1/350 Hasegawa Akagi Complete.

Thank you Steve and Bakster.

That is an insane amount of work, Steve. Beautiful. 

Really exciting and dramatic build.  Thanks for sharing!

Hiryu's hull sides were also taller, so a common hull is not possible.  I only know this ship nugget because our club wanted to do Kido Butai in 1/700 and I got the Hiryu.

But haven't finished it yet.  

Hiryu was slightly larger, mostly in her beam, by about 4-5 feet.  Not really enough to make much of a difference in 1/350.  Other than the pretty much mirror image island, stacks and flight deck, wouldn't be much of a problem for the kit maker to pop out a kit to complete the set

Real G

do know that the Soryu, although a sister ship to Hiryu, is considerably different so common tooling for anything except fittings is not possible.

One diffrence was she had her island on the proper starboard side vs the Hiyru's port side...like the Akagi

I do know that the Soryu, although a sister ship to Hiryu, is considerably different so common tooling for anything except fittings is not possible.  But since the Kaga was kitted, Soryu should logically follow.  Just saying.  

Goldhammer, keep that shovel handy, we might need it!

After the Nats and our regionals here, I'll see if our museum wants to display it in their Pearl Harbor section.

Man oh man, this is a thing of sheer beauty!  Where do you plan on displaying it permanently?

By then someone will probably have Soryu out in 350.

Hiding in same foxhole as G, just hope he dug it big enough for two

Thank you Mustang! G...it would take at least 5 more years to complete the entire Kido Butai and they don't make the Soryu in 1/350.....however 1/700 is a different story.

Now where does a fella begin with comments on THAT bad boy??!! You've got far more patience than I do to stick with a build like that Stevo. I tip my hat to you on a job more than well done pal. You really showed 'em how it's done. 

Thanks Ben,

I hadn't thought of it. I was just building it for my love of the hobby, history and the Akagi. It certantly had taken me away from spending that time with my wife, but she also loves my hobby and really enjoys my builds. One of the reasons she's coming with me to the Nats.
I don't have anyone specific that fought in the Pacific theater, except my grandfather who was on the Pennsylvania, but that was long before Pearl. Once she's done with the Nats and our local contest, I'll see if our local museum wants to display her in the Pearl Harbor section. I really don't have room for her here.

Thank you Ben for following along and it really drives me to do better when I know somebody's watching. I have lots more to do.

That is one killer build Steve.  Definitely gunning for Best Ship at the Nats!  I'm gonna take lots of pics of it to show the guys at home.

...so when can we expect Kaga, Hiryu, Soryu, Shokaku and Zuikaku?

Running for cover now.

Well Steve, if you don't mind me piling onto what has already been said, your dedication to the build and tenatious attitude on getting things just right makes this an absolute show stopper.

If I remember correctly, you are the one who got me involved in the ship GB's a couple years ago. I have followed all of your recent builds with eager anticipation and this one without question was your best one yet. There is obviously a lot of love poured into this build thread and it shows.

With the amount of "you" that was poured into it, are you planning on dedicating the build to sombody or something? This will be a "for sure" attention grabber when you show it. Considering the exposure it will receive at the Nationals, it would be a prime opportunity to dedicate this build part of your life to something (?)..... just saying.

Thanks for taking me on this model journey with you....

Ben

they either don't carry many or they are on the inside. Four small boats on davits, one small rowboat at the bow and two rafts are all I could make out. The small boats on the stern could be used I suppose if they had the time to crane them out.

One thing I just noticed, considering the ammount of crew on that monster, it doesn't seem to carry much in the way of rafts.  Are they out of site or not carried at all?

Here are some better pics that a friend has the background photoshopped out. I really need to get that program. Pics of ships would benefit from focus stacking.

Sometimes I get lucky.  Or.....it could be that I come up with certain ideas just to show the shrinks that "I'm, feeling, much, better, now."

stole that line from John Astin when he did some Night Court episodes.

Not a bad Idea Ikar. An MP3 and small speaker....

Why don't you get the soundtrack from the movie and let it do a continous run of a couple numbers from the film? You still have some time to kill and relax.

Have a cup of Sake, relax, and just do it.

Best of luck at the Nationals.

Wish I was there.

Steve, just finished reading this entire post on your build. My jaw is slowly working it's way back up from the floor. An amazing build. I totally agree with those who say it should be "Best In Show".   

Jim 

Stay Safe.

Thanks TB,

No, I'm done with it. I did needed to streighten something out on it after see it on the pics last night, but its complete. I'll work on some planes before getting back to a ship.

See Now! 

 You did fall into the "I can do more to this or that Canyon" It's time to climb out of there. Relax, Reflect and know you did a superb job on that ship!

Luvspinball

Are you perhaps a member of NRG or a local shipwright's club?

No, just making it up as I go along. I don't believe there is a shipwright's club in Boise but I'll look into NRG. I would love to have some pointers for this thing. I have several wood ships but kinds stumble through them using any knowlage I have, which for wood, is lacking.

That Victory appears to be a wooden ship.  Are you perhaps a member of NRG or a local shipwright's club?  I ask because I am going to a zoom meeting next Wednesday and would love to point our members to your build here.  The majority of us are wooden ship builders, but ANY ship is welcome.

Again, fabulous job.

Bob

Thanks again guys. It has defenatly been a time consuming effort, espscially when I wanted to go back and add more. When I had free time to work on her my wife would ask "what are you working on tonight? Akagi? On the rare occassion I would say, no, not tonight, I'll work on something else for a break.

I stoped tracking my hours months ago but a conservitive estimate is over 1100 hours.

Now she sits atop my stash, tucked away, camoflaged. The grandkids know not to touch "Papa's models", even the rambuncous one stays away. Heck, I've barley touched it in the last year.

If Aaron doesn't do a mag spread on her, there's no justice

There are no more superlatives left, other than to echo what everyone else has said.

Good luck at Nationals, sir.  You should not only win best nautical theme, but best in show with that work of art.

Make sure you get it insured by Lloyds of London before tucking it safely in the back seat of your car.  $10 Grand at least.

Stunning.  An inspiration to us all.  I tip my cap to you, sir.

Bob