Calling All IJN Kongo-Class Fans

[ch hoeltge]

Here is a pic of mine 1/700 Fujimi Kongo kit.
So if I understand it correct, it is wrong, as the 1/350 kit .



Greetings Christian

[MatthewB]

That little angle is what all the fuss was about?

That is so easily corrected, though. Just a spot of putty, or a shim of styrene, and then a little sanding.

MB

[Dan K]

Yes, the angles are wrong and yes, putty, styrene shims , or a blade is necessary to correct them. OTOH, the Hiei kit has correct casemates.

[MatthewB]

Yes, the angles are wrong and yes, putty, styrene shims , or a blade is necessary to correct them. OTOH, the Hiei kit has correct casemates.

Then I am safe for the moment, and won't worry about it until I get to the Kirishima.

MB

[prowler0000]

Does anyone know if the 1/350 Fujimi Haruna comes with any photo-etch?

There seems to be only the 1 kit available, no DX or super available.

Any help greatly appreciated.

[Dan K]

I don't believe that it does. However, Fujimi does make a PE set for it: http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10076057

Judging from what Tetra is planning to release for the 1/350 Kaga kit, it might be worth considering their Haruna dedicated set: http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10363893

There's another version that includes a wood deck as well: http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10363894

Wood deck is sold separately, but theirs is just one of several alternatives.

[Haijun watcher]

The casemate fix is a matter of correction. I t can be done well, with patience. .

Hi Dan,

I'm taking it from your comment above that you've experimented with fixing casemates on the Fujimi Kongo class kits? If you did, do you have pictures of your work?

[Dan K]

Not yet for me but, I have corresponded with several board members who have. Most seem to think it's pretty straightforward. Let me see if I can get one of them to comment further, maybe post a pic. My Kirishima has yet to feel the knife.

I hope everybody feels free to post their observations & experiences, good or bad.

[Dan K]

One of our board members, Jim Anderson, reports that that the fix can be done with a bit of patience. He reports: �It was simply (a matter of) slicing away the offending part �very thin� and then using a flat file to blend the rest of it into the recess so as to not be visible. The slicer must keep it at a tight right angle the first time as the damage could be easily overcompensated thereby compounding the problem. The initial trim was very thin, being closer to 1/64 of an inch, and then followed up with 1/8� wide diamond file and then sandpaper. It produced the desired result but the magnification of this close-up shows that it isn't perfect.�

Thx, Jim.

I would probably follow the same course. A sanding stick is probably going to be helpful. It�s just going to take some patience.

[David J Ross]

I wonder if it might be possible for someone to 3D print something that could make correcting the kit's fault more straightforward.

[Dan K]

Interesting thought. Something like a fillet. I'm not sure if all the casemates are off by the same angle.

[MatthewB]

Interesting thought. Something like a fillet. I'm not sure if all the casemates are off by the same angle.

No, they are not.

I thought of that, checked, and discovered that nearly every one is different.

Either filling with putty and filing, or trimming and filing seems to be the only fixes.

MB

[Dan K]

Nuts! That would have been a great solution.

I've also considered the putty approach; I'm not sure which might be cleaner and easier for me.

[MatthewB]

Nuts! That would have been a great solution.

I've also considered the putty approach; I'm not sure which might be cleaner and easier for me.

I know... It is something I thought of. But after going up to my ex work, and cutting a strip of styrene that was measured from one of the casemates, and then bringing it home....

I discovered it didn't fit in any but the first one on each side, and that it left all of the others still slanted.

There might be a couple of others where it fits. And, it might be less of a fix to file down the shim than to cut down or fill all the rest of the casemate openings.

Also, having the one shim (strip - it's a long piece of wedge-shaped styrene) cut might mean it is easier to shape pieces of it than it is to fill each casemate opening.

So... The idea isn't completely useless.

It is just which method requires the least work, and produces the most accurate (or workable) finished product.

MB

[Haijun watcher]

Dan,

These photos from a few posts above belong to which ship in the class? Your Fujimi Kirishima kit?

Matt,

So you have all 4 Fujimi Kongo class kits then and the casemate angles differed for each one?

One of our board members, Jim Anderson, reports that that the fix can be done with a bit of patience. He reports: �It was simply (a matter of) slicing away the offending part �very thin� and then using a flat file to blend the rest of it into the recess so as to not be visible. The slicer must keep it at a tight right angle the first time as the damage could be easily overcompensated thereby compounding the problem. The initial trim was very thin, being closer to 1/64 of an inch, and then followed up with 1/8� wide diamond file and then sandpaper. It produced the desired result but the magnification of this close-up shows that it isn't perfect.�

Thx, Jim.

I would probably follow the same course. A sanding stick is probably going to be helpful. It�s just going to take some patience.

[Dan K]

Those are Jim's photos of the new tool Kongo 1944 (F) kit. I have the new tool Kirishima (F) kit, and had the Kongo kit until I sold it. The hulls, and casemates, are identical. The hull needs to be backdated for Kirishima.

The new Hiei kit hull is different then the others, reflecting her wider bulges. Fortunately, Fujimi did straighten the casemates for that kit.

[Haijun watcher]

Those are Jim's photos of the new tool Kongo 1944 (F) kit. I have the new tool Kirishima (F) kit, and had the Kongo kit until I sold it. The hulls, and casemates, are identical. The hull needs to be backdated for Kirishima.

Thanks again, Dan.

The new Hiei kit hull is different then the others, reflecting her wider bulges. Fortunately, Fujimi did straighten the casemates for that kit.

That accounts for 3 kits. Would it be a stretch then to say that the Fujimi Haruna kit has casemate angles that are identical to Kongo and Kirishima?

[Dan K]

You can be certain that Fujimi used the same hull for Haruna, and every fit version of all three sisters aside from Hiei.

[Quaestor]

I just acquired the late-war 1/700th Haruna from Fujimi, and have talked about the casemate issue via PM with Dan K (thanks Dan ).
On this miserable, rainy morning I took a few minutes to try my hand at it and can report that Jim Anderson's work (posted above by Dan) is a great reference and Jim's results are not very difficult to replicate.
I have an ancient (nearly 50 years old) set of X-acto files held in a little wooden block. One of them is fine, flat on one side and round on the other, and comes to a sharp point; which is vital. A few minutes using the flat side of that file has one casemate looking like those in Jim's photos; not perfect, but much better and (to me) perfectly acceptable in this scale. Trim a couple of the casemates whenever I sit down to do some modeling and I'll soon be ready to build this sucker
As with most things in modeling, what you need most are care and patience. All bakers and cooks know that you can always put in but you can't take out. Although we're doing the opposite here, removing material, the same logic holds.

[MatthewB]

While the baker's metaphor does make sense in baking (to a degree, there are ways of "taking out" in baking - it simply involves adding everything else in the recipe other than what was thought to have had "too much added" - but that is simply an equivocation of the term "taking out")....

Isn't plastic putty basically "taking out?"

At least if we are inverting metaphors, where "cutting away" = "putting in," then "adding putty" = "taking out."

Wouldn't it???

MB