1/700 JS Hyuga DDH-141 (Pit-Road)
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by Mario (Moe) Mares |
1/700 JS Hyuga DDH-141 (Pit-Road)
This is PitRoad (J37) 1/700 JS Hyuga (DDH-141). This class ship (of which there are two [2] in their class) is a big leap from the earlier classes of DDH of JMSDF as this is a complete full flight deck (FD) to land various helicopters of JMSDF and JGSDF. At a displacement of 19,000 t JS Hyuga has dimensions of 646 ft x 108 ft with a speed of +30 knots, she is at Least 2.5 times the size of the Shirane-class and Haruna-class that was decommissioned prior to, and being replaced by the Hyuga-class. JS Hyuga was commissioned in 2009 and participated in the Tohoku EQ in 2011 involving the tsunami that killed thousands. She has also participated in various exercises involving anti-submarine exercises with the USN. In 2013, she participated with Marine MV-22 Osprey of squadron VMM-161, a tilt-rotor squadron (which is the time period represented in this model). In 2017 JS Hyuga along with JS Ashigara and CarStrGrp1 moved off Korean peninsula in response to North Korea ‘saber-rattling’.And most of us know, that the Hyuga-class is NOT an A/C carrier, even though it has a full-hull FD. The possibility of holding F-35 is possible, under the Japanese Defense Budget of 2004, but with a FD of almost 650’ and a F-35B in the VSTOL config. can take off in 550’! { Hence a bigger ship (?)….we’ll see }
The PitRoad kit was very easy to assemble, fit was good with some putty-filling (if you preferred) on the FD….I used Vallejo Plastic Putty that Can be thinned with water. I used the ‘Artist Hobby ‘Ibuki’ PE’, because that PE has Many vents that would be around the upper hull of the ship and island. I detailed the mast even more so, using many photo references, using some GMM railings, ladders, and doors. I did purchased the ‘Aoshima PE for Hyuga’ but the railings on this set has the post-attachment to the deck type instead of the more often used bottom “railing” to attach to the deck. I purchased a set of Trumpter MV-22 AC as well as Flyhawk MV-22 PE upgrade set for the rotors. Paints used were the Tamiya hull and FD (TS-32 and TS-48 respectfully)….NOTE: I did pull some paint when doing the FD elevator, used Model Master acrylic Engine Gray as a near-Perfect Match! ( just in case you airbrush ).
As an added feature, I have seen several aircraft carriers (A/C) with a hanger deck, planes inside the hanger, Lights…. so with this 1/700 scale I almost did the same. I purchased a few components from Evan Designs LED and connections to light-up a portion of the hanger bay and some of the elevator bay. Though I do no represent this company and promote its site….I find using their items for sale makes installing lights EXTREMLY Easy! I also purchased some ‘lamp replacement parts’ that allows the threading of electrical components through base, up mount, and through model. I must Admit….this is my FIRST TIME building a model using electrical equipment in Any genre (at least for me), but will Not be the last time.
I also used a “special” UV-paint from United Nuclear, which makes different color ‘paints’ utilizing Europium, a material that needs a GOOD Stirring, to get xstals mixed in its medium. This ‘paint’ keeps its glow for a Much longer time than the other glow-in-the-dark paint.
Being a Navy Veteran, I like the ‘Darken Ship’ arrangement of lights for the hanger/elevator bay. Although it was a small hanger deck, I could not show AC….maybe on the next ship………
