Hello everyone,
I am so happy to start this thread. My first post will, however, be more a preview than work-in-progress already, hope you won´t mind. The reason is that - thanks to blacman/Greg - I became a happy owner last Friday of the main parts of a production copy of the
IJN Kinugasa/Aoba Extreme Detailing Set for 1/700 Hasegawa Kit by Shelf Oddity - i.e. the 4 large PE sheets and the 3D printed parts. It has been already decribed very well by Greg himself at the link above, but there are not enough words for this really unbelievable set, so let me start with a preview of it.
My biggest surprise (still on the Shelf Oddity stand at e-day) actually was how small the 3D printed sprues were in contrast to how large the sheets of photo-etch. The second big amazement came when I noticed how packed all the 3D parts were on the sprues. Honestly, I have never seen anything comparable in 1/700!
So this is what I´ve got:
You can clearly see how large the PE sheets are compared to the 3D pieces. But watch out!
I have to admit that my camera is not the best to take the extreme detailing of these 3D parts, there are much better shots taken by Greg at the link above. Even the few shots below taken from various angles show both the detailing of the parts provided and the sheer number of those (approx. 200, hard to count them all). Both sprues are carefully packed in little boxes made of clear plastic for protection. Each part is attached to the sprue by numerous tiny supports (as required by the printing technology used). These should be cut carefully from the plate at the bottom of each support. Then the remaining supports should be removed - very often just by bending them slightly (they were designed intentionally that way). Last step is smoothing the bottom plane of each part e.g using a fine sanding paper.
Next come the PE parts. Again, see the link above for photos of full sheets. As opposed to the original idea of providing parts for Kinugasa & Aoba as they looked during the famous battles in 1942, Greg decided to add specific parts allowing for Aoba after her later was refits up until her final fit in 1945. That amounted for one additional PE sheet (to the original 3) containing not only the Aoba parts but also some parts that can be used to model earlier wartime fits of the class, like convoluted ropes to be laid on the deck. Also please note below that even the splinter shields made of hawser rope are provided:
Each PE sheet comes attached to a cardboard and all together are inserted in the usual self-sealing plastic bag. Handling the sheets deserves some caution as some parts are so delicate (like the ropes) that can be easily mangled.
As Greg explained to me, distribution of the first batch to customers was waiting for the delivery of CNC tooled parts (gun barrels and masts) from Master.pl, who are the sub-supplier of these parts. So these were not included in my set which was handed over to me on the show. As I have been already using Master parts for my builds I have no doubts they will be a great component to the whole set. Distribution of the complete sets is expected to start this week.
The instruction quide comes on 8 pages done in full colour plus a cover page showing details of a completed build. I found the guide both comprehensive and instructional, every detail is covered with the same care as on physical parts of the set. The contents of the guide can be seen
online here.
There is no easy means to check this set neither for correctness nor for fit before actually completing the build. However, as I have been watching Greg´s activities already for some time (check his awesome Kirishima sets or Furutaka build) I have no doubt about the amount of work, care and aspiration for doing it right that went into the research and design of this set.
I can only repeat myself in concluding that this set is clearly among the best and most hi-tech available on the market (shortly). At the same time it is very true to being literally "extreme" as mentioned in it´s title. It is not for everyone, not for people looking for a quick build with some little extra than plain OOB. Together with the Hasegawa kit (I am not sure how many of the original parts will be used) it will probably add up to around 750 parts if the builder decides to use all of them. From a "rivet-counter´s" point of view it is a question if more could have been reallistically done at all taking into account that there are not that many detailed resources about the Aoba class´exact appearance in 1942 (slightly better for Aoba 1945 thanks to the photos after she was finally sunk off Japan). One thing is for sure though - with this set one would be able to build a super-detailed Kinugasa or Aoba without much need for anything else.
A big thanks to Greg for providing me with the opportunity to review this excellent set! (Please note I have no business relationship to neither to blacman/Greg not Shelf Oddity)
I really look forward to starting my build!
Note to admin: I would happily enhance this post into a fuller "in-box" (although I´ve got no box 
) preview if interested.
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to blacman for the design! Overall, the fit of the set has been perfect so far.
