Avatar (2009) has always been my favourite sci-fi movie due to its incredible vehicle and environmental designs.
Now that I gained some experience with 3D design and 3D printing, I was able to recreate the gunship just under a week! I had a busy year, yet i still had many supports for my channel, the file of this c-21 gunship will be free before Jan 2023, as a token of my gratitude for your support. I hope you like this kind of videos, subscribe for upcoming projects!
I finally started working on my trumpeter 1/700 Enterprise, this time i decided to video log the build. I will probably divide the build into 4 videos: island, hull+hangar, paint, accessories (AA guns, air wings) + sea base, and when i finish a video, it will be updated here. You can also follow me on twitter or youtube for more frequent updates.
This will be my first carrier model, and i intend to give my best on this legendary ship!
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.
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.
In my opinion, Takao class is the best looking heavy cruiser from ww2 era, very iconic, so Takao class has always been on my must build list, when I saw this Fujimi Chokai kit on sale I immediately grabbed it. It was only after I realized there was no comprehensive PE sets for this ship (Among the 4 sister ships, flyhawk left her out….).
Heres what the kit looks like roughly assembled together, already looking impressive!
I encountered a build of the same kit by Vladi from the shipmodel forum, he pointed out some of the issues this kit had and other useful informations. I mostly followed his advice on what to modify.
I begin with the hull, if glued normally, there would be a really big seam line. So I removed most of the details on the hull first then glued them together and sanded it smooth.
Deck details are also removed.
To create the hull plating, I tried a new method here, simply gluing styrene strips. I used 0.13mm thick styrene here, so it had to be further sanded down a bit.
After sanding the styrene and drilling out portholes, i scribed some plating seamlines. I think this is one of the most obvious mistake i made, the vertical seamlines are too far apart. I did this around 2am so i had no idea what i was doing… note to self: don’t do anything important on a model after 12.
There is supposed to be a ‘lip’ around the torpedo ports on the takao class. I decide to use 0.2mm wires, the ‘template’ is made from tamiya 2 part epoxy pressed into the port with plenty of water so they don’t stick. You can also use stretched sprue to achieve similar result, i simply tried this method to experiment.
using the hardened epoxy template, i can easily create the shape and glued it onto the hull.
Bridge:
The massive bridge is pretty complicated, after getting used to building destroyers and the Tenryu in 2020, which had tiny bridges, this was a change of pace for sure. Here I can only roughly describe what i did, because i keep adding little bits and pieces onto it without documenting it too well.
Before modification, TBH other than the windows, the kit already looks really great, but when photos are taken at this distance, the details starts to look soft.
I first removed the unsightly mast and recreated the structure with brass rods. For the red box area, i fixed the seamline using a black putty. It’s the first time using this putty, and i have to say it’s AMAZING for small models, because they don’t really dry until you cure it. So it gives me a much better control i can apply it by very small amounts.
More details are added
MORE DETAILS
The resin parts here are from Rainbow model (rb7154) IJN fire control system IV. They are pretty amazing to look at. The only down side is the set only includes 4 of those small type90 lookout tower, and this kit needs 7. So the other 3 had to be scratch build in a closed position. I also replaced the middle director on the top of the bridge for the 2nd time. I wasn’t happy with the original part as well as the first time
I also must point out from a few image of the Chokai i found, the kit’s bridge portholes were wrong too. I corrected them during the build.
I also worked on the main funnel area. Note that one of the pipe wraps around the mast, thus i decide to secure the bridge, funnel and mast onto the hull first before attaching the pipe that wraps and other details.
Initially i followed the kit’s instruction and added those rectangular vents on both side.
This is the most controversial part of the build, i found out the kit could be wrong, from documents on the Takao (Anatomy of the ship Takao by Janusz Skulski), it shows the vent wasn’t a vent, it was a compartment for washing machine? And it’s asymmetrical too, the leftside had the heavy oil hose shed. The shape of the AA platform wasn’t square either. There wasn’t a exact picture showing the Chokai had this setup, however i’m more leaning towards the idea that they were built from the same blueprint thus mostly identical. So i decide to mod this part.
Modded left side. Can also see i corrected the shape of the second funnel.
I’m not the best at scratch building a entire new part, this was the best i could do. I really need to invest in a 3D printer someday.
