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...

nice NMF on that Claude!

Man that plane is a beauty

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. 

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

regards,

Jack

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.

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

Ka-14 is finished.

Great kit.

Just about ready for the Primer coat....

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.

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.

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 - 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

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:

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. 

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.

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

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

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

Jack, I'd advise you too to read the article Johnsan mentioned. I've read a bunch of stuff on their site and it's good stuff with very meticulous research.

This is my cockpit so far, not quite as good as what you guys have been doing but I'm happy with it. Probably should have drilled out the lightening holes in the seat but the way it's engineered I'd have to modify the mount underneath since it would show though the holes. As small as the cockpit opening is I decided not to knock myself out here:

It's best to have a photo of the plane you wish to model. Not all had the amber coat. The photos I've seen seem to indicate the amber was actually a finish to the aluminum. There is an interesting thread over at j-aircraft.com in the archive section. Several threads actually. One thread has photos of artifacts.

Waikong - sweet work on that Claude trainer.

Johnsan - thanks for the warning about the tail wheel.  

One other question I have is about the amber protective finish applied to carrier aircraft.  Was this done at the factory, or after the aircraft was allocated to a unit?  If the latter, would it change the colour of markings, particularly if they were white?

regards,

Jack

Great work everyone!

Wow, looks great Waikong! I've built a few of the Classic Airframes kits and I know what a bear they can be. Funny the Claude is one of the Japanese aircraft I've never modeled, guess I need to get around to doing one someday...

Panzerpilot: Hmmm, I might have to check into picking up a Tamiya stand too, looks a lot more sensible than some of the stuff I've tried propping up on boxes and paint bottles!

I''ve built the Classic Airframe version of the Claude trainer in 1/48. Its definitely of the limited run variety, so some extra effort will be needed to get that kit together.  Just trying to fit the resin engine itself was a job in itself.

Thanks, Cliff. She's looking more and like an airplane!

Johnsan. Looking good there. It does look like a nice fit along the wing roots, etc. I do like the Tamiya stand. It's pretty versitile and better than the cardboard boxes I used before! You can use old pieces of sprue in the holes to hold up parts, etc. The clips are handy.

The left wing here needed a bit more "encouragement", but I have the fit done nicely after a bit of help from some sanding sticks, etc. I've noticed some issues with wing root fit on some Hassie kits. Probably the only glaring issue I've had (though my 109G-14 had no problem).. I would recommend just gluing the cockpit at the fuselage inside top for this kit, so as to not take away fuselage slack that can go towards the wing root.

Hey Johnsan and Panzerpilot, those look great guys! Keep the photos coming!

Josiah: You're welcome to join us. I didn't put any notices up in the other forums this time around since it seemed like everyone was finding their way here without any problems. I'll go ahead and put you down then.

Cliff

Be careful with the tailwheel on that Fujimi Claude. It's very small and very weak. I've built 4 over the years and ended up scratching a tail wheel on each one. Otherwise, it's a pretty trouble free build. My only complaint about these kits is the thick wing trailing edges.

Right on ... I just received in the mail Fujimi's 1/72 A5M4.  Indeed some very fine surface details, and really look forward to building this one.

Classic Airframes did make this version in 1/48, as well as a trainer model, but I choose the smaller scale due diminishing shelf space.

regards,

Jack

No, it's the prototype. The designation was that used when Mitsubishi entered this in the IJAAF trials that resulted in the Ki-27 Nate. Mitsubishi then submitted it to the IJNAF where with revisions it became the A5M Claude.

Production A5M didn't have the gull wing and the fuselage shape is a bit different. If you want to do a Claude, Fujimi makes 3 or 4 versions in 72nd. Nice kits. If you build in 48th, I don't know where to point you. I don't follow that scale other than to say that Fine Molds just released this subject as a normal kit. That is, it is not bundled with a magazine at an outlandish price.

Great work guys, taking notes on the paint brands mentioned.

Johnsan, I hadn't realized till your last post that you were building a Claude - the Ka-14 designation threw me off.  So is the kit of the prototype, or can it be built into some of the later versions?

regards,

Jack