1/48 Kawasaki KI-48I Lily From the Shelf of Doom FINISHED!

[LorenSharp]

Now that I've  finished a Group Build Corsair and waiting on parts to print for my other current build got me to thinking what to build next( I know that's hazardous)? So I came up with something in the same vein as the Corsair....

AZ Model's Kawasaki KI-48-I Type 99  "Sokei" Lily WiITH!  KI-148 I-GO-1 Missile and trolley. 

Might as well admit up front, this will not be an OOB build I'm going to see what and how much I can stuff into this little plane. So if you feel like tagging along Welcome aboard! The bar is open and comfey seating abounds.

As always all comments, suggestions, kibitzing and general catcalls and mayhem are welcome. So without further ado lets get this party started, shall we?

[LorenSharp]

AZ Models aren't known for their over abundance of detail. Plus being a rather soft plastic model I have to be careful about sanding and carving. But what I do want to accomplish with this build is adding to the interior, flaps, ailerons, rudder, engines and landing gear.

I'm going to do a veritable borgesmorg mainly because as usual, I ain't never not done it. That being said this kit does have at least the corrected glass nose. So first up the interior.

Side walls a little flat rod for framing and some rod and card to add to the boxes on the bulkhead. Thin wire for the main control box. I'll add more cabling  for controls and electrics after painting base interior.

also cutaway the rudder. the trailing edge is also too thick so that will have to be thinned some.

[clive_t]

Good start! I'll be following along, I have something of a soft spot for Japanese subjects, plus my first ever thread on here was an Admiral/AZModel kit of a Ki-30 'Ann' bomber (albeit 1:72)

 

 

[LorenSharp]

Small update.  After adding all the interior parts The task of paint the interior has begun. Having not built many Japanese aircraft, I wasn't sure what that actual interior colour was. Doing a search came up with unlike British,Americans,or Germans that used pretty much the same color through out no matter the maker, the Japanese manufacturers each did their interiors individually, using anywhere from light gray-green to gray to light yellow or tan. I found a good colour guide here

https://www.cybermodeler.com/color/cockpit.shtml 

Not only tell you what colour but the model paint manufacturers codes.

 For the Lily its a tan/brownish colour. Actual closest colour was FS 33448 Desert Dark yellow. Closest match I had was Sandgelb RM79. a bit light but with weathering this would be toned down and darkened some.

After painting I added my control cables and wiring using thin rod and sewing thread.

Also added some "lightening" holes in the Plate/walkway in the rear.

Once I get the two halves together The tail needs tiding up and the rear gunners position will need some definite improvements But that is for another post. .If you have any comments suggestions or questions, pleae let me know.

 

[LorenSharp]

I forgot to add the joined pictures.

A little bit of glazing compund on the seams andnew tabs for the rudder.

[LorenSharp]

After getting side tracked a little I've come back to the Lily. Did change my title a little because as a new yeas resolution  I have several half completed models on the  shelf of Doom That are now going to be completed this Year. This is the newest of the lot and the only one NOT a vac. So it gets finished first.

Since I last posted , I finished up the  engines. I decided to try out Vector/Neomega resin Nakajima Nk1F 'Sakea' 21/Ha-115 set. I added thin wire for the push roads and wiring harness and brass wire for some of the exhaust plumbing.

N

Sprayed the inside of the nacelles the blue/greenish lacquer used for corrosion prevention.

[LorenSharp]

Since AZ just wants you to butt joint the wings and tail to the fuselage with nothing to add strength. I used some bamboo skewers to make rods and thick plastic card drilled out for the wing side then attached the lot to the fuseage.

[LorenSharp]

Changed the rear gunners station a little with a swivel mount I printed out

Still needs some weathering but I'll do that later before adding the gun

Next the fun part, masking all the glazing for the front and back that was a couple of days in and of itself.

Also separated the back glazing so I show the gun in the operating position.

 

[LorenSharp]

I've given the Lily a light coating of alclad aluminum to check for errors and areas that need tending to. There weren't many, mostly around the window glazing joins.

I'll let this dry and sand down the filler. the next step will be to use dampened salt in the high wear areas before applying the IJA grey base coat.

Say tuned for more.

[BuNo02100]

You see very few of these built up.  I know the initial release was criticized for the shape of the nose that was corrected in the subsequent offerings and that may put some off.  But I think the limited run nature prevents most from tackling it.  You are doing a great job with a tough kit and I look forward to seeing it finished.  Have you decided on markings yet?

 

BW

[LorenSharp]

Thanks BuNo2100! I going with the 75th Sentai, New Guinea Nov 1943. It will be a companion to an F4U-1 Birdcage I did last year.

[BuNo02100]

I forgot to mention, the Vector engines look great, they are my go to for radials. How do they fit within the cowls?  

[LorenSharp]

I had to do a lot of thinning to the cowlings to get a fit, a tight fit mind you but they did fit finally.

[LorenSharp]

Its been a while since I last posted on this project from the shelf of Doom. After finally getting the correct colours that actually dried properly namely Tamiya IJA Gray and Green I used some regular Olive drab to do a pre-shading before applying an light coat of the base gray.

I forgot to get a picture of once the IJA green was added for the camoflagy. But after that I masked off for the yellow striping along the leading edges.

Then I scraped off the salt I had applied before paining the gray giving me the weathered and worn look.

I used the tip of my hobby knife to scrape along more of the panel lines to show additional wear .

Added the starboard engine/exhaust system and the rudder. I did have to trim part of the rear gunners glass to get it to fit in "slid-back mode". It wasn't designed for that kit wise, but will have to do under the circumstances

not perfect but close enough for Government work😜

Hopefully I'll be able to update a little more frequently so stay tune for more exciting adventures from (cue organ music) The Shelf of Doom!

