Found it! A vehicle for my WWII Naval Games - Tokyo Express (Victory Game)

Eureka, got it! A tactical WWII Pacific theater board game with strategic map moves that is solitaire (so I can practice before I roll it out to my fellow wargamers at the club). Yet again it is quality production from Victory Games (see below):

My source was an electronic version, which is a pain in that you have to source a decent printer for the map ans "print" what you need to make the charts and counters up. Makes it all worth while in teh end, no pain no gain ;)

Revell kits to watch out for in 2013

Two "naval" spots from Revell:

Spot one:
1/700 RN WWII "HMS Kelly"

For WWII destroyer actions a re-release of an old Matchbox kit methinks, HMS Kelly (a WWII RN J-K Class Destroyer), waterline to boot (see below):

I just hope Revell release the other Matchbox waterline ships of yore too:

• USS San Diego
• USS Indianapolis
• USS Fletcher
• HMS Exeter (very tasty, I do have a 1/500 scale kit of this "but" in 1/700 is far better)
• HMS Duke of York
• HMS Ariadne
• KM Graf Spee
• KM Narvik Class "Z" Destroyer
• KM Bismarck.

Spot two: 
1/1200 WWII "IJNS Shinano"

I have already got this one but it is nice to see it releases from the back catalog (see below):

Model on and good hunting!

Note: Still trying to spot that J-K class destroyer in the model shops!

Just Putting Plasic Things Together (WWII IJN 1/700 Submarines): Part V

These Tamiya 1/700 kits are lovely, though expensive and I have to be "in a naval zone" to have a go at them. The IJN submarines here are double the scale (reduced) of the Revell U-Boats (see previous posts) but in reality were twice the tonnage, so length wise they are not too far off. Unlike U-Boats the Japanese Submarine Cruisers were designed to be the "eyes of the battle fleet". 

Japanese Cruiser Submarine: I-16 with Kaiten midget submarine (see below). It took part in the Pearl Harbour operation (see below):

Japanese Cruiser Submarines I-58, he deck bubble at the front housed a float plane, again ideal for the "eyes of the fleet" role envisaged for it (see below). This is the submarine that sank the USS Indianapolis in 1945 but after it had delivered the second atomic bomb.

I chose the simple underwater assembly, there were more hoists, railings and spars to add (as well as a float pane) for the surface cruising mode.

1/1200 IJNS Shinano: Finishing Touches

Obviously a big yellow line was needed down the middle of the Shinano's flight deck to stop the aircraft falling into the see or crashing into the control island superstructure (see below). As they say at Tesco's "Every Little Helps":

The most amazing thing here is, that this means that I actually did some "decalling" (unheard of). I obviously wasn't feeling myself (see above and below). The decals almost look as if they are a straight line too, being "four small decals" merged into one. If I was to be completely honest here I would have to say there was a "bit" of profanity at one point ;)

My saving grace as always was my trusty MicroSol and MicroSet decal "fixing" solution. The result, the IJNS Shinano departs into the relatively placid waters around the Sea of Japan (see below):

An armoured flight-deck, massive AA defence and no prominent Japanese "Red Circle" to guide enemy bombing attacks in means that the "aerial" war lessons have been learned well by the Japanese Navy (see above and below):

It's such a pity then that the USS Archerfish was hiding beneath the waves nearby and slipped a full load of torpedoes into her belly. The IJNS Shinao was sunk on her sea trials before making a war mission, taking with her over two thousand souls.

That completes the naval section of 2011 methinks. Next up it may well be back to "tanks and the like" but what scale?

1/1200 IJNS Yamato and IJNS Mushashi (again) Picture Extravaganza of Japanses Super-Dreadnoughts

Have camera will play! The "deadly sisters" IJNS Yamato (top) and IJNS Mushashi (below) on a stretched canvas or should I say ersatz sea of "blue pacific" oils:

From the high level bombing run (see above) to the low level reconnaissance pass (see below) with enemy armaments turning:

Just camera-happy clicking away (see below):

A close up of the IJNS Yamato's stern (see below). Here you can see the only real modelling difference between the two (Yamato and Mushashi) in the Revell kits. There is extra AA mounted on the the rear (Y turret) and forward 18" (B turret) main batteries of the Yamato:

Extra AA seen here on the front B turret (see below):

Still plenty of film left in the camera so I kept clicking away. The "long" shot (see below), not what you want to see coming at you at 25 knots:

Impressive even going looking back opposite way at the beasts (see below):

The IJNS Yamato in profile (see below):

And again:

Back to the high level target for the B-17's again (see below) plus can you see the edge of the world (see bottom of the picture below):

Any excuse for a close up, even slightly fuzzy, of those 18" batteries (see below):

The last picture of the series, let's not forget there is the IJNS Mushashi too (see below). After all I did her first over a year ago now (and even pretended she was meant to be the Yamato, oh the indignity) so let me give her a moment in the sun.

Well I thought I would blast these pictures out in one big post and get it all over and done with. I have to say I enjoyed that. There is the small question of an outstanding IJN carrier to finish, but I sense the need to move on too.

