To philo426,

I just wanted to thank you sir for being such a devoted follower to my builds.

My amazement of this build is credited to the awe inspiring technique Zoukie Mura has utilized and to put such a far ahead cutting edge schematics into a styrene plastic model kit.  I tried to do some research on who or what Zoukei Mura is about.  I don't even know what Zoukei Mura means? Their website was extremely generic and vague.  All I could find was that they, Zoukei Mura, started making really high end girls, collectors (Ceramic?) dolls.  I found two on eBay with each one going for over a thousand dollars a piece. WOW!  Truly a collectors piece of precious dolls and they look magnificent!  Works of art, museum quality, if I may be so bold to say so.

The other item that they're known for is scale collectors trains in mainly HO and other scales.  The best examples I could find was the "Shinkansen" or bullet train. These were the worlds first 100 plus miles an hour trains that shot through Japan during the early 70's.  If I may add, these select pieces of art are very expensive as well.  They go for $300.00 to $400.00 a piece.  I'm only describing the general cab cars and not the main key conductor engine or car.  

Finally, of course without question is their foray into the world of model kits and why we hobbiest are here for.  The Zoukei Mura Kyushu Shinden was first.  They number each kit according to it's debut and so on.  Oddly, the very first item you work on, on the Kyushu Shinden is not the cockpit or the fueselage, it's the engine.  

Although it does not have the "Clear" body skin like the HO 229, it's still a very detailed and magnificent piece of art.  At least in my humble opinion.  I am glad and excited for that as I've been itching to use my AB for some time now.  Not that there's anything wrong with the Horten Flying Wing but it just really feels different not being able to paint the current kit to finish it off with an AB.

In essence, I'm still very very shocked and in total denial and disbelief that two brothers, one a pilot, the other an engineer during the 1940's WWII era, could come up with such a design far ahead of their time during the 1940's.  That's approximately some 70 plus years ago!  Can you believe that!  I still can't understand how, when, or why the Horten brothers could come up with such a inspirational design that only now at the present time, we are applying such flying wing stealth technology into service.  That's one of the reasons why, and there are many more, this hobby attracts me and I'm sure forum members as well to the world of model kits.  Thank you so very much philo426 as well as forum members for being a part of my life.  This means so much to me!

Toshi

To PlasticJunkie,

Here we are in the 21st. century, and only one company stands out tall in all it's grandeur and inspiration to create a model kit that is without a doubt, one of the most complex and awe inspiring kits to be ever produced and put into production and sold in the modeling market and at such a reasonable price point as far as the 1:48 (SWS) Super Wing Series is concerned.  The 1:32 kits are a different beast all together.  

I thought until very recently and spoke so highly of the Tamiya 1:32 series of which I built all with the exception of it's latest foray of the venerable 1:32 Mosquito kit or Holy Grails of the modeling kit world was only second to none.  I think Tamiya has now met it's match.  If not, more so than ever.  Not that I am not a fan of all things Tamiya as I'm a rabid fan of Tamiya products more than ever.  It's just that Zoukei Mura has left me speechless, and has taken the level of design concepts and production to such a stratospheric level of production and salesmanship!

Thank you PlasticJunkie for your praise and kind words, especially in regards to identifying this kit as you say grabbing the bull by it's horns.  Before I've even done that, may I say that I was stabbed in my posterior a many times prior to grabbing such as the bull by it's horns.  LOL!  I now sadly yet very happily, sadly as the HO 229 comes to it's final conclusion, happily as I now get to reap the fruits of my labor, and quite frankly treasure in all its memory this build and move on to another Zoukei Mura build of which is the Kyushu Shinden.  Thank you so much PlasticJunkie for reading and replying on my threads.  This, I find is so heart warming for me!

Toshi

lawdog114

Outstanding work Toshi.....

 

Thank you lawdog114 for reading and replying in my WIP threads!  This makes me overjoyed with enthusiasm.

Toshi

Bish

O indeed, everything i have heard about this kits is that they are really nice. I just like to build a kit with the skin on and painted up and am not to keen on spending so much money when i know i won't use a lot of it. I still live in hope that Revell will produce one, no harm in dreaming.

