1/350 IJN "AKAGI"

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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
Hasegawa Super Detail-up Package (Underdeck supports, columns and tramways)



I am also using the Eduard 1/350 Akagi set to supplement


I have 4 boxes of the Hasegawa airplane sets


Wood deck and dry transfer set from Hasegawa


Utility boat detail set


Plus other and various pe/aftermarket stuff including Master's brass barrel and armament set


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:


Cheers and thanks for joining me for my upcoming Akagi build on scalemodeladdict. -Tim

 

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Starting with one of the simpler underdeck support pieces:






Closeup:

 

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Putting together the bow underdeck support:

A couple of the frame girders



Turned upside down to facilitate inserting cross members


Coming together


And done:



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



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




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)


Drilled out 500+ portholes, and wiring for LED lighting


Hull together, 2 coats of Future, ready for light weathering

 

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Bow and stern deck parts



A couple of the modules that had to be done before hull joined together

 

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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:





Comments and suggestions welcome! Thx for viewing -Tim

 

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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:



So I start with a box frame


adding cross members


Almost done


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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Some more 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


Plastic canopies removed and wings added


Adding the last of the tail parts


Undercarriage parts being installed


Painting bottom of torpedo bombers light grey


Green paint applied to the tops and Mr. Surfacer added to smooth out where the canopies used to be


Final coat of paint + Future Floor Polish applied for decaling


porthole PE being used for hubs of landing gears...first test subject in background, looked ok so the same for the rest


Aluminum paint added to landing gear hubs


Adding hubs to landing gear


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





But this is what I ended up using after wasting much time:


Plane in background has canopy painted

 

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Well thats probably enough for now, but **wink** -from an upcoming post:



Comments and suggestions msot welcome in this thread. Cheers, Tim

 

[talls6]

All I can say is "Wow". 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

 

[Elm City Hobbies]

Even more crazy than I imagined from your explanations of it! Awesome work. Remember, 151 days till CAMS! LOL

 

[Wolf Star]

Simply stunning!

 

[rookie]

Fantastic work, what an epic project! Looking forward to watching your progress on this. ;D

 

[Quaralane]

In frigging credible.
All of that etch, then working with the planes?
In frigging credible

 

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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:





And starting the Zero's:



Doing some decaling


Thanks for your interest and comments! -Tim

 

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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.


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