Are the fellow "treadheads" missing the tanks? I've got some more pictures lined up of early war  stuff to come, though yo might be surprised at the scale of these chaps ;)

1/1200 IJNS Yamato gets some TLC ... highlighting

Three sisters (IJNS Yamato [bottom], IJNS Shinano [middle], IJNS Mushashi [top]):

The Yamato (right) gets some highlight work done (see below [right]), I decided to plane her aircraft white as per the Shinano 'air group'. The Mushashi's (see below [left]) planes are painted green, so at a glance I can tell the models apart!

Just playing around with the camera seeing them sideways from above. To highlight I added Tamiya Nuetral Grey XF-53 to the Games Workshop Adeptus BattleGrey, then added some Anita's Acrylics Cream White:

And then skewed at an angle (Yamato [top], Mushashi [bottom]):

It's a nice feeling now the battleships are done! I'll have to do the same to the Shinano now ;)

1/1200 IJNS Shinano continued ...

Did you know that the Shinano was a "pink lady" as her deck was a "sea shade of pink". As I quote from the model build on modelingmadness:

"...the flight deck of the Shinano was a very un-military shade of pink!  (The box art from the old Tamiya 1/700 scale model actually depicts this.)  According to Lynn Lucious Moore's “Shinano: The Jinx Carrier” (US Naval Institute Proceedings, February, 1953) the steel flight deck was covered with, “...a thin, shock-absorbent latex-sawdust...” composition.  The origin of the wood is unclear, but Japanese red cedar (sugi) or Japanese red pine (akamatsu), both common in Japan, would account for the pinkish color noted by observers.  The deck would have undoubtedly have been camouflaged before she entered service, but it had not yet been done when Shinano was sunk on her way to final fitting out.  The improbable color is well attested by several eyewitnesses, both former crewmen and civilian workers."

Pink, as I have been told by a former merchant seaman of many years, is also probably the most effective paint camouflage you can use at sea (true/false? please discuss). Whether it is as effective when painted all over your flight deck I know not. Note: My "pink" was Games Workshop Tanned Flesh, again chosen just to use it up. At least the Japanese seemed to have moved away from advertising their carriers with large "Rising Sun" roundels perfect for adjusting the US dive-bombers bomb run as per Midway. A plane in the hanger gets a little bit of painting attention (see below):

The plane is painted white, with a black engine cowling, grey windscreen/glass and then the tricky Japanese roundel (well it certainly is in 1/1200) applied in red and then its jagged curves are touched up and smoothed out by careful application of white.

Then the many pieces of the "layered back bit of her hull" are assembled and her flight deck is put on and the little carrier group (see below) is painted as per their comrade down in the hanger. The IJNS Yamato now appears for a bit of mutual moral support, after all it is 1944 and US planes are everywhere!

Looking quite cool but there is still quite a bit of painting still to be done.

The IJNS Yamato begs for some more paint (see above). Her turn has come ;)

IJN Shipyards: IJNS Yamato and IJNS Shinano (1/1200)

The recent eBay purchase of the Revell IJNS Shinano kit comes under the glue and black undercoat, the ever faithful Tamiya XF-1 Black (see below):

The only complication with the Shinano (in contrast to her sister hull on the Yamato) is, by virtue of her aircraft carrier conversion, her "rear" is stacked into many (three to be exact) layers that have to be painted then glued together thanks to their relative inaccessibility to a paint brush at a later stage. 

Top and bottom assembled on the Shinano (see above). All that is needed is a base coat of dark grey. I am using up a pot of Games Workshop's Foundation Adeptus BattleGrey at the moment (just to use it up). To be fair it has a nice thick coverage.

The IJNS Yamato being in the vicinity of the matt black starts getting a bit of an undercoat too! Steady progress, though not at breakneck speed ;)

IJN 1/1200 Yamato Kit

My triumvirate of Revell IJN 1/1200 kits is now complete (although I should add only one is "made", two are in the projects "stash/stock" for the winter nights). So I now have the IJNS Mushashi (made), the third ugly sister that was converted into an aircraft carriers 'desperation style' post the Midway 1942 disaster the IJNS Shinano (still in the box) and the most famous of the pack the IJNS Yamato courtesy of my latest eBay purchase.

Peeking inside the pack I see it's a nice little kit, differing only from the IJNS Mushashi in that it has turret options with additional AA mounts on them.

This begs the question, as I now have eighteen Revell 1/1200 warship kits, does this mean I have the complete (warship) range? Details to follow in a different post.     

Naval Dreams: IJNS Shinano in 1/1200

Well I never thought I would never bag this chap. Sometime in the late nineties I physically picked this kit up and put it back down in a model shop in London (Hannants to be exact). It goes without saying I ahave always regretted that moment and yes since that time I never, never saw it again, but by the wonder that is eBay it is now mine :) 

If you are interested I got it from the eBay store listed below, at time of writing there were still four left:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/180755561995?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

Also I found an interesting link to the origins of this 1/1200 figure range with some elusive "collector items" which were planned but never made (see link below)

http://www.shipmodels.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/casadio.htm

I am saving this one for a long winter night ;)

The Battle of the Java Sea: Hard Rain's Gonna' Fall in Houston Texas

Hell's chorus seemed to fill the air of the bridge of the USS Houston. The screech of shells overhead and the dull thud of successive detonation after detonation somewhere aft cut into the nerves of staff officers more used to tranquil peace-time service.

