Navy Bird Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 Hi mates, How do the available Kawasaki Ki-61 kits compare in 1:72 scale? Hasegawa, DML, Fine Molds, RS (I think we can leave out the old Revell kit and others of that ilk). Short nose, long nose, fastback, etc. I'm not finding a lot of reviews on-line, but that just may be me today. Any and all advice is appreciated! Cheers, Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Boak Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 The Hasegawa is old and fairly basic but crisp. I disliked the Dragon, thinking it "soggy" in comparison, and sold it on rapidly at a loss. The original Fine Molds ones were a mix of the Hasegawa kit with replacement parts for the different variants. I gather that they have since done replacements of at least some variants. I don't have the RS ones but have other RS kits of the same vintage (including a Ki60) and find them of high quality, but with the smaller parts coming as etched metal which doesn't appeal to everyone. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Hall Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 Is there a particular variant, set of markings or date of combat you want? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3DStewart Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 Taking 1:72 . . . Dragon have done two versions of the Ki-61-I. The original was quite nice with good internal detail. The second (current) version is the first with a corrected propeller, optional weighted tyres and alternative parts for all the common weapon arrangements for the Ki-61-I. Fine Molds now produce good original kits of all versions of the Tony and are probably the best available, though the competition is strong. The FM K-61-I has an optional removed upper cowl with the top of the engine, bearers and MGs modelled if you like that sort of thing. Some boxings also come with brass cannon barrels and 'body stocking' decals so you don't have to paint the green mottling. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Millman Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 Fine Molds now produce good original kits of all versions of the Tony and are probably the best available, though the competition is strong. The FM K-61-I has an optional removed upper cowl with the top of the engine, bearers and MGs modelled if you like that sort of thing. Some boxings also come with brass cannon barrels and 'body stocking' decals so you don't have to paint the green mottling. The Fine Molds kits cover Ki-61-I Otsu and Hei with fixed tailwheels and the Ki-61-II. They do not offer a Ko or early Otsu with retractable tailwheels or the longer nosed Ki-61-I Tei. They used to do a 'bubbletop' Ki-61-II Kai but it is no longer in production and was one of their early hybrid kits that combined new FM parts and white metal with old Hasegawa Tei parts. Issues with Dragon's kit are described here:- http://www.aviationofjapan.com/2008/10/dragons-tony-tribulations-part-1.html http://www.aviationofjapan.com/2008/10/dragons-tony-tribulations-part-2.html Nick 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navy Bird Posted March 8, 2015 Author Share Posted March 8, 2015 Is there a particular variant, set of markings or date of combat you want? I'm just starting my research, so I have no specific version or marking schemes yet. That will probably fall into place once I get an idea of how the kits stack up. Cheers, Bill 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelglue Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 If it helps Bill, I have four kits of the airframe in question and it was decided amongst peers that the Dragon was the best. Mine include the: Dragon Fine Molds fastback and bubble top (KI-100) RS Models with the super charger. They are all nice but here is a link to the HLJ site and the RS KI-100. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navy Bird Posted March 8, 2015 Author Share Posted March 8, 2015 Thanks, folks. Lots of good links and good advice. I've found the Fine Molds Ki-61 and Ki-100 kits at Banzai Hobbies in Japan for approximately $12 each with very reasonable shipping to the USA. I'm searching through their catalog to see if they have any of the Dragon or RS kits, since that seems like pretty good pricing on the Fine Molds kits. (Their Fine Molds Messerschmitt kits are similarly priced.) I found a Hasegawa combo Ki-61 kit on eBay for $30 which is what started this. Seeing as I know little about this aircraft and even less about the model kits, I figured I'd better ask! Cheers, Bill 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Procopius Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 The Hasegawa kit, by the by, is of the same vintage or thereabouts as their P-40E and Ki-44 kits, if you're familiar with those; pleasant builds (well...maybe not the P-40E...) but rather less detailed than their more modern stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Neu- Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 Thanks, folks. Lots of good links and good advice. I've found the Fine Molds Ki-61 and Ki-100 kits at Banzai Hobbies in Japan for approximately $12 each with very reasonable shipping to the USA. I'm searching through their catalog to see if they have any of the Dragon or RS kits, since that seems like pretty good pricing on the Fine Molds kits. (Their Fine Molds Messerschmitt kits are similarly priced.) I found a Hasegawa combo Ki-61 kit on eBay for $30 which is what started this. Seeing as I know little about this aircraft and even less about the model kits, I figured I'd better ask! Cheers, Bill I've built both. In some way they share the same issue: non-existent Instrument panels, some poor fitting areas. I quite like the hasegawa kit: its simple but has pretty nice details for a older kit. This is the Fine Molds' Ki-65-II. I don't have a final photo... but it too is a OOB build. the cockpit is okay, except for the decalled IP. It didn't have an IP, but nice sidewall views. The fit was ok, but it had a few problem areas, like the nose gun pieces. This is the last photo I took of it. I'd recommend both... Fine molds have a PE set that can be used for both with IP and nice gear bay doors. The Fine Molds kit for 12 is very worth it, adding a PE really sets it apart. