**** FINISHED: 1/48 Ki-45 Toryu Kai Tei - Night War of WWII

[JKim]

Username: JKim
First name: John
Category: Advanced
Scale: 1/48
Manufacturer: Hasegawa
Model Type: Kawasaki Ki-45 Kai Tei
Aftermarket addons: CMK Ki-45 Interior Set, Eduard Canopy Masks

Mandatory Shots:

Additional Shots:

 

[rochie]

Got to be happy with that one John

 

[Wayne Little]

Excellent!

 

[Wurger]

Agreed.

 

[Wildcat]

What a beauty!!

 

[T Bolt]

Fantastic work John!

 

[le_steph40]

Another beauty John, excellent

 

[Airframes]

I know b*gger all about Japanese aircraft, but engineers say "If it looks right, it is right", and that looks right!
A real cracker John, very well done !

 

[JKim]

Thank you very much guys! I'm happy with the results but it's never as perfect as you'd like. I need to explore more ways to weather the bottom of the aircraft. There is some chipping there but the silver pencil doesn't show up very well on the IJA Grey undersides. I may have to get some different colors and experiment more with pencils.

The Hasegawa kit went together beautifully and in hindsight, no upgrades are needed for a great looking model.

 

[Torch]

Nicely done!!!!!!!!!

 

[Airframes]

John, for paint chipping, and paint wear, try a mix of silver with just a tiny touch of white. This tends to be more visible, and not as 'false looking' as a pure silver.
The effect can be altered by using matt or gloss white, giving variations in the tone and sheen of what will then look like exposed alloy, which is rarely bright and shiny, unless the paint has been violently and rapidly removed, as with flak or bullet strikes.
Bear in mind, of course, that if the original aircraft was painted over a chromate, and then a primer base, it would take a lot to chip down to bare metal, and it's normally one of the 'undercoats' that is visible. Of course, there are/were instances when bare metal did show, and I believe that some Japanese aircraft were painted straight on to bare metal, without even an etch coat being applied first.
A bit of delicate, artistic work with a paint brush, basically 'painting a picture' on the finish colour, can do this just as easily, and quicker, than the unnecessary messing about with salt and hairspray favoured by a large number of modellers nowadays.

 

[fubar57]

A great build and paint job.



Geo

 

[JKim]

Thanks guys! Thanks for the paint chipping tips Terry! It's good to have multiple techniques because each of them results in different looks. I've done quite a fair bit of hairspray chipping and I've come to the conclusion that it is a lot of work for some very inconsistent results. Sometimes it works really well and other times the surface paint just refuses to budge or comes off in clumps that are too big. I've not done much in terms of salt chipping but it doesn't seem to offer enough flexibility for my tastes... once the salt is set, you are done. And if you set it wrong... you are REALLY done! I've done chipping by paint and although it has its place, I personally don't like the results that I get using this technique.

I'm really liking the silver pencil. It offers a 1-2 combo that's difficult to beat: it yields the finest detail AND it's the easiest to use. The biggest issue that I have is getting the marks to look like random paint scratches and less like someone poking a model with a pencil but that's an issue that's solvable with proper technique, which I'm learning. It's also probably not the best technique for really extensive chipping where there is more bare metal than remaining paint.

I have a set of watercolor pencils that I'm going to play with to see if I can get similar results using a darker color on lighter greys/blues of aircraft undersides.

 

[Crimea_River]

Came out nice John. I'm with you on the chipping - pencil for smaller stuff, hairspray or large areas. Personally, I tend to place less emphasis on the underside of models. I shouldn't, but I do.

 

[JKim]

Thanks Andy! I think it's natural to neglect the underside since the model normally rests with the underside facing down, away from view. The lack of documentation of aircraft undersides probably contributes to this as well. Something for me to consider in the future.

 

[javlin]

John that is probably the best rendition of the Ki-45's camo I have seen!Fantastic Job!!

 

[Gnomey]

Great work John!

 

[JKim]

Thanks for positive comments guys!

 

[Night Fighter Nut]

Extremely well done John.

 

[JKim]

Thank you very much Bill!