1/700 Amagi diorama

[marijn van gils]

Many thank guys!

I know Aop! And it is very much appreciated.
But how else than with some humour can I react to such high paise?

Thanks again,

Marijn

[Aop Aur]

So have your shaken hands done some more battle damage progress?
I'd love to see any pic you have.


Aop

[marijn van gils]

I haven't done much during the last week Aop, as I had to prepare things for leaving on a 4 week holiday in Turkey. I did bring some modelling stuff with me though: the stacks and the island. They are nicely small for hand luggage transport!

Not much to show yet, as I only just got started on the island.
This is what you get in the Fujimi kit (only tacked together with Blue-Tak):





In fact that is everything I would expect from any injection moulded kit: a high level of accuracy, and very sharp and finely molded detail. Don't be mistaken, this island is really tiny!
But still I want more... So first job is to remove some molded details like the bulwarks (to be replaced by thinner brass sheet) and doors (to be replaced by PE), open up one of the doors, drill out portholes, remove the window parts and thin this area out from the inside, and open up the sideways passages to the bridge:





Bridge deck with tinned walls (the main body of the island consists of 3 parts, which I kept separate so far):


Not very sexy to look at now, but a necessary preparation before details can be added. It does take some care and time, but it will be well worth it later on.

Cheers!

Marijn

[Aop Aur]

So now I know I'm not the only one who brings modelling stuffs when travelling! Really fine works removing those stuffs! I can't tell that's 1/700! What tools did you use?

Thanks for sharing!
Aop

[Milan Kuliffay]

Marinj, I do like this.
Maybe it helps

http://www.modelforum.cz/viewtopic.php? ... 8&start=30

[marijn van gils]

So now I know I'm not the only one who brings modelling stuffs when travelling! Really fine works removing those stuffs! I can't tell that's 1/700! What tools did you use?

Thanks for sharing!
Aop

Tanks Aop, it is my pleasure!
Every summer, I'm spending about four weeks with my mother in law, sister in law, wife and children at a house at the sea, which makes it necessary for me to be able to spend some time quietly on my own.
For 98%, I used sharp scalpel blades (Swann & Morton, numbers 11, 15 and 11P), simply cutting, carving and scraping carefully. For the remaining 2%, I used a small rectangular file for evening out a couple of right angles.

Marinj, I do like this.
Maybe it helps

http://www.modelforum.cz/viewtopic.php? ... 8&start=30

Many thanks Milan!
Your Amagi is an example for me! I think the island is probably the most detailed part of your build, and I will be happy if I can get mine as good as yours.

Cheers,

Marijn

[marijn van gils]

Meanwhile, I made new bullwarks from brass sheet, and filled any small gaps with superglue, sandings after hardening. I also heightened the aft part of the lower element of the island with plastic sheet. This will make up for a loss of height, because I will replace the kit platform here with a thinner one. I also already attached a couple of PE pieces.



Then, I glued the three pieces together, and filled any gaps with Magic Sculp. The 'chin' under the bridge needed a bit of extra mass so I can square it out properly like the real thing. I also added some Magic Sculp on top of the radar antenna base, because Amagi had a slightly heigher one than Unryu portrayed in the Fujimi kit.





After hardening, I filed, carved and sanded the Magic Sculp to get a square 'chin' and a round radar antenna base. I don't have my punch and die with me on holiday now, otherwise I probably would have used this to heighten the antenna base.





Now, I added the bridge windows. There is a very finely etched PE piece provided for this in the Lionroar set, but unfortunately it is much too wide. I also couldn't find any PE ladders or similar items with the right dimensions to use, so I reverted to stretched sprue. First I placed the vertical members one by one, then bordered them at the top and bottom with horizontal pieces.
The match shows how tiny this bridge and these windows are, which made it a lot of work to line up everything square. But at least the stretched sprue method enabled me to place the correct amount of windows...
I think it is anyway important to invest in this area, as the bridge is like the face of a ship and the windows are like the eyes, to use a figure analogy, so they will always attrackt the attention of the viewer.





Sorry for ther crappy phone-pics, which make it difficult to focus properly...

Cheers,

Marijn

[Aop Aur]

Outstanding job on the island! Were the brass sheilds (?) included in the set, or did you cut and fold them from brass sheet?

Cheers!
Aop

[Devin]

Amazing work. I did bridge windows once in 1/700 with a ladder and it was tedious; I can't imagine building them from individual pieces as you did!

[Par429]

Hey-
That's awesome! I'm amazed that you can manage to do such clean work in such a small scale. It's so much fun watching your progress!

Phil

[marijn van gils]

Many thanks guys!

Aop, they are just brass sheet. Easy to cut, but it took a bit of care and patience to bend as the shapes are on the complex side. PE pieces wouldn't have made that much easier though...

Cheers,

Marijn

[uma]

Amazing

[J. Soca]

Beautiful work!





Jose

[Dan K]

It's gonna be nice.

[Angeliccypher]

One word: flabbergasted

Marjin, I have yet to pick up your Lexington book, and looking at this build I am wondering if you go into detail about how you create battle damage in there? I have a few projects in mind where I would like to employ similar things. If not I would love it if you did something in the tips and tricks segment when you have a chance.

[marijn van gils]

Many thanks everyone!

Thanks Gabriel! There are some very clear close-ups in the book of the finished and painted bomb hole, also from the rubble before painting, but not more because I had no plans for a book yet during the construction phase.

I'm on a holiday now and limited in the materials I can use and in phographic quality, but I'll see if I can improvise something with what I have at hand and my cellphone somewhere during the next days.

Cheers,

Marijn

[marijn van gils]

Ok Gabriel, the step-by-step is ready and added to the Tips and tricks forum: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=162997

Meanwhile, I added the double bulkead thingy (don't know the proper term?) to the forward top of the bridge (a nice challenge in 1/700!). This was nicely represented in the kit, but after some hesitation I decided to redo it anyway to get the see-through effect and hopefully some extra finesse. I also started adding the platforms.







Since the island will now increasingly become more fragile, it was time to think about how to handle it easily but safely during further detailing and later during painting.
I therefore glued some plastic strips in the bottom to create a square hole. This 'hole' accepts a square plastic handle, firmly held with some blue-tack, yet easy to remove when the time comes. The other end of the handle is cut to a sharp point, which enables me to place it easily in a piece of styrofoam.



Cheers!

Marijn

[Aop Aur]

Very nice and smart idea of handling the piece! Will really be helpful when airbrushing, I guess? BTW, where did you get the brass sheets from? It would do really well when it comes to splinter shields.
You keep refilling my inspiration to build mine!

Aop

[Devin]

Again, amazing work. The "double bulkhead" is a wind deflector.

[Joe Simon]

Very well done Marijn!