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1/700 Fujimi Nagato + Flyhawk PE


Guest PetrolGator

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Guest PetrolGator

I started on this kit when I first really got into this hobby about eight months ago. I purchased the PE after hearing how wondeful Flyhawk optioned kits looked. This is true. Unfortunately, the work of bending things this small is a royal pain. Still, the results are worth it.

 

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Nagato's bridge. Note the bent railing. The brass is FRAGILE and already shows signs of the final stages of fatigue failure. I've bent the railing inwards until I get ready to paint. Once I do, I'll bend them straight and use CA glue to reinforce the bases.

 

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Aft turrets. Flyhawk's included brass barrels are fantastic and easy to work with. I cut the plastic barrels off the blast bags and used a small hand drill to bore out the bag. The barrels were simply glued in. Note that Fujimi's plastic barrels are FANTASTIC for a 1/700 scale ship. The things were already bored out. Had the Flyhawk set not come with barrels, I would not have bothered.

 

Nag_New3.jpg

Amidships. Note the railings, again, unbent. I'll hand paint that platform deck tan and wash to match the wood deck I have for the ship. I'll bend the PE into place at that point. Note that none of the superstructure has been glued down. I will finish each individual section and turret on its own then assemble.

 

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Bow view. Note that the searchlight platform has not been completed. This is an older picture. I wanted to post it as I love the ship's lines.

 

 

That's all for now. I've made a ton of progess due to a rib injury that prevented me from going to the gym on a regular basis. I'm about 80%, which means I plan on ignoring sense and getting back to lifting. Progress will be slow on this build.

 

ANY recommendations on weathering are welcome. I'm debating pre painting "rust" on the bow and along the waterline, using future to seal it, then painting the final hull coat. I'll use an eraser (as suggested and used successfully on a carrier deck) to expose the rust underneath. Finally, I plan on using ground pastels for rust stains and may try my hand at some oils.

 

That's it for now!

 

Christopher

Houma IPMS Webmaster

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Thanks Christopher, keep em coming man, love the detail from Flyhawk sets. I'm itching to do the early Nagato, but will have to wait a bit for that one. Hoping someone will make it in 350 as my eyes are getting way to old for the 700 stuff.

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Small update. I've detailed out one of her turrets. Mainly, I've been trying to make sure that the mast will fix snugly and STRAIGHT against the rear superstructure, which has been a pain. I'm also in the process of building the rear searchlight platforms. The support beams on the underside are not for the faint of heart.... (These are not featured on the pictures)

 

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Turret #1 complete. Note the awesome degaussing cable that I've decided to leave in place. I'm going to paint the hatches off ship and attach them after she's painted, unless I absolutely have to glue them on before putting together certain subassemblies.

 

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Dry fit, as of today. Once I putty the waterline and attach some bits here and there, I'll begin painting her hull.

 

That's all for now.

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Update:

 

I'm HOPING I can have this done for the show in Westbrook, LA but I doubt it with the in laws coming in this weekend. Plus, you know, gym trips so I can live longer.

 

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Issues: IF YOU BUILD THIS KIT, TEST FIT THE HECK OUT OF THE REAR SEARCHLIGHT PLATFORMS. Seriously. I thought I had this thing put together intelligently, but ended up having to perform major surgery to make it all fit.

 

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I love seeing how big a toothpick looks compared to this.

 

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Aft turrets are nearly done. I need to add those small clips (?) on to the dorsal side of the barrels. I have no idea what the Japanese had these for other than making future modelers sweat.

 

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Forward turrets. Same issue.

 

That's all for now. Hopefully, I'll get the rest of the main hull done so I can PAINT!

 

To do:

Catapults and flight deck

Boats (Another huge pain in the ass, but will be worth it)

Screws

Aircraft

Miscellaneous deck fixtures/hatches

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"Aft turrets are nearly done. I need to add those small clips (?) on to the dorsal side of the barrels. I have no idea what the Japanese had these for other than making future modelers sweat."

 

 

I think your talking about the smaller practice guns mounts used to train the crews on sighting

http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNJAP_161-45_3ns_pics.htm

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Nice job on all of the photo-etch. It really takes a ship model to another level. I don't know how you do it in 700th scale. I have enough probs in 350th.

 

Keep it up.

 

Bill

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Tomorrow, paint. I'm going to use the base Kure Arsenal Grey on about everything but the small float plane. I'll get to what I'll do with her in a second.

 

There is still a LOT of PE work to do, with the biggest challenge being her hatches. I'll get those in place once I finalize her base paint.

 

Regarding the float plane, I'm trying something new that will later be applied to a 1/48 A6M3 I have in my queue. I'm going to prime the float plane with gloss black, hit it with the Alcad airframe aluminum, and then paint her green. I will LIGHTLY rub the aircraft with some fine sandpaper to reveal the aluminum underneath. I hope it will turn out as planned. :smiley13:

 

I only have a few pictures as I've disassembled the model for painting:

 

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Catapult. Believe it or not, this has about five different sections of PE in it.

