Need help on reference material and aftermarket for particular IJN ships.
So I have a friend who is a WW2 IJN fan. I managed to get him into scale modeling, but other things took over in his life, so he recently gave me his kit stash and paints. So I plan on building them up over time to give to him sort of as a gift. I have started canvassing the net for both reference material on this ships as well as photo etch kits. The kits I have are all Tamiya 1/700 waterlines, and they are:
Yamato: Obviously there is tons of P.E. Kits and reference material. But on both points are there any "stand-outs" to look at?
Chitose Seaplane tender: Having problems with this one since the kit is pre-carrier overhaul as she was when a sea plane tender. Most of what I am finding is for the carrier version. Any help here is appreciated.
Yubari: I see Aoshmia makes/made a P.E. set. Looks to be a little hard to find inside the U.S., but still available in some places. Any others I may be missing? Also, reference material again. I have gotten slim pickings so far.
I-16 and I-58: All I have found for P.E. is the Tom's Model Works set for the Skywave series of IJN subs, but look adaptable to the Tamiya kit. Again, am I missing something else, or comments on the useability of the TMW kit? TO be honest the most important thing I am looking at is the cage style antenna, though other parts obviously would add to the kit.
Also, what about general P.E. kits for use like White Ensign's IJN cable reels and such? Worth the added expense? Other touches I could add to make things extra special?