This is how far I have gotten before the brain said WAIT! Next cut out the rear deck and add plastic stock in hopes of a correct shape. The Turret is from an old resin after market item that I purchased a couple years ago.



Robert

I got started on my figures (USMC and Japanese SNLF) and hit a snag (contractor problems) with the remodeling project my wife and I are doing, finally got it sorted out so now I'm hoping that I can get back to building once again.

If this is the Tamiya M3 Stuart kit and you are going to put on AFV Club tracks (especially the individual link set), you have to thin down the return roller mounts or the tracks won't sit on them properly (teeth will ride up on the roller mount). If you are using the Academy M3 then you are ok. Also on the AFV Club indy track set, there looks to be a slight depression in the center of the track blocks.

Start of a new year and the second month of Campaign in the Pacific.

I see a couple of people have started, hopefully your having better luck then I've had.
My readjustment of the stacks didn't turn out real well, I think I'll hold off the photos untill I see if it turns out correctly or not. I may have to trash this one and buy another.

Thanks for the updates and remember to remind Calvin in your posts for status changes.

If that series Tim mentions turns out half as good as Band of Brothers it will be worth watching.

Thanks again guys and looking forward to more updates,
Bob


January in the PTO
January 2, 1942 - Manila and U.S. Naval base at Cavite captured by the Japanese.
January 2, 1943 - Allies take Buna in New Guinea
January 3, 1945 - Gen. MacArthur is placed in command of all U.S. ground forces and Adm. Nimitz in command of all naval forces in preparation for planned assaults against Iwo Jima, Okinawa and Japan itself.
January 4, 1945 - British occupy Akyab in Burma.
January 7, 1942 - Japanese attack Bataan in the Philippines.
January 9, 1944 - British and Indian troops recapture Maungdaw in Burma.
January 9, 1945 - U.S. Sixth Army invades Lingayen Gulf on Luzon in the Philippines.
January 11, 1942 - Japanese invade Dutch East Indies and Dutch Borneo.
January 16, 1942 - Japanese begin an advance into Burma.
January 18, 1942 - German-Japanese-Italian military agreement signed in Berlin.
January 19, 1942 - Japanese take North Borneo.
January 22, 1943 - Allies defeat Japanese at Sanananda on New Guinea.
January 23, 1942 - Japanese take Rabaul on New Britain in the Solomon Islands and also invade Bougainville, the largest island.
January 27, 1942 - First Japanese warship sunk by a U.S. submarine.
January 28, 1945 - The Burma road is reopened.
January 30/31 1941- The British withdraw into Singapore. The siege of Singapore then begins.
January 31, 1944 - U.S. Troops invade Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands.
For a more detailed listing go to;
1942
1943
1944
1945

Hi Gary,
Welcome aboard and to anyone else I missed welcome.
I saw your post and noticed you found your way to the enlistment button. The enlistees are listed by alphabetical order so unless I compare them to a separate in progress list I don't notice when someone new enlists.
The scales are basically whatever you want to make something in. Exceptions are for figures which I noted on the cover page. Love to see some 1/1 work but might be a little costly for most of us.

For everyone, any questions please ask away, here or send me a message.

Again Welcome Aboard,
Bob

Hi Everyone,

I am jumping in with my first progress shot and update. First, in the spirit of the campaign and since I love history as well, let me state my idea and my sources.

I'd love to do something with armor- perhaps Guadalcanal but since I purchased Hasegawa's 1/350 IJN Yukikaze for this I am going to have to start with this. Also, I have been working on the USS Buchanan for several months prior to the campaign and actually am not anywhere near being close to done- so I am going to have to have two ships on my dock here for a bit.

In my research, I actually found that both of these ships had action in the Solomons.

My main reference is The Solomons Campaigns 1942-1943 From Guadalcanal to Bougainville PACIFIC WAR TURNING POINT. William L McGee (Part 1 by Samuel Eliot Morison) BMC publications. 2002.

I had a couple others but I think I returned them to the library. Anywise, from reading this book I found that the Yukikazi, which was an IJN destroyer- in fact the only Kagero-class destroyer to make it to the end of the war.

