IMPERIAL JAPANESE NAVY HEAVY CRUISER HAGURO 1945 FUJIMI 1/700

I made a large navy warship for the first time. It was built in September 2015.

It is a war ship model after a long absence since I built Tamiya Abukuma last year. My skill does not increase if I don’t make a lot more ships. I decide to make Fujimi’s kit with the reputation of details.

Small gun turret and chimney are being built up first. This ship is equipped with 5 sets of 20cm multiple-barreled cannon. There was some difference between left and right, front and rear, so I wrote the memo number on the parts.

My first building of Fujimi kit, there are many detailed fragile parts, I suppose my experience of handling AFV photo-etched parts is useful.

Complex bridge structure was becoming quite cool. I made 2 types of observation airplanes, one is Mitsubishi F1M Type Zero seaplane (reconnaissance float plane), the other is Aichi E13A Navy Type Zero reconnaissance seaplane. But I wonder why they don’t have a propeller, it’s too small scale and omitted?

Under the middle deck, it will not be visible after completed, there are 16 torpedo tubes and torpedoes.

I’m checking whether a deck and a rear mast are combined properly. There seems to be no problem.

I have prepared almost all parts, so I wonder what is next. The ship modeling is required assembling and painting process mixed more than airplane models.

I painted a bottom color and linoleum color first, at the same time, the carrier-based planes are also finished.
(21-August-2015)

The photo-etched parts of Haguro seem to be released. It’s for master modelers, this is still early for myself. After this heavy cruiser could be completed for now, I’ll use that kind of full parts next time. I use some detail up by the Guard Rails for IJN BB.

What I thought of while sticking a handrail, I should have made a handrail before blowing linoleum. Because the painting of the deck becomes tainted when superglue sticks out over the edge, it is costing twice the labor.
After finished, it has more reality to use photo-etched parts. There is secondary armament on the both sides on the upper deck and I cannot glue a handrail at the same timing.

A real history of the vessels are not in the assembling illustration of Fujimi. Assembly drawing and painting guide only .
If there is a brief description of the wartime career and it is easy to put the feelings for beginners. Maybe I examine it by myself.
(31-August-2015)

I remember the procedure of the ship model while looking at “Abukuma” making page that I made it before. Now I’m masking the linoleum deck.

The small objects on the deck will be painted by a brush later. So the masking was made rough. Even this is quite hard work. I masked it like an upper photograph finely while it was the beginning, but became rough halfway.

The Sasebo dockyard gray is very black compared with the other 3 dockyard in Japan, Yokosuka, Kure and Maizuru. So maybe it’s better to adjust the color tone a little. But I don’t like painting with the very dark color, considering the scale effect of colors, not take too much seriously, I use the Mr.Color number 32 which is rather brighter one.
(02-September-2015)

A bridge, a mast and various parts are glued together. It’s gradually becoming reliable and nice looking heavy cruiser.

I paint canvas sheets of the root of the cannons with white, and also some objects on the deck with white. The part where linoleum and the war vessel color stuck up is being corrected.
There are many parts which are insufficient so as to compare the parts of the kit with reference book “Japanese Warship Details” of Tamiya. But it is interesting to compare with the real ship in various ways.

There are small decals for launches, it’s indicated cruiser name “Haguro”. There are many masterpiece works of launches in other homepage and I really astonished. Now my work is OK for straight from the box.

I added propellers for the observation airplanes, Mitsubishi F1M Type Zero seaplane and Aichi E13A Navy Type Zero reconnaissance seaplane. It will it be soon completed.
(06-September-2015)

Haguro was completed. Haguro was the fourth ship of Myoko class of heavy cruiser, was laid down at the Mitsubishi shipyard in Nagasaki. The Myoko class is 10,000t class heavy cruiser designed based on the Washington navy disarmament treaty. The warship of the same type is Myoko, Ashigara, Nachi and Haguro.

Commissioned: 25 April 1929
Displacement: 13,963 long tons
Standard Length: 203.76m (621 ft )
Beam: 19.0 m (58 ft 0 in )
Speed: 35.6 knots (41 mph; 67 km/h)
Complement: 773

Armament
• 10 × 203 mm (8.0 in) guns (5×2)
• 8 × 127 mm (5.0 in) guns (4×2; from 1935)
• 4 × 25 mm (0.51 in) machine guns (4×3)
• 8 × 25 mm (0.51 in) machine guns (8×2)
• 8 × 610 mm (24 in) torpedo tubes (4×4)

When it’s being the later of Greater East Asian War, new anti-aircraft machine-guns were added, and the anti aircraft defensive powers have been strengthened remarkably.

A war record of Haguro: Sank Netherlands light cruiser DE Ruyter and Java. British heavy cruiser Exeter, the British destroyer Encounter, and U.S. destroyer Pope were sunk in collaboration with other warships.
She participated in the Battle of the Java Sea, Battle of Midway, Battle of the Coral Sea, etc. many strategies.

In May, 1945, she sank by the torpedo attack of the British destroyer fleet in the transportation duty to the Andaman Islands. Approximately 400 of 700 rests were killed in battle, and approximately 300 people were saved on a destroyer.

The mold of parts is smaller and sharper than the old kit destroyer Kagero that I built before. But you should look hard to understand it, it’s so tiny parts.

I put some cable with the metal wire in reference to a box picture.

The shot from the front.

I added the photo-etched parts of handrails from third party named Ocean Spirits. There are something like mast appeared on the top of the main armament turret of real cruiser. it’s omitted in this kit. I would like to add these kind of things by using etched parts at the next opportunity.

I took a picture together with a reconnaissance aircraft that I made one extra. It is the feeling that floats in the sea because the back screen is light blue.

The searchlight is slightly dull. Maybe it’s better to replace it with clear parts, or change to the more sharp molds third party parts.

A ship name is written on the back most. I’m not sure the ship name should be put out in the wartime. Anyway, the ship name and the Rising Sun look cool.

There are three carrier-based planes, and an appearance changes very much when I pile up airplanes on the deck.

The linoleum clip painted only a part to see in gold. However, I did not go so well, and nothing did might have good look…

I took a photograph from the just beside. I like that I attached a wire to the crane.

Because the handrail had been twisted a little, I should have repaired it perpendicularly at the last timing. The cause of twisting is that sometimes I use the painting stands and sometimes holding by hand while painting it. Next time, I’ll try to fix the vessel on a wooden plate and painting.

Wow!! I took a photo with destroyer Kagero and light cruiser Abukuma. Workmanship of the individual quality aside, looks cool when arranged. This is what a source of adrenaline collectors out.

When there is a chance, I would like to use photo-etched parts rather much and challenge more the next time.
(08-September-2015)