1/200 Pre dreadnought battleship IJN Mikasa after 1905

[Joelle]

Very nice, Timmy.

With your help, I found the magazine—the German edition. It is *Logbuch* 2021/4. I think that’s worth 5 euros to me.

Many thanks to everyone.

[Joelle]

Let’s do a quick update on the starboard side.

I had to attach another 50 small, thin supports. Anyone who used to enjoy playing Pick-Up Sticks has an advantage here.



But first, the overlay itself. To hold it in the correct position while the adhesive sets, the blue putty from “Blu Tack” is perfectly suited.



And so, on this side as well, the torpedo net sections gradually take their place.



And towards the bow.



The next piece of intricate detail work is thus complete.

[sdk10159]

Excellent work, Joelle. I really like the weathering: it's very realistic looking.

Steve

[Joelle]

Thank you for your feedback, Steve.

I was very pleased to receive it.

[Joelle]

Another quick weekend update.

I have processed the parts for the davits located on the exterior of the hull.



I wanted to have them installed before laying the net, since everything seems to be getting very tight again.



So the girl was laid back on her side.



No big deal.



At the bow, the lowered davits.



And, of course, portside.



Now the net can truly be laid out.

[Joelle]

Once again, here is a quick update—just so you don’t think that absolutely nothing is happening here anymore. I’ve been very busy with other things, and honestly, the prospect of creating and attaching the torpedo net had me feeling a little apprehensive.

But let’s take things in order. First off: making the net. To do this, I sourced a roll of tulle fabric online, which features a truly excellent mesh structure. After a few test cuts, I determined the optimal width to ensure the net wouldn’t end up looking too thick.



Now it just needed to be rolled up neatly—a task that proved more difficult than anticipated. The secret to rolling a tidy “sausage” lay in using a long styrene rod; this allowed the tulle fabric to be properly shaped.



Next, I brushed it with Vallejo Metal Color’s “Steel” paint, and the torpedo net was finished.



Now, all that remained was to get the whole thing onto the stands. As you might have already guessed, my assembly stand and Blu Tack helped me out tremendously.



And so I keep working my way forward.



The most difficult parts were the sections around the round casemates. But even there, the blue putty came to my aid.



And so, the torpedo net now rests quite presentably upon its support.



Now, do the whole thing again on the other side…



…then ropes and spars can be attached.

[MartinJQuinn]

That torpedo net looks great!

[SG1]

That torpedo net looks great!

I subscribe that. just sublime

[Joelle]

I am very happy about your comments—thank you very much!

A small update on Sunday’s construction progress:
On the starboard side, the net is now resting on its support as well.



Now it must be secured with ropes and fitted with its spars.

[wefalck]

Indeed, a quite convincing solution

What is the mesh-size of the tulle?

[Joelle]

Thanks, Eberhard.

The mesh size is 1 mm. That would be 20 cm in real life, and that should be about right.

[wefalck]

I asked for a different reason, I could be used for the netting that was common around flying bridges until say about the 1890 or so.

In fact, the rings in torpedo-nets are a bit smaller, around 10 cm to 15 cm I would say. Some time ago, I think, I pointed you to some resources on this. There are some surviving French and Danish samples I know of. There may be others as well. Below is a picture of some samples from the Musée de la Marine:

[Joelle]

Hello Eberhard.

Exactly—that’s where I got that information.
It mentioned a diameter of approximately 16 cm. That’s why I think I’m pretty close with that one millimeter. No one’s going to measure it.

[Joelle]

Let’s move on to securing the torpedo net, which on the Mikasa was fastened to the supports using ropes.
It is only a minor change to the model’s appearance, yet time-consuming to execute. And, of course, essential for completeness.
So, I spent two days stringing lines. First, I tacked the thread behind the net with a tiny dot of acrylic glue.



Then I took the blue modeling clay again and stretched the yarn over the nets to hold them in place. This gave the glue time to set.



Then the thread was cut, folded over, and glued down. The result looks like the ropes that hold the net in position in the original photos.



I think that comes quite close to the original.



Next up are the spars.



…which lie in the openings between the supports in their rest position.



You’ll see that next time.

[Joelle]

Let’s move on to the aforementioned spars.
For the next steps, I once again cut everything out—as is my usual practice—and gathered the pieces in my organizer trays.



Even the spars from Pontos consist of five parts and are damn close to the original.



I have to use a bit of a workaround to attach them. The Pontos instructions simply show them resting on the supports right next to the hull; however, with the netting in place, they end up quite far from the hull wall, so I have to adjust the mounts.



Using a small wedge—the cut-off end of a toothpick—I can easily hold it in position until the acrylic glue has set.



I’d almost forgotten that it was high time to glaze the portholes. If I added any more details, I’d run into trouble doing it later. So, in go the Micro Kristal Klear drops.

Next, I modified the spar mounts. Since they now projected further from the hull than Pontos had intended, they no longer reached the hull surface. I therefore shimmed them with a piece of styrene profile. See arrow.



This restored the correct distance between the mounts and the hull surface.



And so, I work my way toward the stern, bracket by bracket.



And just like that, the eight port-side spars are installed.



As you can imagine: replacing the sheet piling at the dry dock, and then it’s on to the starboard side.