1/350 IJN "AKAGI"

ComfortablyNumb

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Sep 14, 2011
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Thank-you for viewing my build log of Hasegawa's 1/350 IJN Akagi. I have been working on this model for over a year now and I estimate another 5 months to complete.

So, here we go:

Kit + some of the pe and one box of four of planes aaaaaaa01_20081027232551_zps80b83f55.jpg
Hasegawa Super Detail-up Package (Underdeck supports, columns and tramways)
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I am also using the Eduard 1/350 Akagi set to supplement
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I have 4 boxes of the Hasegawa airplane sets
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Wood deck and dry transfer set from Hasegawa
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Utility boat detail set
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Plus other and various pe/aftermarket stuff including Master's brass barrel and armament set
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You will probably see many followup posts from me rather quickly over the next week or so as I have many of the modules done, including the underdeck supports... one of which I have included here as a preview:
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Cheers and thanks for joining me for my upcoming Akagi build on scalemodeladdict. -Tim
 
Putting together the bow underdeck support:

A couple of the frame girders
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Turned upside down to facilitate inserting cross members
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Coming together
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And done:
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Closeup of one corner
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Building a tramway

Forming a curved piece....each tab on the curve is bent upwards individually to form bend
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Pulling up supports that help form the tramway girder. I adjusted these on the fret as it helped keeping the part in place while working
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One of straight trams
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Enough of the pe for awhile...this thing does have a hull and plastic parts too ;)

Hull halves (painted separately for reasons you see later)
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Drilled out 500+ portholes, and wiring for LED lighting
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Hull together, 2 coats of Future, ready for light weathering
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Here, I'm starting on the funnel...first, to remove the molded on details to a shadow and then measuring/bending the pe replacements from a generic foot railing set:

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Comments and suggestions welcome! Thx for viewing -Tim
 
So I start off building the frame by assembling a set of double girders into a box. Now this particular box is contoured so that one end is about 1/2" higher than the other. The first one third is flat, then the 2nd third rises up the 1/2", and the last third levels out...making assembly without any twisting a challenge. Here's the instructions for this part:

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So I start with a box frame
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adding cross members
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Almost done
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And done (but still have to add 8 support columns, but that won't be until final assembly of flight deck)
I think you can see the elevation change in these last two pics
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Starting on the airplanes...I plan on making 22 torpedo bombers, 11 Val dive bombers and 11 Zero's for an air wing of 44 planes on deck. Here, I'm starting on the 22 torpedo bombers (+ 2 spares)

The main bits...fuselage halves, wings
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Plastic canopies removed and wings added
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Adding the last of the tail parts
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Undercarriage parts being installed
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Painting bottom of torpedo bombers light grey
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Green paint applied to the tops and Mr. Surfacer added to smooth out where the canopies used to be
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Final coat of paint + Future Floor Polish applied for decaling
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porthole PE being used for hubs of landing gears...first test subject in background, looked ok so the same for the rest
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Aluminum paint added to landing gear hubs
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Adding hubs to landing gear
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Applying decals (44 planes X 10 decals each = 440 decals)
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My experiments in pe canopies were dismal at first ... then I found my answer

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But this is what I ended up using after wasting much time:
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Plane in background has canopy painted
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Well thats probably enough for now, but **wink** -from an upcoming post:
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Comments and suggestions msot welcome in this thread. Cheers, Tim
 
All I can say is "Wow". :eek: Incredible build so far. Fantastoc work, especially on the birds. Look forward to seeing this one completed. Even if it does take another 5 months.
Darren
 
Fantastic work, what an epic project! Looking forward to watching your progress on this. ;D
 
In frigging credible.
All of that etch, then working with the planes?
In frigging credible
 
Hey thanks everyone for your comments! And as there is some interest in the 1/350 torpedo bombers, here's a couple of extra pics.. I have also made some progress with my Zero's..pics of them to follow shortly, but here's some more of the 22 Zeke's:

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And starting the Zero's:
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Doing some decaling
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Thanks for your interest and comments! -Tim
 
Here's a couple more pics...I spent quite a bit of time on the weathering, lower hull and upper structure. Not much rust will be showing (except for anchors and wells) as it was the flagship, but I wanted to get the look of being at sea for a few months. Thanks again for viewing and comments are most welcome.
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I put a few "chips" (the small lighter spots on the lower hull), first time I've tried this so I tried to keet it subtle. What do you think? Cheers, Tim
 

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