Tamiya 1/48 Mitsubishi Ki-46 III-Otsu-Hei

[Volksjager]

I have finally got off my backside and started some proper work on a build for 2022. Though I had good intentions for model work during my January holiday it never really eventuated. 

 

Anyhow I managed to find one of the kit's I have been looking to build for some time, the Tamiya Ki-46 III Otsu Hei. I built the command recon version as a teenager and have always wanted to build the attacker but they are not always easy to find, or well priced these days. This one popped up locally with Eduard PE & canopy masks plus the Quickboost resin guns & exhaust for a great price so I pulled the trigger. 

 

 

 

Still deciding on the marking options I am going for but I do know I want the home defence bands on the fuselage & wings. I wont bore anyone with the details of the kit as it's a Tamiya & pretty good out of the box. I want an easy build this time around so I am not planning to go overboard & will use what I have for the kit only.

 

So I started putting the base etch on so I could start painting the interior. At this stage though I wasn't sure the etch was worth it. Adds some detail to the back but I reckon it would have also been fine leaving it like it was.

 

For the life of my I couldn't get the PE throttle together so I used the kit part with some extra detail added.

 

Yesterday I had an awesome day at the bench and got the majority of the interior painted and built up. I used Mitsubishi interior green for the base colour over a black base coat as it matched the printed PE colour nicely. Once the green was down I was able to add some chips, place the painted PE parts, add some panel liner and dust up the floor with pigments. I always find coating the printed PE parts in Matt Clear before putting them on gives a cleaner better look.

 

Here are the pics

 

Here is the front cockpit & the IP

 

 

The IP has had some clear UV resin added to the dial faces to simulate the glass 

 

Rear cockpit & bulkheads plus the Ho-204 37mm gun body 

 

 

Cockpit sides 

 

 

Finally the tailwheel area. I used olive drab for a slightly dirtier green colour 

 

. From here I am not sure whether I should paint the 37mm's ammo drum the interior or leave it gunmetal. After that though it pretty much ready to put together and leave to dry. Next parts to start looking at is the landing gear. 

[BuNo02100]

That is a great start to a subject we don’t get to see built that often.  Looking forward to more.

 

BW

[Volksjager]

Small update - Got the fuselage together Sunday and had left to dry 24 hours. Have just given it a quick sand and it's looking pretty good:

 

 

I also added some slight oil staining on the floor around the Ho-204 in the rear cockpit just to add some visual interest otherwise it's just to sparse.

 

 

When I looked back at the pics I saw I had forgotten to paint the back cushion on the rear cockpit seat, so I fixed that with the brush tonight. I will leave the fuselage to sit for the rest of the week now to dry out to hopefully avoid any ghost seams. 

 

Next up I will prep the wheel wells & gear for paint 

 

Edited February 7, 2022 by Volksjager

[ArnoldAmbrose]

Gidday, please excuse my ignorance (I'm a ship modeler) but this looks like the aircraft I knew as the "Dinah". My brother had one (in 1/72) as a kid and I quite liked it. Regards, Jeff.

[Volksjager]

22 minutes ago, ArnoldAmbrose said:

Gidday, please excuse my ignorance (I'm a ship modeler) but this looks like the aircraft I knew as the "Dinah". My brother had one (in 1/72) as a kid and I quite liked it. Regards, Jeff.

100% correct Jeff, this is the armed version of the Dinah Type III. Essentially the same aircraft with a redesigned nose for weapons. The Ki-46 III Otsu was armed with the 2 nose mounted Ho-5 20mm cannon. It changed to an Otsu+Hei with they added the 37mm upward firing Ho-203/204 cannon 

[The Spadgent]

Lovely stuff. The paint work is fantastic. I have just ordered the eduard PE set for the recon version of this very Aeroplane. It will be my first Japanese craft and I’m very much looking forward to it. I’ll tag along for this if that’s ok. Looks like it’s going to be good. 😀

 

 Johnny

[Volksjager]

On 2/13/2022 at 7:18 AM, The Spadgent said:

Lovely stuff. The paint work is fantastic. I have just ordered the eduard PE set for the recon version of this very Aeroplane. It will be my first Japanese craft and I’m very much looking forward to it. I’ll tag along for third if that’s ok. Looks like it’s going to be good. 😀

 

 Johnny

Many thanks & glad to have you on board 

 

Not much achieved this weekend unfortunately. Has been very hot out here in Western Australia and even though I am inside, its still hot down in the modelling corner. I did manage to get the seems sanded off & I also prepped the landing gear & engines for paint. Hopefully I will be able to lay down so toward the end of the week. 

