Fukuryu

You can ask @Bangseat directly.

Beautiful pictures, @robstopper! Thank you very much for using your privileged access to benefit us all with these great shots. It's hard to pick a favourite, but for obvious reasons this one warms my heart:

Thank you, Graham. If I were closer to you we may have arranged a deal. Not that I will ever build it but It would be nice to complete the E16A collection.

Well, more or less at the same time as Fujimi Special Hobby released a short-run E16A, with plenty of resin for the interior and engine (14 individual cylinders for the Kinsei) and vacform canopy. Still have it and I consider it kind of a AM set for the Fujimi kit. Before that, since 1964 the Aoshima kit was generally available, nominally in 1/72. That one I don't have.

So does Opera.

May it be Mount Seler?

Bingo! Tachikawa Ki-77 it is. The aircraft left Singapore to fly to Germany without further stops but it was never seen again or heard of. The theory is that it was shot down by the RAF but no firm evidence has been found. My idea was to post something else about the aircraft but I'm on holidays, I did bring my laptop, I remembered to bring the charger... but I forgot my glasses!🤦‍♂️ I'm using my phone and that limits how much I can write, sorry. Over to you, @GiampieroSilvestri.

Not that specific, Giampiero. I'm afraid not.

Military. Hint: Me. I am the hint.

@GiampieroSilvestri, as @Billos says and contrary to the popular saying Google is NOT your friend when you try to find more esoteric information; you have to coerce it. It took me several tries and the link that gave me the right information was buried after a lot of inconsequential (for the purpose) matches. @Dave Swindell, thank you for pointing me towards James Melrose and his achievements, he did in his short 23 years of life much more than I can dream to do in mine. I will take the helm now with an easy one: In 1943 a long-range aircraft took off for a record-setting flight. So long-ranged it was that we are still waiting for it to land. Which aircraft I am talking about? (I will be travelling in the next few hours so if you don't hear back from me and think you have the right answer, give yourself a medal and ask the next question)

De Havilland DH.80A VH-UQO property of James Melrose, a 21-year old Australian, that in 1934 flew solo around Australia in 5 days 11 hours beating the previous record. The same year, once again alone, flew from Darwin to London in 8 days 9 hours, a new record. He flew there to take part in the MacRobertson Centenary Air Race from London to Melbourne. He arrived in seventh place and qualified 2nd in the Handicap Section, winning £500. The aircraft was named "My Hildergarde" after his mother.

Then definitively not Hadfield since he was born in 1959.

I was also thinking of Chris Hadfield but I can't find any reference to him being a Golden Hawks performer. He did fly Vintage Wings of Canada's "Hawk One" at least once, but that was I think in 2015, when he was already known for his out of this world (literally) cover of "Space Oddity"

That should not be an excuse for inaccurate kits.

I can see the picture of what is obviously the elusive prototype of the bolted S-55. Paint it copper and bronze and it will be a nice steampunk project.