Pre dreadnought battleship Mikasa of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) 1:200

[madtatt]

Here is a quick mini-build update for you.

I’ve attached the last two spars at the stern, and the following image clearly illustrates why I’m glad I managed to pull this off without any mishaps.
The delicate photo-etched ropes had to be twisted 90 degrees at the eyelet so they would hang from the spar at the correct angle.

And so, without further ado, I present the result to you.

Now that I’ve managed that, I can finally get around to attaching the last major component to the exterior of the hull.

The gallery.

[madtatt]

Let’s move on to attaching the final—and rather tricky—component to the hull.
As always, let’s start with the key players for the upcoming assembly steps.

After cleaning the very delicate components, I decided to solder the railing to the upper handrail. To do this, I secured the upper section to a block of wood using a little Micro Liquitape and carefully soldered the railing into the groove, piece by piece.

The second groove was then attached to the gratings, and the two round mounts were also secured with solder.

Assembled, and then everything was given a coat of primer.

Afterwards, I used my finest sandpaper to sand the paint off the nameplate down to the brass and attached the plaque to the railing. I double-checked the original photos of the Mikasa to make sure I was mounting it the right way up—that could have been quite embarrassing otherwise.

Then everything weathered again.

Tacked the gallery to the hull with Blu-Tack to align it properly.

After that, I secured everything properly with acrylic adhesive and attached the struts and the stern anchor. The rudder has also been fitted into its mounts. However, I’ll leave the propulsion system for later.

And with that, the gallery is hanging in its place.

I am very glad that everything worked out well, given that I had made quite a few changes to the hull—such as all the profiles—so I was really worried that something might not fit. But as you can see, it is hanging straight and at the intended height on the stern, exactly where it belongs.

I initially considered replicating the small release mechanism on the stern anchors as well, but ultimately decided against it. I’d like to get this model finished soon, and I’ve already scratch-built plenty of details. That should suffice; otherwise, I’ll start losing interest.
So, I can report that the final components on the outer hull can be considered complete.

Moving on to the masts.

[madtatt]

Before I can turn my attention to the masts, I have to attend to a mundane but necessary task.
The model still needs protection against dust, as it will be several weeks before I finish the Mikasa.
Up to now, it has been sitting under a simple, custom-cut cardboard cover. For a project spanning over two years, this is essential.

Now that the masts are to be installed, more vertical clearance is required. So, I got a second piece of cardboard, cut both to size, and joined them together. Everything is held in place and reinforced with duct tape.

Of course, it is important to measure everything precisely beforehand—to avoid any contact between the masts and the cardboard later on. I’ve marked the positions on both the model and the tabletop using a permanent marker. This ensures the model is in the right spot when I slide the dust cover over it.

As you can see in the following picture, the ship’s layout isn’t perfectly symmetrical. That explains the markings and the generous cutout in the cardboard. This way, there shouldn’t be any issues once the masts are fully installed.

And so, I believe the model is well-protected against the looming threat of dust bunnies while it awaits completion.