[georgeusa]

The start of your Dinah is really outstanding.  The PE looks great before the fuselage was put together.  I know the canopy and windows are extensive, but is anything left visible or is it an exercise in that you know it is there and you have the photos to prove it?

Either way, the work is great.  I have this kit in the stash, but have not gotten around to it (or the other hundreds of kits on shelves mocking me every time I go into the model room).  I look forward to more updates and what else you have in mind.

[Volksjager]

7 hours ago, georgeusa said:

The start of your Dinah is really outstanding.  The PE looks great before the fuselage was put together.  I know the canopy and windows are extensive, but is anything left visible or is it an exercise in that you know it is there and you have the photos to prove it?

Either way, the work is great.  I have this kit in the stash, but have not gotten around to it (or the other hundreds of kits on shelves mocking me every time I go into the model room).  I look forward to more updates and what else you have in mind.

Why thankyou kind sir. I think it's a little of both, I will be able to have the canopy open so a lot of both the front & rear cockpit will be visible but as always some of the work will be gone forever only to be seen in pictures. Always a hard question of knowing when to stop but at least it's good practice for more visible places like the wheel wells or engine/cowling 

[Quiet Mike]

Stellar build so far. Interior looks amazing, can't wait to see progress on the exterior!

[Volksjager]

So not a huge amount of progress in this heat! Still I wanted to keep this moving so I was able to spend some time at the bench over the weekend.

 

I managed to get the main gear legs & wheel wells painted, though stupid me forgot to take some pics before I masked and covered them. I wouldn't usually install the gear at this stage but the way they install into the wings leaves little choice. Once fixed in place the wings went together well & were left to dry for 24 hours before the seams were sanded on the wings & fuselage. I love using SMS Black primer to check my work. It has talc in it so it will go down a little grainy as you can see but once fully dry I will be able to sand it very smooth plus it will fill slight imperfections so perfect for this kinda work. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also managed to get the engines detailed. Built straight from the box they were were painted silver, washed with black Tamiya panel liner & details picked out with acrylics. Once assembled a final wash was applied to blend it all. Will probably weather a touch more though you wont really seem them in the narrow Dinah cowls.

 

 

 

With any luck the weather will cool down so I can get cracking on this kit. Once the primer has been sanded the wings will be installed and left to dry 

 

Thanks for looking!

[georgeusa]

The engine is quite nice looking.  Good job.

[Volksjager]

Got some bench time in yesterday and was able to plod along on the Dinah. I did manage to get the aircraft together last weekend & left the model to dry for the week, doing my best to avoid ghost seams. I have to say the engineering in this kit is stellar with no filler required so far. Yesterday I did manage to get the primer sanded back & smoothed out across the aircraft. Definately starting to look like something!

 

 

 

I also managed to get the smaller parts painted up while I have been waiting such as the props, the landing gear doors & wheels 

 

All parts we first painted SMS Jet black before a light coat of SMS Super silver which was left to dry a week before any colours were used on top. For the props I then applied a black/brown panel liner mix to the hub before it was masked with liquid mask. I also used the same product to mask the very fine paint chip's, applied with some foam. The propeller colour was mixed using SMS German red brown primer & RAAF Brown using my Mk1 eyeball for the ratio. Once painted the yellow tip marking were masked & painted with SMS trainer yellow. Once happy I was then able to remove the liquid mask with a rubber brush & toothpick to reveal the chips. Still need to apply some panel liner for age but pretty happy so far 

 

 

 

 

For both the landing gear doors & wheels used the same process as above before the top colour was applied. The gear doors are in SMS grey green (which will be used for the underside later on) & the wheels are Vallejo Tire black. Both parts still need weathering but are well under way 

 

 

 

Hoping for some bench time tomorrow as it's a public holiday & I get the day off 😃

 

[BuNo02100]

Clean construction that ensures the basics are addressed followed by top tier painting and weathering is making this one of the builds on the web that people should look to when someone asks “what is an example of master class modeling?”  Can’t wait to see the finished piece.

