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1/72 Communist Chinese Ki-43


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A bit of fun while some serious modelling should have been going on (Mach2 WB-57F)...............

 

I found a Hasegawa Ki43 in my local discount store for £4.69, remembering it as a decent kit I couldn't resist especially as i had just joined the Asian Air Arms SIG and had thoughts of Indonesian markings. A thread on here diverted me to Communist China and enquiries were followed up with help in the form of decals and information. Thanks go to Patrick for decals and guidance and Nicholas Millman for detailed help.

 

Built straight from the box the main problem was finishing. The information from Nick Millman was that the 4 aircraft used by the Communists came from a Japanese training unit which had early Ki-43-IIs. The problem is they had a mix of solid and mottle finished aircraft and it is not known what the Chinese took, with the additional complication that a worn solid finish can look like mottle in a photograph, especially a poor quality one of only part of an aircraft. No photos of aircraft in Chinese Communist markings are known anyway, the only source known to Nick is a drawing in a Chinese book. This seems to have been interpreted many ways online and by decal manufacturers. What follows is my interpretation, all errors are mine and do not reflect on Nick, Patrick or any other source.

 

The mottle finish was my first attempt with a double-action airbrush - more practice required! Colours were Tamiya JA Green and Flat Aluminium as they were what I had to hand while the cockpit was a mix of US Interior Green and Zinc Chromate Yellow to try to get to the colour advised by Nick.

 

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A neat and tidy build, the mottle looks fine to me, I'm just getting to grips with doing this as well, its all a learning curve!

 

:goodjob:

 

Davey.

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