Thanks Nem,

The mast is not a total scratch build as all the mast poles come with the Pontos PE set, it is a PITA to put together though and has really tested my patience

Hi Dave,
Your work on this build is a true testament to your skill. Just outstanding.

Thanks Alan, they have certainly tested my patience

Hi Weeman

Firstly Welcome to the forum and thanks for taking the time to check out my build.

I was very much in the same boat (pun in intended ) as you when I started this build, the only difference I was I had a little experience of buildiing a couple of models when I was a kid.

I would say as long as you have the patience then go for it, the kit itself it a fantastic kit and the parts really do go together really well, the Photo Etch (PE) that comes with the kit is enough to get a rally good finish.

I have gone the extra mile with mine and purchased a couple of additional PE kits to super detail my build, this was also the first time for me using PE. I wouldnt say PE was the easiest of things to do but as long as you are patient and take your time, cant emphasise take your time enough, then it really isnt too bad.

I used spray cans to paint the red part of the hull and dont think there would be any issues with painting the rest this way too, just read lots of tutorials about using spray paints and make sure you practice on something else, I purchased a £5 model just to practice one. Also youtube too great videos on spraying techniques.

A good site I found when starting out was Scale Model Guide, have a read through the various categories there to learn all the basics.

I would say this kit is suitable to a beginner as long as you take your time! buy that £5 model and use it to practive glueing parts together and painting.

I hope this has helped with your decision and would love to hear what you decide. If you have anymore questions then please feel free to ask and I will help as much as I can

Hi Weeman,

I would say the additional PE is worth it, especially the degaussing cable, railings, ladders and metal barrels. I didnt end up using the extra boats 78026 but it is a nice kit.

I am not sure how much all the Tamiya extras are but if you can find an MK1 35024 Super Detail Up DX Pack for Tamiya Yamato I can highly recommend it, you will have everything you need and more in it. Personally I think the railings would be a lot easier in this kit as they are ready to stick on, the Tamiya 12642 railings require you to drill, if I remember correctly about 900 tiny holes, you then glue the stancheons in followed by threadng the copper wire through. I wasnt brave enough to attempt that myself

I am not sure what you mean by the special things I put on for colouring. I did use the list of paint colours in the instructions. I then used newspaper and masking tape to mask off different areas when I was spraying, for example after I had sprayed the hull read I covered that in newspaper and masking tape so that I didnt get any grey paint on it, is that what you are referring to.

I have also been building this since April, so thats 8 months so far, I also was not in a rush

Hi Weeman

Sorry for the delay, those are just wooden sticks (cocktail sticks) holding the parts and the hull, they work really well.

You are right about the things you will need, although a magnifiying glass is not essential if you have good eyesight and a good light. Also you will need plastic glue and some super glue, I like using Loctite Power Flex on my build. Lots of spare blades for your knife as the PE will make them blunt very quickly. Also a couple of pairs of decent tweezers would be a minimum too.

Incredible work Dave really showing your skills off.

Thanksg guys, the patience really is being stretched with this mast, however this is the last complicated part to assemble with this build, after this its plain sailing

Nicely done Dave

Thanks for the nice comments Andy & Steve