IJN Akizuki 1944 [Answer 1:200]

[wireandpaper]

You have by highest regard!

[Lex]

Thanks Mike, Roman, Don, Fred and Pablo. Apologies for the hiatus in this uncertain time. I figured I should at least finish the hull for the time being

Although the underlying surface was not as smooth as it should have been, UHU was tried instead of white glue for the skin, and the result was much more controllable. The effort of the internal support certainly paid off. The lack of water that degrades the rigidity of the paper makes UHU a better tool for the job. As suggested by Fred, I might try different filling materials for future builds.

There are three places at which the ship name is painted white on the hull. Two on the sides and one at the stern. As I mentioned that Japan stopped doing so by the latter parts of the war, these are replaced by replacement colour sheets provided on the model. It also fixes a small fit issue at the stern, one that was also present on Fuyuzuki.

[Michael Mash]

I know you divide your time between different categories,
but its nice to see you back at work on a "seafaring" project.
Mike

[Don Boose]

Smooth work on the hull, Lex!

Don

[Beachead]

Looking real good. Nice and clean.

[Lex]

Hi Don, Michael and Greg, sorry for the hiatus here. Coming back to report, just finished skinning the underwater hull.

Initially the process was painful. The model left plenty to spare at the waterline, it appears the original intention was to let the waterline piece cover the bottom piece, and I have did exactly that on Fuyuzuki. That left a step at the waterline which may or may not be an issue. For the kind of effect I am trying to achieve, it is. So I needed to trim each piece precisely at the waterline, but the exact place to do it isn't indicated...

That left plenty of dry-fitting each part, and then edge colouring each one, which got on my nerves. It was a few months later that I discovered the amazing utility of masking tape, in fixing parts during a dry-fit, and also in marking the exact place to cut. So I pushed forward and finished the entire hull a few days later. With the double bottom technique it almost felt easy, I could push extremely hard on a part in order to make it follow whatever form under it, without worrying about wrinkles. It is far from perfect still, the front half was done without the masking tape and the waterline cut was somewhat hit-or-miss. Also few other things I will describe in a follow-on post.

(The use of a pillow was deliberate to protect the deck)

[Lex]

Things that went wrong:

A simple way to create the triple formers for the double bottom is to simply displace a fixed amount inwards. However as can be seen in (1) this fixed displacement is at best an approximation, and where the hull had a cone shape, the technique results in a step. In deciding to not fill and sand the double bottom I have sealed my fate here, and the forward part of the hull had visible seams that were a result of this step. The lack of filler means that the seams had no support inside and were slightly hollow, any attempt to force them in would be very dangerous. The use of additional paper strips as spacers was of no avail and only added insult to the injury.

The two pages on which the parts were printed had a slight colour mismatch. That is outside of my control and is not very noticeable.


Things I have fixed in the design stage:

In (2), the stern profile is modified. The original design's formers were inconsistent and had a visible bulge.

In (3), the blending was reworked to remove a bulge at the aft end of the forecastle.

Due to the modification of the stern profile, the skins around the ventral 'fin' was no longer a close fit. They were cut open ventrally so any misfits can be eaten up by the seam at the bottom. A few of my friends advocated doing this for every piece of the hull, the rationale being that the bottom was much less visible than the waterline and it's good to keep the waterline as clean as possible. It wasn't possible on this model though, as mentioned before it lacked a clear alignment position at the waterline.

[kubeksus]

Great looking hull. Be prepared for a lot of missfits on the way. I wish you a lot of patience.

[Michael Mash]

Hello Lex,
Well . . . with all the detailed difficulties you describe, I see a long sleek beautiful hull.
The drawing along with the description is a good lesson in problem solving.
Mike

[Don Boose]

You di really superb work, Lex. It's a real pleasure to see that beautifully smooth and meticulously-crafted hull.

I also appreciate all the clear images and your narrative description of your work.

Don