by Jose Soca
1/350 IJN Myoko (Aoshima)
At the time of their introduction in the late 1920's the cruisers of the Myoko class, Myoko, Nachi, Haguro and Ashigara were considered to be among the most powerful warships in the world and there is no doubt they weren't, but what was the real secret behind this. At over 10,000 tons these vessels were in violation of the tonnage agreement according to the Washington treaty. Nevertheless, the Japanese navy ended up with a formidable gun cruiser. In WW2 all 4 cruisers saw action throughout the whole Pacific theater, and even though they were refitted to keep up with changes and still could manage to go up against any enemy warship the class was no longer among top heavy combatants. Still all 4 ships fulfilled their duties at best. 3 out of 4 cruisers were lost, only the Myoko leader of her class was left afloat in a much chaotic shape. The end of the class came after the war when her only survivor was scuttled in Malacca Straits, Malaya in 1946.
I personally think this kit was much better conceived in a few aspects than Aoshima's predecessor of the Ironclad line of cruisers, that is the Takao class. I especially like how well refined the AA weapons look compare to the crude weapons of the Takao kit, also there are no molded cable reels or vents on deck this time which is something I hated on my Maya kit. I saw a lot of new improvements when it comes to the overall details of the kit, spotter planes are nicely molded , a nice set of decals was provided this time, anchor's chain and even sprues containing binoculars, things my Maya kit had missing at least at the time this kit debuted. There is a lot to be desired from the boats though, however these can always be replaced. I'll like to mention too that I'm happy with the way Aoshima designed this kit and I believe this is found in all 4 sisters. Aoshima gives you the option of an early war cruiser or a late war cruiser, 2 in 1 what's not to like.. it was a great idea.
There were no photoetch sets for this kit at the time I started working on it, as far as I know up to this date there are no super P.E sets exclusively done for any of the sisters, only GENERIC P.E sets which are not half bad but are not enough if you really want to improve the level of detail to a higher level. I used a little bit of everything I had. P.E parts from WEM, GMM, Flyhawk, L'Arsenal and even Veterans. I spent around 4 bottles of Tamiya's Kure gray, the most paint I used was Kure. Deck was painted with Tamiya's linoleum and lower hull with red hull color from Tamiya as well. The few figurines I used are from L'Arsenal I like these better than the ones from Fujimi. I tried to use Jim's technique using a mechanical pencil. It does give the sailors a better 3D look. As for the rigging I finished it using stretched sprue this time I used black sprue from the kit's plastic finials. From the time I started it to the time I finished Myoko it's been about 9 months, is that how long it took me to finish it? Of course not I spent an average of 20 hours monthly I spent well over 100 hours on this model. I had a good time building her up also to mention it was money well spent. For less than $300 I had tons of fun and relaxation. For last I want to thank all those guys who lend me a hand when I was stuck on the superstructure, Thanks Gernot, Peppe, Dan, thank you Chuck for that useful information on the Sokutekiban at the end I didn't add it though and thanks to all those who followed my buildup all the time.
