by David Flynn
1/600 Shokaku (Aurora Kitbash)
I started this in 2005 and finished a few weeks ago. The idea was to make a quick and dirty 1/600 Shokaku. I mulled over what hull to start with - from scratch, 1/500 Soryu, etc. I settled on an Aurora Yamato that I had and I used a Tamiya 1/700 scale Shokaku as a guide for dimensions. I shortened the hull by about 1/2 inch, narrowed it by cutting out arcs away from the centerline, and I modified the bow. Then I used some scribed sheet plastic to make the flight deck. I used plain sheet plastic to make the hull sides, and hangar deck above the battleship hull. Mating the two assemblies was a challenge. Then the model sat for a few years, but in the Summer of 2010 I resumed work on it. The island is cut down from a damaged Aurora Enterprise I bought on Ebay. Other Aurora Yamato parts include the whale boats on the sides, gun director on the island, and the funnels. They were made from the half inch of hull that I earlier cut to shorten the model. The 5-inch and 25mm guns are from a Lee Yamato. The flight deck markings are painted, not decals, except for the thin lines near the bow.
Overall, I am satisfied with the result. Surely, I could do a better job if I built another, but no. I had few resources regarding the prototype when I started construction. After a few years I came across better resources, especially photos of the new Fujimi 1/350 Shokaku. The modified Yamato hull seems to be fairly close, however the cross section isn't quite right.
For comparison, I included a few photos showing the Shokaku next to other 1/600 scale aircraft carriers. I was surprised that Shokaku did not look bulkier than the Enterprise. It seems to measure correctly. Part of this may be an optical illusion; the wide metal strip around the wood flight may make the Shokaku look narrower than it really is.