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sroubos Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 I recently got a Rising Decals set for a ski-equipped Tony, but I've only got the Hasegawa kit, which is the wrong version allegedly? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Millman Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 I recently got a Rising Decals set for a ski-equipped Tony, but I've only got the Hasegawa kit, which is the wrong version allegedly? There are two Rising ski-sets for Tony, one for an Otsu and one for a Hei, whereas the Hasegawa kit represents a Tei with the longer nose. The resin parts although designed for the Fine Molds kits clearly work ok with the Hasegawa kit as the Japanese Air Model Special magazine fitted a Hasegawa Tei with the RD Acr-009 set for the Otsu. It looks good! Both sets include fictitious markings. The testing of the ski undercarriage was supposedly at Hokkaido circa 1943 and the first Tei was manufactured in January 1944. I don't know whether any Tei were tested with the skis so it depends how much of a stickler you are! Btw Ko, Otsu, Hei, Tei, etc., are sequential variant designation suffixes often rendered for convenience in English as a, b, c, d. They originated from a calendar system in use during the Chinese Shang Dynasty and are known as the Ten (Celestial or Heavenly) Stems (as there are ten in total). The rendering as a, b, c, d is not a direct translation of their meaning but just a convenient equivalence. Most often used to distinguish armament variations. The suffix Kai is short for kaizou meaning re-modelled, re-structured or modified. Nick 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Procopius Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 Btw Ko, Otsu, Hei, Tei, etc., are sequential variant designation suffixes often rendered for convenience in English as a, b, c, d. They originated from a calendar system in use during the Chinese Shang Dynasty and are known as the Ten (Celestial or Heavenly) Stems (as there are ten in total). The rendering as a, b, c, d is not a direct translation of their meaning but just a convenient equivalence. Most often used to distinguish armament variations. The suffix Kai is short for kaizou meaning re-modelled, re-structured or modified. I had always wondered, and now I know! Excellent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sroubos Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 Thanks Nick, your comment has moved Hasegawa's kit near the top of the build cue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDriskill Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 (edited) I think the original question has been more than adequately answered, but a few additional points: 1. I do have a soft spot for the old Hasegawa kit. Besides the lack of internal detail already discussed, the flat surface underneath the cowl may be a little suspect, but it is quite crisply molded with subtle surface detail, easy to build, and makes a very convincing model. And it does represent the Ki-61 Tei, unlike the FM and Dragon kits. The RS kit (which I have not seen) is the only other kit to represent this important late variant, which had a somewhat longer nose and is not an easy conversion. 2. As Graham mentioned the FM kits of the late versions have existed in two versions. The original kits were basically conversion sets--the boxes contained a complete Hasegawa Ki-61 with new sprues for the fuselage. There were 4 of these kits, representing "fastback" and "teardrop" canopy versions of both the Ki-61-II, and Ki-100. I believe I'm correct in saying that all except the Ki-61-II "teardrop" have been re-released with new improved new wing moldings...making that old kit a bit of a collector's item. 3. Aoshima has released new kits of all three variants of the Ki-100: "fastback," "teardrop," and the Ki-100-II turbocharged prototypes. RS also has kits of all three Ki-100's. Edited March 9, 2015 by MDriskill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Boak Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 I think the flat surface under the engine is one of the kit's more convincing features - think of the top of a Spitfire inverted because that's an inverted-V engine inside. Underestimating the width of such a feature has long been a problem with such kits - notably the Bf109, of course. I remember being staggered when I first saw a picture of the Bf109's engine cowling opened, just how wide and flat it was. The same is true of the Ki61 - also the Macchi 202 but the more obvious bumps at the lower corners on this design mean that model toolmakers have avoided the worst traps of excessively smoothing the nose lines. I don't mean to claim that the Hasegawa Ki61 kit is spot-on accurate in this detail, but it looks convincing to me. I still have the old kits - if you know of any collector willing to pay silly prices point him in my direction please! