Richard keeps dropping down hints so I dug this out of the stash now that the Mustang is getting real close to paint .

This is Hasegawa's Ki61-1 Limited Edition which is nothing more then marking options , nothing fancy in the kit . I won't be doing the American option , but I will be adding Aires cockpit set , Quick Boost under carriage covers and Rob Taurus vac canopy .

I have never done a Japanese aircraft before , so this is new to me .









Terri

I guess I would be a real jerk if I didn't watch this one !

Nice ! Richard

Terri I'm in! Love the Hasegawa kit and the subject!

As the only in line engined fighter the Japanese forces fielded during WW2 the Ki-61 has a special place in my heart. I love the natural metal with splotches of green camo with the red tail etc. I've built this kit as one of those and I have several more to build.

Having made four Hiens last year (including Hasegawa's Ki-61-I Tei, a truely shake'n'bake kit) will be watching your build with a great interest, good luck

I'd love to see this one, from 244th Sentai, but not Kobayashi's plane:



Best regards
Hubert

Hi guys Thanks for showing interest .

Richard , you a jerk , no never don't think you have it in you when it comes to red circles all over the airframe

Hubert , that is an attractive scheme .

With the Mustang out of the way I started on this one by washing the resin parts and freeing them from their pore blocks and cleaned them up .

I will not be using the PE parts for the upper cowl or the ammo access panel . I don't intend to display these areas open . The seat back broke while clean up and had to super glue it back together . Some mods are needed for the fuselage for the resin parts to fit . Test fitting shows success but we will wait and see . Things are ready to be glued up and ready for paint .








Terri

Last weekend didn't go as planned and had a few mishaps during the build . While test fitting the cockpit after painting and assembly I dropped it on the floor and lost a few bits to the carpet monster ( left hand side rudder pedal ) The resin pit doesn't fit and need extra attention which in the end so I would lose and more detail . The side walls sit 2mm higher then what they should be . After the fuselage halves where joined there was a nasty gap on top of the gun cowl which I filled with plastic card and trimmed/sanded back the extra . Still need to a bit of filling on the fuselage , but she is starting to shape up .

The wing root area was another test of patience and an area I really don't want to have to fill and sand . So I ended up making wedges to lift the top wing part test fitting until it was perfect ...well almost perfect . This is where I left off .



















Terri

Terri - Looks very nice despite the wrestling match with the cockpit .

This is just a little modeling Zen to let you appreciate the Tamiya Hien when you get to it !

Here's to Yin and Yan ! Richard

Terri, nice progress on your Hien so far. When I built my Ki-61 last October I had also had some issues with the wing roots, used filler and sanded it. I believe it was a successful operation. If you like scroll down this page to the end and have a look.

Torsten

Looking absolutely fantastic Terri! Sometimes we come to debate the use of aftermarket resin cockpits and such especially when we have to do so much work to get it to fit. Great work on the wing root joins they look pretty darn good from here. However I can't get as close to the project as you can LOL. And we as modellers always know exactly where the problems and mistakes are even when they aren't readily visible to our peers.

Wow ! it has been a while ..

Now I wouldn't want Richard to feel left out or that I forgot about him and his campaign on getting everyone building meatballs . This one is back on the bench once more . It ended up going back in the stash when I drop it , one part went that way while an another ..well just don't know what happened to it really .

The damage has been repaired and the canopy is finally ready for masking and can start painting . Batteries are charging up for the camera , pic's coming soon



Terri

Oh yeah !
( or should I say : " o hio hi ! " ) my apologies for my Japanese-
I suppose karma dictates I will soon have to do something with crosses, cockades or stars and bars to keep things fair - keep at it Terri !
Richard

Richard,
Now ain't that the truth

Joel

Great to see this back on your bench! I have one of these sulking around the shelf of doom I need to drag out and fool around with. Any ideas for a scheme yet?

Terri,
I can't keep up with your builds. I'm exhausted trying to keep up.

The pit looks fantastic. No one would ever had known that you needed to use a little muscle.

Joel

Glad to see this make a come back Terri! Love to see her with a coat of paint on.

Terri,
Just looked at the box again, and saw the USA option. I'm really glad you're not doing that scheme. It will look a million times better in it's own national markings.

Joel

Terri - I see you are on fire with making your hanger queens airworthy !
Your pace is putting this old man to shame - Keep 'em coming!
Richard

Hi Terry, the office looks very good on your build. Is the scale 1/48th or 1/32nd?

Ernest

Thanks guys for all the support and kind comments

Mike , I still haven't really made up my mind yet on which scheme I will be doing . It will have a red tail though .

Joel , it doesn't look right in the star and bars . this boxing was only 30 bucks while other boxings are between 60 - 70 bucks on this side of the pond . I like Hasegawa kits , just won't pay the high price for older releases .


Richard , I don't thing any of us could put you to shame


Ernest , it's 1/48 .



Made some progress over the weekend , but not as much as I was hoping . Turned out to be a wrestling match with the canopy and needed filling in a few areas with super glue . Making this a not so enjoyable build . In fron ot the wind screen and surrounding area the plastic is so thin there isn't much for any type of glue to grab so it can do it's job . Masking the canopy was overly enjoyable at all and will be my last me thinks . I will not be doing any more work in this area . After re-painting the damage I didn't get the same paint match , totally forgot what I used So it is what it is .











At this stage I'm ready for primer and paint , just need to find a scheme ....




Terri

Poor fitting canopy parts are the bane of any modeler's existence I think. Very tough to correct and a lot of work to do so. I think your efforts look just fine Terri.

Ernest

Terri,
Ernest summed it up perfectly. Nothing ruins a build quicker for me then a crappy fitting windscreen that requires days of work to get to the point of where it should have been in the 1st place.

You're masking job looks great. One of my must for a build rule s that Eduard has a mask set for the glass. A real time saver and I never get those little rounded or angle corners right when I do it from scratch.

Looking forward to seeing the Ki-61 in a coat of primer.

Joel

It almost ended up back in the box and in the stash , but I don't think Richard would approve of this , mustn't let him down

I don't mind masking , I'm pretty quick at it , but those express mask are nice . If they are in the kit I will use them . For us Canadians they are not cheap . I can buy a few rolls of Tamiya tape for the price of an Eduards Masking set .

I do it a few different ways . Either I will cut small squares and fill in the panel in the way or what ever shape will fit . Will use my punches for circles and curved sections on a canopy or I will burnish the tape down and cut along the framing depending on how well the framing is molded .


Hoping to start laying paint this weekend ...



Terri

Good luck Terri! I'm eager to see her with a coat of paint and which camo scheme you've chosen.

Terri - Thanks for hanging in there to get yet another one finished . As you recognized I am particularly interested in this one ! Have you ever used Bare Metal Foil for canopy masking ? If the frames are prominent enough to guide a knife it works very well .
Richard

Like Joel, I will use one of the excellent Eduard masking sets if they are available for that particular kit. I here you on the cost, though I live in Bavaria, Germany about 2 and a half hours away from Eduard's location the cost of some of the sets can be a bit off putting.

Before I started using the Eduard sets I used the stuff that medical labs use to seal bottles and things such as that. Cutting along the frame was always a time of high stress for me, so I tend to view the price of the Eduard masks to be well worth saving the wear and tear on my nerves!

Ernest