The Ship Model Forum

This will be a lite documentation of a out-of-the-box build of the IJN "What If" Amagi Class Battlecruiser. This Fujimi 1:700-scale kit has been a best seller in Japan, and it caught my attention on the Hobby Link Japan website during repeated visits.

Says Wikipedia: "The Amagi class was a series of four battlecruisers planned for the Imperial Japanese Navy as part of the so-called Eight-eight fleet. The ships were to be named Amagi, Akagi, Atago, and Takao; the first three were named for mountains (Mount Amagi, Mount Akagi and Mount Atago), while the fourth was named for the town of Takao, Formosa (present-day Kaohsiung, Taiwan). The Amagi design was essentially an enlarged version of the Tosa-class battleship, but with a thinner armored belt and deck and a modified secondary battery arrangement.

"Limitations imposed by the 1922 Washington Naval Treaty prevented the class from being completed as designed. However, the treaty had a limited allowance for hulls already under construction to be converted into aircraft carriers. Amagi and Akagi were both intended for conversion, but an earthquake damaged the hull of Amagi so extensively that the ship was scrapped. Akagi was refitted as an aircraft carrier and served with distinction as part of the Kido Butai during the Second World War, participating in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor before being sunk at the Battle of Midway."

Upon opening the box, everything else on the workbench got pushed aside. My first impressions were that this was a well-engineered kit (and that has held up with only very, very minor complaints/observations).

Until recently, I've never been a big fan of Fujimi when there has been a choice of the same kit from a different WL Series manufacturer. I prefer a lighter toned plastic visually, and have found the Fujimi plastic too dark to easily read details as I assemble and prepare for painting. I've also found their plastic a bit oily or sheeny in feel. But their recent releases have been so varied and diverse, from liners to freighters to the new pops of the AC's Kaga and Ryujo, and now this. So I've bought a number of Fujimi kits in recent months, and the Amagi seems to represent the company heading boldly to further improvements.

Several first impressions: first time I've seen Fujimi issue a capital ship in a multipiece hull - waterline plate, hull sides (one piece) and three deck pieces - bow and stern decks are seperate pieces, with minimal joints mid-ships, where the decks are narrowest in width. This design made deck painting far easier for me than on other multi-deck capital ship models I've built.

Funnels are cast in one piece each - no glue joints on these pieces, and delicate auxiliary piping already in place. Funnel caps provided in plastic and impressively finely detailed.

Two sprues of clear parts - the floatplanes and all searchlights. The searchlights are full units, meaning that now we are challenged to paint the casing rather than the face.

Could not recommend a kit more easily out of the box. We will see if assembly holds any surprises.

It's going to be fun watching this one.

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Dan
Field Artillery, King of Battle
Please check out the Secret Society of Model Builders on facebook.

@ Dan - this has been a fun build. Hope you enjoy. I am further along than the report started here, but am re-starting a build report here that was started on the first thread below. If you need a further progress quick fix, check that thread out.

There are several Amagi-related conversations going on around MW.com, and this build report started on one of them before I was encouraged to start the thread here.

This is the main forum for the Amagi: http://www.shipmodels.info/mws_forum/viewtopic.php?f=47&t=33362&hilit=Amagi.

There's also this interesting thread seeking info on IJN companion ships to the Amagi from this time period: http://www.shipmodels.info/mws_forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=74819&hilit=Amagi.

Playing around with photos in Photoshop before I post a series of updates to this build. I am now about 80% complete in terms of parts, assembly and painting, but the remaining work is detailed, and I suspect I am 60% complete in terms of time remaining!

I bought my kit from Hobby Link Japan (which currently shows the kit as discontinued -but see their site for why this is listed this way!): http://www.hlj.com/product/FUJ40104.

Hobby Search Japan shows it as in stock, and their website always provides a great set of photos of parts sprues, decals, and instructions: http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10135113

PE and wood deck options are also available for this kit:

Photoetch: http://www.hlj.com/product/FUJ11322. Larger scale image here: http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10137746

Wooden deck: http://www.hlj.com/product/FUJ11323. A larger scale image of the wood deck with adhesive backing is here at the Hobby Search site: http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10137747

Build notes: Fujimi Amagi Battlecruiser

Added notes to the instructed build sequence. Construction starts on Page 3 on the instruction sheet.

Page 3, Item 1: Hull and Main Decks
There is no standard waterline plate in this kit. Part B1 fits hull piece A1 on an internal groove. No waterline plate seams to fill! Then again, not clear where the boot line should be. Be sure to paint small stern interior deck before attaching deck piece C1. C1 and C2 best left off until deck painting and weathering is complete. I also added short bracing struts to the hull floor to support the thin extensions of the bow and stern decks, as well as struts fore and aft near the hole of the locating pins for Part F1, to brace this part when attached later in the build. In retrospect, I should have attached Parts D8 and D9 at this stage (from Page 4, Item 3 instructions), as well as Parts D10 and 11 (x2) (from Page 7, Item 10), to assure no glue spots and a consistent paint job.

