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If anyone is looking for a good film recommendation, go see Godzilla Minus One. I saw it last week at my local art cinema and it blew me away, had me glued to my seat from start to finish. I'm not a massive Godzilla fan, but when the 2014 flick with Brian Cranston came out, I got the chance to watch the 1954 original on the big screen. The 2014 film was OK, but the original was brilliant! Godzilla Minus One is right up there with the 1954 original. I have heard talk of a black and white release, and am keeping my fingers crossed it gets a UK theatre release. And I've mentioned it here just because of the Shinden in it! https://www.scalemates.com/kits/hasegawa-52739-kyushu-j7w1-interceptor-fighter-shinden-godzilla-minus-one-movie-version--1512995

Decided that the next challenge should be an old kit, one with raised panel lines that needed a full engraving and riveting job done on it; chickening out on old Monogram B-24 & B-26 kits as I wanted a quicker build, out came this old Hasegawa kit; this still hasn't been a quick build: too much work and trying to slowly pack up the house ahead of a move in the new year. Overall this is a surprisingly good kit, yes the detail is not up to modern standards, but the fit is very good, making for a simple, fast build. The only challenge is the one I set myself. I didn't add much to the cockpit, just careful painting a few handles on the throttles, and a seat borrowed from a N1K1 Shiden update set (yes, I misread it and ordered the set for a different aircraft!) The to work with the engraver and the rivet tool; there are some lines already engraved around the intake and on the wing, but the rest are me. I left some raised lines in inaccessible areas and for small rectangular hatches; most of the rivet layout is my imagination as I could not find a decent plan. I chose to depict larger fasteners around the gun access panels. All this is highlighted with Vallejo black panel line wash; this wipes off bare plastic easily when dry, leaving a nice contrast, but over paint it doesn't seem to come off at all, so I avoid using it over primer. I am not bothering with primer here, rather going straight over the plastic. And initially this seemed to be working out well; this is the underside grey going down, using the Mission Models system for the first time It did not work out quite so well in reality; I don't know what it is like over primer, but over bare plastic this stuff comes off with the lightest of touches, its very fragile. And yes it went down nice and wet, so this isn't a drying-too-quick issue. In the end I wiped it all off - and it was easy to wipe off - and laid down some XtracrylixNeutral Grey (I am not too fussed about colour accuracy for this one) A quick spray of interior green over the canopy and we are ready to mask up and lay down the green Everything seems to show through nicely A slightly lighter version of the green was then used to break up the monotone a bit, and some pastel work to add a bit of dirt here and there; obviously this is all in what-if territory as this aircraft never saw combat, indeed I believe it was never actually fitted with real guns, so the kit is a bit 1946 as presented by Hasegawa And that brings us up to date; I hope to be adding a gloss coat and decals in the next few days, assuming they are still usable after 30 years in a box!

Hello guys, here's my latest build, Hasegawa's 1:48 J7W1. The original box of this kit was for the jet version J7W2, but I wanted to have another J7W1, so I used the propeller that came with the kit. The name Shinden means "Magnificent Lightning" when translated, so the decals are really appropriate for this aircraft.

Hello guys, here's my next model, Hasegawa's Shinden in 48th scale. I'll be building it as the propeller pushed J7W1 instead of the jet powered J7W2, but I'll add the underneath fuel tank.

Finished the Shinden yesterday, and I can say that this model has aged nicely, almost no flash, crisp raised panel lines and good fit overall. Since the real aircraft only made three flights before World War Two´s end, I decided I could go the IJN 46 route and paint it with some ace pilot markings, such as the yellow engine intakes and the band in front of the cockpit. Other than that, I didn´t deviate too much from the standard IJN camouflage scheme of green over (white) grey. And yes, I know I missed to paint the yellow leading edge bands until they met the fuselage. The decals were of Hasegawa´s new style, and they worked perfectly. I knew though, that the Hinomarus on the upper wings wouldn´t conform to the bumps there, so I decided to slice the decals over those areas, and repaint them in red after the decals were dry.

I decided to give Flickr for Android a try, since my table is currently occupied by the Shinden. Its pretty bad, it doesn't let me share the images because "there isn't an image for that url." I began the model today, and this is its current state, ready for painting. I decided to leave out the canards until after decaling, putting the aircraft on its gear and adding the propeller assembly, should I need to add more weight in the nose. Hasegawa recommends 1g of weight to be put as forward as possible, but I added a 10g weight and a smaller one ahead of it above the nose gear well. I don't know if that will be enough to avoid tail sitting, but the landing gear is really skinny and tall, and I don't want to add useless weight and overstress the nose gear. What do you guys think, will I need more weight?

