The Ship Model Forum

GOOD NEWS....I got my lights, will be testing them tonight to see how to connect and which colors look best!!

This is JS Hyuga hull that will have vents around the hull. Most of the models that I have built have these vents represented poorly.....mostly have very Large Raised details, others have some 'pressed in' representation of vents, others have no vents at all. In PitRoad representation of vents are on Hyuga (J37) are well represented and 'pressed-in'; there older Haruna & Shirane kit (J27) & (J6) respectfully, have the raised detail ( Although there are newer versions of these last two [2] ships with a lower hull ). Tamiya "Ibuki DDV-191" also has a nice set of 'pressed-in'/recessed vents. But still, I like those PE vent offer!

Anyways, here is JS Hyuga port-side hull, after this will be testing of the lights in the interior/hanger-elevator bay.









Here is the starboard-side.....









The penciled in numbers are the PE# that I will be using for the hull....if you might have noticed that I "gummed-up" the accommodation ladder galleries because the one on the kit were molded on the back of the gallery, but not to worry....a few pieces of thinnest EverGreen will do the trick .

So, excited, About Da LIGHTS!!!

M

L I G H T S!!!!!, finally came in......now what???

Well the plan is to light up a section of the hanger deck to have some ambient, residual light on the elevator deck. The lights come from "Even's Design", it looks like a well-put-together site and friendly help when you call...they were able to assist me twice in putting project together. The lights are well put together and what you need to do is twist some wires together......seems simple.








More importantly, All systems are ASSEMBLED at Their site, flashing lights, sirens, Many Lighting Options, it seems site is for (police) cars, buildings and A/C.

The only thing You need to do is give what you want to do with your project and (talk to them if necessary) purchase.









I did purchase different sizes and colors....just to get an idea of what they look like...



More updates to come on model's progress with the lights.....Stand-By, One.

M

The lights are really going to make this look amazing. And thanks for the pointer to Evan Designs - it's given be lots of ideas for other projects.

Are you going to wire the switch and battery down into the display base?

_________________
"Those of you who volunteered to be injected with praying mantis DNA, I've got some good news and some bad news." - Cave Johnson, Portal 2

'spejic', yeah...I'll have a two (2) button 'switches' to attach to different colored lights...


....
The plan is to have 'white' lights and 'reds' for a "Darken Ship" conditions, but I temporary ran out of funds...no problems, I just need to purchase lamp replacement parts for a stand/thread LED lights up stand. I also need to build up a 'bigger stand' that I would display This ship, so that I can partially place a battery pack and thread wires through.

It is a bit of a project, but Very Excited about what it COULD look like.......wish me luck!!

M


P.S. I plan to show a step-by-step procedure on how to wire and connect these lights in MY How-To link/YT videos....I also plan to present a 'Rigging' project, showing which rig-lines look good for their projects.

Kind-a bad news...ran short on funds to complete project, but this is Temporary!

I need to purchase lamp replacement parts so to thread wires through stand, that will support JS Hyuga....plus I need to make a 'thicker' stand to hide/house battery pack to base/stand. It seems to be a Bigger plan than I thought...I was pondering drilling thru one of my riser stands to thread wires thru...but that was a BIG Dream!!

So, I will continue building-up the hanger deck.....but this is ALL scratch built!! Need a template to mount supporting structures to bulkhead of hanger deck, so I used an ESSEX-class bulkhead that has those supports molded onto the part, so I just used that for placement of mine. Also had to purchase different EverGreen sheets ( the one that has those grooves ), because the bulkhead sides has 'horizontal structures' going across the bulkhead. I also placed part of a platform, at least enough to Possibly be seen from inside the elevator bay and conjoining door to hanger bay. I also added some bottles and braces to add detail to the hanger..........just don't know how much will show up, when lit!

So, here are pix of hanger bay, test-fitting, placement of parts...



These photos show a Poor design of those horizontal structures.....here is a better pic with EverGreen sheet...





Tried to make railing with 'coverings'....probably needs some improvement, used the method of white glue + tissue paper, once it dried, painted.



