Tonight I started glassing the hangar to the hull. There was good allignment at the front end for the first 5 inches and the front corners of the hangar got 1" x 5" strips of matt along the joint. Aft the fit wasn't good on the starboard side. I tacked on the port corner with a 1" x 2" matt. When the first three corners have set I'll use clamps to allign the hull and hangar edges at the starboard end and tack them together. With the corners glasse to the hull the rest of the job will go more quickly. I reinforced the areas where the rudder posts and prop shafts will go through the hull. Unfortunately this hull was made with only one layer of matt on the bottom and two on the sides, versus my standard of two on the bottom and 3-4 on the sides. I added 4 patches of matt where the rudder posts will be, bringing the thickness of the hull bottom there to about 1/4", and added two patches about 10 inches long where the prop shafts will make a long transition through the hull at a shallow angle. Kim wants the computer so I'm signing off - more updates to follow. Bob I always
I checked the allignment at the starboard rear corner of the hangar this morning. The Mogami hull is slightly asymmetrical aft, with the starboard side having a shallower curve than the port. A couple of clamps will hold the deck and hangar edges in allignment at that corner when it's glassed. I'm leaving that corner loose for now and working back from the front end. Kim's out for several hours tonight so I'll glass more of the hangar to the hull with a higher catalyst mix. It'll set more quickly and I can ventilate the house well before she gets home. I should be able to glass another 2' length on each side, leaving about 1' to do. (The hangar's about 3.5' long.) Bob
Looking pretty good. Since I am unsure what the real ship looks like I am not totally sure what I am looking at. I presume a Carrier of the Japanese navy. again a nice build so far and quite interesting to watch.
Ibuki was started as a slightly modified Mogami class heavy cruiser. After the Battle of Midway, the IJN decided to complete her as a light carrier. She was 80% complete when the war ended.
Bryan, This is off topic but I have about 3 hundred wargaming models left to paint. I've painted several large BFG fleets, 3000+ pt. Death Guard and IG forces, and a full Forgeworld IG armour company. I'm part way through painting a full company of SM converted to Deathwatch, with 15 vehicles. When those are done I have a second CSM army, a second IG army, an Inquisiton/WH army and a large Cities of Death gaming table to paint. I don't dare get into WH Fantasy - it'll take years to paint the 40K stuff! Back to the Ibuki, I haven't forgotten to mail the stuff to you - just haven't got it all ready. You should be able to make a mock-up of the hangar and take a mold from it with little diificulty. If this build works out you can sell Ibuki kits! Bob
I have a question for you Bob. Looking at the additional structure, isn't there a possibility of the model being top heavy? It just might be how the pictures are portraying the ship. It just looks like it could roll a fair bit.
Hi Paul, The hangar was lightly constructed. It's only 1/16" thick and probably weighs between 0.5 - 0.75 lbs. The flight deck has to be very light - I think I can build one that weighs less than a pound. If I can get two 6V7.2Ah batteries aboard there should be no significant stability problems. There will be no CO2 bottle so there's plenty of room for them. Ibuki will roll more than a Mogami though the total superstructure weight may not be significantly greater. I saw some small Japanese carriers at IRCWCC Nats and they were stable. Bob
Photo of hangar glassed to hull - the fiberglass is curing at present (Dec. 16, '08). This view shows a brass rod wedged into the hull to keep its sides the same width as the end of the hangar. There's another rod at the bow end. You can see where the bottom of the hull (which was only one ply thick) has been reinforced from the stern to where the shaft couplings will be located. Eventually the entire bottom will get a second layer of matt. The long narrow areas where the two prop shafts will come through the hull are 4 layers thick and the area where the holes for the rudder posts will be drilled is 6 layers thick.