Before working on more super structure, i thought i should complete the deck first to avoid damage a finished mast. The hatches are first glued on to a piece of styrene with CA, then the styrene is cut out and glued onto deck with normal thin glue. Holes are drilled for the machined metal vents. Triangle supports are added around the turrets
Ahh linoleum bracing.. here we go again.
For the previous Tenryu build, i simply glued the strips with medium CA glue, which left abit of glue marks. Here i decide to use thin CA and clean the extra CA with a 1mm chisel. The result is very clean, but each strip took alot longer. The forward deck took me 5 hours.
At this point i was extremely bored with the linoleum deck bracing, i begin to create a sea base. The base is cut out from a soft pine wood sheet, and adding clay on top. The center of the base is hollowed out, so i could place the ship at an angle, such as lowering the bow tilting at an angle.
It really make the ship look even more top heavy. But it think it’s really cool! I’m thinking to add big splashes to both side of the bow and make the sea even more rough.
That’s all for part 1. It’s already a pretty long post, perhaps i need to do 3 parts for this build. Part 2 will probably focus on the hangars and turrets, and part 3 will be painting and rigging.
Side profile is checked against a blueprint, looks about right, a good start for the model!
Gun director and mast completed, the signal lights on the mast was later changed to a thicker piece of styrene
this file is useful to get rid of little nubs on the PE parts
realized the bofor tubs isn’t a square…. had to pull the original PE out, and replace them. The more you do this, the more glue residue is left, and the model looks less clean, so it’s always best to do plenty of research first
added little lips above the doors using 0.2mm wire, and some other details on the sides
4 strand braids using 0.1mm jumper wire as anchor chains, technique learned from book: Ship Models from Kits by David Griffith
Side depth charge cage, the johnston had a shorter single row cage, had to chop the PE parts up and modify it into the smaller cage
doesn’t look as neat as the original… but at least it’s more accurate, doing all 6 cages cost me 3 new blades as the PE part was quite thick to cut
details added on the first funnel; More side details, notice the gaps i left for the fire hoses, i plan to add them in after painted, since they are white colour and will be difficult to paint if i stick them on now.
little support fins added, these isn’t part of the PE set, i had to cut them up and it was difficult to get them to the same length… in the end it was still a bit uneven
model is roughly 16cm in length
IJN 127mm barrels are used since i had a bunch of them, since the mk12 is also 127mm caliber, it looks about right.
still quite a few details missing in the aft section
Had to reposition all of the outer railings because i didn’t leave enough room for the fairleads around the ship… rookie mistake
I used Yukikaze by Hyun Soo Kim as a reference for the rigging
IJN yukikaze, Kagero class, one of the well-known destroyers in WWII, also called the lucky destroyer due to surviving numerous major battles while being relatively unharmed, after the war she was transferred to ROC and served until 1966.
Due to carelessness, i mixed thinner containing alcohol with lifecolor acrylic paint, the result was dark, sticky paint that nearly ruined the model. Lesson learned: should always test spray when using a product for the first time. I managed to paint a third layer, covering up the mistake, but it also made some thin PE details look very thick.
First time weathering with oil paints, i think it turned out well. I was surprised how well oil paints sticks to the model, most of the white color was oil paint, they paint much better than the tamiya xf2 white, which gives me headache sometimes.
I added spare motor boats as the kit didn’t come with any. The motor boats are a bit larger than what they should have been, i would switch them out when i find suitable ones.
Overall if ignoring the paint clogging some of the detail, the model turned out pretty nice, maybe i could of painted the AA guns in a lighter color so it would be more visible.
Ocean Base: On December 2020 months after the build, i decide to make my first ocean base and i chose Yukikaze to be the ship! I follow the guide made by Jim Baumann, and it turned out beyond my expectation!
As the first base i made there are mistakes, the most obvious one is that there shouldn’t be wierd double waves, It was too late when i realized the issues so i just went with it. I should also improve the bow wave next time, it’s abit too far ahead of the bow and spread out too much. Unlike the guide i didn’t use cotton or fluffs, personally i dislike how waves made out of cotton looks. Instead i just use tissue paper hardened with super glue. I used to prefer waterline models without ocean base for the clean look, but after making one myself it changed my perspective. Ships do look better with oceans after all!
This Flyhawk Kit is very detailed, i was really impressed by the detail on the pom-pom guns, not much aftermarket needed (only needed davits, reels and chains). Did scratch made the crest from a ship porthole PE piece, i’m very happy with the result. I really look forward to future Flyhawk kits like the KMS Gneisenau and HMS Illustrious.
