Thanks for the info Joe. I guess I was missing the particular brand. I have two HL about equidistant, so i'll be checking them out.

Nathan, Thank you as well.

As usual looks great!

Love the streaking on the wings, I keep trying it but it doesn't look as good as yours. 

lawdog114

I'm not big of  "peeling" the paint on Japanese subjects.  Perhaps its subconscious, but I hate going back and destroying what I worked so hard to achieve...lol.  I usually reserve a bit of chipping to the cowl and the wing root, thats about it.

Joe 

It would be a shame to ruin such a beautiful paint job.  Looks like it's going to be up to your usual excellent standards.

BTW:  What is your next project coming up?  You going to do the A-5 or the Corsair?  OR both? 

Gary

Thanks guys. Gary, I'm going to do a small diorama around Pappy Boyington's Corsair, inspired by a picture I saw recently.  As for the A-5, well, I have to wait for the Luftwaffe bug to bite me again.  Right now I'm in Pacific mode.....lol. It wil probably be the Corsair then a new tooled Tamiya zero 3 or 5.

I got the Raiden decaled, dullcoated and ultimately finished over the last few nights.  To recap, it's in the markings of Raiden ace Saadaki Akamatsu of the 302 NAG.  He was reportedly not your typical IJN pilot.  He was apparently quite the boozer and brawler, but his behavior was tolerated because he was masterful in the sky, racking up 27 kills, to include a few B-29 "Dragons". He was reportedly quite savvy in the Raiden which was allegedly not especially liked by other pilots.   

The 18 year old Aeromaster decals went down fairly well.  I did have some issues with the Hinomarus being a tad thick, mainly because the white border and the red meatball were separate decals.  Technology of 1996 I suppose.  I had trouble getting a wash to stay in the panel lines, even with my normal tricks.  I had to use the white 5 from the kit decals to make Akamatsu's 3D-1195.  If you look closely you can tell the 5 is sort of "off" white.  I sealed the decals then added a Flory wash.  

Other than no open canopy option, I have nothing negative to say about the kit.  It has great detail and was a breeze to build.  See all this fantastc out of the box detail that will be obscured by a crumbly closed canopy.  Thats aside, I did add a set of PE belts, and ran some wires from the radio to add interest to the rear deck.   Note the bullet proof glass panel. 

Anyways, it was a painless build.   I added outboard cannon muzzles from Brass tube and fine wire for brake lines. I also fabricated a new pitot tube from brass tubing. 

Thanks for following the thread, comments welcome...

Joe

Now damnit Joe!! Here's another one of those times when I realize how much I need to add "this" one to my PTO collection ASAP.  lol.

Fantastic Jack here.  I think I'll side with this one over the Tamiya.  You seem pretty convincing it's a no hassle build.  =]

Whoa! Very nice Joe. I like the lighter wash over the black paint. You added some nice detail while still keeping the build quite simple. These obscure Jap IJAAF planes are really catching my interests. Much better than the always seen Zeros. Only thing I see is it looks like the front windscreen might not be pushed down to the fuselage all the way?? Did the canopy fit well?

Nathan T

Only thing I see is it looks like the front windscreen might not be pushed down to the fuselage all the way?? Did the canopy fit well?

Thanks Bvallot, yeah this is probably much better than Tamiya's circa 1973 Raiden.  I'm just speculating though.  Nathan, I didn't notice until you pointed it out.  I'll be darn, I do see a shadow under there...good eye.  Strange, I taped it down and glued it with Tenax, so its securely glued down.  It's kind of pointy there at the front and it's just the way it fits on this kit.  Perhaps bad design or maybe thats how its supposed to look?  Who knows.  The canopy seems to be the Achilles heel of this kit.    It's no contest winner anyways.

Joe

Very nice build Joe.  Not every build has to be a contest winner.  Make it look good to you that's all that matters

Another beautiful model Joe!  Can't wait to see a Pappy Boyington Corsair!

tempestjohnny

Very nice build Joe.  Not every build has to be a contest winner.  Make it look good to you that's all that matters

Thanks guys.  Actually only three of my builds have ever qualified for this, but I still strive for these standards whenever possible... 

Joe