Here's a view from Ibuki's port quarter. Note the 1" x 1" x 1/16" balsa squares CA'd along the side of the hull. These were glued on to hold the edges of the hull and hangar flush before fiberglassing them together. Were the transition was flat they were glued on with the grain running vertically. Where there were angles between hull and hangar they were attached with the grain horizontal so they could flex. The two clamps have swivelling plates (the red bits) and were ideal for holding the edges in allignment, especially where the curves were sharper and more pressure was needed. With the clamps in place a square of balsa was glued between them. I leapfrogged them along the sides of the hull repeating the process until hull and hangar were completely alligned. The hull was then turned on each side and 42" x 1" strips of fiberglass matt were resined along the hull/hangar joints. Next step is to reinforce the hull sides below hangar level with two layers of matt and the rest of the hull bottom with one, then make and install short fiberglass forecastle and quarter decks. Bob
Close up of the stern area after the hangar was glassed to the hull and the bottom of the hull reinforced aft. See original post for details. Starting right at the aft edge of the hangar you can just see the outline of the thick patch of matt laid down where the rudder shafts will come through the bottom of the hull. Fortunately this wasn't a complete screw up. Only the 3 photos of the mold after gelcoating and fiberglassing were lost. Bob
For those wondering what she will look like here are some rough pictures, historical, Model and drawings. Ibuki and sister at yard Ibuki at scrap yard A model of what she may look like when finished (Sort of) A line drawing for comparison. hope that clears it up for those wondering what the finished one would look like. have fun![]
Thanks for posting the photos and drawings Bryan. I found another nice photo yesterday: a close port bow view with several small subs tied up alongside. That one confirmed that the drawing you posted and Allan Perry's 1/700 model have forecastle decks that are too long, and that the hull sections plan from 'Japanese Cruisers of WWII' has the front of the hangar in the correct location. If you decide to build an Ibuki and scale up that drawing the front end of the hangar should be more than an inch further forward and the rear end about 1/2" further aft. The front end of the hangar should be 186mm from the tip of the bow and the rear end 149mm from the stern. The Mogami hull is a little over 1/8" ( Bob
While looking for 1/144 IJN carrier plane kits I found a 1/144 deck kit for IJN carriers, made by a Japanese company 'Sweet'. Photos show the kits to be nicely detailed with an elevator, deck planking, aircraft tiedowns, and 8 sets of wheel chocks. The deck kits were designed to display the superbly detailed 1/144 Sweet 'Zero' (A6M2)kit. Those can be bought separately (2 planes per kit) and decal sheets are available for aircraft from the Pearl Harbour strike carriers. The deck is based on Shokaku's but the elevators are the same shape as Ibuki's. There are three deck kits and all parts are 15cm (~6") wide. One kit comes with a 15cm wide x 17cm long deck section including a complete elevator that can be modelled flush with the deck or lowered, plus 4 x 4cm long deck extensions making a deck 33cm (about 1') long. Another kit has only the 15 cm x 17 cm elevator and comes with a Zero, the third has 4 of the extra 4 cm long deck sections. Also available from Sweet is the later A6M3 Zero, which I'll use. If Ibuki's entire deck was planked (which is unknown) I'll need two of the kits with an elevator and 4 extensions and five of the 4 piece extension sets. Cost will be over $50 but the kits will save a huge amount of time and give high detail. The deck pieces are wide enough for the Ibuki but will need to be narrowed so I can add the steel walkways around the edge of the flight deck. Being styrene they can easily be modified, and are probably lighter than anything I can build. I'm still searching for Japanese 1/144 carrier plane kits but having no luck. Only the Sweet, Minicraft and Academy Zeros are still in production. All other kits (Jill, Betty, Kate, Val, Myrt) by Revell, Ikko, Arii, LS, Crown and Mitsuwa seem to be OOP. Bob
Bob- You might want to get in touch with Ken Kelly in the IRCWCC about those. He has several of the Zeros and deck kits from sweet for his Hosho and Zuiho models. Ive seen the kits and they are very, very nice. I think he also had some of the other aircraft models as well...I know for sure he had an Aichi "Grace" and might have had some Jills and Kates. As for the CVLs themselves, a 24 aircraft airgroup consisting of 12 A6M fighters and 12 B5N torpedo bombers seems to be about average.
