[Digital Navy] HIJMS Takao (1-250)

Heavy cruiser Takao 1:250 scale card model The subject of this model, the Japanese Imperial Navy heavy cruiser Takao, was built in 1932 as a first ship in a four ship class, her sisters being Maya, Atago and Chokai. They were the culmination of Japanese heavy cruiser design and incorporated many novel technologies and innovative design principles. Heavily armed and protected, they exceeded the Washington Treaty limitation for heavy cruiser displacement of 10000 tons by 4000 tons. Stylish hull lines and a large, complex command tower gave them a unique appearance, and they were beautiful ships indeed. The model was drawn in 1:250 scale and can be built as a full hull or waterline model.This instruction provides general guidelines on the assembly, which means that not all the parts are mentioned here, and it is assumed that the reader possesses some card model building experience. Sheets 1, 2 and 3 should be doubled to the thickness of 1mm. This thickness was taken under consideration during the design process and it may impair the fit of the parts if the thickness is different. Annotation L and R in the numbering of parts indicates the left and right side of the ship, looking from the rear part of the ship towards the front.

Assembly sequence 1. Fig 1 shows the upper part of the ship hull. Because the hull is long and narrow, extra care should be applied when assembling the bulkheads to avoid any warping of the hull. It is recommended that you attach parts 18a,b,c,d to a long, flat building board ( useing a small amount of glue or sticky tape) and remove it from the board only after completing asembly of the hull framework and attaching decks. In case of the full hull model, the lower part of the hull framework has to be assembled in the same way as the upper part. With the skeleton of the hull ready, it is time to cover the underwater part with parts 17-0 to 1-2. Use narrow pieces of thin paper (~10mm) to create assembly tabs around bulkheads. This should be glued strongly to the bulkheads, as the rest of the hull will be attached to those tabs. Leave parts 1-bL and 1-bR for now - glue them to the hull after the side of the ship will be covered. Fig. 2 shows the assembly of the propellers, propeller shafts and the rudder. 2. Before covering the upper part of the hull with plating parts 37 to 42, all parts which will be enclosed between the main deck and upper deck 27 have to be assembled and installed. Fig. 3 shows those parts torpedo tubes, deckhouses, hangar walls etc. After glueing all the parts listed above to the main deck glue upper deck 27 ( doubled to 1mm) to those parts, paying attention to the position of deck 27 - use marks on the main deck as a guide.

3. Hull plating - start from parts 37L and 37R by forming them to conform to the shape of the bulkheads. Before glueing them to the hull it is recommended that you install framing to the torpedo tube opennings - parts 47R, L and 48R, L. Small arrows close to the parts indicate the forward direction, see Fig. 4 for details. After glueing hull sides 37L and 37R you can proceed either in the bow direction - parts 38R , 38L, 39R, 39L or in the stern direction - parts 40R, 40L, 41R, 41L, 42. Special care has to be given to forming the bow parts - take your time and dry-fit the parts before glueing. 4.With the hull ready, it is time to start the most difficult part of the project - the command towerbridge. It is essential to follow the assembly sequence at this point as some of the parts are “ order of assembly “ sensitive. The first part of the tower to be formed is part 54. This part also closes the front gap between the main deck and upper deck. Use Fig. 4 as a guide. Double parts 55 and 56 to 1mm and glue them to the top of part 54. Fig 4. also shows part 43L which has to be attached to the hull sides. Take special care to maintain the horizontal position of parts 55 and 54 as this will affect the rest of the tower assembly. The next parts to be mounted are 57R and 57L. Form them according to Fig. 5 and glue to the top of parts 55 and 56. At this point, it is useful to cut out part 68 - the rear wall of the tower bridge, and use it to check overall fit of the parts already assembled. But don’t install it yet. Now, you have to install decks 58, 60 and 62. They have to be installed in this order and kept horizontal. To determine the position of deck 58 use part 68 as a guide. Part 58 position is equal to the lower edge of 8 elongated, black portholes in part 68. Then comes deck 60 - this one goes at the top of the “wings” of part 57. Finally- deck 62 as a closer of the space between parts 57R and 57l position it so the front edge of parts 57 meets the end of the parallel portion of part 62. Fig. 6 shows positions of the decks relative to one another.With all the decks of the tower bridge installed, you can close the rear wall of the tower with part 68. I recommend that you cut out the opening for the funnel at this point.