 

Toshi

Thanks Toshi I appreciate the craftsmanship and humor of your posts.Look forward to more in the future.

You are more than welcome Toshi. I enjoy following your builds and watching how well you are sharpening your modeling skills.

Here is the work done yesterday afternoon.  In the evening I completed the other wing on the HO 229.  

Toshi

It's been a long time since I've built me an aircraft model and I'm tellin' ya Tosh.....you're makin' me have the itch again. Great build goin' on here!!

Looks awesome Toshi.  Have you thought of doing half of the aircraft clear so the guts can be visible?

I must admit, that doe slook impressive Toshi.

mustang1989

It's been a long time since I've built me an aircraft model and I'm tellin' ya Tosh.....you're makin' me have the itch again. Great build goin' on here!!

 

Go on, i dare ur

Outstanding Toshi !

Bish

 

mustang1989

It's been a long time since I've built me an aircraft model and I'm tellin' ya Tosh.....you're makin' me have the itch again. Great build goin' on here!!

 

 

 

 

Go on, i dare ur

 

mustang1989

 

Bish

 

mustang1989

It's been a long time since I've built me an aircraft model and I'm tellin' ya Tosh.....you're makin' me have the itch again. Great build goin' on here!!

 

 

 

 

Go on, i dare ur

 

 

 

 

Somehow I just knew you'd have something to say about that. lol

 

 

Moi

Again well done on a very complex kit another  feather in you cap 

Hi, Toshi - It's for you to decide, but I think the airplane would look so good if painted on one side, leaving the intricate and complicated internals to be seen. The aircraft was such a technological marvel, especially for the era.

Hey, how are you at preparing sukiyaki? My absolute favorite Japanese dish, followed closely by ahi and fatty tuna sushi, mackerel and taco are great as well. On my overnight stays near Narita I had a great restaurant close by, served the best Japanese dishes I have found. The owners wife was named Eiko, she made sure all was as perfect as possible, without fail it always was. When I retired I missed the visits.

Great job on the model, hope to see the finish soon.

Best regards

Patrick

mustang1989

It's been a long time since I've built me an aircraft model and I'm tellin' ya Tosh.....you're makin' me have the itch again. Great build goin' on here!!

 

Toshi

plasticjunkie

Looks awesome Toshi.  Have you thought of doing half of the aircraft clear so the guts can be visible?

 

Toshi

crown r n7

Again well done on a very complex kit another  feather in you cap 

 

Toshi

She is looking sharp Toshi! Either way, all clear or half-painted will look good. As long as you leave at least some of that insane detail visible.

Are you thinking about putting the decals onto the clear plastic or just leaving her as is? Just asking since the film might be visible on the clear, not sure if painting a coat of gloss varnish on the clear plastic might help with that.  

patrick206

Hi, Toshi - It's for you to decide, but I think the airplane would look so good if painted on one side, leaving the intricate and complicated internals to be seen. The aircraft was such a technological marvel, especially for the era.

Hey, how are you at preparing sukiyaki? My absolute favorite Japanese dish, followed closely by ahi and fatty tuna sushi, mackerel and taco are great as well. On my overnight stays near Narita I had a great restaurant close by, served the best Japanese dishes I have found. The owners wife was named Eiko, she made sure all was as perfect as possible, without fail it always was. When I retired I missed the visits.

Great job on the model, hope to see the finish soon.

Best regards

Patrick

 

 

The last great meals that I can fondly recall the delicacies was in Asakusa, Japan.  Tokyo's infamous old school restaurant area.  My grandmother owned a ryokan (A Japanese inn) in kappa bashi doro.  That's where the most renowned pottery for dining with are made.  That was in 1979, I was 13.  Other than that, it was my mom that continued that tradition.

As a Executive Chef for Marriott and Hyatt, I did try to continue the traditional dishes you so deliciously described, but there are not many foodies like they have currently.  My career as a Executive Chef ran from Honolulu, Hawaii on to San Fransico then on to Northern Europe circa 1984-1991, then on to Maui, Hawaii and on to Southern California from 1991-2001.  From 2001 to 2003 I set up a Major Grocery Conglomerate, Giant Eagle here in North East Ohio for sushi distribution.  Then I bacame the personal Master Sushi Chef for Bert and Iris Wolstein in Aurora Ohio at the Bertram Inn and Conference Center from 2003 to 2006.