This is part of the Artist Hobby PE that I want to make an elevator + deck with those tie-downs for the hanger bay.





M

ARRGGHHHH.......was trying to do a fast paint job yesterday, the 4th of July, as I was cooking lunch/dinner.....anyways as I was pulling off tape for white striping, pulled off some of the deck paint



So, I tried matching the paint of the Tamiya spray.....the Tamiya spray that is recommended in the instructions and match it up with what I have to brush paint it....here are the results!



Using Model Masters acrylic 'Gunship Grey' used on most FD of USN ships, 'Engine Grey' that I had around the shop, and Tamiya acrylic 'German Grey: XF-63' in that order, painted on the hanger bay deck ( using the very back end of the deck where it will not be seen ). It looks like 'Engine Grey' looks the best!

And the results....

Add some weathering and no one would notice!

_________________
De quoi s'agit-il?

As I'm getting ready to look at light placement inside Hyuga, I'm waiting for some hardware as a stand and wire pull-through (so I can pull wires through the stand). I finishing the hull using Again...Artist Hobby 'Ibuki' PE as I mentioned before in a couple of posts, also cleaned-up some of the gallery well where accommodation ladders are to be placed and then painted...."whew". If anything I will paint the hull, weather has been quite warm/hot so should come out quite well.

Here is the hull w/o paint job, showing off PE.







M

I agree, putting handrails on the plastic stairs on the walkways around the deck is the way to go. Originally I was thinking of cutting them out and replacing them with just photoetch ladders, but on checking references those stairs are very thick looking - I assume for stealth reasons.

_________________
"Those of you who volunteered to be injected with praying mantis DNA, I've got some good news and some bad news." - Cave Johnson, Portal 2

Roger that 'Timmy C'.....I plan to do a little of it, because I notice that Many JMSDF ships are So Well KEPT. Since the FD was ( at least on the model that I will be representing ) re-done with a new coat of anti-skid, but the other parts of the FD, I'll give it a little weathering on the deck using thee soap/pastel chalk method.

M

Hey 'Spejic', good hearing from you.....and enjoying my work . It seems that when placing PE ladders on/around the FD, the instructions ask you to remove them....this seems easier said than done. I have a wide planer to remove things off a deck.....a little tougher on vertical structure, especially when molded on the kit. I also have a smaller angled planer to remove smaller detail especially those 'itty-bitty' stair/ladders. Once I removed them, I place the PE in its place. As far as being stealthy???? Hard to say...I got out of the Navy as a radar operator, picking off targets off my scope and "I" never noticed any stealthiness on those ships. But the PE on the kit Does Look NICE!!

M

Sorry for the late post, but I got part of my project yesterday.....My LAMP PARTS!!!
These lamp 'replacement' parts are needed to thread thru the lights I have for JS Hyuga. Yes, I will be posting pix of WIP of light development and building of a wooden stand to place Hyuga on with her lights. But, I would also like to dismount the model to place on a stand inside my curio, the plan is to attach wire connectors to each of the set of Different light......yes, DIFFERENT LIGHTS!

In the meantime, I painted around the upper hull and two-toned the FD, because of the time period I want to paint Hyuga....

https://www.freewebs.com/jeffhead/world ... uga-17.jpg

Here a MV-22 Osprey of VMM-161 landed on her on June 2013 Operation Dawn Blitz training off San Diego, CA........Wish I could have Seen That One!!

Anyways, back to my kit....

















The red straw Might be used..... as part of the light display, need to test it, also I used the plate, that is provided as a water-lined model, but I will not attach.

Here are the last photos of Full Hull of Hyuga.















M

So, I will post early this time....
But I need a few more connections for those LED's, but planning is moving well, trying to imagine where things go, drawings are what I'm doing now.

Just a few shots of small arms found around the vessel and how to build them, will paint them separately. And a bit of a 'sneak peek' of the lights build!






I twisted the gun shield with my smallest tweezers!


