by Dan Kaplan
1/700 IJN Shokaku, Oct '42 (Tamiya)
This model has an interesting background. The flight deck and island were built as prototypes back in early 2003 for my Zuikaku model (pictures of which have yet to be submitted because I still need one decent weekend to finish photography). It was here that I first attempted number of new ideas and techniques, including scratch built rain gutters, the umber wash for the deck, even the cutout for #2 elevator. The island was used to experiment with very small details. The hull was also used as a test bed for removing the molded-on sponson supports that were replaced with styrene rod. The entire ship was completed in late 2004, after the Zuikaku model was completed. Other details were added or improved as time went by.
I’m generally satisfied with how it turned out, though some unsatisfactory details remain. The wash went on a bit thick for my taste, the arrestor wires ended up a bit too obvious, and I never was able to replace the molded-in bridge windows with PE because I used a little too much CA glue to hold the pieces together while doing other detail work on the bridge. I just couldn’t separate the bridge levels without destroying them.
Shokaku is depicted as of October, 1942 at the Battle of Santa Cruz.
