The Ship Model Forum

Here are drawings of Kai-Taiho by the same artist, also courtesy of Shipbucket.

God I hope that they do!

No, only that it remains in the Veryfire pipeline. They gave it a mention a few days ago as a possible next release.

Does anyone have info on when a 1/350 Taiho will be released?

Thanks Martin, but I found both volumes shortly after I made the original post.

nice model,thanks!

In 1/700, that's 5.7mm or .225 inches. Basically, a quarter-inch.

Is it significant? Again, that depends on you and how accurate/detailed you wish to be. I think it would require cutting the hull and inserting a 1/4" plug. As long as the seams aren't visible, and with the sponsons covering the some of the seams, it's certainly workable.

I think it approaches noticeable to a very knowledgeable IJN CV aficionado who builds in the smaller scales. Probably nobody else, frankly.

Here's a photo of a 1/700 version built from the Tamiya kit from a few years back. I believe it was a Japanese modeler:

I have at least one volume that I am willing to part with, at a reasonable price. Let me look on the bookshelf tonight and see what one it is.

Will the 4 metter difference be seen in 1/700?

I suppose that depends on how detailed you want it to be. The Taiho-kai is 4m longer, all in front of the island, and most of the AA and other equipment on the sponsons are switched around, including the sponsons themselves.

If you can save and then open each of the attachments so that they are displayed simultaneously, and switch back and forth between them, you will see that very few sponsons remain the same. Images courtesy of Shipbucket.com. (Larger versions of these images are available there.)

how hard will it be to convert a normal taiho to a improved one ?

Thanks, Dan. I'll have to keep an eye peeled for a vol. 1 that isn't in the nose-bleed price range.

Well, they really are companion pieces. Both are Polish/English language. Both have a lot of information tables, both have a lot of b&w photos of all IJN CVs and their various historical or operational aspects.

Vol. 1 covers the history behind Japanese carrier aviation, plus much of the hull of Taiho, armor and flight deck characteristics, also some of her specific history. Some large fold outs, including all the hull plan lines of Taiho as drawn by the USN Technical Mission to Japan. Also an illustrated foldout of Taiho's plan views (sides and overhead) in b&w, 1:400 scale, and a couple of color 3D renderings. This volume depicts her with an armored deck only. 67pp.

Vol. 2 continues with the specifics of different Taiho functional areas and her history. There are many more color 3D renderings, several pages worth, along with a large foldout. This volume has depicted her with the wood planking over the armored deck. The author makes note that some sources have come to light with information about Taiho having the planking, and that the renderings reflect that information. 135pp.

You should certainly get vol. 2. Vol 1 is nice to have, and very useful if you have need of those hull line drawings.

FWIW.

Which of the two volumes would you consider more informative? I found vol. 2 on eBay at a decent price, but the lowest price I found for vol.1 was over $100.

Thanks,
Mike C

A W-I-P would be nice to see.............

David and Dan, thanks for the help. It looks like the full hull Taiho is a little hard to find but I will persevere as I prefer full hull. If I do get one I will probably build it OOB.

Yes, both volumes are very nice.

Couldn't say anything about the full hull version; don't have it.

if you need any help with Taiho , I have the 2 part AJ Press Books for her -

regards
David

Thanks Dan. Forecastle deck was what I meant, I just couldn't think of the correct words.

Taiho had several openings along the forecastle deck level, for access to the bollards and bits. Think of it as a forecastle deck like all the others, just plated in.