1/700 IJN Satsuki(from Pitroad Mutsuki)

[fuda]

Heyo! New here.
Wanted to get in on this community since the models are just so awesomely detailed sometimes I outright refuse to believe it is even possible!

So if anyone has any suggestions/critiques/tips&tricks, please DO NOT HESITATE TO POST! I am here first and foremost to learn the art of model ship building, with an extra bonus of a (hopefully) completed model and hours(perhaps days might be more accurate) of fun!

As my first maritime build, I have chosen IJN Satsuki! (Pretty daring if I do say so myself, considering there are virtually no information out here about her)

I intend to build her in her late 1941/early 1942 configuration.

and diving into literally piles of PE on my very first build.... isn't this just inviting trouble?

Im using these 2 sites as my primary reference:
http://homepage2.nifty.com/vanguard/mak ... zuki-1.htm
http://ameblo.jp/babebon/entry-12030540977.html

Yes I do read Japanese(and Chinese as well, for that matter), so for all yall who might have some Japanese reference books but dont know what something means? throw it my way! I can probably read it.

thats pretty much it for intro, I was never really good at writing those anyways.

Ill let you guys google her history if interested(not that there's much to see anyways, mostly escort missions)

Welp, first off, took the hull off the sprues!!!!!

then because the smallest drill i have are still slightly too big, I just used my xacto knife to make the portholes(though i messed up on some of them and made them too big )



Full hull really looks so much better than waterline in my opinion

Next, started work on the bridge, cut out the kit windows and replaced them with photo etch(1/350 IJN ladders)





1st use of photo etch didnt go as badly as I had anticipated
but then again I didnt have to fold any microscopic parts yet(I dread those 25mm AA guns)

next, bridge is almost completely done, just need to add the railings and ladders(arriving tomorrow)



the kit bridge was really absurd

cut out so many details

so i scratch built the wireless radio room(or rather the entrance), and i had to fix the main bridge deck too since it was at the wrong elevation.

Then it was topped off with scratch built 12cm binoculars and 30cm signal lights(both from stretched sprue)

these things are so small ><



Then I glued the funnel halves together then dry fitted them onto the hull



That's it for today, cant exactly do much more since the bulk of my PE arrives tomorrow.

??????( ???)?
until next time~!

[Dan K]

You seem off to a good start. I responded to your CASF Minekaze/Kamikaze/Mutsuki class question.

That first link is to the Vanguard site is highly recommended.

While there may not be a lot of photos of Satsuki, there are a lot of good photos of many of her sisters from the late 1930s in the modernized fit, which is essentially the same as '41/'42, save for the addition of degaussing cables and some 25mm AA for some ships.

Building techniques aside, good references are very helpful. Here's a good view of a modernized sister, unidentified.

[fuda]

been working here and there for the past few days

school has started up now so I wont have as much time to work on this

But no rush, taking my first build slow to minimize mistakes

anyways, I'm calling the bridge done, perhaps I shouldn't have put the 25mm guns in place yet before i painted it, but too late now.





Also completed the front mast, music wire was so much harder to cut than I anticipated, i made the mistake of cutting them with my usual sprue cutter but that thing is getting too old anyways.

the bronze wire were alot easier to cut and form, thankfully this is the one I had to bend and not the music wire.





Also, Im not sure why, but all the builds Ive seen of Mutsuki class did not bend the angled part of the mast backwards a bit, as there are photos which clearly show them angled a bit towards the back, like the one Dan posted above.
World of Warships actually has a pretty good 3d model of pre-modernized mutsuki, using that as a reference as well for some parts that are left unchanged(like the masts)

Also, to install the main mast onto the back of the bridge, how deep do I have to drill down usually? would a small dent and superglue suffice? or do I have to put it down there good? (i think the smallest of my drill is still a bit too large...so not exactly wanting to drill too deep here)

Anyways, after that I continued some minor assembly on the deck and finished the degaussing cables




That's it for now

??????( ???)?
until next time~!

[MatthewB]

?????

??????????????.

I only know a few kanji, though. Roughly equivalent to a fourth - sixth grader in Japan.

Nice build so far.

MB

[Dan K]

It's coming along very nicely.

Im not sure why, but all the builds Ive seen of Mutsuki class did not bend the angled part of the mast backwards a bit, as there are photos which clearly show them angled a bit towards the back, like the one Dan posted above.

The upper yardarms rarely aligned in a 90* angle perpendicular to the hull. The halyards would get tangled up in the lines from the main spar below. In 1/700, it's just cheaper to make a mold with those upper yardarms sticking straight out in line with the ones under it. Brass rod replacement is really the way to go, as you have figured out.

to install the main mast onto the back of the bridge, how deep do I have to drill down usually?

Well, if the drill bit is thin enough, 2mm deep and mast secured with CA glue is preferred. Shallower is fine as long as there isn't much rigging stress upon the mast. Speaking of which, some details to aid you below.

Just fyi, the single guns mounted to either side of the bridge in 1941/42 were either 7.7 or 13mm machine guns The 25mmAA came later. That said, I can't recall the smaller mounts being available in PE. FineMolds does make nice 13mm single mounts in styrene plastic.

[fuda]

Matthew B,
???????????????????????????
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???????????????????????

Dan K,
I see, ill have to find some way to drill it without a drill
or perhaps I can just use the drill i already have(slightly too large) and just attach the mast to one side of the whole? filling in the remaining space with glue or paint.

Also, thanks, but I was aware that Mutsuki didnt have the 25mm guns until later, but all I had were the 25mms and it just so happened that the fine molds 13mm were sold out when I was ordering my PE.
Hasegawa has the 13mms in PE, i actually bought one yesterday on ebay, so I have those for future builds.

