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Back to the beginning...Ki-43IIIa, GC II/7, Armeé de l'Air (ex-64 Sentai), December 1945...


John Masters

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7 minutes ago, modelling minion said:

you seem to be winning.

Thnaks Craig.  I am looking forward the distressed paint job and the makeshift roundels.  It's what's on the outside that counts, right?

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The resin cowling is nice.

 

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Glued together...so you all know, the exhaust manifold 'ring' did not survive the test fit stage.  If I were to have used the whole resin piece, the cowling would not fit on the fuselage.  What I ended up doing was cutting the pipes off of the ring and painstakingly attaching them piece by bloody piece to the cowling, then to the fuselage, etc...pain in the you-know-where!

 

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And here I am now...stabilizers on too!  Looks like an airplane to me!

 

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--John

 

 

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Thanks all for the comments.  Bits and bobs on the aircraft, what I hope is the last of the PE and resin.  And finally, a commitment to primer!

 

The prop took some fettling and a clear head.  The spinner is poorly moulded.

 

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The Vac-U-Form canopy is masked and attached.  

 

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The undercarriage, flaps, etc...all on now.

 

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And primed.  I feel better about this one now, as if the headache is going away and perhaps I will find great joy in the shallowness of the external visage.

This means I am looking forward to painting it.  

 

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--John

 

 

 

 

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17 hours ago, trickyrich said:

primer always hide the sins and horrors of a build!

I agree.  Now I can get down to the fun bits...

On 10/20/2020 at 1:53 PM, modelling minion said:

how hard you have worked on her.

It seems more emotional than physical work.  Thanks Craig.

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Aha!  Feeling more in the groove tonight.  A little paint, some throw pillows...😆

 

Duraluminum...flat black for the anti-glare...and a special mix for the yellow leading edges.  The IPMS Stockholm Colour Reference Chart for IJN/IJA aircraft is excellent and I have bookmarked the page.  It is here...

 

http://www.ipmsstockholm.org/colorcharts/stuff_eng_colorcharts_japan.htm

 

And the page on the Oscar is a real find too!

 

http://www.ipmsstockholm.org/magazine/1997/02/stuff_eng_oscar.htm

 

So here are some pictures...

 

Took care of the prop first.  Hand painted some aluminum and made my own 'Red Grey Brown'...I have to paint the tips still.  The Oscar link has a lot to say about that and given the post-war, well-used-surplus/captured aircraft context....Hmmmm...

 

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Then sprayed some Flat Black for the anti-glare, then masked it off.

 

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Duraluminum...

 

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My own version of FS 33538.  That's right.  Yellow and 'Dwarf Skin.'  Whatever!

 

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Masked and hand painted...three thin layers.  All but identical to the Tamiya kabuki tape...

 

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And with the mask off.  Looks pretty good.  I am happy to leave this for the morrow.  This will look nice chipped off and worn with the NMF showing through.

 

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--John

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I have decided to skip the bomb but I will add the fuel pods.  

 

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The resin hard point is brittle and one broke easily.  I will scratch build these bits from plastic card and tape.

 

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And they look alright.

 

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Fuel pods attached...

 

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Let's take care of that Dark Green camo...

 

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From what I read, the paint jobs by the Japanese were pretty random.  Spray, brushes, wide or narrow...different paints...it really changed a lot in the field.

So I am assuming a fair amount of licence is allowed.  This is what I ended up with.

 

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If I need to add more aluminum, I can.  For now I am happy with it.

Decals are next! 

 

--John

 

 

 

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5 hours ago, trickyrich said:

yeah it's best to avoid some of those small resin bits, it's generally much easier and less stress inducing to build from scratch in plastic.

 

The camo scheme looks great! :thumbsup:

Thanks Rich.  I agree...on both counts!  😆

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Decals are on.  For reference...they are very thin and the risk of folding up is high.  Care is needed!

I will let them dry very well and then take a sanding stick very gently to the Japanese areas of the markings to remove some as part of the weathering process.  I doubt the French repainted anything other than overpainting the hanamaru.  

 

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9 hours ago, Hewy said:

your camo job looks the part john, nice 👍

Thank Hewy!

 

13 hours ago, modelling minion said:

I like the sound of you weathering the Japanese portions of the markings, should look excellent.

Thanks.  I will show the pictures later, but I did this sparingly.

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3 hours ago, trickyrich said:

gosh she looks nice!!! Well done! :thumbsup:

Thanks Rich.  Today I gave it some small scrapes on the Japanese markings and then a good coat of satin varnish.

 

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A bit of smoke, the wheels and prop and the radio wire.  Then into the gallery!

 

--John

 

 

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