Since finishing the Attacker/Bogue class aircraft carrier I wanted something similar for the Japanese. Maybe because I was around Vietnam models lately the interest of making a Japanese aircraft carrier finally rose. Again the problem of these things is size as they would be several times bigger than this in 1/72nd scale. I chose the Ryujo for being one of the smallest of the 18 different aircraft carriers Japan had in WW2. Smaller then the Ryujo only the Hosho, but this one was kept as a trainer and survived the war with minor damage only to be scraped in 1946.The Ryujo on the other hand was sunk in the battle of Eastern Solomons on the 24th of August 1942.
The Ryujo was called the "illegal aircraft carrier" as it was built small and light in order to exploit a loophole in the washington Naval Treaty of 1922. This caused problems as it became top-heavy and its ship-like format at the lower deck made tons of water to enter which caused electrical and engine problems. Like this Ryujo suffered several modifications on 1936-37 and 1939-40.
Making a reasonable card bow on a model ship is always complicated but finally this one came out. The round windows were made with a paper punch on thin card paper. Some necklace thread was used for the anchor. The commander´s cabin became a bit small as I placed the radars a bit above were they should be covering what should have been a larger window area.
The 23mm dual guns were made from Atlantic HO guns older than me. The crew is also Atlantic and a quick paint job on these Italian modern figures makes the part.
The funnels were made from electrical PVC tubing with a plastic grid
The "Airfix" stern had some Airfix dinghies, Airfix WW1 tank wheel parts and an older paint mixer. It was kept simple as its a very complicated area of Ryujo to be made accurately.
In the end this model is 85cm long when it should be 2,5 meters long in 1/72nd scale. Obviously you have to compromise between a reduced model and being kicked out of the house. So these kind of smaller aircraft carriers (and then heavily reduced in RF! style) are the maximum that can be done in wargaming terms. Only the more fortunate of us with endless space can aspire to make Akagi, Shinano or USS Enterprise with around 4 meters each!
As a proof of the shrinkage effect - if its necessary - the guns on models are 12 tubes while the original one had 24.
This is the true Ryujo, something that dwarfs my model.
I started with a simple layout of the model to calculate the relative position of the gun's bays and other larger details, the landing deck, height and overall design.
The base and upper upper deck were cut from platex and the two bottom halves were cut from 3 millimeter cardboard.
The middle deck was placed with the help of two vertical reinforcing squares of cardboard.
Beams of wood were used for securing the upper deck.
The life boats were made from pieces of carved blueboard.
The 127mm guns had the side and support structures made from blueboard. There is one of these guns per box so eight boxes of the heavy artillery set of Atlantic had to be opened and coupled.
The small radars (in red) were made from whiteboard markers.
If done today I would have extended the bow some three more centimeters and the upper deck would get two more centimeters in width.
Also the lower deck should have had some two centimeters less in height. Even so it became a reasonable model for wargaming. Even if, obviously, will never wargame as intended in the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 :)
Next: The Japanese aircraft in video
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