1/32 Hasegawa Mitsubishi J2M3 Raiden 'Jack'

[Terry1954]

Not my scale at all but I have decided to follow this as I had the Revell one years ago when I was a young teenager! I remember it well but can't recall what happened to it.

 

Very impressed with your build. Will watch closely now!

 

Cheers

 

Terry

[CedB]

Very nice legs Stew, good job  

[spitfire]

4 hours ago, Stew Dapple said:

Thank you very much gents

 

Dennis, it was this one. Alternatively you can add a little red to RAF Trainer Yellow.

Hi Stew thanks for that, I spent quite a bit of time matching yellows when I built my Nate so as yours looked right to me I wanted to check which paint you used, I do have some ACJ19 so I am set for that part of my build, when I can get back to it that is..

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[Cookenbacher]

Glad to see back at this one Stew, it could well end up being a contest winner if you so choose.

[Stew Dapple]

20 hours ago, Terry1954 said:

Not my scale at all but I have decided to follow this as I had the Revell one years ago when I was a young teenager! I remember it well but can't recall what happened to it.

 

Very impressed with your build. Will watch closely now!

 

Thanks Terry, I imagine this kit is several decades ahead of the old Revell kit so if you ever get the opportunity to pick one up reasonably cheaply it might be worth a go; alternatively Hasegawa also do the Raiden in 1/48 and 1/72 - the last is getting on a bit but still looks a decent enough model and can be picked up for under a tenner if you look around... 

 

20 hours ago, CedB said:

Very nice legs Stew, good job  

 

Thanks very much Ced, I cycle to work every day

 

11 hours ago, Cookenbacher said:

Glad to see back at this one Stew, it could well end up being a contest winner if you so choose.

 

Agh, don't jinx me Cookie There's still plenty of time for me to make a mess of things; in any case I only build models for my interest and amusement - I think if you start building competitively it adds an extra layer to the hobby which suits some people better than others and to be honest I don't believe that includes me, or that my models actually would be competitive; certainly I have no wish to have it proved to me

 

I got the undersides masked; not taking any chances with overspray on the fuselage undersides (underspray?): 

 

 

I did mix up a little hai ryoku shoku to do the outer gear doors that I forgot yesterday, and used the remainder to pre-un-shade the fabric-covered control surfaces*:

 

 

This provided a slight variation in tone when the ACJ03 - IJN D2 Green Black/IJA #27 Blue Green was applied - not sure if you can actually detect it in the picture, which was taken after I hastily and impatiently removed the masking:

 

 

Hmm, is it me or are those leading edge ID bands a little too thick? 

 

Cheers,

 

Stew

 

* At least I hope they are fabric-covered, the detail implies it

 

 

[Azgaron]

Nice paint job!

 

Håkan

 

[CedB]

3 hours ago, Stew Dapple said:

Thanks very much Ced, I cycle to work every day

 

3 hours ago, Stew Dapple said:

I think if you start building competitively it adds an extra layer to the hobby which suits some people better than others and to be honest I don't believe that includes me, or that my models actually would be competitive; certainly I have no wish to have it proved to me

I'm with you matey... except the bit about your models not being potential winners. If we're happy with our results, that's what really matters IMHO  

[Stew Dapple]

I decided I couldn't live with the leading-edge ID marking which I felt was too thick on the topside, so had a quick re-mask and respray:

 

 

Better.

 

 

I had forgotten about the blue-black cowling anti-glare strip which probably would have been more easily done before the green was applied, so out with the masking tape again:

 

 

Hopefully I can get that done later today...

 

Cheers,

 

Stew

[AdrianMF]

Lovely work here! So lovely I think we can even forgive you for the scale... And a cracking pilot too - it is a joy to paint a well sculpted figure. 

 

Regards,

Adrian

 

[Biggles87]

What will you use for the cowling blue/black? When I heard that Aeromaster  were stopping production of their Warbird Colours I bought a couple of pots each of cowling blue/ black and Aotake ( and several others of their more exotic couloirs ).  I still have one of each unopened and I give them a shake occasionally to check that they are OK.

 

Cheers

 

John

[Stew Dapple]

12 hours ago, AdrianMF said:

Lovely work here! So lovely I think we can even forgive you for the scale... And a cracking pilot too - it is a joy to paint a well sculpted figure. 

 

Regards,

Adrian

 

 

Thanks Adrian, I did enjoy painting the wee fella, and it is also very much easier when the figure is well sculpted  

 

9 hours ago, Biggles87 said:

What will you use for the cowling blue/black? When I heard that Aeromaster  were stopping production of their Warbird Colours I bought a couple of pots each of cowling blue/ black and Aotake ( and several others of their more exotic couloirs ).  I still have one of each unopened and I give them a shake occasionally to check that they are OK.