 

BW

[ArnoldAmbrose]

Gidday @Volksjager, although I'm a ship modeler this has reaffirmed my penchant for the big twin-engine fighters of WW2. The first photo in this post shows off her graceful lines. If WASMEx goes ahead this year will you be bringing her along? Regards, Jeff.

[Volksjager]

21 hours ago, BuNo02100 said:

Clean construction that ensures the basics are addressed followed by top tier painting and weathering is making this one of the builds on the web that people should look to when someone asks “what is an example of master class modeling?”  Can’t wait to see the finished piece.

 

BW

Many thanks for for kind words. Though I have been guilty of it in the past, I don't rush the process at all. Much better to test fit, adjust & test fit again to make sure it goes together the best way possible 

 

19 hours ago, ArnoldAmbrose said:

Gidday @Volksjager, although I'm a ship modeler this has reaffirmed my penchant for the big twin-engine fighters of WW2. The first photo in this post shows off her graceful lines. If WASMEx goes ahead this year will you be bringing her along? Regards, Jeff.

 

The twin's are just pain sexy and I am glad this one has sparked an interest. Provided all things go well I was planning to bring this one along to WASMEx plus I have a couple of others I up my sleeve 

 

So I did manage to get a great day of painting & experimenting in with the Dinah once again. The main focus was getting the small bits finished as much as possible, getting the body finished and hopefully the canopy on & ready for a base coat. I managed the first part of the plan & the second half is almost there, just not quite ready yet. 

 

Onto business, so one of the main parts of today was working on the cowlings as I wanted the powerplants assembled. First job was to clean the seams & basecoat, which I actually did yesterday but missed a seam on the top of the cowlings. They are moulded in one piece but have a very slight seam on the top and bottom. The bottom I got the first time around as it's were the sprue joins but didnt see the top until the base painting was done. Out with the sander again and it was eliminated with some quick work. A layer of SMS jet black went down before a coat of SMS super silver. I had to take a pic before it dissapeared!

 

 

Then some masking fluid was used to create my chipping effect. I didnt want to go overboard as the pics of the real aircraft aren't that worn but a little goes a long way. Once dry I picked out the panel lines with some black through the airbush, then onto my custom IJA late war green, using SMS Olive Drab & SMS RAAF dark earth (ratio was eyeballed as I want some variation to the main body colour when I get there). Once it was marbelled down I then progressively lightened the colour with SMS British light sand, with a final over spray though a mask with stright Olive drab to finish. After than was dry a light black/brown mix of panel liner was used for some wear.

 

 

 

 

As you can see I have also removed the making fluid too reveal the silver basecoat. You might also spot what I did to the inside of the cowl ready for the engine. It was sprayed silver, then panel liner was flicked over a toothpick to creats some splatter & dirt. It will never be seen again but I know it's there

 

 

The Quickboost exhausts were also cut, prepped and painted. Geez they are such an improvement over the kit exhaust's. Hard to see in the pic but they were based in black before SMS Steel was sprayed first, then a brown trackwash was used for the burnt colour, finally the tips were blended with a Q-tip dampened with white spirit before a light black soot was added with pigments. 

 

 

Then the egines were installed 

 

 

And finally the exhausts were test fitted. Nothing but the engines are glued at this stage, the majority are just fitted together 

 

 

The main wheels were also finished, a grey panel liner was applied to the tread & weathering pencils were used for aging (dirt yet to be applied). The Quickboost main guns were also completed. Once again and awesome upgrade from the kit parts. A simple paint in SMS steel before pure black panel liner is applied plus the green colour was used on the upward firing cannon. 

 

 

 

 

Finally I couldn't help myself and test fitted the cowls, exhauts & props. I am pretty happy with the colour choice here. Prop's are still a little light but I will bring the colour down with some panel liner wash. 