My idea was to do a waterline diorama showing the Yukikaze performing a rescue mission on the downed Chokai (from the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, November 12-14, 1942)- although the exact reference is somehow eluding me. Evidently, this vessel was used to rescue the troops and sailors of this IJN Cruiser and this is what I am going to try to depict.

The Yukikaze comes with a 1/350 scale 'Emily' and I have also purchased an upgrade that contains extra deck boats and deck equipment. I will probably also complement this with some PE- just unsure on which set I will use as there are several options. Like I said, the plan is to depict an operation where the Destroyer and floatplane are assisting in a rescue/salvage operation.

Not sure how this is going to work but here are some inital pics.

USS Buchanan (in progress- won't be part of campaign)



First in progress shots of 1/350 IJN Yukikaze with 'Emily' floatplane.





I guess you call this more of an 'artistic' shot.





Well that's about it for now. Thanks for looking.

I'm still waiting for a couple of things to arrive before I get started on the Stuarts. In the meantime, I have been working on the F6F-5 from Eduard. Was going to post photos today, but chose instead to drop the kit on the floor. Broke the prop spinner and damaged the fuselage. The kit comes with a spare, so I cut out the cockpit and carefully cut off the engine. I'll now be doing the earlier variant. With any luck I will still have some photos to post soon. I also have an Aleutians P40 that is almost finished. I just cant find the rest of the decals I set aside. We'll see how it goes. Hope everyone else is moving along smoothly.

Billy,
Excellent start and this will be a great diorama. Not sure how you are going to do the people needing rescue but I can picture the excellent setup you have going. Diorama base is going to be fairly large to get both the plane and ship on but far enough apart to look realistic. Great start and looking forward to your updates

Ross,
I feel your pain. I did something similar to a M4A2 I was making for an Italian diorama, stepped right on it, full weight which is substantial. Lucky for you with the spare.

Great to see some progress being made and the fact that there seems to be multiple models being made by the same people. Just so many options on models that can be made for the Pacific, each with their own little details.

I'm still stuck on the rear stack but I think I found a way to correct what I needed to. Just been tied up a bit on some review items I had to finish up.

Looking forward to seeing these go forward, some great stories being told.
Thanks guys,
Bob

Greetings all. I haven't physically done a lot to my build, mostly cleaning up the suspension components and looking at what must be hundreds of PTO Sherman (especially on Iwo Jima) pictures on the 'Net. This effort if nothing else has clouded the issue as far as configurations of these tanks goes. One article I read said the Iwo Sherman crews discarded the wading stuff as soon as an opportunity arose. I've seen a couple of pictures where this appears the case but there appears to be all kinds of variations from full size drum stacks to very short ones to the one by the turret being totally removed. Here's a colour picture from Iwo where it appears that the main engine grill is fully uncovered but the rear part is still partially in place.



Here's an illustration that shows a different rear stack arrangement. This might interest you, Bob.



Finally a shot of the right side of the Sherman dry fitted.



I've also noticed that several Shermans had a U shaped rail that extended from about the point of the fuel caps across the back of the engine compartment. Was this perhaps the re-bar that you were referring to, Bob? It appears as you pointed out that Destroyer doesn't seemed to be equipped with this feature.

Cheers,
Jan

Hey guys heres a new update, i finally started on the m5a1.
Jan Etal- Tread_Geek m4a2 Tarawa- Progressing steadily
Gabriel Aleman- Gabe M4a2 Saipan- Just started
Robert Rippy- Bigrip74- M4a2 Iwo Jima unknown
M4 hybrid Phillipines-unknown
m3a1 stuart- started
Bob Card- BobCard- m4a2 Adamzapple- just started
Calvin ng- Calvin_ng M5a1 stuart kwajelein atoll- started lower hull
Billy Cash Guille- USS Buchanan- started upper deck

Everyone great work BTW, i like them alot.