Fig. 7 shows the position of some small decks - 61, 71, 74 and 75. Install support 73 as shown in Fig. 7. As you proceed with the construction, frequently check if all the decks are horizontal and centered in respect to the ship axis. Just take the model in your hand and take a look from dead ahead - you will be able to see any mistakes in positioning of the tower decks.

Fig. 8 and 9 show the assembly of small “add-ons “ to the tower, which are support platforms for the armored look-out positions. As shown in the diagrams, I recommend assembling the above parts and glueing them to deck 81 before glueing deck 81 to the tower. Also, supports 65 and 64 should be assembled now check frequently if deck 81, with all the details attached to it, fits easily on top of part 62. When everything seems to be ok, glue deck 63 to the rest of the tower. Congratulations - you have passed through the most difficult part of the project. 5. It is time to move on to the upper parts of the tower - this one being less geometrically complex. First - create the upper “core” of the tower from parts 78 and 79 and glue it to platform 63 and 62. Then, double platform 81 to 1mm and glue it atop parts 78 and 79. Pay attention to center part 81 above part 63 - the front ends of those parts should be directly above each other. The next step is to form and install the “greenhouse” area of the tower part 80. The windows there are printed blue but it enhaces the look of the tower if you cut them out. The white circle on the grating on part 63 indicates the position of the compass - make it from the tip of a toothpick and paint gray. Form part 80 according to Fig. 11 and slide it on the tower bridge. You can install parts 82R and 82L at this point along with the supports of platform 81 made from 1mm wire. See Fig.11 for the details.

Now you have to assemble parts 83 as an extension of the tower “core”. Form and glue part 83b as a transition between the lower and upper part of the “core”. Form and assemble part 86 and 88 and glue them “simultaneously” to parts 80 and 81 - part 88 should conform to both parts 80 and 86. Form and glue blast shields 85 around platform 84. Then, form and glue top part of the “greenhouse” - part 89 - to the bridge according to Fig. 11. Now, following Fig. 12, you can add small details to the bridge - armored look-out pisitions (168), rangefinders (169, 173 and 170) and control centers (171, 175 and 174). Note that the bridge is not 100 % symmetrical - small platform 76 is on the right side of the ship only. Fig. 13 shows this side of the tower. This completes

the assembly of the tower bridge. You can make antenna insulators from 0.6mm thick, 5mm long wire- bend it in half at a 90 degree angle and insert it on the front wall. White spots on the front wall of the tower indicate the location of the antennas. 6. The funnels. Because of its complex shape, the front funnel was divided into five parts which are stacked onto one another. Form each part into a shape more or less resembling the shape of the corresponding formers. Double formers 92a,b, 91a, 93a,b to the thickness of 1mm and insert them into the corresponding segments of the funnel. This will ensure that the segments have the correct shape, and provide a surface to glue the segments together. Fig. 14 shows the construction of the funnels and the details related to them.

Part 105 - front mast support - is positioned between the two “legs” of the front funnels. It is recommended that you glue the front portion of the front funnel - part 90 - to the deck first, and than proceed with parts 91, 92, 93. One of the characteristic features of the Takao was the layout of the steam pipes on both sides of the front funnel. In fact, this was one of the few details setting apart ships of the class when they were completed. The pipes should be made from 1.5mm wire and painted according to the colors on the funnel ( including white band ). Fig. 15 shows the configuration of the pipes for both sides of the funnel.

7. Details of the upper deck. Fig. 16 shows part arrangment for the upper deck - everything which goes between the tower bridge and the hangar superstructure. Some parts, like 130 and 130a, are shown only on one side of the ship but they go on both sides - this was done to keep the drawing clear. Not shown on Fig. 16 are parts 28 - external walls of the hangar - although at this stage of the construction it is already installed.

