Tokyo Raider Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 Greetings Friends! I was continuing my personal 'Build Series of the Rising Sun' and just finished this kit... This is a rare Fine Molds kit of the Yokosuka D4Y1 'Judy' Bomber in 1/48. Fine Molds was started by some Hasegawa folks as the story goes, and this kit felt a lot like building a hasegawa kit (I just recently built Hasegawa kits of Val, Kate, and Tojo). Interior was just as detailed, with fine panel lines and a great subject for 1/48! It is a rare kit and seldom seen Japanese aircraft with a liquid cooled engine up front! This was powered with a licensed built DB601 engine! The later version of this aircraft D4Y3, and D4Y4 were powered by a radial engine and look quite different. This was built from the kit except has Eduard PE Seat Belts and Aeromaster Insignia decals. The kit decals were used for the rest and worked fine. I really enjoyed building this kit except somehow the lower wing insignias crinkled on me an no amount of praying and solvent seemed to fix! The Aircraft design features a really cool bomb bay design under the wing and just behind the radiator, with doors that swing inside the fuselage! Quite a unique look and execution, very low drag indeed... As a retired Aircraft Configuration Designer, I appreciate the different integrations of design in aircraft history and this is a very well executed compact aircraft for a bomber! The Paint was Mr. Color Japanese WW2 Colors Topside and Underside Mitsubishi Green and Grey, with Mitsubishi interior green for the cockpit. These were called out in the Fine Molds kit and hey, they are a Japanese company, so they should be right! I weathered in accordance to operational photos of Judy's that I found on the internet. Let me know what you think and anything that I should do different! 46 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgeusa Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 What a great build and finish of this kit. I actually have one in the stash. It looks great and thanks for sharing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BleedingBlue Posted March 13, 2023 Share Posted March 13, 2023 Never heard of this aircraft before. It's a good looking bird and the model turned out excellent. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Dyck Posted March 14, 2023 Share Posted March 14, 2023 Wonderful! Nothing to say what you could do better! It turns out perfect! Oh, perhaps you could do something better! You have a nice table top and presentation there. A nice backdrop would be nicer than the color bottles. Your photography is nearly perfect with a good field of depth. Or perhaps a nice natural light shot would be nice? I am sure you will not regret the results! Andy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tokyo Raider Posted March 14, 2023 Author Share Posted March 14, 2023 3 hours ago, Andy Dyck said: A nice backdrop would be nicer than the color bottles. Andy Thanks Andy! I have a tradition of taking pics as soon as model is completed on the work bench. I dont try and make a realistic background. Hopefully when I can build more realistic I will try that... thanks! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MACALAIN Posted March 14, 2023 Share Posted March 14, 2023 Well done. Alain 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tokyo Raider Posted March 14, 2023 Author Share Posted March 14, 2023 4 hours ago, MACALAIN said: Well done. Alain Hi Alain! In the hundreds of models you have... did you build a D4Y1 yet? Love your collection posts! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MACALAIN Posted March 14, 2023 Share Posted March 14, 2023 1 hour ago, Tokyo Raider said: Hi Alain! In the hundreds of models you have... did you build a D4Y1 yet? Love your collection posts! Well, no. It is one of the missing aircraft of my collection. Alain 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted March 14, 2023 Share Posted March 14, 2023 Great finish on this. Looks like it's seen a lot of weather, but is well taken care of. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tokyo Raider Posted March 14, 2023 Author Share Posted March 14, 2023 3 hours ago, MACALAIN said: Well, no. It is one of the missing aircraft of my collection. Alain Since you build 1/72, I think Fujimi made this in 1/72... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sky Keg Posted March 14, 2023 Share Posted March 14, 2023 Well Bob, you made something “bland” and “vanilla” look like an award winning subject. I like the simplicity and the unique subject matter. You weathered it perfectly and this is an excellent overall presentation. Mike 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russ c Posted March 14, 2023 Share Posted March 14, 2023 Great looking Judy there Bob, really nice work 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MACALAIN Posted March 15, 2023 Share Posted March 15, 2023 8 hours ago, Tokyo Raider said: Since you build 1/72, I think Fujimi made this in 1/72... Thank you for the info. Alain 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiseca Posted March 15, 2023 Share Posted March 15, 2023 That is a pretty aircraft and a lovely build. I've also never heard of this plane, but it has a very sleek design for a bomber. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in a shed Posted March 15, 2023 Share Posted March 15, 2023 Thats a very fine job you have done on the Judy. Its such a super sleek aircraft, one of my favourite Japanese types. Is that some sort of weather protection wrapped round the fescalised portion of the oleo that was used on the real thing? It looks like material has been wrapped round and round, or is it a boot? Pete 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roberto Posted March 15, 2023 Share Posted March 15, 2023 Great build and painting, bravo! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tokyo Raider Posted March 15, 2023 Author Share Posted March 15, 2023 2 hours ago, Pete in a shed said: Thats a very fine job you have done on the Judy. Its such a super sleek aircraft, one of my favourite Japanese types. Is that some sort of weather protection wrapped round the fescalised portion of the oleo that was used on the real thing? It looks like material has been wrapped round and round, or is it a boot? Pete Hi Pete... that is some protective boot covering the oleo on the gear. I made it look like a canvas boot and applied wash to it to capture the molded contours. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted March 15, 2023 Share Posted March 15, 2023 Nice job They're not all that rare though, as there were a few on eBay last I looked and they weren't going for too many shekels 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
François Escudé Posted March 15, 2023 Share Posted March 15, 2023 So nicely done !!! superb !!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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