Tojo never made it to Darwin

[Andwil]

My entry in the group build will be Hasegawa’s 1/72 Nakajima Ki-44 Shoki (“Tojo”).

 

 

I’m not certain what colour scheme I’ll finish it yet.  Hopefully will be able to make start over the weekend, August is shaping up as a busy month with family birthdays and other social commitments before I go away at the end of the month for three weeks.  It should be a quick build as it looks like a simple kit.

 

Here are the sprues:

 

choice of canopies depending on which gun sight is used:

 

 

The cockpit it typically sparse, so I think I will use the pilot figure.  Not much will be vidible in the narrow, deep cockpit space anyway.

 

More to follow.

 

AW

[Mark Newton]

Nice choice of subject, and extra points for the Hoodo Gurus reference! 👍

 

All the best,

 

Mark.

[Col.]

Hasegawa kits of this era always seemed to be a simple and effective representation of their chosen subject so hopefully this will make for a straightforward project AW

[stevehnz]

This is one I'll watch for sure, got one of these somewhere. 😊

Steve.

[Toryu]

I'm curious what you're going to make of it. Remember: Yellow-green inside the cockpit - not Aotake!

[Andwil]

To get the ball rolling the cockpit tub and side walls airbrushed with Mig AMMO Nakajima cockpit green (not Aotake @Toryu !) and the instrument coaming and headrest/rollover bar blue-black.

 

 

Prop painted brown 

 

 

finally for today, the engine sprayed with Vallejo Metalcolour steel and the gearbox and pushrods picked out in aluminium:

 

 

Thanks for looking.

 

AW

[Andwil]

Pilot:

 

 

I have decided not to use the drop tanks so am now in the process of filling the holes in the wing and sanding back the attachment points flush with the wing surface.

 

Thanks for looking.

 

AW

[Col.]

Nice paintwork on the pilot figure AW. You've certainly brought him to life.

[Andwil]

These little Hasegawa fighters certainly go together quickly.

 

 

 

Fit is almost perfect, apart from the port wing root which needed a shim.

 

Thanks for looking.

 

AW

[Col.]

Good to see this one is going together well.

[Andwil]

Since my last post I have attached and masked the canopy and today I airbrushed the canopy with Nakajima interior green and then primed the airframe.  As a result I can can see the the wing roots will need a bit more attention.

 

 

I’m really liking this mini Thunderbolt with its odd forward cranked wings, but it is tiny, even alongside an Oscar it looks small, which is odder still as it was designed as a heavy fighter.  In 1939 the IJAAF issued a specification for a heavy fighter unlike anything built in Japan previously.  The specification called for speed, rate of climb and firepower rather than the traditional Japanese emphasis on manoeuvrability.  Developed alongside the Ki-43 Hayabusa, Nakajima’s Ki-44 was a small aircraft with very small wings and a big engine, a 1940s Starfighter!  It went into service as the Type 2 Army Heavy Fighter Shōki (Demon Queller) and operated in China, Burma, Indonesia, The Philippines and on home defence.  It was first encountered by the Allies in China where it was given the reporting name “Tojo”.  At first the Ki-44 was considered tricky to fly, with a fast landing speed and was restricted to experienced pilots with over 1000 hours.  It was however not popular with pilots used to the manoeuvrability of the Ki-27 and Ki-43 and its performance was initially poor as  the Japanese pilots continued to dog fight using aerobatic turns for which it was not suited.  Newer pilots without as much experience on the Nate or Oscar and using diving hit and run tactics had much more success.

 

This is about as far as I will go for now as I’m about to go away on holiday for a month in search of some tropical warmth in far north Queensland.  When I get back the decals I have ordered from the yellow H should have arrived.

 

Thanks for looking.

 

AW

[Col.]

You're certainly giving the primer coat plenty time to dry before moving further AW

[Toryu]

8 hours ago, Andwil said:

it looks small, which is odder still as it was designed as a heavy fighter

 

Heavy fighter in Japanese terms, i.e. basically an interceptor with a very powerful (bomber) engine and four-gun armament contrary to the contemporary Japanese fighter doctrine. It was intended to run and climb fast. In a way it was the same concept realised later in the Bearcat. The Kawasaki Ki-60 was a competitor but turned out to be too heavy (a figher).

 

Nice progress!

 

[Peter Lloyd]

You are right on all counts, the Ki-44 is a very distinctive and odd-looking fighter.  I'm sure Allied pilots still usually called them 'Zeroes', though.