8. Hangar. External and internal walls of the hangar were installed in step 2, and now, with all the parts on the upper deck in place, you can close the hangar with its deck - part 34 doubled to 1mm. According to Fig. 17 install the hangar superstructure - parts 108 through 111 - and all the details of the hangar. To keep the drawing clear all fire control positions are omitted. Install them according to the numbers printed in places where small detail parts should be installed.The small hole in part 109 has to be cut to accommodate the mine leg of the mast.

9. Fig 18 shows the configuration of the parts for the small superstructure behind main gun turret # X. 10. Main gun turrets. Fig 19 shows the construction of the main gun turrets. Glue parts 131 and 132 together to create the turret floor. Form part 133 and glue in the indicated position to part 131. Part 133s role is to keep the gun barrels and their mount - part 134 - close to the front wall of the turret. Roll parts 135 to create the gun barrels. The entire sheet #17 should be printed on thin paper. This will make rolling tight cylinders, like gun barrels and masts, easy. Cut two holes in part 134 - big enough to accommodate gun barrels - and roll and glue part 134 into a cylinder and insert the burrels into the holes. Pay special attention to keep the barrels parralel and at the same angle. Now form turret armour - 137 or 136- and cut out gun ports in the front plate. Place barrels glued to cylinder 134 in front of part 133 and slide on and glue armour 137 or 136 to the turret floor trapping part 134 and the barrels inside the turret. Barrels should elevate easily but still keep their elevation when not touched. Form cylinders 145 reinforced with part 145a and glue them to parts 132. This connection should be strong, as part 145 creates a “root “ of the turret which will rotate with the turet and keep it in place. Form and glue turret barbetes according to Fig. 19 and glue them to the main deck - again, this connection should be strong, so use super glue to accomplish this. The third and last turrets counting from the bow don’t have rangefinders 146.

11. Assemble anti-aircraft guns according to Fig. 20 and place them on the upper deck behind shields 124 and 125. Make gun barrels from 1mm thick, 15mm long wire and paint gray. If you position the guns perpendicular to the ship sides you can discard part 123b as it will be invisible in this position. 12. Fig. 21 shows main mast construction. Prepare mast legs - parts 112 and 113 - by rolling them tightly and glueing into cylinders. Insert vertical leg 112 into the hole in part 109 and apply some glue to the connection, making sure that the leg is vertical in all directions. Let the glue dry, and then assemble platforms 114 and 115, glue corresponding supports (114a,b,c 115a) to them and glue the ready platforms to the main leg, again making sure they are horizontal. Now attach supporting legs 113, and on top of those glue platform 118 and its supports. Platform 119 goes on top of the main leg - Fig. 22 shows the support layout for all the platforms.

13. Assemble ship floatplanes according to Fig. 22 Place airplanes on the catapults so the fuselage of the plane is parallel to the catapult and horizontal. Assembling the wings and the center float to the wire struts may seem difficult, but you may make it easier by punching small holes in the wings, fuselage and the float in places were struts should be attached and useing superglue as an adhesive. 14. Fig. 24 shows the arrangement of the small parts on the bow of the ship. Adding a fine chain leading from the cabestan to the anchor openings in the deck will greatly enhance the appearance of this area.

Similarly, Fig 26 shows equipment which goes between the front main gun turret and the tower bridge. Note part 204 paravane. Only one was drawn to keep the drawing clear another one goes symmetrically on the right side. Fig. 26 also shows boat davits ( above front torpedo launcher openning) and small davits for the booms and gangways. Fig. 25 shows the arrangement of the parts on the stern of the ship.

15. Ship boats.

Assemble ship boats according to Fig.27 and 28.The two biggest boats should be placed on the roof of the hangar superstructure and the motor boat on the quarterdeck off the left side of the hangar wall. Four small boats should be placed as follows: two boats on upper deck on both sides of the tower bridge, one opposite the motor boat, and one on the upper deck between the searchlight tower (122) and the deckhouse 101.

16. Front mast. The front mast should be built from 0.5mm wire according to Fig. 29. The easiest way to replicate the intricate crossbars is to run the thread around the four wire legs in a pattern shown in the drawing. Useing small drops of super-glue attach the thread to the legs and then paint the whole mast gray. The finished model should be sprayed with clear lacquer to protect the ink from UV rays.

Roman Detyna, DIGITAL NAVY 1999