Page 3, Item 2: Main Guns
Part D2 has 3 sprue attachment points that need careful sanding. I broke one during the removal from the sprue; they are fragile parts! Cut from sprue as far away from part as possible in order to prevent fatal bending of these parts! Part D6, the gun base, fits best with careful sanding of sprue attachment points. I also used a liquid putty filler to close the seam underneath the gun casements. Sprue attachment points for Part D13 connect to the flare at the base of the casement, and these parts should be very carefully removed/sanded to avoid the need for added putty and shaping. Protect the flare!

Page 4, Item 3: Hull and 1st Level Deck details
Other than painting and parts prep, I skipped all of the suggested assembly steps for a later stage. Barrels on Parts E1 are particularly delicate, and attachment at this stage will expose them to breakage.

Page 4, Item 4
I left off all parts off first deck piece F1 until deck painting/weathering is complete. Parts E1 fit easily enough on this and main deck level later in the build sequence, so no need to attach now. Deck piece F1 can be masked for painting more easily before attachment of the numerous D and E pieces called for on this deck. I found painting of Part G2 easiest before attachment to Part G3.

Page 5, Item 5: Gun Placement, First Deck
Parts E14 are the smallest pieces in the kit. I lost one to the Carpet Monster. Part E15 needs a touch of sanding to provide a secure, flat surface for mounting E14. I am leaving all guns off deck until final assembly.

Page 5, Item 6: First Deck Placement and small items
I will leave all small items off until final build sequence. Bracing placed in Page 3, Item 1 above is critical for supporting main deck when first deck is attached in this step. Otherwise, you risk some sag in main deck near location of 2nd deck locating pins.

Page 6, Item 7: Initial Bridge Construction
The entire bridge assembly sequence benefits from a slow pace and carefull dry-fitting of parts. Most parts hold together well as dry fit, and so glue can be applied after dry-fit assembly to assure proper parts placement and orientation. Many of the J parts – long vertical supports for the bridge – have to be fit in specific angled orientations, so fit first, glue second, once in place. Sequencing bridge assembly also allows one to glue from underneath parts or inside parts, which makes for a cleaner build.

Bridge windows are rather subtle in Part H6. After airbrushing this assembly at an initial construction stage, I painted the window level a lighter gray and mounted a PE IJN window strip painted in the main bridge color over the light gray, aligning the PE with the window demarcations of the original part. Some might choose to clean out the window plastic altogether and replace straight up with PE, for a clear through-bridge look. I left the searchlights off from bridge assembly until the entire bridge was assembled and airbrushed.

I first airbrushed the bridge assembly after adding part H1 and H11. I airbrushed in stages during the assembly sequence on this page to assure adequate paint coverage of top and bottom surfaces; it struck me as easier to do in stages than once the entire assembly was complete.

There are nubs on each side of H5 located near the sprue attachment points. Be careful that you don’t remove these features when sanding sprue point clean. Note that the floor of Part Hf is to be painted a deck-wood color - I initially missed this and am evaluating best corrective appriach. Part H15 does not dry-fit tightly. Bridge windows of Part H7 were treated the same way as Part H6, above.

Parts Q2, the searchlights, are cast in transparent plastic. Paint the back of the searchlight in silver before masking the front of the searchlight and painting the searchlight frame. I masked these parts with frisket using a soft brush the size of the searchlight face, and then airbrushed, removing the frisket after 15 minutes drying time. The searchlights will not be placed on the bridge until just before the full bridge is mounted on the model.

Page 7, Item 8: Aircraft.
There’s no real reason these aircraft should be cast in transparent plastic, but they are. I primed all pieces before assembly for better visibility during assembly. Propellers will be replaced with PE; there are also now dedocated PE kits for 1:700 scale IJN bi-planes, both seaplanes and carrier-based: http://www.hlj.com/product/FLM700220 and http://www.hlj.com/product/FLM700219.

Page 7, Item 9: Funnels
Parts J22 and J23 are specific to Part E2 and should be kept separate during painting and assembly from Parts J20 and J21 to assure a ready match. Parts J23 and J21 needed sanding on their longer sides to fit easily, yet still snugly, into the funnels. Parts J16 and J17 should be added before painting to assure best gluing surface. Parts E2 and E3 were masked after base-color painting to paint the top of funnels black, before placement of funnel caps.

Looking ahead to the final assembly sequences from here, my only comments are that the range clock, Part D25, would be better served with a decal than the raised relief numbers, which will require careful dry-brushing.

This is where my build stands currently. I’ll finish construction and complete this narrative then. I do have photos to post, but re-sizing issues have kept me from posting over the weekend.

