings and one particularly big wave even bent the funnel rings…. They are a bit wonky but this is a busy kit around the middle of the ship with lots of boats, masts, air vents and booms so there will be plenty to distract the more discerning eye.

Then I painted them up and removed the tape. They look ok to me and actually quite proud of them.

I have made a bit of a mistake though. The top ring and the second ring up are supposed to be above the small lugs on the funnel. The lugs are for the rigging that secures the funnels down. This is because I built them upside down as the ring wouldn't fit over the top cap !!!! So this weeks big lesson is if its easier to build something upside down, make sure you stand on your head to read the instructions before you do it !! Ha Ha....

I'll have bit more time and manage to load up some pictures of the small guns as well soon.

Thanks for looking and hope you enjoy the build. As always any tips, comments (Apart from standing on your head like mine) always welcome. I'm picking up some great stuff from you all on the site as I go along

back soon with more to make you professionals chuckle.

Cheers

Guy

Edited August 2, 2016 by rollsroyce

[rollsroyce]

Hello All.

As promised I have managed to upload more pictures from the bench.

I have also built up the housing that goes below the funnels. These also have “Branches” that boats will be mounted on later. There are two boat mounts that need to be replaced with Brass boat holders from Eduard. I will cut these off soon but I’m probably glue the Boat holders to the boats when fitting rather than trying to be really accurate now. This will also help hide the missing and bent funnel rings.

Also built up the winches that are also to be replaced on the main deck around the funnel bases. I used a method I have seen on this forum elsewhere. Apologies I can’t remember who did this so I can allocate credit. I simply stretched some sprue and then wound a single strand of wire from and old table lamp wire. Then cut length off as required for each winch.

I think I have got a technical problem as my computer seems to have stopped uploading the URL from photo bucket. I'll try and post the rest later sorry for the non continuous read.....

all the best

Guy

[rollsroyce]

Hi Apologies I shut everything down and restarted so will try again...

Also built up the winches that are also to be replaced on the main deck around the funnel bases. I used a method I have seen on this forum elsewhere. Apologies I can’t remember who did this so I can allocate credit. I simply stretched some sprue and then wound a single strand of wire from and old table lamp wire. Then cut length off as required for each winch.

Next on the list was onto the smaller guns. I have brass barrels to replace the plastic ones. These are 3 inch guns and 4 inch guns. There are 12 of the 3 inch guns and 8 of the 4 inch guns. The 4 inch guns will go on the main deck and will need to be fitted after the wooden deck. The 3 inch guns will go on the superstructures and on the deck at the sides above the boat deck. The Master barrels are amazing and how they make them is beyond me. They are also incredibly good value as a packet of 12 was just under a fiver.

To replace the barrel you cut off the plastic barrel then drill a small hole in the remaining piece to glue in the brass barrel. Yeh right… I think a brain surgeon would struggle with that… That is not a massive log in the picture…. It is a cocktail stick….

I can hardly see the bit your supposed to drill a hole in let alone have a drill that small and the actually drill the hole. Any suggestions how you actually do this will be most welcome. I will need to do this though for the main guns so any tips on how to drill a straight small hole in a small part will be gratefully received.

My current solution is this. I cut the plastic barrel off and then the small bit off the end of the brass barrel and you end up with something like this.

Then simply super glued the barrels to the mount then ended up with up with them looking like this and just need a bit of paint. The shields are brass and pre-painted. When I paint the whole thing is will hide the glue blobs as this is now behind the shields…..

So I finished this session by dry fitting what I have so far. This is a really interesting looking ship and quite the reverse of most battleships. The main structures on the main deck are on the outside with the ships centre being mainly hollow..

That’s it for this week. Roll on next weekend when I will be starting some more of the deck fittings and superstructures. Hope you all enjoy the update. I'm really enjoying the build. It looks like next week I may have to put the wood deck on before going any further. :yikes:That will be a first.

​Any feedback or thoughts will always be gratefully received.

​Thanks for looking

All the best.

Guy

Edited August 1, 2016 by rollsroyce

[argh1962]

Great respect for starting out with a ship with PE and wooden deck.. respect...

[Martian]

Mistake or not, the funnels still look fantastic!

Martin

[rollsroyce]

Great respect for starting out with a ship with PE and wooden deck.. respect...

Hi There Argh1962

Thanks for the encouragement comments and the note. I have built a couple of ships a few years ago then left Modelling for a while. This is my return and things have changed and PE is a bit of a new venture and never fitted a wood deck. I’m using some great tips from builds I have seen elsewhere on this forum. Some I’ve seen manage great neatness and speed!

The deck is all pre-cut and has a self adhesive backing. Looks like it’s going to be like trying to stick one of those dreadful mobile phone screen protectors.. You get one shot and if it goes wrong then woe betide you.

There are some smaller decks in the hunter pack for the ships boats. I may make up a couple of those and use them for practice. I can always paint them if they go wrong.

If you have any tips on fitting they will be gratefully received.

All the best

Guy

[rollsroyce]

Mistake or not, the funnels still look fantastic!

Martin

Hi Martin.

Thanks for the comment and your looks like your here for the ride. Hope you enjoy it.

It's great to get this sort of feedback and motivates towards the next session.

Thanks

Guy

[RichO]

Good job with the PE so far. Still watching, still looking good!

Mine is in the stash for later.

[argh1962]

Hi There Argh1962

Thanks for the encouragement comments and the note. I have built a couple of ships a few years ago then left Modelling for a while. This is my return and things have changed and PE is a bit of a new venture and never fitted a wood deck. I’m using some great tips from builds I have seen elsewhere on this forum. Some I’ve seen manage great neatness and speed!

The deck is all pre-cut and has a self adhesive backing. Looks like it’s going to be like trying to stick one of those dreadful mobile phone screen protectors.. You get one shot and if it goes wrong then woe betide you.

There are some smaller decks in the hunter pack for the ships boats. I may make up a couple of those and use them for practice. I can always paint them if they go wrong.

If you have any tips on fitting they will be gratefully received.

All the best

Guy

As a person who has used one or twenty decks over the years it is not a one shot prospect. You can peel them off again if you need.. there are also some people who spray water on the plastic before applying the deck. I don't bother but I do paint the plastic to give the wooden deck something to stick to.

Cheers and thanks

ARGH!!!!

[rollsroyce]

Good job with the PE so far. Still watching, still looking good!

Mine is in the stash for later.

Hi RichO

Thanks for following and enjoy the ride. Look forward to yours coming out of the stash and see how you get on with that Pontos set. It looks like a great addition.

Cheers

Guy

[rollsroyce]

As a person who has used one or twenty decks over the years it is not a one shot prospect. You can peel them off again if you need.. there are also some people who spray water on the plastic before applying the deck. I don't bother but I do paint the plastic to give the wooden deck something to stick to.

Cheers and thanks

ARGH!!!!

Hi Argh!!

Thanks for the advice on the deck. Really helpful to get some advice on theses things.

I’ll prime the deck this weekend then stick down.

Cheers

Guy

[rollsroyce]

Hi all.

Welcome to this update and thanks for looking. As always all welcome and any feedback/comments gratefully received.

This week I took the advice (Thanks Argh1962) and primed the deck with paint then it was down with the wooden deck in the middle of the ship around the funnels and superstructure. This has worked a real treat and just a bit of careful alignment, it seems well stuck down and looks great.

Middle bit on and the bow and stern sections then added.