 

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Crane.

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Closer, closer. Here's a real update:

 

I've painted the main battery, built most of the aircraft handling deck. Those tracks... PAIN IN THE, well, you know.

 

Naga1.jpg

Bow. Wood deck on the superstructure DID NOT FIT. I had to re-cut the whole thing. Hooray.

 

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Aft turrets.

 

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Aircraft handling deck with a huge @*$*$ gap I need to figure out how to deal without ruining the deck. Elmers? Help. Rear superstucture is still not done. I need to do a wash to its wood deck before folding up the railings.

 

I absolutely love this build. It's been challenging and very educational.

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Gentlemen, thanks for the help. I'm sealed a large part of the gap and I'm OK with it at this scale. Depending on how I feel about trying to enter it in the NOLA show in March, I may do a bit more... I don't know yet.

 

Anyway, her 5.5 in and 5 in dual purpose are installed. I've also dry fit all the major superstructure elements and found where I need to sand/potentially putty. Her main battery is done and I'm feeling that finish line...

 

I'll tell you this: Flyhawk ain't for the impatient or faint of heart.

 

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This kit has provided a wonderful distraction from life. It's been a rough few weeks between my own gym-related injury and the wife's mysterious migraine/motor issues. Neurological tests have just ruled out some of the degenerative nerve conditions and indicate some odd "blockage" around her temporal nerve. Not happy about this. She's only 26 for Christ's sake.

 

Anyway, comment away on the build. I love criticism and comments.

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Update. I've assembled one of the two float planes and most of the launches. I'm leaving off the VERY small details of the boats until I glue them on the ship. The large launches are dry fitted.

 

I'm no master, but I'm happier with this build than I've been with my others. Improvement is nice.

 

I'm debating giving up EZ Line and... trying stretch sprue. SHOCK_Wacko.gif

 

Finished: - Superstructure attached

- Ladders attached

- Upper hull weathered

 

I want to see if I can get a nice, realistic waterline wash on the bow to give the ship a bit more character.

 

Naga7.jpg

 

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Naga9.jpg

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More progress is being made VERY slowly. CALMEX in Westbook, LA was this weekend and my little Harusame took first in her class. SMILE_Cool_1.gif

 

This was my first show and only gives me more incentive to get better.

 

Done:

- Build the ONE float plane I have. She's dark green on top/light sea grey on the bottom. I painted the yellow stripe, blackened the engine cowl and painted the prop gunmetal.

- Finished construction of all the boats on the boat deck. YES. FINALLY.

- Bought a wood base. I'll be staining the base a darker color and will make the stands bronze or gold. I'm not sure which I'll use.

- Added anchor chain.

 

I'll rail her out tomorrow and add all the davits and bits around the hull. I think I may also try my hand at stretched sprue to rig her out. Eventually, I'll need a glass and/or acrylic case.

 

Please comment if you have any comments/suggestions.

 

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I've made what looks like a little progress but has been a LOT of work. I've stained the wood base, finished installing her boat cranes, and began the task of adding railing and bits and pieces of detail. I've also cleaned up the paint, covering exposed brass. I've been shining the Nagato up to my light and noted an ugly gap under the forward superstructure. I'll try to work some Elmer's in the gap tomorrow as it tends to mask these sorts of gaps late in the build. Considering I've been doing this for less than a year, I'm pretty happy with the progress.

 

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Thanks, Mark. I'm hoping to have her rigged up today, flags flying!

 

I found a giant wooden Chrysanthemum at Hobby Lobby while searching for some brass stands. While failing at that, I'm kind of excited about possibly mounting the symbol of Imperal Japan undernearth the ship.

 

Either way, I'll post pictures this evening.

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Another day.... a little closer.

 

I've spent a lot of time today studying rigging charts for this old battlewagon and simplifying where necessity dictated. I'm using EZ line as I'm still struggling with the stretched sprue method. The rigging is about 75-85% complete. I'm going to clear up the contacts a little, paint certain parts of the wire, and finish up the bow.

 

Left: Stringy bits on the ship itself (tie downs)

Touch up painting

Boat booms

Base

Rust and slight weathering

Clear coat (dull)

New flag. My current was damaged while trying to make it flutter.

 

I'm. So. Close. The towel paper is there to protect the Nagato's paint. Those gold stands are 99% dry.

 

And, yes, that is an Imperial Chrysanthemum on the base. :smiley14:

 

Naga21.jpg

 

Naga22.jpg

 

Naga23.jpg

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Oh, wow! I've been following this since your first post. My eye sees the vessel as a ship. My eye sees what I do as a plastic model. That's a huge difference. The tiny scale makes this all the more impressive. Thanks for your progress reports along the way. They make the finished work ever so more interesting.

 

Ed

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