Bow of the Amagi, showing unique profile and porthole details:


Stern - paint this interior before mounting decks:



Flush fit of waterline plate (stern) - no more seam filling!:



Dry fit of deck levels after base coating the deck. Dry fit was very tight and showed no gaps...

Masking of decks prior to 2nd coat of hull and superstructure color:




In an attempt to assure a tight fit between deck plates, I added some supports inside the hull at contact points where bow and stern deck plates mated with first-level deck. This was intended to prevent any flexing at time of glue-up, but my measurements may have been off... post glue-up, fit was no longer tight in several places:


Dry fit of 2nd level deck and forward superstructure:


Mid-deck, featuring aircraft launch pad on 3rd turret:


Construction turns to the turrets:


Hull comparison with the Akagi:

Nice progress!!




Bob Pink.

Yeah, what he said!!

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Martin

"Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It's perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we've learned something from yesterday." John Wayne

Ship Model Gallery

Bob and Martin, many thanks for your comments. Not much progress to report, as family life has been busy. Had hoped the long weekend would provide some opportunity to finish up the Amagi, but that was not the case. Pieces are masked for detail painting (funnels, ship's boats, etc.), but time not yet found to execute.

Regards,

Daniel

This is the first battle-cruiser of the IJN new tool Fujimi range I've come across, so naturally I asked has anyone built this yet ? Completely missed this thread, until now of course, on the completed model shown on the Japinese model site also built straight out of the box, the model looked light and very flat. The colours you've picked have lifted it, especially the decking with what appears plank work, early start, but looking forward to watching this one.
When I dry fit something it normally goes together good, then the moment I glue up, the darn thing plays silly buggers and wants to open up with a gap. So now, I dry fit making sure all glue surfaces are good, apply glue (never to much) and leave for a few moments, masking tape is then carefully stuck onto the hull and pulled over onto the deck that is carefully held by a thumb/finger, then repeat until the fit is good, I can't remember ever using filler on any of my 1-700 hull deck models using this method.
Your dark grey - Tamiya ? what number ?
TS-66 is a nice colour (kure arsenal) then to beef this up for shadow and shading slightly darker TS-67 (sasebo arsenal).

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On the Bench
1/350 Independence
1/350 Dunkerque
1/350 Shimakaze
1/350 Sharnhorst Dragon
1/350 Belfast

these ships gave a very imperssive broad side for a battlecruiser. 10 x 2200+lbs put many ww2 battleships to shame.

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On the Bench
1/350 Independence
1/350 Dunkerque
1/350 Shimakaze
1/350 Sharnhorst Dragon
1/350 Belfast

I'll check my color mix, but all paint on this model to date are Tamiya acrylics, including several colors applied free-hand (but carefully!) over an initial gray and a second tan airbrush coat on the deck. To my eye, my best deck-painting to date, that is for certain.

D-Boy

My battlecruiser arrived this morning, although its for my stash, the detail is very good, and the first thing that comes to mind, no wonder they converted this into a carrier as its huge for a 1-700, not sure at this moment if I'd buy a full etch set just for this model as many parts such as reels and rail I have from left overs, and considering the decking is also quite nice, again, the wooden decking a lot of money especially if it goes wongly when gluing into place, so again, I can see many short cuts to building this fine looking model.
The most annoying thing of all is the lack of actual photo's of this ship as the intended battlecruiser, very few and far between.

Hmm I wonder why?

rob

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IPMS Fine Waterline Special Interest Group

Hello - I began building this somewhat ''what if ship'' originally 1 of 4 designed and ordered for the Japinese navy, its a huge model for its scale, and almost at once I realise this is one of those model doubles. You first build it, look at it and then realise how much better it could be, the same thing has happened here, I am part way through then suddenly realise I haven't got to time to finish it at the moment, but when I do, I'll have to buy another one.
I believe due to the amount of detail on the deck, that the extra wooden decking you can buy would be a waste of money, it would be to much hard work replacing all the pieces and painting and stain and everything else, this is my view only. Plus, the etch kit, most of this kit you'll already have in the spare box, hooks, rail, gusset, track and doors.
because this ship never happened, the world is open to your view, the type of rail, what safety system can be used, overhanging gusset, grab rail and so on. This is a real, honest, fun build. BUT - I honestly believe apart from the very best of us, most people will be building this twice.

Why attach links to photobucket images if such links aren't going to be maintained? Isn't it easier and more useful to attach images direct to forum messages?

Terry (Caravellarella)

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Because L'Oréal keeps telling me I'm worth it!

Maybe it's Maybelline..............

I guess I'll never know......

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Because L'Oréal keeps telling me I'm worth it!

Maybe it's Maybelline..............

wow.,,,,...way to wake this thread from the grave....at least it was self imposed lol

One reason people would choose an off-site server is that it's easier to upload to - no need to resize images to fit within the 200kb/1200px requirements of the board. Off-site photo servers often also let you upload multiple pics at a time, making it a less arduous process.

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De quoi s'agit-il?