I physically started this build as my 1/700 Taiho build was winding down. I wanted to take advantage of my learning curve with regard to Taiho’s scratch-built deck before it started to fade into memory. I especially wanted to try and avoid some of the pitfalls I encountered.
Conceptually, this build started years earlier, when Fujimi released its 1/350 Shokaku and Zuikaku class kits in 2011-12. I really wanted to build one of these sisters, but I hated the kit’s flight deck, just as I did with the Taiho kit and most of the other 1/700 & 1/350 Fujimi CV kits. Properly scaled planking seemed to have escaped Fujimi’s attention. (At this point, I would imagine that just about everyone knows this is a major sore point of for me.) I also intend to waterline the hull.
A 1/350 Fujimi Shokaku and Hiryu kit languished in the stash while I pondered and rejected various approached to correcting those decks. Truth be told, it was Gabriel’s (Angeliccypher) own 1/350 Hiryu W-I-P thread that really started my wheels turning on how to accomplish such a fix (see:
viewtopic.php?f=59&t=162876 ). His work on the kit flight deck, (with side input from Mark Senna), led me to the solution I eventually chose for Taiho, and now Hiryu.
Frankly, I find the warts and all W-I-Ps such as his utterly invaluable, and a major benefit of being a member of this community. So, thank you, Gabriel!! I appreciate your willingness to post a real life build.
And, I hope to see you post more of your Hiryu progress soon.
With the Hiryu kit, the same truism applies as with my Taiho project: If I can’t make the flight deck work, then the likelihood of my completing the project is low. One of the attractive points of using Hiryu as a test bed is that her flight deck is only about 60% planked. This is as opposed to the Shokakus, whose flight decks are probably 90% planked.
I used Evergreen 2025 V-Groove polystyrene sheet for the planking. Doing so yielded planks of a scale 7.5 inches wide. I also decided I would use the recent Shipyard Works PE flight deck set for Hiryu. However, this time, I am choosing to retain all of the PE flight decking, and not just the treaded metal deck edging. Separating the metal treading from the metal portion of the flight deck surfaces has proven to be very problematic. I don’t feel that I can’t do so without jeopardizing the clean finish of the PE. In turn, this means that tie-down holes must be applied to the custom built flight deck.
In addition to the Shipyard set, I also purchased the Fujimi PE set for this kit.
I’ll start by posting a photo reflecting the current status of the build. In fact, at this point, I’m actually stopping the project for the time being so that I can work on another set of projects that are underway. I expect to periodically resume and post progress to this W-I-P.
For the record, this is my first 1/350 build. There won’t be many in the future, as there isn’t much display room in my city apartment.