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Hi all, Just wrapped up my first Japanese fighter i've built since i was a kid. I had a choice from the stash, an Eduard Zero or this Finemold Oscar. I wanted a challenge and the Oscar's schemes looked far most interesting than a boring old zero! I've always liked the look of the Oscar and the way the fuselage tapers down to an almost unbelievably thin section at the tail, such an elegant aircraft to my eyes. The Finemolds kit gives you options to build either a late or early Ki-43 II and i settled on the early version depicting Satoru Anabuki's aircraft from 50th Hiko Sentai in Burma 1943. The build was fairly straight forward although i did encounter a few difficulties in getting the cockpit to fit and with the wingroots. I really struggled to fill the join and sand it smooth enough, especially obvious when the silver was applied (so don't look too hard!). Built OOB, the only additions being the brake lines, ignition lines on the engine and a couple of machine guns made from tubing. Looking at @Zigomar's recent model I wish I'd made the effort to open the engine cowls but mine was all glued on before i saw his excellent build. Looking at pictures of the camouflage, the edges of the paint look quite rough, so smooth airbrush camo wouldn't do. I got round this by applying hairspray first, then free handed the camo with the airbrush and then rubbing away at the edges to achieve the effect i was looking for. A few washes and oils later and here we are. I'm debating on whether to do a little base for this one as an airfield in Burma sounds like it would be fun to have a go at. I've also just finished the airfield scene for it to sit on. You can see more pics here in the diorama section https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235129154-mingaladon-airfield-burma-1943/#comment-4750308, but here's a few anyway That's all and thanks for looking Graeme

Nakajima Ki-43-II Ko/Otsu Hayabusa ‘Japan’s Allies’ (SH72479) 1:72 Special Hobby The Nakajima Ki-43-II Otsu Hayabusa, known to the Allies as the 'Oscar' was a single-seat, single-engined fighter that was flown by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force from 1941 until the end of the War. The design utilised the same 14-cylinder Nakajima Sakae radial engine as the infamous Mitsubishi Zero, and in fact in the heat of battle, the two aircraft were often confused by Allied aviators. Just like the Zero, the Hayabusa was light, nimble and exceptionally manoeuvrable, and just like the Zero, its Achilles heel was a lack of armour and self-sealing fuel tanks. The Ki-43-II introduced a more powerful engine with two-stage supercharger, strengthened wings with hardpoints for fuel tanks or bombs, armour for the pilot and basic self-sealing fuel tanks. In service the Hayabusa at first enjoyed enormous success thanks to its phenomenal rate of turn and lively performance. This was soon countered by the introduction of more advanced Allied fighters with heavier armour and armament, which removed much of the Ki-43's previous advantage. During the war the Japanese supplied their allies with fighters as a matter of course, including Manchuria, a puppet-state of Japan and Thailand. They weren’t used in great numbers because of Japan’s own need, but this changed after WWII, with China operating captured airframes, France, Korea and Indonesia procuring their aircraft from derelict stocks that would have otherwise been scrapped, but which they repaired to flying condition. The Kit This is a reboxing with new decals of the 2009 kit from Special Hobby, and it arrives in a modest top-opening box with a brace of Manchurian Oscars flying over broken cloud with a verdant stretch of land beneath them. Inside the box is a resealable clear foil bag with five sprues in grey styrene, a clear sprue in its own Ziploc bag, decals in another resealable bag, and the instruction booklet that is printed in colour on glossy paper in an A5 portrait form factor. Detail is good throughout with fine engraved panel lines, raised and recessed features in all the usual places such as cockpit, engine and landing gear bays. Construction begins with the cockpit, which is based on a flat floor, to which the two-part seat, rudder pedals and control column are attached, painting them and the sidewalls Nakajima cockpit green, and adding sidewall details depending on which decal option you are building. The instrument panel is fitted to the front of the cockpit opening during closure of the fuselage halves, at which point the single part elevators are fixed to the sides of the tail on twin pegs, with the tail wheel below, then creating the wings from full-span lower, and split uppers that leave space for the fuselage to fill. There are two cowling options for this boxing, both using the same engine part that is moulded into a bulkhead at the rear, fitting into the top cowling with two side panels, lining up on the ribs inside and painting the exhausts that project from under the cooling gills a suitable colour. The completed cowling is mated to the flat front of the fuselage and given a three-blade prop with separate spinner that slots into the hole in the centre of the bell-housing, with decal option A having a chin intake that comprises three parts. The canopy is split between windscreen and opener, first installing the gunsight and headrest at either end of the short opening before gluing it in position, then adding an antenna mast to the cowling on the starboard side in front of the cockpit. A clear landing light and pitot probe are inserted into the leading edge of the port wing, and you are advised to string an antenna wire of 0.02mm between the mast and tip of the tail fin. The landing gear struts are single parts that accept the wheels at the lower end, and have a captive bay door fixed to the outer side, adding another small door almost flush to the wing at the edge of the bay. Decal option C carries a pair of two-part fuel tanks that are held on a small pylon with a pair of sway-braces inserted on pegs, then an additional diagram shows their location 27mm out from the model’s centreline. Markings There are three options on the decal sheet, one Manchurian and two Thai aircraft, all wearing substantially different schemes and decals, none of which could be considered mainstream or common-place. From the box you can build one of the following: Ki-43-II Koh Hayabusa, Manchuka Imperial Air Force, Manchuria, 1945 Ki-43-II Otsu Hayabusa, Foong Bin 15 (15 Air Sqn.), Royal Thai Air Force, Don Muang, Thailand, 1943 Ki-43-II Otsu Hayabusa, Flt. Lt. Therdsak Worrasap, Foong Bin 15 (15 Air Sqn.), Royal Thai Air Force, Don Muang, Thailand, Autumn, 1944 The decals appear to be printed using the same digital processes as Eduard are now using, and have good registration, sharpness, and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut loosely around the printed areas. I mention Eduard because from 2021, the carrier film on their decals can be coaxed away from the printed part of the decal after they have been applied, effectively rendering them carrier film free, making the completed decals much thinner and more realistic, and obviating the need to apply successive coats of clear varnish to hide the edges of the carrier film. It’s a great step further in realism from my point of view, and saves a good quantity of precious modelling time into the bargain. Conclusion A different take on a late war Japanese fighter in the hands of lesser-known operators, with some interesting schemes. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

