1/35 Takom MK.38 5"/38 Twin Gun Mount

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Before I start on the review, I want to say this was a fun and interesting kit to build.  I will say Takom really thought outside the box on these gun mount and turrets.  they are interesting to build and fun.  So much so I went out and bought 2 other turret kits, The Bruno from the Bismark and the No.1 turret from the Yamato.  Both of the kits I bought were 1/72, but they were huge!!!  I am looking forward to build those.  Now for the full build review.

Step 1 is fairly simple.  In this step you assemble the Elevation and Horizontal control trunnions.  I have attached a diagram of how the Elevation and Horizontal trunnion controls work and the degrees of both.  The one issue I had was with part F2/A13.  I had one of the arms (part A13/F2) snap in half when I snipped it off the sprue and go flying through the air only to end up in that black hole in my shop. (One day I will find that piece and all the parts that flew through the air only to be caught in the black hole.)  LOL Aside from that, all went well.

In step 2 we attach what seems to be a lock for the 2 hatches that are located on the rear of the turret.  This step assembled easily.

In step 3 we continue working on the back part of the turret by adding the hatches (E4&5), ladders (A10), handrail (A12), and the rain gutters (E10&11).  Part E7 is part of the hydraulics for the hatch to open.  All of this went together fairly simple.  A tip- when you are adding the ladder parts put something between the rungs and housing to keep all the rungs the same distance from the housing.

Part 4 bring all the previous steps together and connects them to the bottom of the turret.  This was pretty easy because Takom did a nice job with the connecting point for this step. 

Step 5, the mounts for the guns, was very easy and went together well.  Again, the instructions and connecting points were done well.

Step 6 adds what you completed in step five (turret front) and the roof to the gun mount.  These went together well because of the nice connecting points.  One issue I had with this step was with Part A11.  When I went to snip them off the sprue, the round part of the piece was missing on both parts.  I found one of them and glued it back on but had to use a piece of .3 rod to fix the other one.  It was not a big deal, but just a word of caution.  Aside from that everything fit well.  I used masking tape to keep all the sides together while the glue dried.   A note of interest Parts A11, E3 and E8 assembled also called the "chin" piece is part of the mechanical train stop.

In step 7 we complete the kit by adding the barrels, the hatch roof and connecting it to the base.  The metal barrels are very nice and very easy to attach.  I used medium super glue to attach them and did not have any issues. everything else in this step went together well. As I stated in the beginning, I had purchased the two other turret kits, the barrels are 2-part barrels, and I may look into a couple of aftermarket metal barrels.  Needless to say, I was very happy with the metal barrels in this kit. Now the kit was finished, and the painting would begin.

I primed it with MR Surfacer 1500 and let it dry overnight.  The painting guide called for A.MIG 0911 Grey Shine, but I did not have that color and according to the conversion chart nothing was compatible with that color.  So, I used Vallejo Pale Grey Blue (046) and added some Mecha Clear Varnish and let that dry overnight.  I did have the A.MIG 0191 Steel and used that according to the painting guide. I weathered it using 502 Abteilung Light Mud (abt125) and Dark Mud (abt130) thinned with odorless thinner using a steaking effect.  I feel it turned it well, but then again, I am not a ship guy and I know how spotless the Navy keeps their decks and equipment, so I hope I did a decent job in your eyes. 

In conclusion, I really enjoyed building, painting and weathering this kit.  Heck, I went and bought 2 more, that should tell you how much I enjoyed this.  The directions were nice, the parts went together well, and it was a nice "palette cleanser"! (You have to read the first look review to know what a "palette cleanser" is).

Highly Recommended for Beginner to Advanced builders.

Thanks go out to Takom for this review kit.

Reviewed by Frank Froment (Nordland AMPS, AMPS Sponsorship Coordinator)

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