Scratchbuilt 1/150 Akizuki by Paul Eisenberg
General History
The I.J.N.S. Akizuki represented one of the best destroyer classes of the Imperial Japanese Navy during WWII. The class was originally designed for antiaircraft screening for carrier task forces, but was modified to serve the role of destroyer. The Akizuki was launched 2 July 1941. It displaced 2,701 tons, carried a crew of 300, and its length overall was 440 ft. The Akizuki participated in the battles at Guadalcanal, the Marianas, the Second Battle of the Solomon Sea, the Battle of Cape Esperance, and was finally lost in the Battle off Cape Engano, on 25 October 1944. This model represents the Akizuki as it appeared in 1941. The scale is 1:150.
Construction
The entire model is scratch built. I am a purest and do not like to use anything I have not made myself. The only exception on this model is the anchor chain and the crew figures. The hull is made bread and butter fashion out of sugar pine with white glue used throughout. Detailing was accomplished through the use of card stock, wire, sheet styrene, and some more imaginative materials including: plastic window screen (for anti-skid surfaces), and wedding veil (for netting). One of the more challenging items to construct were the railings that cover almost every part of the model. The crewmen on deck are German railroad workers impressed into the Imperial Navy.
As I recall, pactra enamels were used for most of the model. These were applied by hand and brush. While the paint appears light for I.J.N.S., it is an approximation of the shade used before the war by the Maizuru Dock Yard (constructor of the Akizuki). The deck is painted dark gray. More recent information indicates Japanese warship of this period used a reddish brown linoleum. Aside from this one glaring error, other mistakes are minor, and I believe this to be an accurate representation of I.J.N.S. Akizuki.
All information used for the construction of this accurate, highly detailed model, came from "Scale Model Warships" by Kozo Izumi, published in 1977.
The model took about one and a half years to complete. It is about 25 years old.
Album (select a picture to view at full size):
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