Then using the same tweezers move that gun shield up








The green light and size of light are Just Test items....they will not be the size nor the color used inside ship.









M

WELL........I have been out for a couple of weeks due to having a tooth extracted ( I say it was Drill OUT!! ) after Some pain during the last few posts.

BUT, Anyways, I'm back and just in time.....was able to get a better electrical set-up that I wanted for the JS Hyuga. I wanted to set-up Hyuga with a nice, wooden stand that will support the electrical project that I want, but Also, remove the ship from the stand (hull and all) to store in my curio with the other kits (that I hope to build), so I needed a connector that I can unplug/plug, but not just one but Two (2) connectors.

In the wait ( of Pain ) getting my 2nd set of electrical units from Evan Designs, I was dreaming of what I wanted to do and How to do it. The Good news is that the connectors are small enough to slip through the electrical stand nipple ( a threaded pipe of some length, depending on how long you want your "lamp" ) to remove from the lower hull.

Just a few pics of another test.......these will not be the colors that will be fitted onto Hyuga, but the GREAT News is that I have a three- (3) way switch, to control which lights I want on/off. I place the lights Under the workbench to get a bit of a "darker room" AND Nothing Else!!!











I do want to present a video on how to connect everything, on YouTube, I would like to call it my "How to....." videos. I got a few ideas, this one on electricity, and another one (on some of the most favorite part of building models...photo-etch ). I'm also thinking of doing one on weathering and rigging....but that is to come a bit later once I got a bit of a skill together.

M

With the bit of pain from tooth extraction this week....hopefully I will complete JS Hyuga light placement and stand placement. It looks promising with trial test run of final light ( no attachment, yet ). These are the parts of the electrical system that I waited for during 'procedure' from Evan Designs....they include a battery box - AA size, three-way switch ( to turn on/off lights separately ), a set of (dis)connectors. The connectors I purchase are for me to detach Hyuga from the light stand and place in curio when not "displaying it to others", it is a little bit of a challenge because the wires are Extremely fragile and THIN!!







I have to snip the 'spliter' cable near the split, so I can connect the lights directly to the power source (the end of the three-way switch).









As you can see.....these are the lights that I will place into the hanger deck. The lights are for standard lighting and Darken Ship, they should do the job for their size....the size of these LED are Z-chip size, the smallest size that I can purchase ( probably the smallest ever, about two [2] mm in dimensions ). And since these lights do not emit heat I can attach these directly onto the model.

Next, will be making of the wooden base, but need to make it a certain thickness because I want to insert the battery box Inside the base and have the switch protrude out of the stand......A Bit tricky...wish me luck ( OUCH! ).

M

Had a few "Honey Do" things to do (with a little pain), but finally started on putting the electrical stand together (the wooden base). I slipped everything electrical through the nipple of the connection stand and choose a nice stand, the only thing with the lights is to attach them to the model, which I will do AFter I got that 'thicker wooden base' together. I plan to place...inside the wooden base, a AA-battery box, followed by a channel for the wires to run through, and drill out the hole for the attachment of the 3-way switch.

No pictures (actually a few), BUT I did, finally bought a small 8-inch, 5-speed WEN drill press, to not only make holes for my Many Stands but trying to find out What is the Best Way to make a mortising hole to place 'batt-box'. WAS thinking of using my router, but now w/drill press.....I could start with it, then finish w/router.....Has ANYBODY Done this before??!!!

At least, I was able to put the thicker wooden stand together and glue pieces together and clamp.....going to wait a few days until I screw the boards together, BUT as I feared.....My holes for the nipple Do NOT Line UP!!!!

HA, good thing I got that D-press......I hope I don't get Depressed

M

So I had a several days of High HEAT & now humidity!! Been a little difficult to build because sometimes we are at a rolling-blackout.....but this week we might be able to make some progress on the wooden electrical stand.

To start, the original hole for the stand is pretty straight forward....drill a 3/4 inch hole about half way down a piece of 2" board, then use a 1/4 inch drill to finish the bolt attachment to the stand. Both holes are drilled out by using a flat-plane wood drill bits.

