**** DONE: GB-59 1/48 Ki-61-Id Hein - WW2 PTO V

[Ralph Haus]

Username: Ralph Haus
First name: Ralph
Category: Advanced
Manufacturer: Tamiya
Model: Ki-61-Id HIEN (kit 25203-4000)
Scale: 1:48

Entry decision made, just not sure which option to select yet. This kit comes with a port side 'clear' fuselage option, and presents a bunch of decisions to be made, and I'm still keeping my options open. Decided to do the detailing, cockpit and engine, to see if it is worth the extra effort to maintain a 'visible' inside detail model?

The option:

Work done so far: Port side pieces just placed, not glued.

The details so far:

Placing the detail cockpit into the clear assembly:

As can be seen, not much!! Clearly anyway. I will try and polish the cockpit and engine areas to be clearer. Probably, as suggested by some, paint the remaining areas the colors that are called out (same as starboard side). Engine next. Going to be interesting....

 

[fubar57]

Very nice start Ralph. Do you need any detail shots?

 

[Ralph Haus]

Very nice start Ralph. Do you need any detail shots?

Detail of a clear fuselage build? That would be nice, but I'm not sure if anyone has actually done one; other than Tamiya? I'll be doing the bare metal version if there are any historical photos out there it would be handy as well. Thanks.

 

[Vic Balshaw]

Beautiful and neat detail Ralph.

 

[Snautzer01]

Detail of a clear fuselage build? That would be nice, but I'm not sure if anyone has actually done one; other than Tamiya? I'll be doing the bare metal version if there are any historical photos out there it would be handy as well. Thanks.

View attachment 742537

eBay: Kawasaki Ki-61 Hien / Tony captured

ww2aircraft.net

 

[Wurger]

 

[Ralph Haus]

eBay: Kawasaki Ki-61 Hien / Tony captured

ww2aircraft.net

Great ref photos. Thanks.

 

[Snautzer01]

Great ref photos. Thanks.

Looking forward to your build. For some reason i think the Hien is a good looking plane.
Good building time and have fun.

 

[Ralph Haus]

Polishing, while not producing perfectly clear results, is close enough to continue doing the build with this option. I will be masking off most of the rear section; from the large hatch door back. and selectively some of the front. Probably the wing roots and forward under the exhaust assemblies. I Hope the paint/primer sticks to the areas that were overlapped polished.

I did not think the polish would leave a film but when I applied some 'Future' as a test, it beaded up. In the areas where the plastic was not polished the Future worked miracles; too late. image of the Tamiya model is attached as well. I feel sorry for the poor soul that had the job of making that one as clear as it is. Perhaps some professional lighting helped?

Any opinions about applying the blue fuselage belt in this area?

My model...engine still to be finished but one can see how the innards will look.

The Tamiya model...lots of work getting this one clear!

Just another, but closer look at my build.

 

[fubar57]

I wonder what that bottle shape is? None of my cockpit photos show it. Ralph, is your fuselage buttoned up?

 

[Vic Balshaw]

That's looking good Ralph.

 

[Ralph Haus]

I wonder what that bottle shape is? None of my cockpit photos show it. Ralph, is your fuselage buttoned up?

Not buttoned up yet. Still need to mount engine and polish up some of the areas that are in the internal seam sections, The bottle shape - pocket to mount this guy, A3, whatever it is? I have to paint match the back side since it will now show!

 

[fubar57]

Well there ya go.

 

[Wurger]

The bottle shape - pocket to mount this guy, A3, whatever it is?

View attachment 742850

The A3 is the throttle + propeller pitch setting lever + mixture adjustment lever ...

the source: the net.

 

[Crimea_River]

..... I'll be doing the bare metal version if there are any historical photos out there it would be handy as well. Thanks.

I believe this is your bird. Pic is from Britmodeller:

 

[Ralph Haus]

I believe this is your bird. Pic is from Britmodeller:

View attachment 743271

WOW! Looks like its been through a war!! If I decide to 'weather' my build to represent this, I'll drop it in a bag full of rocks and shake it!

Have been discussing (offline with George) on the fuselage band color. Tamiya indicates red, however George has a report where it was (in later years) blue. Looks, to my eye to be red??

 

[fubar57]

Looks like two colours there or fresh paint in front of the intake

 

[Ralph Haus]

Fuselage buttoned up; innards mounted. I'll be doing a test spray of some primer on the seams, where the clear meets the gray, to see how bad it looks. Tamiya seems to have done a fantastic job of matching these two halves with minimal steps or gaps. Publishing some shots of the build before I start masking some of the clear away. This and the interior details, which will, for the most part, never be seen, even with the clear view.

Wings and breakie parts next!!

Some cockpit detail shots

 

[Wurger]

Looks like two colours there or fresh paint in front of the intake

Nope. It is the shade of the prop blade what resulted in the darker appearance of the fuselage strip.

Secondly it looks like there were two Ki-61s with the quite similar markings. The one with the red strip was flowan by Cpt. Teruhiko Kobayashi in February 1945 and the one with the blue markings flown by 2nd Lt. Shunzo Takashima in May 1945. Both kites belonged to the same unit but in different period of time.

the source: the net.

 

[Ralph Haus]

Nope. It is the shade of the prop blade what resulted in the darker appearance of the fuselage strip.

Secondly it looks like there were two Ki-61s with the quite similar markings. The one with the red strip was flowan by Cpt. Teruhiko Kobayashi in February 1945 and the one with the blue markings flown by 2nd Lt. Shunzo Takashima in May 1945. Both kites belonged to the same unit but in different period of time.

View attachment 743284
the source: the net.

As sent by George (Fubar) a day or so ago.


"The captions says
Near the cockpit of Unit 24. The fuselage belt has been changed to blue and the score marks have been redone. The mark on the bottom right, which is a cross between the black silhouettes of Type 3 fighters, indicates that it was shot down by ramming on January 27th. Around this time, the antenna support of this aircraft was removed. In February 1945, Kobayashi Squadron Commander Ki61- was stripped of its camouflage and left unpainted to improve its high-altitude performance."