Hi Jan,
If you notice from this photo of Demigod;

It does have the rebar on it and you can see where it starts. When compared to Destroyer it is not seen. So the question would be exactly when the photo of Destroyer was taken and if the rebar was added after that.
When they mention removing or taking off the wading gear it just usually means the upper part of the stack, they usually don't remove the lower part unless it is damaged or in the way of a repair.
I think once you make your choice of 3rd, 4th or 5th TB we can really get down to what you will need.
Destroyer was in the 3rd TB and had the 55 gal wading stack on the intake only.
I can't help to be impressed by the details on that small scale.

Calvin,
Thanks for the update and looking forward to seeing some progress shots.

Thanks Guys,
Bob

Calvin,
I am doing the 1/350 IJN Yukikaze with "Emily" floatplane for this campaign. I started the Buchanan months ago- far too early to be included in this campaign. I just posted a progress picture because I was going to try to finish it before moving on to the Yukikaze. Sorry for the confusion.

Billy

Hi Bob,
Thanks for your encouragement about the project. I have some ideas about the dio base- it might be more compact than you imagine if I put the plane up close to the ship. As for the actual rescue operation...that will take a little figuring out but I figure to really put some of the focus on the little boats out and about collecting poor IJN sailors.

One great question that still looms is which PE set to go with. I was looking at the Hasagawa Go Ten upgrade for the Yukikaze- that led me to a quick wiki search and I read a little about the operation. It was the IJNs last ditch 'kamikaze' effort- they planned on sending the Yamato into Okinawa and beaching it. The force was destroyed by aircraft from 11 US carriers in the area. However- it also mentioned that the Yukikaze was used to rescue downed sailors, mostly from the Yamato I believe, as well as others. So this confirms what I was reading earlier about the ship being used in rescue operations, although I couldn't find the reference. And historically, it should work well within the scope of the campaign. The other question is how to depict the Emily. What is the exact role of the aircraft during the operation? An even better question might be if I want to try to depict action in the Solomon's campaign- or if I want to try to actually do Go Ten. If anyone has any recommendations on PE upgrades for 1/350 IJN destroyers, please let me know.

Then there is the question of my second entry- looks like it will be an IJN bird. I picked up Tamiya's 1/48 Mitsubishi Ki-46 III Type 100 Command Recon Plane (Dinah). I have been savoring this one as I want to really get into some details- take it a little further than OOB. I have a lot of reseach to do, as well as many other projects to finish before I can really dive in. But the painter in me is planning a few sessions already.... brrrrr I can't resist a new model. Actually I have 5 new models lined up, plus a major armor project in addition to trying to finish my dio for The Bitter Taste of Defeat. But I got me head mullin around a few ideas for this recon plane. 1/48 scale gives me a lot to work with...more to follow.

Sorry to ramble, but thanks for reading. sorry don't have any new pics to post. I appreciate the input as well.

Happy modeling to all!

Billy

Well, I have a few photos to post of the Hellcat build.






The Eduard cockpit details are really nice. The gun sight is from a Tamiya kit. It is just about ready to paint.

I've also been distracted with this build. It was simple enough but the decals have been tough. They have held together well for the most part, but when set, they stuck in place and I was afraid to try to move them any more.



Hopefully I'll be starting on the Stuart kits soon.

new update guys, PM and ill post your new status
Will post my progress pics when i have the time

Jan Etal- Tread_Geek m4a2 Tarawa- Progressing steadily
Gabriel Aleman- Gabe M4a2 Saipan- Just started
Robert Rippy- Bigrip74- M4a2 Iwo Jima unknown
M4 hybrid Phillipines-unknown
m3a1 stuart- started
Bob Card- BobCard- m4a2 Adamzapple- just started
Calvin ng- Calvin_ng M5a1 stuart kwajelein atoll- started lower hull
Billy Cash Guille- USS Buchanan- started upper deck
Russ Amott- Russamotto- Hellcat (aircraft)-Interior work
P-40? - decalign stage
Nice work Russ, nice to see some aircraft

EDIT: Bob, i dug out a old m4a2 dml tarawa, im reworking the kit, can i still show the pictures in this campaign thread?

Calvin, I am doing an M3 Stuart (pain in the ass) not the M4a2, Bob sent me the decals and I have to correct the rear deck. The M4 was an option.


Robert

Calvin I had posted these photos before, here is where I am at the moment.



