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

Thank you both so much and also my condolences for you tank.
Yes Johnny, I also see model building as a kind of therapy for myself. Everyday life returns with strength and that’s a good thing.
I also missed the exchange with this excellent community.
So back to work.

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Jorg, my deepest sympathies for the loss of your mother. :cry:

Your Mikasa build will be a great way to keep your thoughts on track and also a great way to honour your mother.

I also would say on the other hand that it is good news that you and three other family members have beaten cancer and wish you all the best in your recovery.

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My thanks to you too for the consoling words, Russel.

Then we want to follow our words with actions and continue building.

Let’s get to the internal structures.
All relatively simple, geometric structures. Neatly sanded and primed.

Added a few doors and hatches to make the monotonous surface more interesting.
However, I am entering into an area of ​​historically unprovable assumptions. Only the pictures of the museum ship show the inner deck of the Mikasa. But that certainly doesn’t have much to do with the original ship.
So I allow myself some artistic freedom here, such as the railing, which is only placed here for customization. It is not documented historically. But it made sense to me, as you could get to the platform at the chimney via the gallery.
And a ladder should also be attached to the component, otherwise how would you get up to the front gallery!?
And that’s how this came about.

We continue with the first 32-foot rescue cutter. A dream detail.
However, there is a small problem with the cradles. They are usually not in the places where they come onto the superstructure. That’s why you can see an unsightly gap between the cradle and the cutter, see arrow.

Nothing that couldn’t be corrected with thin Styrene strips.

Now the boat is lying neatly in its cradles again.

And so the inner deck is slowly taking shape.

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Let’s move on to the internal structures and fans. The deck is slowly filling up.

One thing bothered me. Two box-shaped structures were squeezed between the two main houses.

Seems completely illogical to me and cannot be seen on many models, including those from museums. And that’s why I don’t use it, the corridor remains open.

Especially since a small platform can be seen on both deckhouses. Probably to get to the funnels.
That’s why I won’t install the boxes, but will attach a ladder and a railing here.

I further refined the superstructure that accommodates the rescue cutter.

The doors are from the MK1 set, the railings are from the model’s original etched parts set.

And the ladders come from the leftover box.

I’m starting to like it that way

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I think the boxed shape structures are something not permanently installed. They could easily be something that the researcher-photographer responsible for gathering reference for the model might have seen/photographed during his visit at the museum. I would have left them off too.

The scale allows for some very nice details to be represented and noticed. Very nice, clean build. :+1: :saluting_face:

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Many thanks gtdeath.
That’s why I love this scale so much. But when I see how much space my Bismarck needs to stand, I wonder whether the 1:300 scale wouldn’t have been smarter. But be that as it may, 1:200 is awesome.

I also think that someone once thought these boxes were the original equipment. There is currently an air conditioning system there.

Even with good intentions, you can’t sell this as an original. :laughing:

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Jörg, my sympathies for your recent loss, and best of luck to your wife - I’m gratified to hear that she is beating that bastard cancer!

I have been thoroughly enjoying watching your fantastic Mikasa come together, and have been greedily soaking up details. My sister in law recently gave me the Hasegawa 1/350 version and your build will be a great reference once I begin! :grin:

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Thank you very much for that, Tim.
Yes, we are looking positively into the future again.
I’m very pleased that you like my construction report and want to use it as a reference.
I’m really excited to see what you’ll conjure up with your Mikasa.

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Jörg,

my sympathies as well, and all the best for all of you for the future!
Great to see you back here, your fantastic modeling skills, but as well that finding the motivation to work on the shipyard again is a sign that things generally move in the right direction again after a hard time.

The work you are showing here is fantastic and inspiring! Very nice updates indeed!

All the best and cheers
Jan

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Thank you very much Jan for the encouraging words.
I also think that everything is slowly turning around for the better and that is enough motivation for me to return to the craft table and exchange ideas with you again.

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