Some more photos of the 3D printed rafts:
Last but not least the PE sheets.
The idea of providing the linoleum tie-down stripes in PE seems good, although one can argue that they are indeed overscale, OTOH almost any imaginable kind of representation in 1/700 would come out overscale indeed.
The PE sheets are 0.15mm thick. I would have preferred them to be 0.1mm, especially in case of the one with linoleum tie-downs and railings, but it´s a compromise to make them less vulnerable to damage while handling.
Hope you'll forgive me I forgot to take photos of the turned brass parts and the anchor chain, I may add them later if required.
The instructions are really extensive on
24(!) A4 pages in full colour! It already contains references for PE and 3D parts - that´s much better than having the "detail-up" part separately like in case of 1/350.
I just wonder why Very Fire does not provide foremast parts for the 1942 fit, it won´t take much additional effort while enhancing the possibilities of building Takao in an early war fit. There were not many other differences that would have to be addressed by the modeller: opening sealed portholes would not be difficult as well as not installing single and triple 25mm mounts and their platforms and the extra personnel rooms midships. So the option to build Takao at the time of the Guadalcanal campaign is there, just the foremast would have to be scratchbuilt or provided by an after-market producer.
Overall, it´s a really awesome kit I can fully recommend to the advanced modeller. With the inclusion of 3D printed parts in the Deluxe version this is another great leap from the best kits I´ve seen to date (Flyhawk...) – and at a VERY good price. I paid approx. $60 for the Deluxe kit on Aliexpress + $15 shipping, all incl. tax (VAT) – that´s a real bargain!