by Gone Asiatic
1/700 IJN Torpedo Boat Yamabiko (104 Kou Saku Bu)
This is a Japanese made "garage kit" very difficult to find. Indeed, the hobby shop in which I found it, the Lucky Bayfort in Yokohama, was the first time I have seen kits from this small cottage industry company. Detail is actually pretty good for such a small kit from a small company. The stacks are hollowed out at the top; there are port holes as well.
The kit requires parts from the Sealsmodels pre-WWI IJN/RN equipment set to be complete. The parts included are the hull, stacks, forward gun platform, and bridge. All other parts must be scratchbuild or come from the Sealsmodels set. The instructions, which are entirely in hand written Japanese, identify what parts, not included in the kit, you`ll need to complete the kit.
Rails, ladders and doors are from a variety of PE sets I have on hand (GMM, Toms). The searchlight platform is the top part of a Oliver Hazard Perry class fore mast. I filed off the resin "box" from the hull and replaced it with this improvised PE part. The searchlight is from the Sealsmodels set, as are the boats, torpedo tubes and guns.
