Stash Clearance #3. Kawanishi N1K1 Rex

[Properjob56]

It seems appropriate for this to be the third in a series as my first 'Stash Clearance' was the Kawanishi N1K1,‘George’, the landbased fighter developed from this aircraft and the second 'Stash Clearance' the Nakajima A6M2-N, 'Rufe’, a float plane.

From Scalemates, this is the original boxing from 1996. There were 3 boxings of the type. The 'Early' and 'Late' models distinguished by their engines and the prototype with 2, 2-blade contra rotating propellers. This is the 'Late' version. Typical Hasegawa fare of the time, accurate, easy to build, good fit and not many parts. Interior detail is basic as are the decals.

The model is OOB with only the addition of Tamiya tape harness and Uschi thread for aerial wire. Colours are from the White Ensign range (now Colourcoats, by Jamie@Sovereign Hobbies, although having checked yesterday some of these colours don’t appear in the current range) Those used were ACJ-10 Kawanishi Green, ACJ-04 Nakajima Interior Grey-Green and ACJ-12 Undersurface Grey Green. The carriage was gunmetal Hu27004+drybrushed Hu.11. I would have tried clear wood grain decal if I had had any but I remembered that I had a tin of Hu.110 'Wood' so used that. Wheels had Revell 83 Rust drybrushed and Revell Anthracite for tyres. Finally, Tamiya Weathering Powders were rubbed on and Matt Aluminium drybrushed with a cut down brush to show wear on the paintwork. Hu.33/21/60/27002 were used for details as well as Humbrol Clear Red and Tamiya Clear Blue

Decals are from the kit, which has just one option, for an aircraft from the ‘Sasebo Naval Flying Group’.  

I did the canopy frames by hand as my attempts at using decal strip before had not been v successful. I figured the inevitable shakiness was worth putting up with to save the time and hassle for a not very much better result. (Note to self: next time ordering from the Lowestoft emporium get clear decal sheet as well as the wood grain decal referred to earlier.)

Like the ‘George’ and ‘Rufe’ its USP was badly done. In this case, the float assembly did not fit at all well and because of its position it was not easy to fill or sand the join. Further, its pegs into the underside were barbed so once pushed home it couldn't be withdrawn. 

Other observations:

1. I solved the ill fitting canopy problems I’d had in other builds by cementing with ultra thin polystyrene cement using capillary action early in the process rather than adding it at the end with Kristal Kleer when it would be fragile and prone to popping off. In that way I could sand and file it like the rest of the plastic.

2. Ladder colours are too garish and I should have used v dark grey and v light grey. The ladder itself is crude and overscale as it is in plastic, etch would have been better.

3. Prop blades had only 1 coat of aluminium when they should have had two. Also, I’m not convinced they’re at 120 degrees to each other despite Hasegawa’s efforts to make fixing them at the right angle foolproof.

4. Had to use pencil lines for underside panels as sanding had made a lot too shallow for washes.

5. Float has a weight of solid plastic included in the kit. It works surprisingly well.

6. Tailplanes are handed.

7. I didn’t work out what the float stripes were for until the very end so, eg, didn’t line them up with the trolley posts. They’re not too bad as is but even so....

8. Navigation lights are not delineated on the wings and so were positioned on a ‘best guess’ basis as I couldn’t work it out from period reference photos either. Furthermore, fuselage lights other than the tail light were not mentioned in the Instructions nor shown on the box picture nor could I see them on photos so they were left out.

9. Cockpit is poorly detailed to such a degree that what there is, is entirely fictional save for the instrument panel.

10. The weathering isn't great. The maxim 'less is more' should read in this case 'less is less'. To my eye the exhaust staining is barely noticeable and the stippled matt aluminium on the fuselage sides and wing tops looks very artificial. It would have looked much better if I had put more on. Still, delicate balance and all that...

Anyhoo, enough of my ramblings I’ll now attempt to post some pictures.

This is the Wikipedia photo of the type and it's the aircraft the decals represent. It's for you to decide how close I got. The box and instructions are shown below. 1/4

Edited July 30, 2020 by Properjob56

[Properjob56]

2/4

Edited July 30, 2020 by Properjob56

[Properjob56]

3/4The cradle

Edited July 30, 2020 by Properjob56

[Properjob56]

and the final 2 pictures showing the stippling on the wing surface, 4/4

Edited July 30, 2020 by Properjob56

[alt-92]

Good work, and a great write-up - not to mention the subject matter
I like these less-obvious choices, 

[Wulfman]

Very nice work on the Rex, first class modelling !

 

Wulfman

Edited July 31, 2020 by Wulfman

[stevehnz]

I'm liking that. I have the double boxing of this with an A6M, so I've bookmarked this for inspiration. Fwiw, I think your dry brushing has worked just fine. So easy to overdo it, especially in this scale.

Steve.