Pagoda Problem

After getting the first feed back on this question, I kinda thought that maybe that single decal (or whatever it was) was supposed to be subdivided. All I can say is that modelers of whatever era that kit was made (I'd guess it's pretty old) were heroic souls. If you could get the pieces of the stated dimensions it would take a laser and then you'd still have to join pieces. Had I looked at it more closely and junked the width suggested, you might have been able to get three very thin lines. That might have worked.  In retrospect, had I see this coming, I would have tried some ambitious modeling (this is only my second ship) and cut slots out of the appropriate places and tried to glue in some styrene. By the time I'd gotten around to figure out what to do about the stupid windows, that would have required taking apart a good part of a model that, by and large, looks decent. Not going to wreck the kit to wash the windows.  I'm going to see what I can do with decal paper. I guess I could try a mask, but to get the right effect the lines would have to be straight and very thin. If need be, I paint the whole thing flat black and forget about it. Tamiya's 700 Rodney solved the problems by simply leaving open slits.

Eric

Well, when you run into problems like this... I suggest the old fashion mask thenpaint the windows on

The instructions give height and width that you are supposed to cut the paper decal that should have come with the kit - typically found on the same small sheet as the Japanese flag.  In many older Japanese 1:700 kits, these are just printed on paper, and have no adhesive or decal film.  These paper decals should not be soaked, and are best mounted with thinned white glue (Elmer's) or canopy glue if you have some of that on the hobby bench.

I've never seen any build (other than some early builds of my own) actually use those decals, although the pagodas look very barren in the early Waterline kits (1970s) without such bridge detail.

More recent releases of IJN battleships include transparent "glass" bridges.  And lots of builders use photoetch bridge windows, painting behind or carving out and then overlaying the PE.  Lionroar makes a PE fret with several styles of IJN bridge windows.

i think you are supposed to soak the decal so it comes off it's paper backing then you apply it very carefully were it is supposed to go to. after placed in postion, use a kleenx or similar to carefully remove any air bubbles from under the decal & any water off the surface of the decal.

Looks like you're right - not that it's going to do me much good. I have only one very small decal paper with a IJN flag (don't care for decal flags: the Pagoda should tell one that it's Japanese) and one decal that does appear to be one of the windows. But only one. The decals look extremely dry - can't see any adhevsive at all. Looks like someone was asleep at the switch at the factory whenever this thing was made.

I've seen these marvelous scratch built ships and have thought "not for the likes of you bloke." I've found, however, that everyone gets to scratch build in model world, especially ship fans. Just used blue tack (a FS forum tip) to make blast bags for the main guns. And there's already a small AA mount gone missing. So, we'll figure something out - wonder how well Tamiya masking tape holds paint. We'll find out methinks.

Eric

This is what the translation is, "HAHAHAHA!! This is what you get for buying a japanese kit. Have fun trying to figure this one out."

Just kidding.

I believe that these are meant to be cut from the decal sheet. Looking at the kit contents online the decal sheet has what appears to be a row of black bands/bars from which you cut individual strips of the specified height and width.

decals maybe?