Tamiya 1/350 Yamato (new tool) The definite mad edition

[Koppalakki]

Well I'd assume they would have to maintain the machineguns on drills or some such.

In anycase, it definetly looks cooler

[GewoonWouter]

well, nothing wrong with a bit of artistic license

[Koppalakki]

Here's the finished turret!











Now that I look more closely at it following the Tamiyas instructions place the AA tubs just a tad too forward.
Funny how this is the first time I actually opened the placing holes on top of the turret to guide me to get the tubs into position faster it ends up tits up
Well there's still the aft turret to do so maybe I get it right that time!

[Dan K]

Wow, that turret is just wonderfully done.

[Brett M]

Wow wow......that's some incredibly detailed work you're doing! Awesome job, can't wait to see more as your build progresses!

[Joe Simon]

Yes it is!! Very nice work all around!!

[Koppalakki]

Cheers guys!

I'm working with the hull, and I have to say I've never spent so much time on a damn hull. It's like a jigsaw puzzle!
I'm hoping I can get the paint works going by the end of the next week so that's when the shizzles will hit the fan for sure!

[Koppalakki]

Here's some pics of the progress on the hull.

Still some detailing going on and other fixes etc. left to do.



























On the construction itself, after the waterline was done I glued the bow section first. After that the screws were tightened.

The seam ranged from nice to awfull. Pretty much the same as with the rest of the part of the upper hull.
I mostly used 3 methods on killing the seam.

1st:
Super glue it. Over half of the seams were major gaps that needed to be filled.
I myself prefer super glue (heavy one) as it really doesn't shrink, it's easy to apply precisely, you can add some accelrator to have it done in seconds.

2nd:
On the aft section the fit was actually damn good. I only pushed the pieces to together while running Tamiyas extra thin plastic glue on the seam.
I worked about 5 parts at once and the fit was tight and only little sanding was needed. The rear seam where the parts met produced a gap about 3 mm though and strip styrene was melted to close the gap.

3rd:
On the middle part the seam was also not good but the way the angle of the hull parts it was possible to use magic tactics.
I used Mr surfacer 500 straight from the jar and applied it heavily into the seam with a brush. After that I cleaned the brush with Mr color thinner and applied the thinner
straight onto the surface around the seams loosening the primer. Then using towels and q-tips I cleaned the excess off and had a pretty nice seam that was filled with the primer.
Light sanding and done.

Basicly one thing that I noticed was the number of ventilators on the port side was only 5 instead of 6. I used super glue once again to fill the 6th hole.

I followed Pontos instructions the rest of the way, the portholes are kit supplied (pontos) but there isn't any reference on the instructions. Same as there is a lot of handrails for turrets and superstructure
aswell and not a single mention of them in the instructions, not even a part number on the PE sheet. But they sure come in handy!




One of the parts was also damaged. It didn't break, all the surfaces were smooth and rounded. It's like there was something wrong with the molding perhaps?
Nothing a some styrene strip and super glue thrown at it wouldn't fix though.

[baseballbrat]

Did you have any special technique in applying the Degaussing cables around the hull? They came out great!

[Koppalakki]

Did you have any special technique in applying the Degaussing cables around the hull? They came out great!

I did it like I'd do any railings etc. So basicly I start with using heavy (or medium) CA and put some into the edge of the cable or railing I want to attach.
Just a small amount, attaching just a couple of centimeters lenght. After that I use a brass/copper/whatever wire to apply thin CA along the cable gluing just a little part at the time.
Using thin CA glues it instantly, so you use your finger or tweezers to manipulate the cable to where you want it and then use your other hand to apply the CA.
Using thin CA is also really great as it isn't messy. You can see the glue marks but after first layer of paint there's nothing to see.

[GewoonWouter]

Impressive work and you are going way too fast, you making me look pale

Nice work on the filling and all. Didn't realize those open portholes are on the fret...not sure if I'll be using them, but it does look good though. Same with the chainstoppers btw, they are on the instructions sheet, but it isn't mentioned how to install them...good one Pontos LOL

Just one question: did you glue the flight deck in place already? Won't it be hard to reach some of the areas underneeth it with paint afterwards? I'm thinking of spraying the internals prior to fitting the flight deck.

(Can you take some in detail photos of the seams on the stern please? Really curious to see the result)

Cheers

[Koppalakki]

You are right, the aircraft deck is only on atm with the screw. I'll paint the insides first, it's just there for test fit.
It actually fits nicely and only couple of small seams to fix. I'll get some more pics when I get home later!

[Joe Simon]

This is great. Makes me want to pull mine out!

[Koppalakki]

After 2 hours of spraying we got some primer!

I brought my old workhorse a Badger 100 LG up to task. I got some new parts and fitted a brand new M size nozzle and needle and loaded some vallejo primer.
After one mist coat I applied a second more wet coat to get everything covered. After it had dried for about 5 hours I sanded the whole hull with 1500 grit.
Then a third coat was applied keeping it pretty light. Finally sanded with a 2000 grit paper.
I left some parts unpainted as there is still work to be done.





Stern



And a nice shot of my effort. Seams almost gone and even. Plating restored. Almost damn happy!



Ofcourse there's small parts that are a bit rough but after painting and weathering I believe none will find them.

[Martocticvs]

Great work so far! Going to get hold of one of these myself soon.

[medicmike]

This build is just mindblowing with incredible detail! I can't wait to see more and to try some of these techniques out!

[Koppalakki]

Hey guys, I'm coming down with a flu so I might take it easy for a while.

I got some progress on the stern area.

Finished the details on the aircraft deck. Underside was painted getting ready to be glued in place.



Most of the details on the upper side are also finished.



Making the rails were a bit mind wrecking. You are suppose to cut the rails out of the sheet and bend them to make them a bit more thicker. Even the instructions show them one piece with a connector to
bend them. In reality, there is none and they are 2 completly different pieces. I decided to just skip it making me lose the etched details on the other side. Getting them aligned and glued required a bit patience.

After primer I was surprised!
Everything looked pretty damn good!



After I glued the deck inplace, I continued with the boat deck details.





Not everything was super perfect. Because the way I build it I had to cut and fit the supports individually.

And after primer they looked pretty decent.





I also made some alterations on the port holes on the area. The kit ones collided with my new supports so I filled them and drilled new ones.

Here's the link to the album of this projects pictures in high resolution if people really want to dig in.

https://imgur.com/a/X9L9d

[Jabberwock]

Looking really nice, very clean construction.

Cheers, jabb

[GewoonWouter]

Looking good indeed...awesome progress

[marijn van gils]

Great work! It has already been a pleasure to follow this build.

And funny, I recently read that the hull issues of this kit (separate pieces) are 'unfixable'.
I guess good modeling speaks louder than 1000 words�

Cheers,

Marijn