**** DONE: GB-36 1/48 Ki-61-Id Hien - Axis Manufactured Aircraft of WWII

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Looking great John. My only minor comment is that the hinomarus could do with a bit of fading to match the camo, they look quite stark at the moment. Although that may be still to come...
 
Thanks guys! Yes, Kirby... the bright markings need to be toned down a bit, which the weathering steps will hopefully address.

Moving along with the build! After the camo and markings have been applied, we've come to the weathering step and I wanted to do some paint chipping. I've been using this kit to test a paint chipping technique that I've never used. Up until this point, it has been used on very small items such as the prop blades and the drop tanks. I feel comfortable enough with using a sponge that I've applied chips over the entire model using a mixture of silver and grey paints.
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After the sponge chipping was complete, I added to the chipping with colored pencils.
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On the natural metal bottom, I applied some random post-shading with a thinned brown/black mixture. This mixture was also used to apply the exhaust staining but I've forgotten to take a dedicated photo of that, unfortunately.
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The next weathering step was to add some salt fading. This helps to break up the uniform color shade and tone down the bright markings.
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After the salt crystals were fully dry, I sprayed a HIGHLY thinned grey mix over the aircraft in random streaks. It's important to modulate the coverage and not be too uniform or else you'll get a result like I did with my 109G-10 build... an unnatural, freckled appearance.
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But probably the most important step in the salt fading technique is cleaning off the salt completely. Any leftover salt will, even if initially invisible, will eventually crystallize and manifest itself as a white crust. I use a water spray bottle and a clean micro-fiber towel to get my salt off.
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The salt fading is the last major weathering step on this build. The model is given a final flat coat and the small bits and pieces that were previously painted and set aside can now be attached. The Quickboost exhaust stacks are glued in with CA glue and on the underside the landing gear and and doors are glued with Tamiya Extra Thin cement. The drop tanks are a very tight fit into the wings and I've left them unglued.
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Another view of the bottom to show the streaking effect of the post-shading.
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The canopy masks, which lifted after initial application but remained in place after I burnished them down, can be removed. Any minor paint leaks around the canopy frames can usually be cleaned up using a wooden cocktail stick or toothpick.
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There was some overspray on the headrest bulkhead that needed to be touched up. The black wing walk areas were also re-painted to get rid of any stray paint chipping.
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As you can see, the Quickboost cowling gun barrels and the venturi tube have also been installed.
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Ok... this one is just about finished. All I have to do now is attach the pitot tube, the sliding canopy and pop on the propeller. Oh and the aerials have to be done.
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Looks terrific John! :thumbleft: Sponge chipping can be very effective at this scale and you've done it well.

I haven't quite dialed it in yet (size, color, consistency, etc) but it is definitely a technique that I'll be using in the future.
 
I haven't quite dialed it in yet (size, color, consistency, etc) but it is definitely a technique that I'll be using in the future.

Yeah, I've collected a bunch of different sponges of varying fineness as I come across them in packing foam, etc so that I can modulate chipping size and pattern. The missus is wondering why I've developed a sudden interest in packing materials! :D
 
I'm just about done with the Hien. I almost forgot about these last two parts until I saw them on the sprue. Small rudder actuators. They were painted and stuck onto the tail.
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All of the parts have been attached to the model including the sliding canopy and the prop. I sorta wish that I had posed the canopy shut as I really like the shape of the Hien. The final step was to attach the triple aerial. This time I used Uschi's Fine rigging thread. This elastic stuff is MUCH easier to deal with than stretched sprue. Little blobs on the aerial are white glue painted black.
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She's done! I'll get proper photos of her this weekend with my good camera and some daylight.
 

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