But this time I drill the hole All the way down the 4" board....so No way to guide a larger bit correctly through center. So I had to buy a few new 'toys'!!!










Some of those items is a new drill press, never had one, but would use it often enough for model projects and maybe some things around the home, I think it is a good investment. Next a step-bit, just one for the size of holes I needed, followed by (shortly) counter-bits, and a forstner bit for the battery-box I plan to install inside the 4" board. I already have a router that seems to do a great job in making my edges look nice for those wooden bases that I have for the ships. But with these new toys involved researching...so I spent A LOT of time on YT to get reviews

So, it is off to work on that board, to start I used the new step-bit to increase the diameter of hole but I needed the accuracy....so drill press.





It seems to do the job quite well....this will allow me now to attach the hex-nut to the nipple in the bottom of the base AND allow me rachet it up (enough diameter space)



(NOTE: The rachet that is present is NOt going to get drilled!)

Once that step-bit did its job of making a wider hole....I just used my flat-plane wood bit, but I should have practiced doing this....step-bit, swap bits, go to flat-plane, making sure Everything was centered!!





It kinda chewed up the wood a bit, but this is on the lower bottom part of the wooden base ( not to be seen ).

All-in-all, it came out 'okay', I just wasn't patient enough as I was drilling, because It IS SO DANG HOT in SoCal right now!!!

Now, off to making a mortise cut at the bottom of that board, as soon as I get that forstner bit, then I will router-out a groove for the electrical lines going up to that hole for the nipple stand.

The LAST thing for that stand is drilling out an angled hole to place the 3-way switch, then router the edges to dress them up.

The electrical system looks good and works well, so not worried there!

M

Alright...moving along......just about to finish the electric stand!

Finished where switch will be located by drilling out an angled hole (45) making a weird set-up I had as a dream.....Yeah, a Dream....that I had the nite before. Had to step drill the rest because the switch would/will not fit...no worries.

Next, adding a bit of flash to the edge, so router out the edge with a straight 45 angle edge for the switch and plaque for the JS Hyuga.

All I did today was a small canal for electrical wiring, will do another once I get my forstner bit to mortise the hole for the battery box.





Test subject....making sure my 'dream' works....( I tested it first before placing my board on )





Hole for the switch looks good.....did measure both the switch body that I want to place, and the step bit!



Canal for the electrical wires leading from switch to bat-box. I Should-a centered the switch hole....I feel like a Beginner!!!



I Just Like the Wood!!! This was a 2x4 piece of pine.....I choose This wood for the complexity of the electrical project...normally I use red oak!! I would add the same edge work and router plaque work.



Noticed a bit of a shallow cut on the end....how did that happened!?!?! Show ALWAYS check measurements!!!!! No worries can re-cut (router) edge.



Then I noticed.....how will I get my switch body into the hole!!!!! Will cut wires (I'm afraid), insert switch body, shrink tube insertion, reattach wires and heat shrink tube!! Stay tune!!

M

Alright....the base is finished....for the most part (maybe a little trimming and staining) but I finally got that forstner bit a couple of days ago and it worked quite well!!!



I did measure out an outline for the battery box before drilling AND set the depth of how far to go.....I even place a temporary fence on the drill table, clamped it down and placed the base positioning the fence to line up the base.



After that, I notched out with chisels, the rest of the mortise hole to place the battery box. The forstner bit I used is from FISCH 1/3/. 8 inch "wave cutter" [fun fact: there are three (3) types of forstner bits, one that looks like it has saw teeth, a flat circular cutter, and this wavy cutter ----> which is a combo of the first two.. it is used so you don't chew up soft woods to much with the "saw teeth" of the waves!!]





Did router out a channel for the wiring from bat-box to stand. Place battery box....will screw it onto bottom of base and insert wiring into the nipple of stand.....Almost There!!!

M

Also want to add.....since it is National Dog Day...here is my other 'shipmate' Blu the Beagle....she is a Good Girl!! Eating her treat after I mowed the lawn!