Tamiya Kawasaki Ki-61-1 Tei "Hien" 1/48th

[Jon Kunac-Tabinor]

Hi _ well I started this a while back - and then forgot to take pics - but the model falls together in true Tamiya style, so this is more of a Painting in Progress I guess....

....Ive got some decals from MYK design on the way via HLJ - which are an intriguing wet applied, then peel-off-carrier-film-when-dry type - so as much as anything it will be interesting to see how they perform!

 

Tempted though I was by Kobayashi's machine - it is, however, the Ki-61 equivalent of  Showtime 100 for an F-4 or JE-J for a Spit IX,  so I've decided on a scheme in the factory applied late war "yellow-green" / Olive-Green / Brown-Green ( take your pick on the name - it's just not JAAF green! LOL) scheme over unpainted undersides. Theres a choice of two at the mo - and I can't decide which.....

 

In the meantime I've airbrushed airframe overall with a decanted mix of Tamiya TS-30 and some medium sea grey. Then panels were masked out and airbrushed in tonally different shades of the same mix, some Tamiya smoke post-shaded over, and a mix of Tamiya clear gloss tinted with original mix applied to pull it all together and tone it down a tad.  This is a new technique for me - so Im playing around a lot with it!

 

 

The effect is bit more subtle in reality than the photo - its just the gloss makes it so shiny that getting any angle on the surface without sun-glare is really difficult.

 

More to come

 

Jonners

 

[Crossofiron1971]

I don't know about 'testing' that's a superb job sir!

[Thom216]

Nice shading work. And I'm intrigued about the decals. Will be watching...

[Jon Kunac-Tabinor]

Afternoon - well the decals have arrived, and I've chosen a scheme which uses the tail markings from the sheet at least!  So top surface has been painted in my home brew mix for #7 Yellow-green.  This is basically a brown-olive green, so from some angles it looks brown, and from others, yep... olive, and from others it looks rather drab too - see below

 

It's hard to see with the gloss tint overcoat on, so this may not look like much!  Like all acrylics the colour needs to develop over the next day or so as it fully dries out - thats my experience of Tamiya anyway - so what you see below may not be the final colour!

 

 

Jonners

[Jon Kunac-Tabinor]

Right - heres where I'm at. Painting is finished and have started to decal.  The only decals I need from the MYK set are the 56th Sentai fin markings - which are perhaps a bit big for the scheme I want to do - but ho hum...

 

Anyway - you cut them out as normal - making sure you don't cut into the carrier film - dip them in water as normal and then apply as normal. I used a bit of Mr Mark Setter underneath - and the decal settled down nicely. Now I have to wait 24 hours and i can remove the carrier film with tape or by gently peeling it seems.

 

 

Heres how she is as of now.  The leading edge yellow ID markings are the Tamiya decals - which are lovely, as are the fuselage Hinomaru.

 

 

Jonners