Hasegawa 1/48 Kawanishi N1K1-Ja Shiden

[JKim]

I decided to try the salt method to add some wear effects on the upper surfaces. It's a messy technique that I incorporated thusly... wetting the upper surfaces with water and sprinkling various grades of salt crystals onto the model. The matt surface tended to pool the water so I had to push the salt around with my brush.

Once the salt/water is dry, I airbrushed a VERY dilute light grey over the upper surfaces in uneven patterns. Let the grey dry and remove the salt. First with a stiff paint brush to get the majority of the crystals off and then with water and a piece of cloth to finish the cleaning. You should get an uneven wear pattern. It looks pretty abrupt in the picture below but it got toned down with another matt coat.

 

[JKim]

After the salt wear was finished, it was simply a matter of attaching the engine cowling assembly and the various fiddly bits such as the dorsal antenna, the pitot tube, the cannon barrels and the foot pegs. The canopy masks are carefully removed and voila... the N1K1 Shiden is complete!

Here are the finished photos of the N1K1-Ja. The markings depict an aircraft of the Yatabe Flying Group operating from Tsukuba Air Base in Kasama City, Ibaraki Prefecture.

 

[Wurger]

Well done.

 

[fubar57]

Agreed, great job

 

[Gnomey]

Great work!

 

[Crimea_River]

I love it! I might try that method on my next GB subject, known to be very wear-prone.

 

[JKim]

Thanks guys! The salt fading technique yields some cool results but it is a bit of a mess to deal with. Definitely cover your work surface with a temporary catch-all... that salt gets all over the place!