My biggest accomplishment as well as fondest memory was training under the student of the official Master Sushi Chef of the Empreror of Japan.  His name was the venerable Kinjiro Oomae.  My sensei's name was Ryuji Sekiguchi, I learned so much from him and am indebted to him for such a graceful and understanding sesei (Teacher).  All the while, I played Jazz in a variety of bands as well as my own, Jazz Attack.  That's another discussion I'd be more than happy to share with you and fellow forum members In the future if you ask me about it.

Thank you sir for asking me these questions, you have brought a tide of hard working yet fun loving and life learning memories to me again!  

Live, love people, and life, that's all you got!  

Allan Toshio Miura, Jr.

Sushi aside (which made me salivate, by the way, and which gave me some idea on how you could come up with such nice looking kits in so short a time), thats simply outstanding work on the wings, Toshi! Beautiful!

allan

Sushi aside (which made me salivate, by the way, and which gave me some idea on how you could come up with such nice looking kits in so short a time), thats simply outstanding work on the wings, Toshi! Beautiful!

 

Now back to what we are all here for, the art of model kits!  Thank you Allan, you've been a wealth of knowledge for me as well as a dedicated forum member to all my builds from my very first WIP to this very fun and intricate kit.  The wings or entire kit was and has been a shocking build for me.  Never have I seen nor built anything close to this.  I've only seen scratch builders do this kind of difficult work, and they do it from literally nothing at all except a few pieces of plastic, some schematics, amazing technique, masterful experience, and an imagination far beyond mines.

Maybe someday I'll feebly attempt such scratch building, but until then, I must rely on such as model kits builds OOB.  Once again, thank you sir!

Toshi

If I may, sandwhich was created so the story goes by the Earl of Sand.  He wanted a quick meal, not the time consuming preparations of the day.  He threw everything together on his bread and there you go.  

Please note, this is a very simplified and quick explanation into the culinary vernacular.  It might not be entirely correct but, you at the very least get the idea (Gist).  The reason for me to bring the Earl of Sand up is that to bring our cultures together.  Food is culture and so is art, the art of model kits!

Another reason to bring this up is that Edo Mae Zushi (A-DOE MA-A SUSHI)  as well was created exactly like this with the exception of it's ingredients and that it was the underground Japanese group called the Yakuza (The Japanese version of the Mafia) that requested for a quick and simple meal while illegally gambling.  LOL!

Toshi

You have an interesting background, Toshi, and I surely do enjoy it when you share memories during your WIP's.

Gamera

She is looking sharp Toshi! Either way, all clear or half-painted will look good. As long as you leave at least some of that insane detail visible.

Are you thinking about putting the decals onto the clear plastic or just leaving her as is? Just asking since the film might be visible on the clear, not sure if painting a coat of gloss varnish on the clear plastic might help with that.  

 

I am going with a completely clear skin with no decals.  I feel the decals would take away from the resilience of the design and the completely clear skin.  It needs to look clean as far as the way I have it presented.  This is just my humble opinion.

If there are other opinions from forum members in regards to the finish of the Zoukei Mura HO 229 model kit, please let me know.  I can always use the help!  I sure need it!  LOL!

Toshi

Greg

You have an interesting background, Toshi, and I surely do enjoy it when you share memories during your WIP's.

 

This for me is the most important fact when building a kit.  We get to read it's historical significance, understand what it means to society, and see why the modeler chose the subject and it's finish (Final incarnation).  Thank you Greg for being such a devoted follower of my threads, this gesture makes me feel very honored that you do so.

Toshi

CrashTestDummy

It's a shame Zoukei Mura doesn't have the self-adhesive wood decals for this one that they do for the 1:32 version, half a bird done in that would be awesome! Still, they do offer PE wood stencils that might be interesting to work with. Wonderful work, so far, though!! Regards, Gene Beaird, Pearland, Texas

 

Toshi 

Toshi,

Man there is a lot of complexity to this kit.