The Houston's speed was down to half of her maximum. It was still just enough, but no less or escape would become impossible. The zealous training of the damage-control parties brought the dangerous blaze aft under control and the ship righted herself into a false semblance of order, just as a drunk man smartens himself up before collapsing. The end came quickly hastened it must be said by a cruel premature detonation in Houston's "A" turret (incredibly another "666" roll in this bloom'in game at yet another crucial moment!). That put paid to Houston's main 8" batteries. The IJN 5" destroyer batteries tore into her hull causing another hull box to flood and the Houston was reduced to 3cm speed. Too slow, far too slow to escape.

The combination of the above enabled a IJN Long Lance attack of eight torpedoes to be delivered at close range at the now slow target (see above), resulting in (see below):

The demise of the valiant warrior, the USS Houston. There was to be no escape or reprieve for the Dutch Java either, she had one last offensive heave at her antagonists before the power to her guns failed as she received a final fifth hull box damage from those persistent Japanese destroyers. 

At the starboard-rear of the engagement the four WWI vintage American destroyers were worsted in a short range fire-fight with two more modern IJN counterparts. The USS Alden was left dead in the water with no guns left, the USS John Ford and USS Paul Jones were at half speed and half guns and had to break back south, leaving only the USS J D Edwards with enough speed to attempt to link up with HMAS Perth. The IJN destroyer IJNS Asashio bore down on her but in act of desperation the J D Edwards put six fish in the water:

One of which connected and broke the IJNS Asashio clean in two. The way was open to link up with the HMAS Perth bar for a IJN light cruiser, the IJNS Naka that stood in the way. The IJNS Naka was however intent on inducing the HMAS Perth to her doom with one last chance of a lucky long range hit to try and slow her down.

Next: Last Dice as Darkness Falls

The Java Sea: Breakout: HMAS Perth leads the way

The crew of the HMAS Perth were the first to detect the noticeable shift in the weight of enemy fire, from the battered van of the ABDA line of battle (HMAS Perth) to its rear (USS Houston and Dutch Java). With the two main IJN CA heavy units now sunk and crippled respectively,  the rapid firing 5" destroyers became ABDA's main antagonists.

HMAS Perth (bottom middle below) drew inexorably ahead of these now slowed and damaged Japanese destroyers but the USS Houston (middle right below) and trailing Dutch Java still had yet to pass through the "eye of the storm". Although large and heavily gunned (8") the USS Houston was comparatively lightly armoured (just a CL). Both IJN destroyer flotilla's were within "minimum range" and under "rapid fire" capability so their light frames were capable of punching far above their weight penetrating the CL armour. The Dutch Java (middle right below) had already experienced this pain and was now also contending with the IJNS Jintsu, a IJN light cruiser, closing on her rear. All ABDA cruisers had taken non-trivial damage but most importantly to date they had been able to maintain an effective "escape/breakthrough" speed.

The most dangerous and potent Japanese threat was determined as the three closing destroyers (see below) positioning themselves on the starboard side of the ABDA line to deliver a last-gasp torpedo attack for next turn. The sorry sight of the burning and dead-in-the-water HMS Exeter is seen just in camera (bottom right), behind the IJNS Naka positioning herself to enter the fray (top left) and a group of Japanese destroyers shielding-off the American WWI vintage destroyer flotilla (below, top middle-right). All three ABDA cruisers turned their turrets and delivered withering broadsides at minimum range.

The results of this deadly exchange were soon clear to see. The Dutch Java received a series of telling hull hits. The IJNS Jintsu had her range, her shooting was excellent and scored critical bulkhead damage in addition to a punishing hit below the waterline. Further IJN destroyer fire stopped the Java dead in the water, yet her armaments were still able to fire on furiously. The USS Houston received telling but not fatal hull and armament box hits and stubbornly pressed on maintaining just enough speed to out pace the damaged destroyers. A fierce fire (another destroyer generated critical hit) burned dangerously in her aft. Although no Japanese destroyers were sunk, all received telling fire taking their armaments and noticeably their speed away. Any IJN pursuit was now in the hands on the light cruiser IJNS Naka.    

The Java was not going to make it, the USS Houston stood perhaps a evens chance and the HMAS Perth barring a lucky hit from the IJNS Naka should get through. The WWI American destroyers had an outside chance of joining the Australian Perth if they could get in close enough to do some damage to the modern Japanese destroyers in their way.

The light was now noticeably fading and the end game had but a few moves left. The Captain of the HMAS Perth maintained a granite stare at the forlorn Dutch Java and battered USS Houston, there was nothing he could do but press on.