 

Cheers

 

John

 

I do remember the old Aeromaster colours, I had a few of them back in the day. It is a blessing that I don't have to rely on my past prudence, since I have no evidence that I ever possessed any, but fortunately Colourcoats does have the cowl blue-black in the range of IJA/IJN colours so the issue doesn't arise  

 

... and so it was sprayed and the masking removed:

 

 

Now I can get on with adding the remaining bits; the engine and prop, the undercarriage and so on... 

 

Cheers,

 

Stew

[Terry1954]

13 hours ago, Stew Dapple said:

I decided I couldn't live with the leading-edge ID marking which I felt was too thick on the topside, so had a quick re-mask and respray:

Good (and bold) decision, looking better now.

 

Great stuff here Stew.

 

Cheers

 

Terry

[CedB]

Very nice work Stew  

[Azgaron]

Looks very nice!

 

Håkan

 

[Stew Dapple]

Thank you gentlemen

 

I wish I'd taken a picture of that lovely little engine in situ before I attached the cowling and the propeller, but I didn't so here we are. All the parts are now attached with the exception of the wingtip navigation lights, and some little formation lights to add to the upper-wing surface - I'll add those after varnishing to save some masking.

 

 

I have made an executive decision not to mask the markings but to use the kit transfers, I'd like to get this kit finished before my enthusiasm ebbs away and the prospect of more masking and spraying is too draining, especially since I would still have to use some of the transfers anyway. Hopefully will make some progress over the weekend...

 

Cheers,

 

Stew

[Biggles87]

I can understand your feelings about the markings. By the time I get to this stage in a build, which usually takes several months, I just want to finish it.

 

John

[Cookenbacher]

It's looking fantastic Stew, and the 'scalloped' masking over the windshield is most impressive.

[Stew Dapple]

Thanks gents  - Cookie, when I realised I needed to mask the cockpit frames I was a little despondent for a couple of days but had an inspired idea... the kit gives you two different windshelds, but the bottom edge is the same in both cases, so I put some Tamiya tape on the 'spare' one, cut around the edges, peeled it off and stuck it on the model: bingo

 

I've got a far as I am going to get with the transfers. Hasegawa transfers do have a bit of a reputation - these ones are beautifully printed, in perfect register and the colours are as bright and vibrant as they should be. They are also as thick as a beer-mat and sit on the model all aloof, refusing all entreaties to snuggle down into the panel lines, even after repeated applications of Mr Mark Decal Softer which is widely considered the nuclear option of decal setting solutions.

 

 

However none of them 'silvered' and they have stuck with sufficient tenacity that removing them is not an option either. In fairness they do look pretty good but they really should have been better, some of the transfers I have used from Hasegawa kits - especially the 'special edition' kits - have been perfectly good, so frequently that I assumed that they would always be good. In retrospect I wish I had bitten the bullet and at least masked the hinomaru, but I didn't so there we go. 

 

Hopefully this weekend will be varnishy  

 

Cheers,

 

Stew

[amblypygid]

Well, from here the decals look magniificent.

[CedB]

Great idea on the canopy masks Stew  

The transfers look nice to me but I share your pain on thick transfers - shame on them!

[Stew Dapple]

Thanks Chris, Ced

 

I'm calling her done:

 

 

I'll get some better pictures for RFI when the light is better  

 

That was an experience anyway, I won't be making a permanent shift of scale from 1/72 to 1/32 or perhaps make any more larger scale kits than those already in my stash...  but there are certain things I liked about building and painting in a larger scale better and others less so. One thing that puzzles me: I always imagined that the reason that kit manufacturers do not generally include pilot figures in 1/72 was that modellers like to show off the cockpit detail and so mostly won't bother with a pilot figure even if one is provided, thus making it a waste of time and money for everyone. However despite the very detailed cockpit of this kit Hasegawa do provide a (lovely) pilot figure - such a nice figure in fact that I didn't feel it would benefit the completed model if he were left out.

 

It is a lovely kit and very well engineered; for what you get the price isn't bad at all, compared proportionately to a 1/48 or 1/72 kit. The thickness of the transfers was a bit of a let-down and there isn't much in the way of aftermarket that I could see. I should really at least have painted the hinomaru as it was those that exhibited the thickness worst, but I had reached the point that I sometimes get to where if I didn't finish the kit quite quickly the likelihood was that I might not have finished it at all and just moved on to something else.

 

Anyway thanks to all who came along for the ride, nice to have you here gents  and a special thanks to @Nick Millman for the Raiden colour guide which sorted a lot of queries for me and gave me a bit more confidence in the accuracy of the finished model  

 

Cheers,

 

Stew

[CedB]

Lovely result Stew - looking forward to the RFI