Hi guys, I have never tried what if before, mainly because I was worried about ruining a model. However, having purchased a J7W1 Shinden, I thought that as it only ever flew a couple of times, and schemes are limited to say the least, I would have a go. I understand that the normal starting point is to make a back story, so, with apologies to any colonial members I knocked up the following. Feel free to criticise my attempt at rewriting history. Following the attack on Pearl harbour in December 1941, the previously neutral Americans were drawn in to WWII thirsting for revenge. This single event effectively made the Second World War truly global. The Japanese military then began a series of strikes and invasions across the Pacific, quickly taking Singapore, Guam, Borneo, and on into the Philippines. By the end of 1941 the Japanese had taken Hong Kong, and Manila. 1942 began much the same way, with Japanese forces seemingly invincible as they expanded their grasp over the pacific rim islands. A joining of forces with the Germans and Italians strengthened their cause. In response, the American forces started to grow in strength, and pledged to stop this expansion. Acceptance that the Pearl Harbour restricted immediate actions, the Americans relied heavily on their carriers, and set about finding the Japanese carriers in order to wrest control from the Japanese. In order to boost morale, and to demonstrate to Japan that America was not impotent, a raid on Japan was planned. The “Doolittle” surprise raid on the 18th April achieved this objective with much praise and rejoicing in the US. The Japanese responded by accelerating planned point defence fighters. May 7th saw a pivotal battle in the Pacific Theatre with the start of the Battle of the Coral Sea. This was the first naval engagement conducted purely by airpower from carriers. As the Japanese moved their naval forces in preparation of the invasion of Port Moresby, the intercepted communications allowed the US forces to react by sending Yorktown, Enterprise, Hornet and Lexington into the area with the intention of sinking the Japanese fleet carriers. Japanese scout submarines in the area were tasked with supporting and protecting the Japanese carriers Zuikaku and Shōkaku and the light carrier Shōhō. Both forces sent out scout forces to locate and identify the enemy forces. Mid morning of the 7th saw Yorktown aircraft identify Shōhō and her destroyer escort. Despite almost suicidal attacks, the SBD’s were unable to broach the shield, losing one third of the force for one destroyer sunk and one damaged. Shōhō sailed on unharmed. In response, the Japanese fleet armed for immediate launch of strike aircraft. Half an hour after the attack, the submarine I-21 spotted the returning Americans and relayed their position and direction to the main fleet. Angered by the American assault, Shigeyoshi Inoue demanded immediate response. The Imperial Japanese Navy prepared to launch its own strike, and started with scout aircraft. Following the lead from I-21, the search concentrated on the northern approaches whilst the strike force assembled. A stroke of luck occurred when the Kawashina floatplane from the Furutaka spotted the American fleet and radioed their position. The American fleet, recovering their strike planes were caught in the open. Twenty minutes later the Japanese Val and Kate strike force began their assault. With limited defense, there was little the Americans could do, and in short order Yorktown and Lexington suffered catastrophic damage. Hornet managed to avoid the torpedoes aimed at her, but suffered from the Val dive bombers. Twenty minutes after the attack was instigated, the Japanese aircraft withdrew. In their wake, Yorktown had been sunk, Lexington was irreparably damaged, and Hornet had received sufficient damage to need to withdraw from the area. Enterprise left the battlle area and steamed towards the mainland, eventually arriving at Alemeda base near Los Angeles. Two weeks later, Hornet limped into the dry dock area fro repair. This setback had a profound impact on the American war machine. Suddenly vulnerable, Germany first seemed nothing but words in the wind. A lip service was paid to the British in the supply of fighters and AFVs, but the bombers were being held back to the west coast in case the Japanese invaded. Urgency was given to any project which could bring the striking force to the Japanese mainland, and eyes were drawn to the new B29 from Boeing. One year earlier than planned, the B29 took to the air, albeit in a less developed form. Despite warnings from Boeing and the war ministry, the new B29 was ushered into service despite known shortcomings. The first raid took place against Tokyo on September 15th 1942. Extensive damage was caused by this raid, prompting the Japanese to bring into service the J7W1 Shin Den. Very quickly, this new design started making its effect felt amongst the bomber streams. The heavy firepower, incredible agility and speed made it an unwelcome introduction to the US airmen tasked with the destruction of the Japanese war machine. Within weeks, the Shin Den had gained superiority over the home islands. Meanwhile, in Germany, the RLM were struggling to stem the British night intruders. The Lancaster and Halifax bombers were adequately being fought by the BF110 and JU88 night fighters, but the Mosquito menace was becoming uncontrollable. In desperation, the RLM looked for inspiration from their new allies in the east. As a result, twelve Shin Den airframes were dispatched to Germany and equipped with the defense forces to the west of Dortmund. Their task? Find and destroy the Mosquito intruders. Not the best introduction, but I have decided to join the dark side and dip my toe into the murky waters that seems to be known as WHIF. For your delight (or other wise) I will be attempting to build the SWS 1:48th Shin Den as a Luftwaffe “Defense of the Reich” machine. All marking will of course be fictitious, so ya boo sucks to you to all the Luftwaffe experts out there. Enjoy. Starting point is the box shot Most of my work is glacial, but I shall try to progress this.

My obsession with the amazing imcth "Fine Structure" models has finally run out of steam! I have just finished their Shinden, having previously built the ASM Zero, P51D Mustang and Bf109G. This is my build log http://shindenbuildlog.tumblr.com/ I hope you enjoy it I decided to write my build log in one gigantic burst after finishing the project. I find this is more effective than a "real time' episodic account and is much easier on the author (me) and the reader (you)