1/350 Tamiya IJN Kagero
- Tim Reynaga
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1/350 Tamiya IJN Kagero
Having become bored with my more elaborate builds, I thought it might recharge my modeling mojo to take on a simple Japanese destroyer – and perhaps actually finish it!
Tamiya’s of the 1/350 scale IJN Kagero seems like a perfect choice. If it lives up to the Tamiya reputation of great fitting parts, assembly should be a snap. Just to keep things interesting I picked up the Infini brass upgrade set for it too. I’m hoping to complete this one fairly quickly with a minimum of the scratchbuilding which tends to bog down my projects. We’ll see, but this should be a fun, straightforward build!
True to form, Tamiya’s Kagero hull parts fit beautifully and the hull went together quickly.
My only quibble here is the split hull design. While the waterline/full hull option here is nice, molding the lower hull separately builds in a bit of extra effort to integrate the lower and upper portions. I definitely prefer the simpler single hull approach of their earlier USS Fletcher kit. That said, the join was pretty good and only a little Mr. Surfacer 1200 was needed to blend things.
Tamiya’s of the 1/350 scale IJN Kagero seems like a perfect choice. If it lives up to the Tamiya reputation of great fitting parts, assembly should be a snap. Just to keep things interesting I picked up the Infini brass upgrade set for it too. I’m hoping to complete this one fairly quickly with a minimum of the scratchbuilding which tends to bog down my projects. We’ll see, but this should be a fun, straightforward build!
True to form, Tamiya’s Kagero hull parts fit beautifully and the hull went together quickly.
My only quibble here is the split hull design. While the waterline/full hull option here is nice, molding the lower hull separately builds in a bit of extra effort to integrate the lower and upper portions. I definitely prefer the simpler single hull approach of their earlier USS Fletcher kit. That said, the join was pretty good and only a little Mr. Surfacer 1200 was needed to blend things.
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- NOT the sheep
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Re: 1/350 Tamiya IJN Kagero
It's great to see one of your ship builds again, Tim and that etch and brass set should enhance it very nicely.
Doing - Tamiya 1/35th Universal Carrier.
Work is the curse of the modelling classes!
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Work is the curse of the modelling classes!
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- Tim Reynaga
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Re: 1/350 Tamiya IJN Kagero
Thanks Shaun!
The kit comes with a plastic base which will serve as a handy temporary stand during assembly.
The plastic kit pedestals aren’t bad, but I’ll be using these nicer brass parts from Adlers Nest.
Tamiya included neat little interior frames with caps for the kit-supplied pedestal retaining nuts, but I substituted two of these Frankenstein arrangements of plastic bits to hold the larger nuts needed for the Adlers Nest pedestals – ugly, but they will soon be hidden!
The Adlers Nest pedestals should dress things up a bit.
- JohnRatzenberger
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Re: 1/350 Tamiya IJN Kagero
In your hands the combo of Tamiya ship and Infini “detail-up” should be a great result.
John Ratzenberger
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- Clashcityrocker
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Re: 1/350 Tamiya IJN Kagero
This should turn out rather nicely.
Nigel
Nigel
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Re: 1/350 Tamiya IJN Kagero
I'm still trying to pluck up the courage to do some proper ship modelling, so will follow this with interest.
The past, present, and future walked into a bar. It was tense.
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Re: 1/350 Tamiya IJN Kagero
Those brass pedestals add a touch of class, Tim
Doing - Tamiya 1/35th Universal Carrier.
Work is the curse of the modelling classes!
IPMS#12300
Work is the curse of the modelling classes!
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- Tim Reynaga
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Re: 1/350 Tamiya IJN Kagero
JohnRatzenberger wrote: ↑December 24th, 2023, 1:09 am In your hands the combo of Tamiya ship and Infini “detail-up” should be a great result.
Thanks guys!
I hope so, Shaun. A few weeks ago my dad and I cut and finished some display boards from a plank of cherry wood I've had in the garage for ages.
A well executed base with brass pedestals can make even a mediocre model look professional!
- Tim Reynaga
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Re: 1/350 Tamiya IJN Kagero
Before installing the decks I cut away the molded reels and filled in locator holes for other separate kit-provided reel parts. I’ll be replacing all of them with better reels from the Infini set.