Last but not least, many thanks on the reference photos! they are really a great help. And just out of curiosity, which book are those drawings from? the Gakken book?

[MatthewB]

One other thing about building masts:

I have discovered that a lot of the Yardarms were rectangular in cross-section.

And that attaching them to the mast is made easier by filing a small notch into the mast and yardarm so that they can slightly interlock (unless you want to spend $80 on making a set of Photoetched brackets that the yardarm and mast slide into to create an interlocking joint).

Also, using a drill and a file or piece of sandpaper to taper the mast and yardarms really does help to make the mast look more realistic.

I have become very skeptical of these Photo Etched masts, which are too flimsy.

MB

[Dan K]

I have discovered that a lot of the Yardarms were rectangular in cross-section.

For the IJN? Perhaps for some of the BBs at the intersection with a mast but otherwise, I cannot agree, Matthew. Is there a reference for that assertion?

[fuda]

Matthew B,
My sources also don't indicate anything about the yardarms being rectangular, but the interlocking tip seems to be useful, ill try it on the aft mast when I get there.

Ive never thought about tapering the mast at all because of such a small scale Perhaps when I get more experience and/or become more and more obsessed with accuracy/detail Ill try that, but as of now I have neither the tools nor the skills to taper such a small piece of cylinder



Also, has anyone got any detailed reference for the middle deckhouse+loop antenna+searchlight?



from this photo(courtesy of Dan), it seems like Satsuki's configuration closely resembles Uzuki instead of Minazuki, but not exactly, as minazuki(according to this, #6 down, ????????? ???: http://homepage2.nifty.com/vanguard/mak ... zuki-3.htm) has apparently another room on the lower deck of the deckhouse closest to funnel #2, but Satsuki apparently doesnt have that before or after remodel, like the 2 images below(ignore the yellow circles, theyre pointing to the wrong thing)



Also, the loop antenna seems to be moved back slightly from both Uzuki and Minazuki's position, kind of in the area of the ship's wheel in the attached photo

[Dan K]

The illustrations come from the Gran Prix Shuppan (GPS) volume on IJN Destroyers.

While there is likely some small differences between ships, you must be careful to distinguish between the ships as built (your second image below) and as reconstructed in the mid 1930s. Some modernized views:

[fuda]

When were the loop antenna installed? on the 1937 picture of Satsuki I can see something that might resemble it in the place where I assumed it will be at, but in my photo of Satsuki(with the yellow circles) it doesnt show them installed

Mikazuchi seems like it has the room behind funnel #2 like Minazuki, but from what I can see Yayoi doesn't.
Ill probably just put the loop antenna right in front of the searchlight. One issue though, it wont be tall enough but that's my problem to fix.

[Dan K]

The RDF loops weren't installed until the late 1930s. That compartment also holds the emergency/auxiliary steering and compass. Originally, that equipment was placed onto top on the platform, but subsequently relocated inside during the refits/rebuild of the mid 1930s.

To help distinguish between as-built and the modernized versions, note that the as-built ships have flatter topped funnels and a triangular shaped compass bridge deck with a canvas covering. They were rebuilt with a compass bridge deck showing a rounded facing, a steel top to the bridge, and much more rake to the funnel tops. If you look closely at those two GPS illustrations of Nagatsuki, the first one is of her as built; the second is as modernized.

Or, if you compare the very first photo that I posted of the unidentified Mutsuki class ship, it is modernized (and likely Kikuzuki), versus this as -built photo of Fumizuki.

[fuda]

I see, also, did not notice the funnel tops before. thanks!

On a side note, I believe your attached image is most likely Satsuki mislabeled as Fumizuki, as the latter was part of the 30th DDiv, while Satsuki was in the 22nd and had one bar on her 1st funnel.

[Dan K]

You are probably right about the mislabeling. Can't recall my notes on this photo.

The other big difference between as-built and as-modernized is the addition of the shielding to the torpedo tube mount for the latter.

[fuda]

I actually just bought the gakken mutsuki book from amazon jp, cost me ~$50 USD including shipping to the US

a bit expensive, but it will all be worth it as imo the mutsuki class is the best looking of all IJN DDs
Also found the 1st gakken fubuki book for a pretty low price on ebay as well for future builds, still looking for the 2nd one.

Now I just need to find a gran prix shuppan IJN Destroyer anatomy book for less than 10000 yen

Not worth taking pictures of, but I airbrushed on the hull red this afternoon, will do the linoleum decks later after the paint has dried a bit. then I can mask it, complete the rest of the assembly, then on with the hull grey.

[fuda]

Small update:





Ko-Hyou Teki





Assembly continues...

??????( ???)?
until next time~!

[fuda]

Another update:









Those 12cm guns are honestly quite exquisite

too bad theyre out of stock right now at my usual vendor, else I'd buy a whole box of those.

Pre-painting assembly is pretty much all finished, going to check over it tomorrow to make sure Ive got everything then its off to the paint shop!

??????( ???)?
until next time~!

[Dan K]

Still looking good. Whose 12cm barrels are those? Rainbow?

[fuda]

Dan,

No, Five Star models,
it was quite a pleasant surprise that i got the type G shields with the barrels too since I thought I only bought the barrels

Sorry it took awhile to reply, things got really out of hand at school(in terms of grades) and Ive been trying to sort out this huge mess

[fuda]

Been working on her here and there, and finally all painting and assembly are done.

Just need to put on a clear coat then she's going in the display case.













I stopped taking pictures after this point because i thought it would be too much of a spoiler for the final product