Tamiya 1/700 waterline
After messing around with the HMS Eagle kit and realizing it was not salvageable (I acquired it as a started model) I decided to focus on a fresh build. Shinano has always fascinated me after reading her short history back in the days of paper books and libraries. For years I wasn’t aware a kit existed so when I found the Tamiya kit for a decent price I jumped on it. Now that it’s two decades later I’ve decided it will be my latest attempt at finishing a model.
I began this model back in April 2026. Assembly was easy (hey, it’s Tamiya) and within a week the basic construction was done. Specifically the hull and waterline base were cemented and a tiny amount of Tamiya white putty was used on the seams and easily cleaned up. I decided to build as much as possible before painting and ultimately ended up with 3 subassemblies. Island, flight deck and hull.
My initial plan was to paint the guns that metal color the instruction call out but quickly realized that my personal history on warships reminded me that barrels and most of the gun is usually painted the same shade as the surrounding skin of the ship. The bits that would not be the ship color would likely be too small to pick out. So, I quickly shot the hull a light gray-green mix (not unlike the RAF Interior Green, but a bit darker) the instructions recommended. The island received the same overall light gray-green. The flight deck underside was painted this shade but the upper surfaces were painted a combination of RLM 74 and RAF Ocean Grey.
My next step was to paint the darker green color applied to the sides. After attempting to mask it I chose to use an old school hairy stick. With a bit of patience the outcome was acceptable. I plan to weather the ship just a little so I expect any flaws in the paint will be blended into the overall scheme.
While working on the model I spent a lot of time considering how I want to display it.
Thanks for looking.
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