Skunkmodels 1/48 WWII IJN Wooden Carrier Deck Display Base Review
By Michael Benolkin
| Date of Review | September 2014 | Manufacturer | Skunkmodels Workshop |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subject | WWII IJN Wooden Carrier Deck Display Base | Scale | 1/48 |
| Kit Number | 48014 | Primary Media | Styrene, Photo-Etch, Wood |
| Pros | Easy to assemble, wooden deck | Cons | Nothing noted |
| Skill Level | Basic | MSRP (USD) | $13.99 |
Review
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Skunkmodels has released a new display base for 1/48 IJN aircraft, this is a wooden flight deck for typical World War II Japanese aircraft carriers. As with many of the previous display bases from Skunkmodels, this set consists of six square base modules and a bunch of connector modules to build a 2 x 3 rectangular base. The odd thing is that the laser-cut wood sections that are included are designed for a 2 x 2 (240mm x 240mm) square base.
And as with the previous display bases from Skunkmodels, this one found its way to the bench to see how this release fits together. Before I knew it, I had transitioned from dry-fitting the parts to gluing the black plastic together and laminating the wooden deck to the base with cyano. After applying lamp black oil wash to each of the tie-down cleat holes in the deck, I removed the cleats from their photo-etched frame and installed them on the deck. When these were in place, I washed the deck down with a wash of Burnt Sienna oils and you can see the result here.
This was a fun project though I'll be blending the washes and doing some weathering of the deck in the near future. You can see in the image above hoe the deck looks dry (left side) and still a little wet (right set) as the display base went to the camera before it had completely dried.
If you've got a Zero, Kate, Val, or other carrier-based subject in IJN service, this is a nice way to display your hard work! Give one a try!
Definitely recommended!
My sincere thanks to Lucky Model for this review sample!