Robert

Russ, excellent work in the cockpit, looks like I can read every dial in there and some nice progress overall.

Thanks for the update Calvin, don't forget Robert's change.

Wish I could add more myself but I've been finishing up some reviews I had to complete.
Thanks guys and looking forward to more,
Bob

Hi Calvin,
I had a change as well that I am not sure you saw above. Basically I am doing the IJN Yukikaze instead of the Buchanan.

I also have a new addition that I started and will be posting pixs of shortly- 1/48 Ki-46 Dinah. If you don't mind adding this to your list as well, I would appreciate it very much.

Thanks so much for keeping track of everyone's projects. It is great to see such organization.

-Billy

ps, Russ I am very impressed with your aircraft as well. I don't know if I can follow your lead but I will give it my best with the Dinah.

Thanks for the comments on the Hellcat. Lots of tiny parts but the etch cockpit really turned out nice. I can work on the landing gear but the rest is still waiting to be painted. Can't do it in the house and it's too cold out right now. I've kept busy, and just started the early M5A1. One benefit of getting two kits is now I have enough road wheels to go around.

I did find one bonus. Went to the 44th tank battalion web site and found these two photos of Happy. This first one has been posted before.


But now I have a nice photo from the rear of the tank.


I had wondered how the back end was fixed up. Steel cleat tracks are in place (which I have on order) so no grousers were carried. Now, what color would the "10" be that is painted over the turret star?

To update on my status (no pics yet, - the main home computer has decided to have a snit and won't read any external devices attached to the USB ports)

Type 1 Shinhoto - more or less together - working on assenmbling the track. I have to get the road wheels together, and was hoping to get paint on them this week. I decided to use Mr. Colour IJA late war colours, which are laquer based. Unfortunately, I don't have any laquer thinner (yet - hope to resolve that issue this weekend). While I waited...

Type 3 Chi Nu - One of the Fine Molds kits I picked up in Tokyo. Assembled most of it (again, those pesky road wheels) and am waiting for some PE for the muffler guards to make its wasy from HLJ.

Heck, I figured there needed to be something to counter the amount of US Armour being built for this campaign!

Pics should be uploaded over the weekend - just have to download onto the other laptop (and pray it wants to play nice).

Grant

greetings to all I am interested in this pacific campaign but am nubie to site builds and navigation of the politics of modeler site beeing a side liner I thought it was time to partisipate and learn. do I officialy sign in or do you just paraglid into the group?

Whoops, sorry for the mistake, will fix it right now.The new update-

Jan Etal- Tread_Geek m4a2 Tarawa- Progressing steadily
Gabriel Aleman- Gabe M4a2 Saipan- Just started
Robert Rippy- Bigrip74-
m3a1 stuart- started
Bob Card- BobCard- m4a2 Adamzapple- just started
Calvin ng- Calvin_ng M5a1 stuart kwajelein atoll- started lower hull
Billy Cash Guille- IJN Yukikaze-unknown 1/48 scale KI-46 Dinah
Russ Amott- Russamotto- Hellcat (aircraft)-Interior work
P-40? - decaling stage
I am officially a procrastinator now, still havent uploaded pictures

Charles, welcome aboard. Click on "Campaigns" on the banner at the top of the page, then click on "campaign in the pacific" and sign on.

Hello everyone,
Go to work and everyone posts.

Billy, sounds good. Do you have any photos of the Yukikaze? Japanese distroyers I have never seen. Close ups anyway.

Russ, I never notice "Mike" was another photo of Happy. Any ideas on how to do the Wolf logo? No grousers might mean that they were on the track; I can't see them on Happy but better to check. The 10 is a bit darker then the OD so I would suggest red as the color. I couldn't find anything specifically saying what it was.

Grant, looking forward to those photos, I was going to sneak a Type 94 into my diorama along with the Wireless set I reviewed. Nice to see some Japanese models coming in.

Charles, Welcome aboard, as Russ stated just go to the Campaign page and click "enlist"
Campaign in the Pacific

Calvin, thanks for the updating. I still need to work on mine so don't feel bad, scared to mess with that wading stack I guess.

Thanks Everyone,
Bob