Looks great, Cliff. I like those straps. Eduard?

Thanks! Yeap, Eduard- I think tape straps would look better but doing the buckles is way too much detail work for me.  

Gamera - that cockpit really does look great!

-------------------------------------------

The j-arircraft website I've visited a few times already, before posting my question.  Together with a personal response from Nick Millman, now I understand why  the members here refrained from giving a direct response, as the answer is unknown. 

The 'golden' Claudes is mostly from eyewitness accounts.  Some photos do exist, but difficult to tell in black and white, but do appear lighter than IJN grey as seen on Zeroes, for example.  To date, it is still not known for certain if it is clear varnish or anodized aluminum (perhaps  both).

... and with that, might as well make it official - Fujimi A5M4 Claude in 1/72 will be my entry for this GB.

regards,

Jack

Your cockpit looks good, Gamera. I think you made the proper decision regarding the lightening holes.

I'm getting close now to finishing this one.

Ok, (yeah, I know. Nobody asked. So shoot me.) here are the steps taken. First, it got a primer coat of Mr Surfacer Finish 1500 Black to show flaws and give depth to the metal coat. This was polished to remove any grit. Then it got a coat of GSI/Creos Mr Color #8 silver mixed 50/50 with one of their gloss coats and then thinned about 70/30 paint/Leveling Thinner. This was suggested in the magazine instructions.The red is a recently released Mr Color hinomaru red included in their recent Kawanishi paint set. Looks like red to me. That is, nothing special, but the other paints in the set look very useful. Kawanishi interior and topside green.

You know what? This works incredibly well. Easy. Sprays well. Blends well for fixing mistakes.

Just the little parts to add now.

Wow Johnsan, that's just an absolutely flawless NM finish there! Gorgeous!

Jack: Lol yes I didn't and won't give a direct response because the more stuff on the subject I read the more confused I get!!!  

Best to let you look at the evidence and make up your own mind! 

I'll get your Claude down, looking forward to seeing her come together. 

thank you, Gamera.

While I'm not sure that this is the proper place for research discussion, let me share an observation and a photo or two.

Notice on my Ka-14 that the outer wing panels look sort of golden. I assure you this is just how the paint is reflecting light. I used only the #8 Silver with no tinting. This may be a factor with the golden Claudes. Or maybe not.

This photo is from the book The Imperial Japanese Navy Fighter Group Photograph collection:

This is how I interpreted it a few years ago:

Johnsan - can't speak for the others, but I welcome the sharing of research, ideas, and other historical anecdotes.  

You bring up a good point that natural lighting can create that golden look.  The sun's height in the sky definitely plays a factor in the appearance of objects.  Who knows what time of day these golden Claudes were witnessed.

The metal finishes on both your current build and the completed piece are outstanding.  I think even the automotive guys would be envious of those finishes.

regards,

Jack

So much time i don't check the GB  lots of great builds i lost !! especially the plane that Johnsan is building :) which plane he is? he don't seems a Claude, these W wings like stuka or corsair not match with flat central claude wing that have only the extrnal wing with upper direction 

I remember another monoiengine fighter in these years really close toi the Claude shapes .. it's the Ka-14?? i want one!!!

... forget about .. i read the name after the posting 

Gamera

That looks really cool Bsyamato though that canopy looks like a pain to paint! I have the Hasegawa kit in 1/48th but everytime I pull it out I look at the canopy and put it back in the box!

Haven't seen you in a while, glad to see you've got your new bench up and ready.

I hope to unfreeze it soon :) also waiting lots on new kits, 7-8 are japanese ww2 subjects 

Johnsan. I like that finish. The sheen is pretty dead on for what NM looks like, early in the morning or late in the day. Especially with haze or overcast, with the sun trying to cut through. Well done.

Thanks. I'm glad you all like it. I'm even more glad it turned out as I'd hoped.

Decals are all on. I just need to add wheels, pitot tube, scratch the gunsight (carpet monster), glue the engine on, and color the nav light lens. Should finish tomorrow.

Just about ready for the Primer coat....

Looking good, Panzerpilot. How are you going to paint her?

Ka-14 is finished.

