Building the
IJN Soryu

in 1/144 Scale
By Bill Waldorf
  Hello again fellow ship builders!! I am back with an update on the IJN Soryu project, scratchbuilt in 1/144 scale. It has been about 6 months since the start of construction on the ship and I can now say the hull is completed. In this new part I will show the progress on the port side of the ship. If you have following along on the build, I discussed the starboard side construction in Pt 4 of this article. Port side is the same procedure but a different layout. Let's move to the photo's.
Fwd. part of hull superstructure near the bow. Note that things are ready for final paintwork. Nav. light assy. stolen from Revell Corvette kit. Catwalk is HO RR Car roof walkway. Anything white is sheet or strip styrene.

Just about amidships here. Note the two large ventilators. Made from 1/4" sheet balsa. I then formed them to  correct shape and did the latex paint treatment to them. Grab rails are thin telephone wire. Note all the underdeck bracing. These are all individual pieces of strip styrene. Time consuming but worth the effort I think.
Click images
to enlarge
Just aft of the last photo, this shot shows the main series of ventilators. Note that these have a slight yellow tinge to them. I coated them with casting resin after forming and doing a thick coat of latex white paint, sanding smooth as possible between applications. The resin takes a little longer to dry in this application but the results are well worth the wait. Gets rid of all wood grain marks and when final sanded looks like solid plastic. The "caps" for the ventilators are strip styrene formed into rectangles and the grills are p/e brass mesh. Again note
bracing.
Here we have a good shot of pt. side 1/3 of the ship, Fwd. Note I have added anchor. 
Amidships looking aft. You can see the ventilator arrangement a little better here.
Fwd section of pt side again but at a different angle.
Amidships again showing the 1st two large vents or intakes.
Aft end of pt. side showing the 12.7 cm gun platforms. W/T doors are cast metal from HR Products. Inclined ladders from Plastruct Co.
Long view of port side looking fwd. Here you can see all 7 main ventilators.
Good shot of the bow area.
Full view of port side here.
Aft shot looking fwd. You can see port side in progress.
Straight on bow shot here. Note I have added anchors.
Here are two good shots of the stern.
Aft 12.7 CM gun position. 
About amidships 25 mm machine gun position. Note MG Control Tower. Made from styrene tube and strip. Guns are cast metal from HR Products and obtained through Loyalhanna Dockyard as are most of the fittings on the ship. These folks are good at getting things FAST!! I don't know how they do it!!! I was happy with their service.
Port side gun director. Fabricated from balsa, styrene and brass tube. There are two of these on the ship The other is on the Bridge assy. not yet built.
Here is the fwd. 25 mm MG mounts. Note railings. They are p/e Stainless Steel. Very nice product but a bit on the pricey side. You get what you pay for! I will buy these again as they are worth it.
Fwd. 12.7 cm gun mount. Note paravane. Cast metal fitting again.
Fwd. section of hull just beyond f'castle deck. Note portholes.
This next series of 4 photos is the camera starting fwd. and working aft. Note that things are painted now.
Port side 12.7 cm gun mount again from a different view. As I said before , I molded all these turrets according to Ron Horabins method.
Here you can see I have finally added bilge keels. A lot of work on two fins!!!
Good shot of the stern deck. Note I have added 20 mm MG's to the deck. There is conflicting info on these guns. One source says that Soryu had them and another source says NO!! These small machine guns were moveable and most IJN craft carried them. I chose to add a few .Note that nice railing again. Not tooting the horn here . I mean the quality of the product. My install isn't bad either, Thank You!!
Another shot of the bow area
Another shot of the fwd. 12.7 gun mount. Note other scratchbuilt details.
Epilog:   With the port side completed the hull is now finished. Stay tuned for pt. 6 which will be the flight deck. I am getting there!! Thanks to MW again. Even in times of personal tragedy, these guys keep things moving. I, for one, am proud as hell to contribute to this site, which will be # one soon if it isn't already. Fair winds and following seas. Bill W.

Any questions anyone has or if I can be of any assistance, please feel free to e-mail me at bjsww@earthlink.net.

Bill Waldorf
Lowell, Michigan, 49331
Editors note: I just learned that Bill's Soryu  has been accepted to the Patriots Point Museum in Mt. Pleasant S.C.  The Museum is home to the USS Yorktown along with a few others. The Museum is located inside the Yorktown. Congratulations Bill!
Back to Menu
On to part 6 coming soon


© ModelWarships.com