 

 

 

 

 

The eagle eyed might also spot the IP shroud, IP & gunsight has also been installed in preperation for the canopy to be fitted. I was going to model it all opened but after test fitting earlier I am etxremely happy with the lines with it all closed up so I will leave it closed. I have also installed the small rear cabin windows & found, just like the main canopy, the fit to be extremely tight. I decided to try a tip I heard on one of the model podcasts I listen to. After installing the glass panel I used watered down MIG ultimate white glue to wick around the panel which seems to work well. Clean up was then dead easy with a damp Q tip & water, job done.

 

Hopefully canopy on shortly, then onto canopy masking, & body spraying!

 

[ArnoldAmbrose]

Gidday, she's simply beautiful. I may have to risk excommunication from the ship modeler's section and get one of these some day. Regards, Jeff.

[BuNo02100]

Each post contains more greatness, unbelievable 

 

BW

[Lightpainter]

Very nice work on this kit! Truly outstanding! I have it in my stash too.

[Quiet Mike]

Looking amazing, can't wait to see the next update now!

[Volksjager]

Thanks for all the kind words guys, appriciate the time to post a comment!

 

So I did manage to get a little done today while I was working from home, which was awesome. I did manage to get the canopy on over the weekend, again using the watered down Mig Ulitmate glue which worked a treat! I used Eduard masks on the canopy which just made life so much easier. Anyhow onto today. First thing's first, paint the whole thing black. Using a mix of Mr leveling thinner & SMS Black I was able to shoot the whole aircraft which showed up a couple of little blemishes that were sanded out and re painted. The result is pretty sexy if I do say so myself 

 

 

I love this shot!

 

Once dry I shot a touch of SMS Super Silver for chipping, only required in the places I wanted to chip through

 

 

Then pre shaded the underside as it's my first colour to go on. I am in 2 minds as to if it was really worth it. After shooting the final colour I find I get all my tones from the post shading rather than anything coming through from the pre shading. Anyhow I wanted to bring our the green in the grey green so I used SMS Olive Drab, SMS Dark Earth & SMS British light sand for the control surfaces 

 

 

Onto the final colour. So I start was SMS Grey Green in a marbled pattern, slowly building each surface. Once happy with the coverage I picked out the control surfaces & various panel lines with the same colour but with added SMS British light Sand for some warmth. Then I go back and pick out some shadows, panel lines & fine streaking with what's left of the above mix but with some added SMS Medium Sea Grey. As a little tip, I actually mix in some SMS flat clear from the start, keeps all sheens consistant. Pretty happy with the colour tones

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Should look good with some Dark grey panel wash I think. I also have a trick to use on the control surfaces before I hit the topside, just need to get them ready & test out my plan. Hopefully they will work

 

Until next time  

[Volksjager]

Well I can't quite believe it, 2 days in a row at the bench!

 

As painting is my most favorite part of the whole process & because I got the underside done yesterday, the topside was just begging to be done. So with 3 or so hours to spare this afternoon I sat down to mask & paint the top. 

 

The custom colour was made just like the cowls, with Mr Leveling thinner, SMS Olive Drab & SMS RAAF Dark Earth. The first layer went down in a marbled pattern, then lightly oversprayed till happy with the coverage. Next I added a touch of SMS British light sand to the mix, spraying in some light highlight spots to various panels. Once happy I lightened the colour some more with British light sand and made some streaking & sprayed out the control surfaces. 

 

At this stage I washed out the cup, put in stright Olive drab and blended the lot. Then added quite a lot of RAAF Dark earth so the colour was more brown than green & picked out some fuel caps, shadow areas, wing roots etc. Then I added some drops of black to grey out some of the same areas for tone and variation. Finally I washed the cup out once again, added pure Olive drab & blended once again. Every mix also had SMS Flat clear added to it to control the sheen. Pretty happy with the results so far

 

 

 

 

Sooo... the other ting I tested out was control surface masks. These help create a 3d illusion of the fabric on the control surface & add a bit of depth. The trick with these is to stick them onto the surface once you have the base colour down, then apply a thin black to the center of the exposed panels, remove the mask and overspray the control surface with the base colour. I am happy with them but not sure if I blended them in to far this time around. 

