I don’t know, I think I like the gray ones more!
Just kidding. I’m not a big ship guy myself, but your work on this build is outstanding. Those guns look fantastic. I can’t imagine how challenging they were to work on, the one you show next to your finger really outlines how small they are.
Keep it up, I’ve been silently following along on this fantastic build.
…and definitely worth the effort 
Thanks Russ and @Mead93!
I don’t know, I think I like the gray ones more!
Just kidding. I’m not a big ship guy myself, but your work on this build is outstanding. Those guns look fantastic. I can’t imagine how challenging they were to work on, the one you show next to your finger really outlines how small they are.
Keep it up, I’ve been silently following along on this fantastic build.
I’m glad you decided not to remain silent! This build is enjoyable, but it has also become a bit of a monster… taking forever as I discover new improvements to make to it… Anyway, I appreciate any encouragement (or criticism) - it helps keep me interested. So thanks again for your kind thoughts, and please don’t hesitate to speak up!
I feel you, my current build is ballooning and knowing other people are interested keeps me interested. Though I may have to dig into a simpler spitfire kit this weekend to feel like I’m actually making progress.
I just started scratch building myself, so I know how much work goes into it, so I am really admiring your build
Those guns are superb Tim… It’s going to look amazing …
The better the kit, the larger the scale, the more references we have… all make the rabbit hole deeper. You just happened to find a very, very deep rabbit hole… and we all have fallen in with you, so to speak. It is builds like this, knowledgeable builders like you, and communities like the one we are in that help me find my own rabbit hole… which seems to be getting deeper by the moment (or at least, every time I go through the reference photos.
Carry on… am enjoying the fall, and am interested to see the bottom (finish of the model)…
Bob, who needs a break from reference photos…
Those guns are superb Tim… It’s going to look amazing …
Thanks John, I agree, those little gun kits are awesome – full marks to Veteran Models’ Chief Designer Melvin Tung. He’s become one of my heroes!
The better the kit, the larger the scale, the more references we have… all make the rabbit hole deeper. You just happened to find a very, very deep rabbit hole… and we all have fallen in with you, so to speak. It is builds like this, knowledgeable builders like you, and communities like the one we are in that help me find my own rabbit hole… which seems to be getting deeper by the moment (or at least, every time I go through the reference photos.
Carry on… am enjoying the fall, and am interested to see the bottom (finish of the model)…
Bob, who needs a break from reference photos…
Well said, Bob! It is funny, when I bought this kit many years ago I visualized it as a quick out-of-the-box build (only a single photograph exists of Hatsuzuki, after all!) …but then I discovered the Tom’s Modelworks and Gold Medal Models photoetch sets… dug up more Akizuki-class references… made a few changes here and there… and before I knew it I found myself going deeper and deeper down…
I continue to have fun with the build, though, and the odd (like me) members of the crazy little community I found down here keep me inspired, interested, and amused…
Tea anyone?
Hi Tim,
sorry for my long silence. Great work! The Veterans guns are just beautiful! Yep I know they are sometimes quite a challenge, I don’t know if 1/350 is more or less challenging than 1/200, it’s probably the same - but hey, they are worth the effort!
I’m really enjoying your build! Great work! And I very well know what you mean with the odd members of the crazy little community, but I’m enjoying it, and the support of this very community!
Cheers
Jan
Hi Tim,
Been a bit quiet for some time, but back in the fold. I have just read back through this thread, some outstanding work on the main turrets. I agree with Jan re the veteran light AA, I do like their stuff, I used their twin 37mm on the 1/200th Bismarck. Only slightly less swearing than the 1/350th.
looking forward to seeming more on this.
keep the the great work.
Cheers
Si
Milk, no sugar please 
It really is a great rabbit hole, isn’t it, populated with great inhabitants
One kit makes you larger - one kit makes you small - and the ones that Mother gives you …
This past weekend I went back and finished the rest of the 25mm singles;
Same drill as before, this time eight more for a total of fourteen.
Those look awesome! and I must say you are a man with lots of patience!
Well done. Tim.
Cheers,
Tim,
Very nice work upgrading those 25mm.
Mark 
Looks like a military parade ground, all those guns lined up 
Those look awesome! and I must say you are a man with lots of patience!
Well done. Tim.
Cheers,
Tim,
Very nice work upgrading those 25mm.
Mark
Looks like a military parade ground, all those guns lined up
Thanks guys. These 25mm singles are beautiful little kits, but the work is indeed fussy and repetitive! I’ve tentatively decided to depict the ship after her mid-war AA upgrades (5 triple 25mm mounts and 14 single 25mms). Just before her final battle she received a last minute AA upgrade at Kure where the two cutters and one of the motorboats were removed and replaced with a further six 25mm singles for a total of 20… but 14 is enough!
Still, I do have the extra 25mm kits on hand to do either version…
Nothing wrong with opting out of tedium - especially since many will never know the difference.
…the boats that would have been removed otherwise will add their own level of appeal.
Thanks Richard - that’s part of what I was thinking. Boats or more AA guns… the work level would be similar, really, so it comes down to what would be more interesting.
The four boats would provide a nice bit of visual variety, but the final configuration with the enhanced AA and single boat is an interesting story:
On October 25, 1944, while rescuing of survivors from the carriers Zuikaku and Zuiho after the disastrous Battle off Cape Engaño, Hatsuzuki’s group was surprised by a U.S. cruiser-destroyer force. According to the Commanding Officer, U.S.S. Mobile, War Record and Ship’s History, most of the Japanese rescuers, “…steamed away to the northward at increased speeds, and one [Hatsuzuki] continued in the vicinity. A two-hour action was fought, with this enemy “cripple” maneuvering radically at speeds up to 34 knots, despite numerous hits observed. Finally, at 2056, the enemy vessel identified, when illuminated, as an Agano Class light cruiser, was sunk by the combined gunfire of the four cruisers”. After holding the cruisers off while the other ships in her group made their escape, Hatsuzuki sank with all hands aboard including the Destroyer Division Commander. Taking place exactly 90 years to the day after the infamous and suicidal “Charge of the Light Brigade” at the Battle of Balaclava in 1854, the intentional sacrifice of the Hatsuzuki’s 300 crewmen can be balanced against the combined crews of Wakatsuki (300), Kuwa (200), Isuzu (450) and the 1,700 Zuiho and Zuikaku survivors aboard these ships (about 2,600 sailors in all) whose escape to Japan the Hatsuzuki’s charge made possible.
Anyway, Hatsuzuki’s sole remaining 9-meter boat, lowered just before her last fight and apparently unnoticed by the Americans, carried survivors from her crew and from the carrier Zuikaku away from the battle. After a harrowing 21-day voyage to reach southern Formosa, only 16 of the 48 men who made it aboard the boat survived to be rescued.
Yikes I forgot about this Build. This is some stunning work Tim. Look forward to your Updates…Cheers Mark
