Tag: Chokai

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1/700 IJN Chokai Heavy Cruiser [鳥海][重巡洋艦]

IJN Chokai, 4th ship of the Takao class. This model depict her early 1942 configuration prior to becoming the flagship of vice admiral Mikawa and the battle of savo island.

Build Log Part1



Conclusion:
This is by far the most difficult build i’ve done so far. Started 24-Oct-2020, slightly surreal to me it’s finally finished!
Despite the difficulties, i really enjoyed the build, and the result far exceeded my expectations. I’m super thankful that nothing went wrong during the painting process, if i damaged the model beyond repair i might be devastated XD.

And I must say Takao class does look very amazing and menacing, and the blue from the ocean really brings it to life!
I also must mention that I learned a lot from Studio Blue Ocean (YouTube), whom inspired me to put more effort into ocean base, I spend a week on it with multiple layers, really like how it turned out, the vivid blue is very satisfying to look at in person.

Also i know the scout planes are supposed to be scouting haha, i just find the model looks more complete with the aircrafts.

About the kit:
Fujimi kit’s has always been up there, although details are not as sharp as those on the newer tooled 1/700 ships (flyhawk, veryfire etc.), but it does provide a very solid foundation for improvements.
Also anyone wishes to build a 1937 Takao (1st refit) could use this kit, because other than some minor details, i did pretty much built a 1937 Takao.

Known mistakes i’ve made:

  • Hull panel lines are not accurate
  • didn’t use the corret PE for bridge window
  • possibly many incorrect vent placements on deck, i merely replaced the kit’s moulded vents
  • Wake pattern isn’t realistic

Despite the mistakes, i’m still very proud of the result. This build has the most detailing work i’ve ever done. The introduction to 3D printing has showed me many possibilities, i look forward to using it more on future builds.

Thanks for reading this blog!

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[WIP] 1/700 IJN Chokai Heavy Cruiser [鳥海][重巡洋艦] Part 3

Continuing from last post (part 2), it’s time for painting!

I start with Mr. Surfacer 1500 black primer
IJN linoleum brown
Waterline is painted with the 50% linoleum brown 50% red
I scraped away the metal bracings with 1mm chisel (trumpeter tools)
Masking
Trial of patience complete
I added alittle bit of blue to IJN grey, also white to make it less dark.
I tried to make the base paint less dark than the final result because i usually paint the whole model with black wash which darkens the model.
This eliminates the need of trying to clean up the wash.
the peel…
(sorry for blurry picture) This is where i begin weathering, i use tamiya’s black and brown panel line wash to create variations on the hull.
I took this photo with my GX9, which shows the actual color much better than picture taken by phone.
This was exactly how the model looked at this stage.
I used PVA glue on the railings to recreate the white canvas
Once hardened, the railings are painted with oil paint (mixed using white and sand color)
I spend a week experimenting with 3D printing, in this batch i printed some reels and the timber.
Layer lines are usually a problem, but here they actually works well.
Ship modellers will understand the JOY of not having to build one of these reels again…
Another print of name plate, oars and llifebuoy. The oars took several trial and error to print.
I’ve seen people 3D print diorama bases for their model, but not for ocean.
I figured i’d give it a go, believing that i could make it work, I spend like 10 hours on sculpting the sea.
It did print! And fits perfectly, the hours of precise measurement paid off.
However i made the base much narrower inorder to fit the case.
I didn’t buy any aftermarket set for the motor boats, so i printed them. The layerlines were a big problem here on the curved hull.
I went ahead painting the boats, i thought the layer lines might look less obvious after painting.
Here i super glued little pins under the boats so i could hold them properly.
NOPE, sadly the layer lines are even more obvious. But other than that, they are quite nicely detailed.
I also printed a winch under the mast.
The 13.2mm machine guns took a long time to make, and it’s quite difficult to print too, only 2 good out of 6 due to how slim the barrel is. But 2 was all i needed.
The model at this stage, it’s already looking pretty incredible
I painted inside the lights with silver and topped it off with a drop of clear paint, it didn’t work well, perhaps i used the wrong clear paint.
I’ve seen some youtube tutorials done similar things for aircraft cockpit dials, Ill have to try again with the correct product in the future.
I reprinted the motor boats, this time sanding the layer lines. The result is much better
I added some straps (fivestar PE)
I tried to improve the aircraft with this PE set from Rainbow
The clear plastic is terrible to work with because it confuses your depth perception. It looks much more transparent and less white in real life.
Decals applied and painted.
However i think i didn’t sand down the wings enough, they still look like sausages, ill 3D print some replacement the next time i build an IJN ship.
Other than the riggings the ship is complete, so i started work on the base.
I added thinned PVA glue, tried to create some layers.
At this point, i added 4 layers of paint + wave medium + clear coat, it’s starting to look nice!
I tried to draw the foam like Studio Blue Ocean (https://youtu.be/bdbGxidDZTU?t=1469), but it didn’t work, i’m not skilled enough yet.
This is the final layer, i really love the vivid blue color
I attached the ship to the base using expoxy glue, and begin the rigging process.
Here i used a very handy rigging PE from oceanspirit.
The rest of the rigging is Modelkasten 0.1
I find it very useful to plan the rigging in photoshop, i used layers to separate them into sections so i can toggle them on or off.
I mostly used Mr Oiso’s Chokai for rigging reference (http://oisofactory.blog.fc2.com/)

The Chokai is finally going to be completed once the rigging is done! I am super excited to see the final result of this long long project!