 

[LorenSharp]

Back again with another  exciting adventure of The Artifact from the Shelf of Doom That Wouldn't DIe(Cue Thunder/Lightning and Creepy Organ Music)Although I think I may be finally getting into the 4th Act 

Had to reprint new landing gear legs, both managed to break on me before I could attach them. Which was good because it allowed me to correct some errors in the first printing.

and while I was at it I had to make new wheels as I managed to lose one. Probably knocked off without noticing it and managed to vacuum it up and toss out by accident. But thats ok. These look better.

 

[LorenSharp]

Then I got a wonderful idea( Cue neighing horses and Lightning. Can anyone say Frau Blucher)) I found some images with the lower gun position in the open position. I wish I had found these earlier. But no matter, broke out the razor saw and neatly opened up the position.

And finally added the flaps. I had cut the rear part of the engine nacelle because that rotated into the back of the nacelle.

 

 

[LorenSharp]

The inside of the door was lacking any detail. The kit didn't have any and originally this area wasn't being seen so I didn't do anything with it. So I took some rod and strip and made some bracing, an gun mount and rod and cut straight pins for the door pistons.

Gave it some weathering and Viola! New gun position.

[LorenSharp]

Since this kit came with the I-GO-1 Glide Bomb I decided to build it and mount to the Lily. PIctures I found(what there were) showed it attached to the centerline of the fuselage. The pictures were blurry, but it looked like there was

a pylon that the I-Go was attached to. I carved a pylon out of some scrap resin and sanded it down and created a concave dip to mount the bomb flush.

I added the gear and propellers

 

 

[LorenSharp]

The kits recognition lights on the left and the right are moulded in. I tried an experiment with some translucent resin to see how well it can do clear parts.

I was very surprised at how well they turned out. A little hazy, but for this instance , I can live with it.

I'm eventually going to see how it turns out with something like a canopy. My print like most of the more inexpensive resin printers use a series of images stacked on one another like an MRI, or pages in a book and the white part is whats printed with UV light. The high end printers like Formlabs, uses lasers focused on microscopic areas of the print to harden. Those machines are known for optical quality prints. I did read somewhere they're trying to refine it so true optical quality for things like contacts. but no matter those printers are waaaay out of my budget. But I'll see if I can tweek it to get some halfway decent clear parts with some experimentation.

The fortuitous byproduct also was I had made extras in case I stuffed something up, those extras I can use on another project I have in the Anything but injection GB

Not much else but adding the guns, antennas, I-Go, and decals. followed by some weathering. Frau Blucher(Cue Horses neighing and Lighting) or not, this artifact of the Shelf of Doom is almost finished! Stay tunes for more!

[BuNo02100]

Almost there, I like effort of dropping the dust bin gunners position.  It’s almost enough for me to break mine out and start on it.  Almost......

 

looking forward to to seeing you cross the finish line with this one and additional Young Frankenstein references 

 

BW

[S. Uehlinger]

Very Nice.  I have a the 1/72 Hasegawa Lilly......I put it aside as the rattle can paint job I did on the exterior I was not happy with.    I had no idea the Japanese HAD a Glide Bomb - and that it was fitted to the Lilly!   Maybe it was another German design conveyed to them in a Pacific U-Boat!  BTW, If you want to read some strange things about Japanese Submarines, check out www.the-wanderling.com....

[LorenSharp]

4 hours ago, S. Uehlinger said:

Very Nice.  I have a the 1/72 Hasegawa Lilly......I put it aside as the rattle can paint job I did on the exterior I was not happy with.    I had no idea the Japanese HAD a Glide Bomb - and that it was fitted to the Lilly!   Maybe it was another German design conveyed to them in a Pacific U-Boat!  BTW, If you want to read some strange things about Japanese Submarines, check out www.the-wanderling.com....

From what I've found out, IGO-1 Glide Bomb, was probably inspired by the German  Henschel Hs 293. They're a lot alike. But the Japanese thought that because Our fighters and anti-aircraft fire was accurate enough to prevent a kamikaze for making ot to target a radio controlled rocket powered glide bomb ight have better success. The project was started in mid-44 using a Lily as a  test mother craft. actual testing began towards the end of 44. The operational Mother craft was supposed to be Mitsubishi's Ki-67 "Peggy" About 15 IGO-1a's and another 150- IGO-1b's were constructed they never became operational. The Japanese figured that the Because the Allies were getting so good at shooing down their aircraft that the mother craft would be shot down long before launch. so the project was cancelled.

[corsaircorp]

Hey Loren,

Kamikaze attack is almost a win in this case...

Lily flow down my radar...

Great job on this AZ kits, I really enjoyed the interior detailling...

I know AZ kits... Congrats !!

Sincerely.

CC

[LorenSharp]

2 hours ago, corsaircorp said:

Hey Loren,

Kamikaze attack is almost a win in this case...

Lily flow down my radar...

Great job on this AZ kits, I really enjoyed the interior detailling...

I know AZ kits... Congrats !!

Sincerely.

CC

Thanks CC,. I've 1 more AZ kit in the stash a Vultee Vengeance, I may get to it sometime this Century😜, as soon as I can forget what a pain AZ kits can be

[LorenSharp]

And speaking of AZ kits, continuing on to the finish line.. finally. adding the finishing touches painted the navigation lights

Masked off for the anti ski pads on the port wing

Got the I-Go-1 all gussied up

And decals added.

with a weathering wash on the panel lines