joe100 Posted February 22, 2023 Report Share Posted February 22, 2023 (edited) Greetings I thought it would be fun to share my work in progress photos of the Japanese battleship Kongō, as she appeared in early 1944. The model is built entirely from boxwood and brass, and measures about 5.5 inches. The base is made from spalted tamarind and Patagonian rosewood. There is also a glass case which fits over the base. The model is scaled to 125’ to the inch, or 1/1500. This model is relying heavily on photo etched brass parts, which I have made myself. In addition to the many boxwood, brass wire, and brass stick parts, there are over 2,500 individual photo etched pieces. This includes about 250 crew figures which will be added later. Thankfully, Dr Joseph Ed. Low recently published his absolutely wonderful series of monographs on the class, and saved me from a massive mistake resulting from poorly researched western books previously published on the ship. In his book he clearly shows the radio towers only lasting through the late spring, early summer of 1944, and that the misc. anti aircraft guns were added at the same time the towers were removed. Most western sources, until now, show both existing at the same time, which is clearly not true. A bullet dodged. Edited February 22, 2023 by joe100 Shipbuilder, DMC1964 and JesseLee 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe100 Posted April 11, 2023 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2023 Getting closer Onni, JesseLee, Shipbuilder and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMC1964 Posted April 12, 2023 Report Share Posted April 12, 2023 Just spectacular! Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe100 Posted April 12, 2023 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2023 Thanks Dan! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JesseLee Posted April 19, 2023 Report Share Posted April 19, 2023 The model is great and the base is really awesome!!!!!!!!!!! Jesse Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe100 Posted April 19, 2023 Author Report Share Posted April 19, 2023 Hey thanks! Im glad you like it because I’ve caught some hell for it, which was extremely annoying. I think it works well. I haven’t progressed any further than what you see sadly, I’m writing a book, and it’s been taking up a lot of time JesseLee 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe100 Posted June 3, 2023 Author Report Share Posted June 3, 2023 My latest project, IJN Kongō, as she appeared in early 1944, before her final refit, is complete. The model is entirely scratch built from boxwood and brass, with over 2,500 individual photo-etched pieces alone. Construction time l ran to Just under 8 months. She is 1/1500 scale or 125’ to 1”. The case is made from spalted tamarind and Patagonian rosewood finished with tung oil, with a glass cover assembled from copper which was acid etched. The marquetry for the rising sun motif took a few days if work, and I think it compliments the model well. I do enjoy spalted tamarind, it’s probably my favorite wood for a ship’s base because of its visual interest. The name plate is acid etched brass which was enameled. This was quite a complex job in itself and took several days to complete. The hull of Kongō was made from carved boxwood, with the balance of the superstructure made from brass and individual photo-etched brass parts. The funnels are made from aluminum with the correct bulging at the top. To man the ship, there are several hundred crew members on deck. The rigging is nitinol wire, and paint, as always, is ScaleColors exclusively. The ship is depicted as she would have appeared in port in the early months of 1944, before she was refitted with dozens more anti-aircraft emplacements. I chose this fit because it allowed me to model all 3 towers on her turrets, which I thought was more interesting. The model is probably the most complex I’ve built so far, and she was an absolute joy to build. The photo-etched superstructure came out just as I’d planned, and she certainly is striking. Several challenges needed to be overcome, such as the funnels with the bulge at the top. This had to be achieved very carefully because I still wanted to represent all of the interior trunking, so they had to be scale thickness, shaped correctly, and carry this detail. This was probably the single most difficult aspect of the build. She’s finished in ScaleColors Kure grey, with some light weathering. If you’d like to see photos of her being built, I keep everything on my website, www.josephlavender.com. Bernard Kelly, Onni, JesseLee and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shipbuilder Posted June 4, 2023 Report Share Posted June 4, 2023 Quite an amazing build at a very small scale - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe100 Posted June 4, 2023 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2023 Thank you. She turned out exactly as I’d hoped. The crew on deck really bring her to life in person Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe100 Posted June 4, 2023 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2023 I think you and I are the only two that frequent this section of the forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JesseLee Posted June 7, 2023 Report Share Posted June 7, 2023 Amazing work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe100 Posted June 7, 2023 Author Report Share Posted June 7, 2023 Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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