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Millman Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 The Dragon kit was originally marketed as a Hei, but had the Otsu Ho-103 12.7mm wing blisters with the flattened rear and small gas escape vent - no long barrels for the Mauser cannon either. The nose had Tei features including the long narrow fairings just above the wing leading edge roots on each side but is a little short in length. It also had a rather crude moulded in venturi just below the windscreen on the port side which was only fitted to a few Tei. The kit was later re-marketed with optional parts supposedly for the Ko, Otsu and Hei. The cowling insert part for the Ko is spurious because that variant had the same Ho-103 12.7mm cowling guns as the Otsu and Hei - the Type 89 Kai 7.7mmm weapons were in the wings on the Ko so the wing blisters are wrong for that as well! The Ko had smaller, narrower teardrop shaped blisters slightly further forward and to the right side of the wing panels. The gas vent was a slot in the rear of the panel. The Ko also had a retractable tail wheel with separate doors - as did early production Otsu - not featured as an option in the kit which has the fixed tailwheel. The new kit includes the 'fat' blisters for the Mausers of the Hei as separate parts together with the long cannon barrels. If you ignore the nose length issues the kit can be built to represent a late production Otsu or Hei and with modification to the wing blisters and tailwheel made to represent a Ko. For any of those you need to remove the venturi and replace the narrow fairings either side of the nose with small teardrop shaped blisters. You also need to fill the four gas slots just in front of the windscreen on each side which were for the 20mm Ho-5 cannon of the Tei. But really it is still more of a 'generic' Hien - Fine Molds are a better starting point out of the box for Otsu and Hei, whilst either Hasegawa or RS offer a better Tei. So far there is no out of the box Ko, although AZ had a complete family of Hien announced at one point. For some reason some Japanese sources refer to the Ho-103 wing guns in the Otsu as 20mm whilst correctly describing the cowling guns as Ho-103 12.7mm. The Army table of aircraft designations makes no mention of this, referring to both simply as Ho-103 and I'm not aware of any 20mm version of that weapon. Nick Post script update - Ronnie Olsthoorn belatedly discovered two circular inspection (?) panels on the wings of the Hei not present on other variants. Their purpose is unknown but might be related to the fact that the German wing guns were electrically charged rather than manually charged. I'll be posting more about this at the blog after Ki-61/Ki-100 Aces is published on 20 November 2015. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfqweofekwpeweiop4 Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 Just a quick note on the Fine Molds kit. It's a nice kit and builds easily. As a bonus decals are included for the mottle camouflage and if used correctly, looks very convincing, as though it has been airbrushed. thanks Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Millman Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 Just a quick note on the Fine Molds kit. It's a nice kit and builds easily. As a bonus decals are included for the mottle camouflage and if used correctly, looks very convincing, as though it has been airbrushed. thanks Mike Hi Mike Btw the blurb on your site for the FM Otsu - bargain! - describes the armament for the Ko! The Otsu had the 12.7mm Ho-103 in both the cowling and wings. Regards Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navy Bird Posted March 9, 2015 Author Share Posted March 9, 2015 Thanks, everyone! This is great information and will help me a great deal in selecting some kits. It looks like Fine Molds for the Ki-61-I Otsu or Hei (but not the old Hasegawa hybrid kits), and either RS or Hasegawa for the Ki-61-I Tei. It seems that RS is probably the best choice for the Ki-61-II fastback and bubbletop. I sense my stash is going to get taller. I hope Memsahib doesn't notice. Cheers, Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navy Bird Posted March 9, 2015 Author Share Posted March 9, 2015 Petr from AZ has just told us of his schedule for upcoming models in a different thread. Here is what they are planning for the Ki-61: "AZ Ki-61-1 tei Hien, continues slowly agreement with Japanese distributor is, will be approximately in 4Q / 2015" I wonder what the involvement of the Japanese distributor is. Maybe this is a joint effort of some kind? Cheers, Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sroubos Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 (edited) I think this kit has been coming for a while from AZ, I remember seeing box pics from it in 2013... Or is the RS Models kit actually the AZ kit? It seems too much of a coincidence. Edited March 9, 2015 by sroubos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Boak Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 There's no connection between RS and AZ. If you look at the products of the two companies, there's a noticeable difference in "style". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfqweofekwpeweiop4 Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 Hi Mike Btw the blurb on your site for the FM Otsu - bargain! - describes the armament for the Ko! The Otsu had the 12.7mm Ho-103 in both the cowling and wings. Regards Nick Hi Nick - yes it is a bargain, quite why no one had bought it, is beyond me! If you keep reading the description, it does say the 7.7mm guns were replaced by 12.7mm guns, giving a total of 4 of the heavier weapons. . thanks Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfqweofekwpeweiop4 Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 Petr from AZ has just told us of his schedule for upcoming models in a different thread. Here is what they are planning for the Ki-61: "AZ Ki-61-1 tei Hien, continues slowly agreement with Japanese distributor is, will be approximately in 4Q / 2015" I wonder what the involvement of the Japanese distributor is. Maybe this is a joint effort of some kind? Cheers, Bill If they re-package the Fine Molds kit and do other versions from that, then that will be good. thanks Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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