Great kit.

Nice job, Johnsan! I guess I missed what scale it was until now!

I'm going alclad duraluminum with some misting of aluminum, then the green mottling. I got the primer on just now. It's the alclad grey primer (flat), since I am going for a more weathered look. Also, as you may be able to tell, the primer coat is not "even", which should add to the effect of uneven wear. It was a Guadalcanal 1944 bird.

Johnsan - well that was nice and quick!  A really flawless looking build, I like it!

regards,

Jack

Johnsan: Wow, that's beautiful! Absolutely perfect job there! I'll see about getting you posted today at lunch. And that sounds like a pretty good explanation for the golden colour on certain aircraft.

Panzerpilot: Looks good! The uneven primer sounds like a good idea on how to replicate the weathered worn look here.

Bsyamato: Good to see you again! We missed you!  

Edit: Johnsan you sir are posted to the front page again. 

Man that plane is a beauty

nice NMF on that Claude!

Thanks, guys. I'm happy with the Ka-14, but it does have some flaws. It's a great kit marred only by the plane's actual limited use.

Moving on. A couple of weekends ago, I hazarded off to the hobby shops in Akihabara. Big mistake. Volks, flagship store for Zoukei Miura, had 3 Platz photo etch sets for Platz's recent F-1 kit. Their F-1 kit is nice and I had wondered about the need for photo etch. Seeing the sets, I could see how these would nicely dress the kit.

Which increases the complexity of the build. So while I percolate a bit on the F-1, I'd like to return to a couple of stalled projects from last year: Tamiya's and FineMolds' Type 21 Zeroes. I stalled at the idea of adding all the wiring and plumbing in the Zero cockpit area. Both kits are nicely detailed, but neither have this layer of detail. So...

Here's the alclad finish of my Ki-61. As previously shown, I had an uneven primer coat. This resulted in an uneven alclad finish, both in finish tint and texture. This is duraluminum. I must say the amount of surface prep necessary for a nice even, shiny coat, far exceeds what I put into it.

Johnsan... What more is there to say... Beautiful!

PanzerPilot... I've never built a KI 61 before and am really enjoying seeing yours come together!

Panzerpilot, that is an interesting effect.

I agree about the effect Panzerpilot. I've actually done a few NMF just like that, intentionally leaving my primer unsanded.  I like the way it creates a 'weathered' NMF look. it all depends on what you are going for.

Johnsan: I'd love to see those Zeros or the F-1 or anything else you'd like to contribute here!

Panzerpilot: I've never tried for an intentional rough undercoat for the Alclad but it makes a great deal of sense. Looking forward to seeing how things come out.  

johnsan

Looking good, Panzerpilot. How are you going to paint her?

Ka-14 is finished.

Great kit.

Perfect clean finish Johnsan 

Well, the Shiden is (mostly) together. Normally I leave the landing gear off but since it's all NM I figure I'll paint the whole darn thing at once and then mask off, add the salt, and then spray the upper surfaces. 

I hate to attach small parts like the cannons but before I start the NM I'm going to spray the yellow leading edges and I need the cannon fairings in place. 

Cliff... if I were to put the guns on and that &*$#@pitot tube, before final touches it would only be the first time that I would have to do it! (Lol) I would knock them off at least 3 times if I were so lucky! Ha...

Doug

Lol, very true! The pitot tube I did leave off!!!

I see on HLJ that there is a metal replacement set for the cannons and pitot tube- but I'm too cheap to buy them!

Quick update on the little Claude:

Interior done and fuselage halves joined.  Added a strip of plastic on the bottom that still needs to be cut and sanded - this should give a proper flush fit when the wings is attached.

A couple strips of masking tape for the seatbelts.  Could not find actual period photo examples, but the pilot harness included a single belt hanging down the center of the backrest - not sure how that worked? 

The instrument panel decal broke in two, so have taken the precautionary measure and sprayed some clear  future over the whole decal sheet.

regards,

Jack

Got the camouflage done today. Tamiya XF-13 IJA Green. Thanks for looking.

Panzer - I like the way you did your Alclad - gonna have to try that technique.  Love the camo!

Steve