IJN aircraft carrier Zuikaku

IJN ZUIKAKU c1942

 

Salutations one & all!

 

After a long hiatus, my fascination for IJN warships continues with this model of the aircraft carrier Zuikaku.

 

The model has taken me more than a year to complete, and is also my first carrier build. As I did not have plans for the model, I built the island first and took used it as a reference for scale for the rest of the model. Needless to say, there was a lot of tweaking as construction progressed. Most of the model was reworked several times over. Even now that the model completed, I would have liked to rebuild one or two more sections, but I have since learnt to let go. Best not to overwork anything.

 

Reference material came mostly from photos, line drawings, scale model instructions, and whatever information I could come upon. Here I have to give credit to the Gakken series of pictorial books from Japan, notably the book, ‘THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER ZUIKAKU 1/100 SUPER SCALE MODEL’. This book, along with one or two others, were my go to for inspiration and detailing.

 

Ok, from stem to stern the model measures 184cm (230 studs), with the widest flight deck beam of 21cm (27 studs). That would make the model to a scale of 1:139.

 

Zuikaku (Auspicious Crane in Japanese) is modelled as she would have appeared towards the end of 1942, with additional platforms over her bow and stern to accommodate additional anti aircraft armament.

 

And finally, I've also modelled some of her Type97 Nakajima ‘Kate’ torpedo bombers.

 

Well, thanks for stopping by. I hope I did justice to the ship.

 

Cheers!

 

Regards,

mark

Done