With my Hien nearly finished I have time for a second entry: Hasegawa 1/72 Nakajima Ki-43-II Hayabusa (Peregrine Falcon). Sprue shot: I’ll be using Berna Decals for Major Yasuhiko Kuroe when acting as CO of the 64th Sentai in Burma, with the blue arrow on the tail: Made a start today assembling the cockpit and adding a little detail to the side walls even though very little will be seen through the tiny opening: Assembled the wings and tanks as well: This promises to be a very quick build! Thanks for looking. AW

Recently completed in the Turning Japanese Group Build, Hasegawa 1/72 Nakajima Ki-43-II Army type 1 Fighter Hayabusa (Peregrine Falcon) Allied reporting name “Oscar”. Built OOB with the fuselage bands and tail arrow from Berna Decals sheet 72-117 Oscar Part II. I had to use the kit decals for the Hinomarus as the Berna ones were out of register. Model completed as the aircraft flown by Capt. Yasuhiko Kuroe while acting CO of the 64th Sentai based at Toungoo Burma in March 1943. Painted with AK interactive acrylics, the heavy waring around the wing roots was done using the hairspray technique, smaller areas of chipping done with a toothpick. The Dead Design canopy mask set was also used. Thanks for looking. AW

This is the older but still pretty good Hasegawa Ki 43. The wing to fuselage joint is about the only real issue with the kid that requires some attention, also it seems pretty difficult to have the flaps in the retracted position. Decals come from Dying Sun III sheet which are very nice to use. This aircraft was one of several discovered in the Hollandia area that hosted several airfields. Between May and November 1944 the 5th Air Force, 317th Troop Carrier Group, 41st Troop Carrier Squadron recovered and restored this machine to airworthy status. When the 41st moved on, the aircraft was left. Sometime after it suffered a landing accident and was towed out to the dump where it was probably buried or burned at wars end. This was also my first crack at Alcald. I used airframe aluminium over a Revell gloss black. Pretty good stuff, although I would give more attention to surface and undercoat preparation next time. I was also not expecting the amount needed, this using 3/4 of a small bottle. At 10 bucks per bottle it's rather expensive, but the finish is really nice. Thanks for looking.

