Japanese 14m Daihatsu Landing Craft

[tawnyman]

Hi there,
I'm having a go at doing a Japanese WW2 Landing craft, of the 14 metre Daihatsu type, as modelled by Mokuzu Dock, as found here :

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Here's the parts


And here's the instructions

But I can't work out how the lower hull skin (22 & 23) fits over the projecting formers (parts 2 to 6). Is it a case of somehow shaping/bending them over the W shaped bow give the unusual design that you can see below.



Any suggestions/insight you might have is very welcome!
Thanks
Julian

[Paperclip]

Interesting build. I have recently became enamored with Japanese ship building technique and the different type vessels. I have been studying the Japanese alphabet to help in this knowledge and terms used in the building of EDO Period
ships. I am currently working on a Yakatabune as kitted from Woody Joe in Japan. Japanese wood craft were not built in the traditional manner as the western world. If one studies marine architecture, you will see the Japanese had a truly advance method of ship building.
Rick

[tawnyman]

Having looked at a number of other sources on the internet, I think it probably is a case of moulding the paper over the formers. I might try the isopropyl soak method that I saw Miles Linaberry did on the Tips & Tricks section to help mould the curve.

For future reference for any other modellers, here's a great 1/16th build in wood by a German modeller that shows the form of the underside better than any other source I've found:

https://www.das-modellbauforum.de/fm...hatsu-in-1-16/

It certainly is an unusual design, the twin bows designed to keep the craft level when it rests on the beach, the keel then narrows into the spiral-shaped screw that was designed to prevent tangling with weed and then the rudder.


Equally fascinating are the four intact examples that can be found in the Karavia tunnels that were carved out by the Japanese and POW's in Karavia Bay in Papaua New Guinea. Apart from wrecks on the Pacific seabed, they must be the only surviving Dai Hatsu LC surviving anywhere. Not many LC's of any country probably survive in their original wartime locations in fact! More details here :
Pacific Wrecks - Karavia Bay (Keravia Bay), East New Britain Province, Papua New Guinea (PNG)

Doing research for a project can be just as interesting as doing the work itself - although it might also explain the problems of finishing existing projects!

[tawnyman]

Interesting Rick, can you give some examples of the differences? Not that I have a great knowledge of shipbuilding but I do some woodworking so have got to know the ways of wood as a material.

[Paperclip]

Originally Posted by tawnyman

Interesting Rick, can you give some examples of the differences? Not that I have a great knowledge of shipbuilding but I do some woodworking so have got to know the ways of wood as a material.

Gladly friend, where most ship builders construct their vessels starting with a keel and frame, the period of building I am studying builds with interlocking pieces. The vessel may well start with a curved, notice the shape of your hull you are working on, bottom, then from this the hull takes shape with parts locked together much like, this is just my observation, a cabinet drawer. Once the initial shape is arrived at, then the inner workings are are assembled like the parts of a Swiss watch. Even their use of sails is approached in a different manner. Their ship building skills are not well documented in the Western World. But their vessels posses a grace and beauty that a person who works in wood is left in awe. Deck boards are scribed so that if removed, they can only be put back just as they came out with a water proof seal. As I stated, I just discovered this style building recently. Goggle The Ship Modeler, shipmodeler.wordpress.com and follow his blog on these vessels. You will learn a great deal. Hope this has helped.
Rick

[tawnyman]

Thanks Rick, some interesting things to look at. Some of those wooden models are amazing, and the scoring to show positions is a simple and effective idea. Yes, this picture particuarly shows the curved nature of all the lines
It looks quite odd to my eye, though that might be the very high position it's sitting at in the photograph.

So I've made a bit of progress on the inner core of the model, all slightly rough, although I still have doubts how feasible it's going to be to cover these formers with paper, I may have to resort to some other medium for blending all the curves. Ideally this would be still paper-based, but any ideas welcome! Julian