 

 

 

 

Finally I had to once again test fit the engines to check the colour balance & because I was keen to see it together 

 

 

 

Remeber the enigines have already had a wash applied so are a touch darker than the body which is yet to receive one. 

 

So from here, I need to mask off and paint the yellow identification bars on the leading edge. I also cut masks last night for the majority of the markings so they are ready to go plus I have a couple of very minor touch up's to complete, may add some more chipping then once all of that is done the panel wash will go down. Still plenty to do but over the main painting now 

[Volksjager]

After being able to get some time Friday night, Saturday morning & today the end for the Dinah is in sight, though there is still a little way to go yet!

 

So Friday night was just spent masking (bout 2 1/2 hours!). Earlier in the build I cut the Hinomaru's & the '24' on the tail on my little Cricut Joy so the time was spent placing these plus masking the surrounding areas from overspray. I also masked the yellow ID bands on the wind leading edges with Tamiya tape. I noticed I forgot to mask & paint the small yellow id plates near the base of the props so I also cut these rectangles on the vinyl cutter & placed them on the assembled props, masking the rest with tape & liquid mask. 

 

Fast forward to Saturday morning & I was able to get straight into painting, starting with the SMS white for the Hinomaru outer bands & then '24'. Then a touch of SMS red was added into the mix to make a pink primer for the yellow sections. After cleaning the cup, SMS Trainer yellow was used on the ID bands & the props. The Hinomaru outer bands masks were addeed & SMS Red with a drop of SMS Black was used to paint the center of the meatballs. I very much prefer masking & painting the markings after the camo as I don't get a step in the paint if I happen to go to thick with my layers plus I can chip the markings so the camo layer can come through. Anyhow here is what I am left with after the mask has been removed (in about 5 min!)

 

 

 

 

The other part I unmasked was the landing light on the leading edge. Truth be told I forgot about this part and actually cut this into the wing after I put the first base coat of black on. I cut the opening to large and had to add in some styrene, sand and blend the clear part before I could mask and base coat. Glad to see it came out great. 

 

 

So this was all left to dry overnight and today I started again. First order of business to apply the one & only decal, the unit marking on the tail. I used some advise from Mike & Dave of the Plastic Model Mojo for Tamiya decals. I first put the decal in hot water, the put down some Mr Mark setter which the decal was put straight on to, then a second coat once the first coat was dry. After drying I applied 5 coats of Mr. Mark Softer once each previous layer was dry, running a sharp blade down the runned joint between layer 4 & 5. The result was a very clean and smooth decal with the underlying detail coming through nicely. Here it is after a couple of coats of SMS Flat clear once it was dry (plus I have a small touchup to do on the top left corner of the rudder)

 

 

The rest of today was spent completing touch-up's and finishing parts that needed some adjustment. A quick summary of the work:

 

- Fix the inboard ID bands as the chipping was to large (my mistake here, used a brush rather than sponge as the first chipping had come loose)

- Fix the inboard cowl flaps on port side engine (glue had got on the painted surface by mistake, again it was me) 

- Paint small window in upper mid fuselage as it's not supposed to be left clear (I should read instructions more) 

- Paint pitot tube (happy with the kit part at this stage)

- Install the wheels + tail wheel

- Install brake lines on the main gear

- Remove canopy masks and hope like hell there is no dust in there!

 

And after all that here is what she looks like

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have tested it out with all the rest of the bit in place and I am very happy. So from here I have to put on a panel wash, exhaust and general stains and some mud/dust before final assembly. Finish line not far away!

[BuNo02100]

Almost don’t want you to finish as I am thoroughly enjoying this WiP.  I’ll have to follow whatever you build next regardless of the subject as I can approve your approach and techniques employed.  I had seen the control surface masks but never understood until now,  and now I think I have to try them!

 

BW

[mark.au]

Absolutely beautiful work.  
 

Your paint process is much like

mine, you have a couple of extra steps which I am shamelessly going expropriate for my next model.

 

I also like how you approach the Tamiya decals without prejudice; they are actually good decals but needs different process than the norm and your result speaks for itself in that regard.

 

I actually quite like the slightly different hue to the engine paint finish, to me it adds a bit of real-world realism.  
 

Again, just lovely work there.