Ki-43-IIa "Oscar" | Hasegawa | 1/72 Japan -- 50th Sentai, 3rd Chutai -- Satoru Anabuki, Pilot 1943 Finished this one on Feburary 3rd, 2019. It was done completely on impulse. After reading a complementary review of the old Hasegawa Oscar kit, I pulled that same kit out of my stash and started working on it. The reviewer was pleased with how the kit just fell together, which was mostly true for me, except for the port wing which had some interference keeping it from making a snug fit -- never figured it out and had to do a little filling to compensate. When I looked closely at a build log of this same kit, I couldn't see that person had the same problem, so I guess I'm just lucky. The Ki-43 Oscar was the Imperial Japanese Army's primary fighter until mid- to late-1943 when better types were introduced. It is often mistaken for the Zero by non-enthusiasts, but the Zero was a superior fighter to the Oscar. The Oscar was nimble and in the right hands could be a potent adversary. I like to think of it kind of like our P-40: It was a workhorse that served through the entire conflict and was "good enough". This particular aircraft was flown by Sgt. Satoru Anabuki, who ended WWII with 51 claimed victories (39 officially recognized). After the war he flew helicopters for the Japanese defense force, retiring as a Lt. Colonel in 1971. He went on to fly for Japan airlines, retiring from there in 1984. He passed away in 2005. Finishing: Seams filled with CA (superglue), port wing root seam filled with Apoxie Sculpt epoxy putty. Paints: no primer > Tamiya TS30 Silver Leaf (decanted into airbrush) > Some panels painted with Mr. Color Super metallic stainless steel (darker) > some panels painted with Alclad White Aluminum (lighter) > Dark aluminum used for faint shading > Mottling is a mix of Mr. Color greens to replicate Tamiya IJA green > Tamiya IJA gray for control surfaces > sealed with Testors Metallizer sealer Decals: Kit decals Kinda wish I knew how to make the bottom a little dirtier. It looks a little too clean, but will be OK sitting on a shelf. One thing I noticed in the historical reference photos I have is that the nose cone on most (not all...) Oscars was really chewed up! Sometimes it was the most worn part of the plane. I wonder if it's because of the Hucks starter they used? Backing the starter truck up can't be easy -- maybe they bunged up the nose that way? Anyway, I used salt chipping on the nose and front of the cowl to match the look of the historical photos I had. Painted the engine black, and then went over it with a pencil -- new technique for me, but it worked really well! I treated this build like a full NMF build, even though it might have been completely covered by mottling. This gave me the opportunity to practice a bit more with the Silver Leaf. I found that adding a little Mr. Color leveling thinner and then spraying it so that it wet makes for a much more reflective surface than on my previous build I used it on (Jian Ji-2). Build notes: The Hasegawa kit practically fell together. I was apprehensive about the raised panel lines, but I think they look OK. The eye can be tricked into thinking they are recessed. I think I may be more comfortable with NMF and raised panel lines since this one came out OK, which means there might be a Airfix P-80 on my bench soon! Mottling on the empanage was Tamiya IJA green, but I found that it scratched off very easily! Not easily enough to take it off though, so I switched to Mr. Color for the rest. I found that scratched off fairly easily, but not nearly as easily as the Tamiya acrylic. I'm still not sure about the durability of acrylics, although the slickness of the NMF may partially to blame here. I had the worst time trying to decide how to do the mottling. There aren't many good quality historical photos of the Oscar, and those that are there seem to have mottling styles that are all over the place. Same with models I've seen, some are like mine, some are a fine scribble. I couldn't find any reference photos of Anabuki's plane, so in the end I used the Hasegawa studio model as a reference, hoping they'd done their homework! Thanks for looking! Comments, questions and constructive criticism always welcome!

Hi, Next from shelvs. This is a very vinatge model - I made it in 1976 or 77, when I was about 17 -18 yeras old....This is old LS kit and painting scheme is presenting machine of Head Quater Chutai, 77 Sentai, Burma 43-44. https://weaponsandwarfare.files.wordpress.com/2015/10/zbdfgbdfg.jpg Recently I only wash it carefuly from dust (was really dark) and replaced the hinomarus from top and on fuselage - they were in bad shape... I gave also fresh a bit satin Vallejo varnish cover... Comments welcome and regards Jerzy-Wojtek

Hello! Here is my Oscar EW5894 from the movie Hot Shots! Jay Chladek sent me his custom decals. it worked great! Some screenshot: [bMy build[/b] I had a lot of fun building this tiny plane ;D Hope you had too seeing it ^^ Cheers! rom