AZKevin

Hi Gil, I built this model awhile back and I think I used Tamiya XF-76 for the fuselage and wings and XF-12 for the control surfaces (sorry for being vague - old age??). I painted the red outline on the wings (lines are too thick however) because they were not included in the kit decals, and the cowling in just Tamiya Flat black. Future was used overall for the gloss before decaling - still learning/practicing weathering before I weather this one.

Another recently completed model. This the tamiya 1/48 A6M3 Type 32 Zero (Hamp). It is pretty much straight from the box except for copper wire brake lines and steel tube for the guns. I used Tamiya acrylics and kit decals.

Here are three photos of my recent 1/48 Ki-51 Sonia from Nichimo. It's pretty much built strait from the box except for some steel tube for the guns and some cockpit bits and piences. I imagine the Blue is a bit too dark, but the 'idea' of a blue Japanese airplane seems to be confirmed by a thread at http://j-aircraft.com/faq/ki51.htm. According to the late Hasegawa Ichiro there are testimonies regarding the quality of the paint - that the blue paint ws of good quality and did not flake off easily. Also a in new Model Art book 'IJAAF Bombers', Shigeru Nohara claims that he has seen a color photo taken after the war (which cannot be published at this time) that shows a Ki-49 painted blue. If you have acess to older Koku-Fans, check the April 1988 issue pages 46-47. There is an attractive illustration of a Ki-21 Sally in dark blue by (Hasegawa Ichiro (a well known and respected modeler since before the Pacific War. Bunrin-do "Famous Airplanes of the World' series #38 on the Mitsubishi Ki-49 Dinah, there are color illustrations (by Shigeru Nohara?) of tail markings for many Dinah's, one of which is shown with upper surfaes and light grey undersurfaces. Finally in "Japanese Army Airforce Camouflage and Markings World War II' by Donald W. Thorpe there are numerous color illustrations of tail codes on blue aircraft including: Ki-100, Peggy, Sonia, Nick, Dinah, and Oscars. These three pictures were taken at ModelZona 2010 sponsered by IMPS Phoenix Craig Hewitt chapter at Falcon Field in Meas AZ in November. I'll take some more photos at home and post them as well. Sorry for for getting carried away with explanations - hope you enjoy the pictures. Comments are, of course, always welcome. Kevin http://i1134.photobucket.com/albums/m619/s...ia/KI-51003.jpg http://i1134.photobucket.com/albums/m619/s...ia/KI-51002.jpg http://i1134.photobucket.com/albums/m619/s...ia/KI-51001.jpg

Hi Gil, Can't place enough happy smiley faces for a new mold 1/32 Jack!! If it's anything like the others I'm drooling already. Thanks for the update, Kevin

Hi Gil, Thanks for the info. I got all of my Revell/Takara kits at yard sales over the years. I've seen some pretty astronomical prices for all three on ebay. Recently $250.00 for the N1K1-Ja George!! I think my N1K1 cost me $20.00 at a yard sale and the Ki-61 and Raiden were less still. Anyway, I'm HOPING that they are a 'diminishing return' as that would imply that someone (Hasegawa maybe(?)), is bringing out 1/32 scale kits of these aircraft. I would love to see a new mold 1/32 Raiden and N1K1/N1K2 now that we have the new Ki-61, Ki-44, & Ki-84 by Hasegawa and the 1/32 J7W by Zoukei-Mura. Oh yes, not to forget the 1/32 Claude and Nate by Special Hobby. I really hope manufactures will bring more 1/32 scale Japanese birds. I do have one of each new Hasegawa kits in my stash - just couldn't resist a 1/32 scale Ki-84 for $6.00 at a yard sale!! I've though about adding the Aires Ki-84 cockpit to this kit, but so far haven't found a replacement Ha-45 engine. Might have to learn to cast my own using the Hasegawa Ki-84 kit engine as a pattern. Anyway, thanks again for the info & happy modeling, sedonakevin

Hi Tim, I don't build much Luftwaffe aircraft (mostly Japanese), but I do remember seeing on Ebay a store called FlLUG-ARCHIV 20 run by airmailbyairmail that had lots of reprodcution Luftwaffe aircraft maintenance manuals, flight manuals, etc for WWII Luftwaffe aircraft. I just checked and the store is still up and running. He might have some reference material that will help you. Also, for Japanese stuff, I like Famous Airplanes of the World Series, and Aero Detail series, bith of which have some Luftwaffe planes. Hope this helps, Kevin

