RainierHooker Posted November 10, 2021 Share Posted November 10, 2021 The Imperial Japanese Army's Dokuritsu 18 Hiko Chutai was an Independent Reconnaissance unit stationed in China to provide tactical and strategic intelligence support to the ongoing Japanese occupation and campaign of expansion. All of the unit's Mitsubishi Ki-46 aircraft were emblazoned with a tiger on the tail, each individually hand painted. The Ki-46, known to the allies as the "Dinah", came of a prewar design competition to create a reconnaissance aircraft faster than any fighter then flying. A small highly streamlined airframe and two large radial engines were used to achieve that goal. The Ki-46-II, as modeled here, used two of the same engines from a Zero, but fitted with superchargers. Even late in the war it was a very hard target for the best allied interceptors. My model is Hasegawa's 1/72 scale Ki-46 which can be built as a -II or -III variant. It was built out of the box with the addition of Eduard Seatbelts. I disagreed a bit with the instructions for the paint job, opting for the three-color camouflage pattern that was unique to Japanese Army units in China. The scant, and admittedly low quality, surviving photos of these aircraft in this theatre leave room for interpretation in any case. 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RainierHooker Posted November 10, 2021 Author Share Posted November 10, 2021 More pics... (last image from the Aviation of Japan blog) 16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Volksjager Posted November 10, 2021 Share Posted November 10, 2021 Great work. I love the lines on the Ki-46-II variant & the Hasegawa kit is a great build. Plan to build the other versions? Nice info & pics with the sake cups to, I have a few myself and they look great paired with the models 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NMLeonov Posted November 10, 2021 Share Posted November 10, 2021 Nicely made Ki-46-II. I can appreciate your choice to opt for the camo scheme and you've painted it excellently! Did you mask the canopies yourself? The rear greenhouse is exceptionally neat! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertie McBoatface Posted November 10, 2021 Share Posted November 10, 2021 That's very nice. I love the weathering. Interesting subject too, tiger with a twist! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russ c Posted November 10, 2021 Share Posted November 10, 2021 Excellent Dinah there, really nice work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roberto Posted November 10, 2021 Share Posted November 10, 2021 Beautiful aircrat, great work on your model! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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