More details for the funnels ? Yikes 
2 Likes
A particularly fiddly assembly on the funnel was the handgrab-type ladder which had to be fitted in small sections around the previously installed etched footrails.
The ladder sections came with the Infini upgrade set, but I screwed up so many of these miniscule things during construction that I used them all up and had to restart with similar parts from 5-Star’s 1/350 WWII IJN Vertical Ladders (FS 351018). I went through a good number of these too, but fortunately there were enough extras in that set to get the job done.
The forward funnel also received these handgrabs.
13 Likes
You were one of those kids who always won at “Operation”, weren’t you. 
Very nice work!
Cheers,
Colin
3 Likes
Sometimes it’s hard to appreciate the scale of this exquisite work, until that is you see a bit of thumb or similar in photos to give some context…… then I realise how amazing this work is! Very well done sir!
Out of interest what is it you are using to hold that individual ladder rung in your first photo of the last post? is it a brush with just a few hairs?
2 Likes
You were one of those kids who always won at “Operation”, weren’t you.Cheers,
Colin
Thanks Colin! And yes, I used to love “Operation”… although later I also learned to appreciate the game of “Doctor” with the neighbor girls even more… 
3 Likes
Sometimes it’s hard to appreciate the scale of this exquisite work, until that is you see a bit of thumb or similar in photos to give some context…… then I realise how amazing this work is! Very well done sir!Out of interest what is it you are using to hold that individual ladder rung in your first photo of the last post? is it a brush with just a few hairs?
Thanks David. Yes, I often find it easier to apply very small parts with a dampened brush rather than with tweezers. In this case it isn’t anything specialized, just an ordinary, worn out detail brush with most of the hairs gone!
More details for the funnels ? Yikes
…and yet a little more!
Looking at the pic of the forward funnel it occurred to me that any sailor accessing the funnel top would have had a heck of a time getting to that bottom rung to start the climb from the deck:
…so I extended the rungs further down the base trunking.
12 Likes
Makes sense.
- and are you willing to do the same details in
let’s say - 1/700 someday ?
1 Like
Makes sense.
- and are you willing to do the same details in
let’s say - 1/700 someday ?
Maybe - there is some great 1/700 stuff out there too!
For now, a small addition to the 1/350 fwd funnel:
The vent pipe requires only basic mold line cleanup, but I also hollowed out the top ends of the “H” and ventilators at the base.
Test fitted in place these small changes almost disappear, but they are there!
9 Likes
Returning to the AA platform, it is time to sort out the 25mm guns and other equipment.
To start, the Infini upgrade set comes with four open mesh boxes to be mounted on the outside of the safety rails abaft the funnel. I’m not sure what these things were used for – perhaps to hold emergency floater nets like the USN? Anyway, my references confirm that they were there, so I folded the flat etched brass parts into shape and readied them to go aboard.
Although the Infini set also comes with nice brass fold-to-shape replacement ammo boxes, I found these 3D printed resin parts from Blue Fatty Models to be more convincing. The one-piece box castings are remarkably detailed not only with correct lid and hinge detail but with almost microscopic latches as well.
Here the baskets and 25mm ready ammunition lockers are test fitted.
Good as the Blue Fatty ammo boxes are, their type 96 25mm twin guns are truly astonishing! Cast in only two parts (guns/slide and mount) these little gems must be seen to be believed. The hard resin parts are perfectly scaled, and everything is there: open muzzles, detailed ammo clips, trainer & pointer seats/backrests, open handwheel controls and footrests, even flawless ring-and-bead sights… they are absolutely gorgeous!
Another big improvement over the Tamiya kit parts is this resin 90cm searchlight from Black Cat Models.
Here are the Infini brass pieces, Blue Fatty guns/ammo boxes, and the Black Cat searchlight all test fitted in place. They are a jumble of colors at the moment, but once given their uniform coat of IJN Maizuru Naval Arsenal Grey these diverse parts should integrate together nicely.
11 Likes
Tim, this is really a first class build 
1 Like
Watching this is going to be expensive for me - I have the Tamiya Kagero and the Infini set . Now I need Blue Fatty and Black Cat goodies as well .
Look what you have caused Tim .
2 Likes
Top work Tim … The detail all over is terrific 
1 Like
Russ, Richard, and John, thanks, I appreciate the comments!
3D printing is such an amazing technology to be able to reproduce such complex details so exactly in a small scale. This change in our hobby is comparable to to the development of mass marketed injection molded plastic kits in the 1950s and the advent of photoetched metal and resin upgrade sets in the 1980s. The modeling world will never be the same!
6 Likes
Another midships detail is the torpedo reload handling winch. One is included in the kit, but this resin version from Five Star Models is quite a bit better.
Also, the Kagero class destroyers actually carried two of these, but the kit provides only one – and it is undersized. It took substantial winches to shift those 6,000 pound torpedoes!
Here the starboard winch is test fitted in place. The slot at the deck edge will be the base of the torpedo handling overhead gantry crane, and the rectangular box above it is the reload torpedo stowage.
11 Likes
Tamiya’s 7.5 meter motor launches are nicely done with accurate shapes and good detail – but they can still be improved!
Here I’ve plumped up the kit bumpers with putty and added the etched brass details from the Infini set.
The brass fittings are quite small, but these kit-specific parts fit perfectly!
The Infini set comes with life rings as well, but the etched parts are a bit two-dimensional. Test fitted here are a couple of different resin rings: a slender one from North Star Models and a more substantial rendition by Blue Fatty Models. Each looks good, but the Blue Fatty ring on the right is (to my eye at least) slightly more convincing, so I’ll probably go with those.
13 Likes
My eyes hurt just thinking about that PE Tim… Lovely work 
1 Like
My eyes hurt just thinking about that PE Tim… Lovely work
Thanks John. Those small PE bits are a snap with my (home modified) high-tech Dollar Store glasses!
8 Likes
Tim,
great work there as always and real fun to watch and follow! On one occasion or the other I might be tempted to call out “scratch built” but I won’t say it
The Blue Fatty life ring looks certainly more like what you’d expect a (todays) life ring to look like, but I have no idea about the proportions those from the IJN at the time.
With the attention to detail you even put into those motor launches, one could remark that with that zero pitch on your propellers you aren’t going anywhere 
but again I’d never say that 
Fantastic work!
Cheers
Jan
2 Likes
Tim,great work there as always and real fun to watch and follow! On one occasion or the other I might be tempted to call out “scratch built” but I won’t say it
The Blue Fatty life ring looks certainly more like what you’d expect a (todays) life ring to look like, but I have no idea about the proportions those from the IJN at the time.
With the attention to detail you even put into those motor launches, one could remark that with that zero pitch on your propellers you aren’t going anywhereFantastic work!
Cheers
Jan
Thanks Jan!
Well, ok, maybe you caught me breaking my no scratchbuilding rule…
but those teeny little side scuttles hardly qualify, do they…? 
As for the boat props, I did put a little pitch in … but you are right - I should have put more!
6 Likes