Hasegawa (ex-Mania) 1/72 Nakjajima Type 97 B5N2 "Kate"

[klr]

This kit is part of a batch brought home from the Netherlands by one of my brothers, way back in 1988 (!!!!!!)

 

It has been on and off the workbench like a dog at a fair. I probably started it somewhere between 10 and 15 years ago, more likely the latter than the former.

 

Why the delay? First up, the cockpit colours confounded me, but eventually I hit on Hu 226 interior green, as recommended by Airfix for its Zero and Kate. That doesn't mean it's right, but it will do.

 

Then I ran into problems mating the assembled wing to the fuselage, in that the wing seemed to be at a slight angle in plan view. Whatever, it now looks OK.

 

Then there was the canopy, which was a truly atrocious fit. I have another of these in the stash, as well as the Airfix kit, which effectively has a spare canopy if built with the canopies and rear gun port open. Something to bear in mind ...

 

The propeller was a very loose fit for some reason, but that is hopefully now resolved. The main wheels, torpedo and propeller have yet to be fixed in place, as they don't need to be. I will just need to add an aerial and pitot tube from the spares box, having lost the originals.

 

The small side windows were another roadblock, which Clearfix just couldn't seem to resolve. I have overlain them with my thinnest clear plastic (.013mm), which hopefully will look OK after carefully applied paint.

 

Lastly of course, there is the conundrum of the main camouflage colours. Again, I will probably chicken out here, and go for simple dark green upside over green-grey underside, using Hu 195 and Hu 168 (Airfix Kate again). The wing root walkways can be painted, as they are clearly marked.

 

I am currently painting the engine cowling, prop blades and undercarriage.

[JOCKNEY]

Theres to be no sneaking EX Heller Classic GB builds in here by the way !

 

Good luck with this one

 

Cheers Pat

[klr]

8 hours ago, JOCKNEY said:

Theres to be no sneaking EX Heller Classic GB builds in here by the way !

 

Good luck with this one

 

Cheers Pat

As both GBs end the same day, that's not an option ...😛

[klr]

This is tough going. First up, I had to test some paints. The two satin shades both required two coats to see how dark they really are. Revell 363 (lower right) seems the best, so that's what I'm using.

 

The canopy framing is well-defined for the most part, so painting it only took a couple of hours all told:

 

Even after thinning the paint (always required with Revell enamels), application is tough going.

 

I am not satisfied with my "workaround" for the side windows. I'll probably have to carefully trim some spare transparent parts until they fit snugly into the fuselage. So it's quite possible I won't get this done by Sunday evening.

[JOCKNEY]

Looks great @klr

I think I went for the same Revell green 36168 on my Frank

Thanks for the tip about thinning the paint, do you mind me asking what you use ?

Cheers Pat 

[klr]

1 hour ago, JOCKNEY said:

Looks great @klr

I think I went for the same Revell green 36168 on my Frank

Thanks for the tip about thinning the paint, do you mind me asking what you use ?

Cheers Pat 

For thinning, I just use bog-standard dirt-cheap white spirit from the local hardware & home improvement store. A 2-litre bottle goes a long way. I know I've got some "official" modelling thinners from the likes of Humbrol and Revell, but it's extremely expensive, especially at the rate I use thinners. To be honest, I don't know if it's any better than the generic white spirit.

 

And this kit definitely won't get finished today. I've got to complete my other KUTA entry (Airfix Skyhawk), and then concentrate on Heller kits for the next week. Then I'll give this some more attention.