OK... I have been REALLY busy lately at work... a lot going on so have been out of circulation for two or three weeks.
I was lucky enough to have been able to spend a few days in New York (managed to miss the snow in England as well... which was a bonus!) and while there met up with Martin Quinn on the Friday before I flew back.
I was really good meeting Martin and we managed a chat over a beer for an hour or so... with a promise we would do another parallel build later in the year. Not sure what it will be, but probably either Dreadnought or Warspite, simply because there are two absolutely stunning models available now and with the Pontosmodel update kits it would be insane to miss the opportunity. I can't believe how much ship modelling has changed over the past ten or so years... back then we could only dream of the kits we have now and the quality of aftermarket parts... the idea of a plastic Hood, Warspite, QE, Dreadnought et al and all great kits... well, we would have been laughed out of Telford for even dreaming of it...! Anyway Martin, it was great to meet you and chat about modelling for a short time... next time, a beer and a meal should be on the cards...
OK.. back to Mikasa.
When I got back from New York it was a struggle to work out where I was and what I wanted to do next, so, after a few days of detailed planning (staring at the box and instructions and very little else!
) I decided that despite my earlier plan, I would do some work with my airbrush and paint the hull and decks. I had bought a new Iwata Neo airbrush at Telford last year and wanted to use it... My god... it's brilliant to use. The Neo is the cheap version, less than �50, but to be honest, it is the easiest airbrush to use and clean I have ever had. The threads on the fittings are a bit 'iffy' and the build quality of the interior parts are a little cheap (a bit like a budget tool kit rather than something really expensive... it looks the same, but feels a little different) but it's amazing value for money and all it does is make me want to buy one of the bigger models in the future. I have used Badger 100's and 200's and a host of other airbrushes, but this FEELS so much better. A definite recommendation. OK... back to Mikasa... really this time!
Here are a few photo's of what I have airbrushed so far. There is nothing new modelling wise, but I need to start somewhere and as I am the master procrastinator, perhaps this will give me the incentive I need to keep going and not start another kit (Dreadnought is beckoning but honestly Jim... I AM resisting!)
Hull sides. I airbrushed this using Tamiya Acylics, Hull Red and Kure Grey. They were thinned 50/50 with Tamiya x-20A thinner and very low airbrush pressure. I drilled out all the portholes which took a while...
Same... just a different angle. Just remembered I HAVE actually added something. I did the prop shafts and rudder. No modification although I was tempted for a while... but have left the shafts hull red because having taken Jim's advice and looked at a number of dry dock photo's, as many were painted the same as the underside or contained in a sheath as were bare metal... so I took the lazy way out... and brass, which is suggested in the instructions is VERY unlikely... Image a prop shaft made of brass!
If you remember, I have the Hasegawa wooden deck set for this ship. (BTW... my questions regarding gluing this in place are redundant. There is a clear film on the underside and when peeled off there is a self adhesive coating. It seems very strong, so, unless anyone has experience to the contrary, I am going to simply use the self adhesive backing. In order to get all the decks done I needed to airbrush the fittings in grey. I am shortly going to spray all the paintwork with Future and then add a wash of burnt umber or similar and then weather and then matt, followed by dry brushing in the original colour and a lighter shade or two... Once that has been done and any detail painting, I will then place the wooden decks.
I also airbrushed the funnel assemblies and they look pretty good too. The shadows caused by the lighting above enhance the errors on the placement of the funnel rings... they look MUCH better in real life thankfully.
Finally, a shot of the stern. I had originally wanted to add the walkway and torpedo net shelves before painting the hull but changed my mind. The detail on the Hasegawa kit is pretty impressive if airbrushed in thin, heavily thinned coats and allowed to harden.
That's all for now. Going to get out the Future and get a nice hard coat to protect the paintwork prior to washes and drybrushing...
away from the ship.
