IJN Battleship Mikasa 三笠 1905, Hasegawa 1/700
Let me post another IJN ship, but it is much older than previous one. This is IJN battleship Mikasa, the flagship of Russo-Japanese war (1904-1905). She was designed and built by Vickers shipyard in the UK; therefore, it was technically a British ship. I believe she has an elegance inherited from royal navy ships. Hasegawa's relatively recent kit and its PE set gave me a good chance to recreate this battleship in 1/700. I do hope Hasegawa keep producing other ship models.
Wow, that is a beautiful build of the Mikasa, Naoki @yamanaka
Lots of details and excellent weathering.
Must have taken quite some time to get all that rigging done.
Impressive. The rigging is what really makes the model (also why my ship models don't look anywhere near as nice.)
Amazing result, Naoki!
Beautiful!
Great work, Naoki! I’ve been tempted to get that kit myself.
Superb bit of modeling. @yamanaka
Another excellent model and I really like the figures. They add a significant extra element to the model.
Christopher, thank you for your comments. I tried to add some kind of stories by using these tiny figures. To put figures in 1/700 is still a challenge. It is simply too small, 2.5 mm, and they make the model look a toy. If we have a better product with reasonable price, I would like to use them more often.
Wow, your ship builds are outstanding! I really like the realism you bring across in them. Great work as usual Naoki.
Beautiful work, Naoki. A great result and very realistic.
I once visited Mikasa, which (for everyone else) sits in concrete - forever "at sea" - in a former drydock at the Yokosuka Naval Base. I was visiting the ship with my "astral twin" a Japanese woman born the same day and time and year as I was. The visit was "interesting" (as in: "may you live in interesting times") since I was there wearing the uniform of the navy that ultimately defeated that navy, and was the only American present in a fairly large crowd of Japanese tourists. Inside the central casemate, there were (probably still are) glass cases with fairly large scale models of IJN warships. I had the good sense to keep my mouth shut as I looked at them and thought to myself, "Sunk at Guadalcanal," "sunk at Leyte Gulf," etc. (This led to an interesting conversation with my friend, during which I explained the actual history of the Pacific War to her, something the Japanese government still refuses to teach in the public schools.)
The ship is very impressive and well-maintained then and I am sure it still is now. You have definitely "caught it" with this excellent model.
Tom, thank you for your comments! The memorial ship Mikasa is surely still there. I also visited the ship before start modelling. Although it is a sad situation to see such a concrete fixed ship, because Mikasa is the only Japanese warship we can see now, it is surely worth visiting to learn many things from the ship (and models in glass cases), even though many super structures and equipment are just replicas added later time. Thank you.
Thak you all such encouraging comments!
Yet another marvelous ship model from you, Naoki, I especially like the colour of the sea in this one.
Stupendous work! 🤩 Naoki, @yamanaka, you've produced another great ship model, and it's certainly an iconic Japanese vessel. So well done, sir! 👏
🙂 ... Greetings ... 🙂 :
Respectable work and skill in this model Naoki.
I have always admired the skill and dedication of ship modelers Naoki, @yamanka. I learned a lot from your comentary and the remarks from others. I really like the look of this ship and the way you painted it and presented it. It is a beautiful build.
Thank you all for such encouraging comments. Maybe ship modelers love to recreate a kind of beauty coming from the complexity of the ships. For example, although it is a bit difficult to notice, I painted the wood deck piece by piece in slightly different light brownish colors. It is maybe called "bizarre obsession", isn't it? (laugh)