I don't know much about the Ta-154 kit as I build mostly Japanese stuff. But I am looking at the getting their J7W Shiden kit. Kevin

Hi Everyone, I recently picked up a 1/32 Ki-84 made by Takara/Tomy at a yard sale (cheap at $6.00). All parts are still sealed in plastic but the decals look REALLY REALLY old. No problem replacing decals. I know Revell/Takara made several 1/32 scale kits (I have the Tony, Raiden, and George in my stash), is Revell/Takara related to Takara/Tomy?. I'm just wondering if anyone konws anything about this kit or has a any experience with it? One more item of note - the instruction booklet feels like it is printed on cardboard the pages are so thick. I don't see a copyright date on it, but everything is in Japanese and I don't read Japanese. Anyway - any comments/info would be appreciated. Thanks, Kevin

Thanks for the idea - never thought of using hairspray. I'll give it a try on the Ki-43-I. Kevin

Put in my vote for "A Very Nice Job" as well, especially the weathering. If you have the time could you explain a little bit about how you weathered the model? Did you paint/pencil the silver over the green or chip/wipe away the green to expose the silver underneath?? I haven't really tried weathering any of mine yet, have read most of the magazine articles about various techniques, just haven't tried any yet. I have the Hasegawa Ki-43-I on the bench right now and am going to undercoat it with Testors Aluminum Metalizer then over coat with Tamiya IJA Green and grey, but after that I'm not quite sure how I want to weather the green to expose the metalizer. Any Ideas?? Thanks, Kevin

Hi Gil, Thanks, I enjoyed building the kit and was generally very happy with the fit and level of detail (esp the cockpit). Lone Star Models (Mike West) makes a resin cockpit and wheel well set for the Nichimo kit. Last time I looked they were $25 for each set. I got my Nichimo Ki-45 for about $15 on ebay and couldn't (at the time) justify spending $50 more on detail parts. Maybe next time - I still have one more Nichimo Ki-45 in the stash. As a side note, I was also very impressed by the detail included in the Nichimo Ki-51 'Sonia' when I built it. I painted that one blue (like the box top), I'll post a few pictures and see if anyone cries 'foul' about a blue Japanese airplane. Finally, I agree with you on the Otaki kits - I recently built their Ki-100 and was very happy with the results. Now that I'm getting the picture posting bit figured out I'll post pictures of more of my built collection. Thanks again for the comments, Kevin

THANKS AGAIN Tim You seem to have solved my issue for me.

Ok Let's try this again. This is my recently completed Nichimo Ki-45. There were some fit issues, but it was an enjoyable build especially in preperation for building the Hasegawa kit. Now that I've built a few models, after a 20 years hiatus, I'm going to have to play with weathering to get my models looking as good as the rest of you!! It is pretty much straight from the box except for a brass 37mm ventral cannon and a few dodads in the cockpit. Paints are Tamiya with kit decals.

Thanks for the info Tim. I'll give it a try and go from there. Kevin

Hello everyone, This is my first 'project' post here so I welcome all comments & critiques. This is my recently completed 1/48 Nichimo Ki-45. My weathering techniques are not yet 'up-to-par', hence the gloss finish - just imagine it as factory fresh - Ok OK so maybe the green mottle wasn't applied at the factory, but hey, it was still a fun build even with a few fit issues. I'm looking forward to building the Hasegawa kit with fuel truck, but figured I'd build this one first to get familiar with the aircraft.

Ok, I guess I need to figure out how to upload photos - that didn't work the way it was supposed to - 'course it could be me ....nah....! Could someone point me to the instructions for uploading a photo?? All I've been able to get is : "You have entered a link to a website that the administrator does not allow links to" I've tried Photobucket and Webshots. Any other ideas about what I'm doing wrong??? Thanks, Kevin

Wiskey/Tango/Foxtrot, I like it! I pretty much build Japanese stuff exclusively. I like the way you used the salt. I've read about the tecnhnique a number of time but have yet to try it. When I do I might use a red oxide type color in place of the Aotake on the exterior. I've seen a number of wreckgae pieces over the years with a dull red undercoat. As far as the 'Japananaholics' and 'rivet counters' are concerned - who cares?? After all it sits in YOUR display case. Kevin