OK, I'm calling her done and will post the finished thread forthwith. In the meantime, to close the loop on loose ends mentioned above, here is the new and improved landing gear position indicator. Looks like another drop of red is in order but I never would have seen it had it not been for this much-magnified pic.
The new and only-slightly-improved antenna wire joint:
A couple of other shots:
These were all taken with my cell phone as I don't trust my SLR/Macro lens combo anymore. Despite cleaning the sensor, the pics are no longer sharp.
I really enjoyed this build and loved the quality of this kit by Tamiya. Of course, the fit and precision of the parts were all first class. The clear parts are outstanding and the sprue gates are well thought out and minimized. The separate fuselage spine insert was a nice touch to eliminate a seam and this idea should have been extended to the underside of the nose cowl. Areas for improvement are the decals, a too thick prop, gimmicky engine and clear fuselage half (though the later served well as a paint mule), the clunky gun sight, and Tamiya's penchant for providing those silly, cartoony seat belt decals, which I've never liked. A separate optional position rad bath exit flap would have also been welcome is so many pics of the Ki-61 show this feature to be at least partially open.
I'd like to thank all those who followed along and who offered advice, info, and kudos. This being my first Japanese subject in over 40 years, I had a lot to learn and so I'd particularly like to thank Wojtek, Geo, Yves, Shinpachi, and Wayne for their help with colours and details.