Bob if you want to order some extra and share shipping i am also interested in a set to complete a deck for myself and a few aircraft would not hurt. I am also looking for a few models for my cruiser and others so if they have some nice float planes for them let me know also and since I cannot seem to get on their site I am really interested in sharing the order with you. I like building light! Let me know if buying a second set would be ok I can paypal you the money. Bryan []
Bob Try this site, they have 1/144 scale plane kits available for all the major players in WW2. Zero's, Val's, Kate's, Serian, and other types of float planes. Visit this site
Thanks for the info David. Many of those models are diecast and more expensive ($12.00-$16.00 each) than the plastic kits by Sweet that have two very well detailed Zeros for $11.38 (if ordered from Japan). Weight is a concern with diecast models. I plan to have 3 late war Zeros with square wingtips on deck with a 4th on the aft elevator below flight deck level (and out of BB range). If I can get some torpedo or dive bomber kits I'll add a few more planes. Bob
Bryan, I've just spent an hour on a site about building a 1/144 scale non-R/C Soryu model. Do a search for '1/144 Soryu' and you'll find it easily. Lots of details that can be used for the Ibuki, clarifying how the Japanese built the gun platforms and side galleries on their carriers. There's a good alternative method of building a flight deck from sheet styrene and scribed basswood. I don't know much about Japanese carriers but I was surprised to see that the Soryu had only about 50-60% of the flight deck planked. The rest was steel. No one is likely to know the relative proportions of plain steel and wooden planking intended for Ibuki, so we can build what we think looks good. I'm inclined to model the flight deck overhanging forecastle and stern as steel, maybe more. Because of this I'll have to measure the flight deck and recalculate how many of the Sweet flight deck kits I'll need. I have no idea how thick they are or whether a deck made entirely of them might be too heavy. Perhaps the best plan is to order only the kits with the elevator and no extra deck extensions until we see what they're like. We can use the elevators in whatever type of deck we decide to build. I can order a pair of elevator kits for you. You have a choice of getting them with a Pearl Harbour period Zero for $11.38US or without a plane for $5.69US plus shipping. I plan to use the later model Zero on Ibuki and it doesn't come with an elevator. Zeros of any type can be bought in pairs for $11.38. Let me know what you want and I'll order the kits tomorrow. Bob
I will take enough to do the deck as you originally planned as well as 4 aircraft(late), (If BBs are getting the flight deck I have other problems..... )I can always use or not use them but we will have a set to weigh and check to see then also. Send me a e-mail on what I will owe you and I will send it to you. Maybe I should get you to send me a mold at the same time......(hummmm?). []
Bryan, It's less complicated for me if you order the 1/144 items yourself instead of having me order them from Japan and then reship them from Nova Scotia to Ontario. I don't see any cost saving by combining the orders. I'll email you the contact info and item codes later this evening so you can order what you need. The balsa mold for the hangar was designed for only one use and was completely destroyed during removal from the hangar. If I do make any molds for Ibuki parts I can make more for you. I'll probably use an RTV mold for the detailed funnel and might do one for the island. Research suggests the following aircraft would have been used on the Ibuki: Recon - Myrt CAP/Fighter Escort - Zero Torpedo Bomber - Jill or (less likely) Kate Dive Bomber - Val I've found a pair of OOP Myrt recon plane kits to go with the Zeros. Vals were still in use on small carriers in 1944-1945 because Judys needed a longer flight deck (higher landing speed). The link David Ranier posted can provide prepainted silver Vals. By the end of the war Jills had replaced Kates as carrier torpedo bombers. All 1/144 kits for Jills and Kates are OOP. Does anyone know what colour(s) Japanese carrier planes were in 1944-1945? I have no idea. Bob