The central superstructure also required a little attention, in this case small plastic shims to fill the horizontal locator slots for the stowed accommodation ladders. The stowed ladders would have hidden those slots anyway, but filling them in now will give me the option later of showing the ladders deployed without leaving mysterious openings in the superstructure.
Tamiya provided a nice etched stainless steel grille for the No. 1 engine room intake, but the brass screen provided in the Infini upgrade set was better.
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Re: 1/350 Tamiya IJN Kagero
And we're off! Great start, Tim and I agree, the Infini grille looks better than the Tamiya example although the latter would certainly suffice and is better than plastic. Those cherry wood bases look really nice.
Doing - Tamiya 1/35th Universal Carrier.
Work is the curse of the modelling classes!
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Work is the curse of the modelling classes!
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- JohnRatzenberger
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Re: 1/350 Tamiya IJN Kagero
I need to learn to mark centerlines like that, no more eyeballing it.
John Ratzenberger
It's my model and I'll do what I want with it.
It's my model and I'll do what I want with it.
- Tim Reynaga
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Re: 1/350 Tamiya IJN Kagero
Thanks Shawn. I appreciate that Tamia provided a number of etched metal parts, but the Infini upgrades are almost always better. I would actually prefer it if Tamiya were to stick to straightforward plastic engineering and leave the upgrades to others in order to keep the basic kit prices down.
Yeah, John, my own Mk. 1 eyeballs aren't what they used to be... so taking as moment to mark things out helps get things right!JohnRatzenberger wrote: ↑December 26th, 2023, 4:34 pm I need to learn to mark centerlines like that, no more eyeballing it.
The molded door and ladder details throughout the kit look good, but most of it will be replaced with Infini brass bits.
Here are some of the new parts test fitted – they are really nice!
There will be a lot of more added details, but I couldn’t resist banging the basic structures together for a quick test fit. She’s already starting to look like a destroyer!
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Re: 1/350 Tamiya IJN Kagero
Those Infini parts are really nice looking and a very worthwhile purchase. She is starting to look the part now, Tim, every bit a "greyhound of the sea".
Doing - Tamiya 1/35th Universal Carrier.
Work is the curse of the modelling classes!
IPMS#12300
Work is the curse of the modelling classes!
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- iggie
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Re: 1/350 Tamiya IJN Kagero
Very good work Tim, this promises to be a fine build
It also reminds me that I need to tackle something maritime soon...
It also reminds me that I need to tackle something maritime soon...
Best wishes
Jim
If you can walk away from a landing, it's a good landing. If you use the airplane the next day, it's an outstanding landing
"Never put off till tomorrow, what you can do the day after tomorrow"
Jim
If you can walk away from a landing, it's a good landing. If you use the airplane the next day, it's an outstanding landing
"Never put off till tomorrow, what you can do the day after tomorrow"
- Tim Reynaga
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Re: 1/350 Tamiya IJN Kagero
Shawn and Iggie, thanks.
Before continuing I thought this would be a good time to address a minor problem with the hull. While the detailing that is there looks great, for some reason the designers at Tamiya seemed to believe that the plating ended at the waterline!
To address this I’ve opted for a “quick fix” to create the illusion of additional plating; using the existing detail as a guide, I cut similar widths of Tamiya Kabuki tape to mark out the new plates.
Then the hull got several light coats of Gunze Sangyo Mr. Surfacer 1200 spray primer.
The strips of surfacer look a little garish now, but under the red antifouling to come the “plating” will be less prominent and should harmonize with the detail molded to the gray hull above the waterline. At least I hope so!
Before continuing I thought this would be a good time to address a minor problem with the hull. While the detailing that is there looks great, for some reason the designers at Tamiya seemed to believe that the plating ended at the waterline!
To address this I’ve opted for a “quick fix” to create the illusion of additional plating; using the existing detail as a guide, I cut similar widths of Tamiya Kabuki tape to mark out the new plates.
Then the hull got several light coats of Gunze Sangyo Mr. Surfacer 1200 spray primer.
The strips of surfacer look a little garish now, but under the red antifouling to come the “plating” will be less prominent and should harmonize with the detail molded to the gray hull above the waterline. At least I hope so!