J7W1 Shinden finally done!

Great job on the kit. Now I am adding that one to my still growing wish list.

Greg, that Tamiya kit is basic but not anymore than the Airfix kits of the same era. There's details to be added to the cockpit and gear wells in particular, thinning down the air intakes, rescribe it if you wish but other than that I remember it being a good build, and a great looking finished model.

nice job on a unique plane. it seems to have been reborn in the beech starship which I think isn't flying either.

ps:those citadel paints are great aren't they?

gregers: Yes, Tamiya made a nice 1/72 scale kit of this plane, but it is an older mold, and I can't comment on the quality. Should be pretty good, though. You can still find them on ebay.

David: With a 2,000 hp Mitsubishi Ha 43-42 eighteen cylinder aircooled radial engine, armament of four 30mm cannons, a maximum speed of 466 mph at 28,545 ft. and a cruising speed of 263 mph at 13,125 ft., I'd imagine it would have just about pulverized anything we had. JMHO.

demono69

stunning work there Demon, thanks for sharing. is there a 1/72 kit for this one?. Greg

Looks very nice!

Thanks for the brief history lesson! Very interesting. Do you think it would it have been effective if it had made it into production?

Looks Great Scott!

Thanks again, all. It was an incredibly fun build, and I needed absolutely no filler, the fit was so good. For an older mold, it really is magnificent.

Caveman,
The Shinden started designs in 1942, but the prototypes (2 of them) didn't get into testing until 1945. The first aircraft was equipped with too powerful of an engine, and flipped during takeoff in its trial run, destroying the aircraft. After modifications, the 2nd aircraft flew 3 times for a total of 45 minutes, and was announced a huge success. Unfortunately, a few days later, the war ended. The only surviving plane is in building 5 of the Smithsonian warehouse, awaiting restoration.

Captain Caveman, this aircraft was built to defend the Japanese home islands from invasion and to intercept high altitude bomber and fighters that would be part of any invasion force. As far as I know this plane never flew in combat.

Nicely done demono69, I also just finished this a/c, yours looks great. I did my prop in black because I couldn't find the right color, but it looks like you did.

Mine is wheels up. Anyone building this kit wheels up, be ready for some pretty large fit problems. Luckily mine is destined for the ceiling and any fit problems I had with the gear doors I fixed with a mound of putty and a panel scriber. But if you want to display this a/c gear up you will have to do some work. Also watch the small wheels on the vertical stabilizers, in fact, I reccomend cutting them off when you begin the model and re-attaching them at the end. Both of mine broke off anyway.

However, cockpit detail is very nice and this aircraft has a pretty unique cockpit, lots of bracing behind the pilot.

Well done, I wish I can do that.

looks great
Did it ever Fly in anger?

Cool Shinden, Demono!

I have one somewhere in the loft too. I really like this aircraft. Your model looks great Demono. Congrats.

I almost bought one of those at my lhs the other day. I thought, well, I'll pick it up next time I'm here. It was gone the next time I went back. Looking at yours is just about as good. That is a real honey Demon, I bet it looks great on display.

Thanks, guys. It was alot of fun to build.

Pix: It's the 1:48 Hasegawa kit. The landing gears are a bit fragile, but they seem to hold up OK. As for the prop, I used Citadel's Dark Flesh, as it looked just about like mahogany.

Looks great, demomo
Is that the 1/48 kit ? I built that one also. My landing gear ended up a little wobbly. How were yours ? Fun little kit to build. Its almost like building something other than an airplane.
What did you use for a prop color ? I ran out of Aeromaster, & I need a replacement. That color looks very good.
Again, I like this bird !

I've always liked that little plane and yours has turned out beautifully. Congratulations on a successful build.