gorby
I'd like to follow this one. 🙂
Are you going to use a 1/700 scale train?

Guy Rump
Interesting build, following. 👍

Landlubber Mike Author
Thanks Gorby and Guy! Gorby, I have a few trains from Alliance Model Works and Five Star in the stash that should work. Just need to figure out which is closest to the train in the picture.

I have a lot of the sub-assemblies completed already, but it seems like Five Star took a few short cuts. The crane arm should slide along rails from the middle of the ship to further back near the stern.

On top of that, I'm not sure that Five Star has it correct where the crane arm connects to the curved bracket in the middle of the ship. I believe instead of the brass arm connecting to the end of the resin curved bracket, the brass arm should be longer and travel along the top of that bracket - you can see this in the fourth picture in the album (cover image for this project).

So, I'll need to do a little scratch building to work this out.

Christian Abraham
Great work. And yes you have to modify a little to let the crane in the upright position.

Landlubber Mike Author
Thanks Christian! I saw that you beat me to building this diorama 🙂 You did a really great job! I saw that you replaced the forward end of the long arm which I think is correct - there is no way that the crane arm could extend that far out under the kit's piece.

I see you also picked up on some of the other modifications needed for the ship like the railings along the deck to help the crane arm swing out, along with the very tall mast in the front. I was wondering where to include it as the pictures aren't quite clear, but I think you have it in the correct position. The only other option I saw with the mast was to put it where the small gun platform is at the bow, but I think that would probably be too far forward.

One other thing I found from the pictures is that there were small cranes on either side of the bridge, and not just one as provided by the kit. I found some other cranes that I'll just use so that they match.

Another issue I'm having is finding a locomotive that matches the one in the picture. I have some of the Alliance Model Works sets so might just try to modify one of the ones to get it as close as I can. I saw you did the same. The picture I'm trying to replicate has an engine with four large wheels per side, with three together and the fourth placed with a space between it and the group of three. The Alliance Model Works set has five wheels per side, so I might be able to remove one of the wheels to get a close approximation.

Thanks again for looking in - your build is an inspiration!

Christian Abraham
No Problem with. Yes I made something compromise with the locomotive. And it seems the small crane was on both side of the bridge. But I think 5star has only one train included. I think bunker studio has also trains, perhaps there is one which is better suited.

Landlubber Mike Author
Thanks for the tip - I'll take a look at Bunker Studio. I think the AMW one is very close, just need a couple of modifications. Turns out that the locomotive was a US one.

EDIT - I just looked at the Bunker Studio locomotive. I now remember considering this one a while back when looking at possibilities. I think it's more different than the ones in the AMW set so I'll just stick with the AMW one.

I did buy the IJN Mikado engine - it's fairly close to the engine in the picture if you don't include the cover on the front of the engine.

WWII JNR Mikado Engine with .. Model Works NW70053, 1:700)

I added pictures of the Mikado kit and the instructions in case people are interested in using it and seeing how it can be modified.