**** DONE: GB-54 1:48 Kawasaki Ki-61 Hien - Pacific Theatre

Ad: This forum contains affiliate links to products on Amazon and eBay. More information in Terms and rules

Another outstanding model Andy. Your tips for mottled paint finishes are really appreciated as I now have at least 4 Italian aircraft that will require various types of this finish!!

Really looking forward to seeing this one completed - it should look superb! :thumbright:
 
Cheers guys. Attempts to add the finishing touches proved disappointing. Overall view:

22071402.jpg


The 3 radio antenna wires intersect away from the mast so placing and cutting these was very tricky. Grrr - not happy at all with the joint so I may strip this and start over.

22071403.jpg


The wheels-down indicators provided in the kit are just little stubs that are far too short so I wanted to extend them. The stretched sprue I used is too narrow and the joint looks awful so these will definitely be done over.

22071401.jpg


The pitot tube has a small reinforcing brass dowel inserted in the joint after I broke the moulded one off while cleaning the ridge off it. This turned out OK. You can also see the port nav light lens picked out in red. Stbd one is blue (not shown).

22071404.jpg


More later when I fix these last few bits.
 
Looks great Andy and I know the feeling with those antenna wires, not an easy task when one is stepped back from the mast. :D
 
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.

22071507.jpg


The new and only-slightly-improved antenna wire joint:

22071518.jpg


A couple of other shots:

22071514.jpg

22071516.jpg

22071511.jpg
22071513.jpg


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.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back