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by **Joelle** » Sun May 10, 2026 12:23 am

Hi Dan.
Your Shimakaze looks great.

It's nice to have an alternative project when things get stalled.

by **Devin** » Tue May 05, 2026 10:14 am

Shimakaze is looking fine!

by **Dan K** » Mon May 04, 2026 12:26 pm

Well, it's been a month and my update is that there is no update. I'm still waiting on new deck treading pieces, which required some rework on sizing and placement. Everything built to date is staged and waiting.

In the meantime, I resumed work on the 1/350 Shimakaze (H), which is approaching completion. So, a silver lining of sorts.

by **Dan K** » Fri Mar 27, 2026 4:03 pm

Rounding out the assemblies here are 25mm AA directors atop towers and the other set of lower searchlight towers platforms. These had AA crew quarters nestled against them as a result of the late 1943 refits.Plus 110cm searchlights.

by **Dan K** » Thu Mar 19, 2026 2:11 pm

The VF kit part seems reasonably correct. (As an FYI, the Aoshima kit also provides pieces to replicate this structure, but these comes integrated with other features.) Naturally, its placement under the perforated platforms just makes everything a bit more complicated. Plus, there is a 25mm AA ammunition lift built into it on both sides, plus 25mm ammo boxes are set on top of the perforated platforms.

In the end, with patience, it does work out.

by **Dan K** » Thu Mar 19, 2026 2:08 pm

Photos can confirm that the front portions are slab sided and that the ends are open, like a ventilation intake. But, it also appears that some flotation/damage control lumber may have been stored there. The same appears to be true of the aft ends. Photos of this structure are not readily apparent, but some exist.

Some confusion about their purpose exists probably because several large scale, authoritative models in Japan show these areas as used strictly for wood storage. I tend to doubt that was the sole purpose, given that they are enclosed.

by **Dan K** » Thu Mar 19, 2026 2:05 pm

Thx, all.

There’s one last plot complication prior to painting these parts. There are two, parallel, squared cross-sectional ( as opposed to tube-like) structures running fore and aft under the perforated decks. These structures appeared with the reconstructed Takao and Atago; they did not exist aboard Chokai or Maya. It’s not entirely clear what these were used for, though the AOTS Takao book identifies these as air intakes (#11).

by **Vladi** » Thu Mar 19, 2026 10:32 am

Fantastic, Dan, fingers crossed!

by **SG1** » Wed Mar 18, 2026 4:10 am

I second that. Outstanding so far. Looking forward to see the perforated walkways painted

by **Devin** » Tue Mar 17, 2026 1:34 pm

Impressive work. That's a lot of PE!

by **Dan K** » Fri Mar 13, 2026 3:04 pm

I’ll try to be concise about my efforts here, and hopefully the photos will illustrate better what I am explaining. The deckhouse is slightly oversized and does not fit properly, at least fore and aft between the funnels, particularly if one has added the PE handrails to the aft funnel.

This impediment did not become obvious until repeated fittings and adjustments revealed itself. I had used the provided locator holes to position the deck house, yet it didn’t fit quite right. Even removing the deckhouse and repositioning it didn’t work. I resolved the situation by filing away the leading bottom edge of the deck house so that it sloped upward at an angle that matched the rear of the truss supporting the forward funnel. Beyond that, I had to trim away the interior brass edges/margins of the platform where it wrapped around that same truss.

It took me a couple of days to work this all out, and it was………..vexing, to put it mildly.

by **Dan K** » Fri Mar 13, 2026 3:02 pm

Next came the perforated, raised walkways that link all the AA, FC directors and raised searchlight positions that surround the funnels. Plus, a deckhouse that sits astride the platform that was used to house the additional AA crews. This was a very challenging step. Before I began, I drilled out some portholes for ventilation, as the real thing would not have been without them.

by **Dan K** » Fri Mar 13, 2026 3:00 pm

There’s also a pair of searchlight towers that nests between the AA bandstands.

by **Dan K** » Fri Feb 27, 2026 4:51 pm

Know that the kit part is much simplified and that the PE parts are much more realistic. However, neither part can fit in the allotted area under the funnel with the funnel grab rail PE attached. Or, by following the assembly order implied by the kit instructions. It might work if the truss and vents under the funnel were attached to the deck first, but then the other truss forward of the vents won’t fit properly under the funnel without much sanding away of the funnel underside.

After much thought, my solution was cut the truss wings off the center and attach them to the deck outside the funnel after the funnel is glued in place. The inside section does not fit under the funnel on its own and I left it out. One would never be able to tell.

Here, everything is just placed for show. The last photo shows placement of an AA bandstand support in front of the trestle, just to make sure there’s clearance.

by **Dan K** » Fri Feb 27, 2026 4:48 pm

There was an additional support truss that was placed under #1 funnel, further aft the intake grills. It was also used as the anchor points for the rear legs of the original foremast. When Takao and Atago were modernized in 1938, the bases of the rear legs of the new foremast were mounted ahead of this truss.

by **Dan K** » Fri Feb 27, 2026 4:45 pm

No, I think I'll be leaving well enough alone.

I also suspect that once I flat coat the model, the window "glass" would no longer be clear.

I forgot to show any finished images of the second grill.

by **SG1** » Mon Feb 23, 2026 2:53 am

Great job with that grill and tower window frames, Dan!

Are you going to recreate the windows'glass as well? I've seen recently some excellent glass rendering on a 1/144 Flower Class corvette made with thin transparent acetate from the packaging of Tamiya masking tape. Result was great, though on a bigger scale than your Takao

by **MartinJQuinn** » Sun Feb 22, 2026 7:27 pm

She is looking sharp

by **Dan K** » Sun Feb 22, 2026 11:18 am

However, I did not realize until afterward that there may be an intake grill missing from the base of the tower on the port side. Which is odd, since these type arrangements tend to be symmetrical. (Note: The Aoshima kit has a symmetrical arrangement.) Documentation is sparse on this point. I just scratch-built a version of this, pretty much freehand.

by **Dan K** » Sun Feb 22, 2026 11:15 am

The tower was topped with another Type 94 Main battery director Two pairs of bandstands for triple 25MM AA mounts on either side were erected as well. The graininess of some of the photos notwithstanding, I’m happy with the result.

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