1:48 Tamiya Ki-61-Id Hien

[polsen]

Hi folks, Here's my WIP on the new Tamiya Ki-61d. When this one arrived over the fence I couldn't help but make a start on it, I just love this aircraft !

 

For the base colour I use Gunze RLM 79 with a little Tamiya Xf-59 buff to make it a tad lighter. Weathering was done with an oil wash while splotches and fine detail painting were Applied using Vallejo acrylics. I also made my own seat belts using some left over material from a HGW set and the buckles were made from fine coper wire

 

It's a pretty nice kit with lovely detail, superb fit and great engineering.......pretty much what we've all come to expect when it comes to the latest releases from Tamiya. I particularly like the selected rows of recessed rivets on the wings. They're quite delicately represented and very much to scale just like on their F-14a.

 

So far, my only criticism of the kit is the instrument panel which much like their older 1:48 scale releases are simple raised circular dials. Instrument decals are of course included with the kit but I had to remove each one separately with my punch and die set. I would have liked to seen some fine raised instrumentation detail instead or at least individual instrument decals that fit into the dials perfectly.

 

The kit is not overly complicated at all so it goes together quite quickly

 

Ok, onto the pics ...........

 

first up, the wonderful boxtop artwork.

 

DSC_0305 by Peter Olsen, on Flickr

 

Some of the cockpit parts.

 

DSC_0299 by Peter Olsen, on Flickr

 

The left cockpit side wall with throttle detail...

 

DSC_0298 by Peter Olsen, on Flickr

 

 

And the right....

 

DSC_0296 by Peter Olsen, on Flickr

 

And the left again but upside down this time.........well, I am from down under

 

DSC_0294 by Peter Olsen, on Flickr

 

And I'll leave you with one last shot of the cockpit parts, thanks for looking,

Happy modelling,

cheers,

Pete.

 

DSC_0303 by Peter Olsen, on Flickr

[polsen]

Construction continues with the Ki-61....

Well, what can I say other than this kit really goes together beautifully, but you knew that already right. 

 

Here's a picture of the main wing assembly and with this shot it gives you a nice look at the wonderful surface detail on the kit.

 

DSC_0327 by Peter Olsen, on Flickr

 

The cockpit fits quite well into the fuselage and you can install it after gluing the two main fuselage halves together. I still have to weather the rear canopy sill to match the rest of the cockpit.

 

DSC_0355 by Peter Olsen, on Flickr

 

Please be aware that at this stage I have not cleaned up any of the seams yet and I've simply placed the upper engine cowl on the forward fuselage just for the pics.

 

DSC_0339 by Peter Olsen, on Flickr

 

DSC_0353 by Peter Olsen, on Flickr

 

I really love the shape of the  Ki-61, it's so aesthetically pleasing.

 

DSC_0361 by Peter Olsen, on Flickr

 

I've got a few more things to add to the building stage, then I'll clean up the seams and mask the canopies and I'll be ready for paint.

 

Thanks for following,

Cheers,

Pete. 

[Guest DannyVM]

Very nice progress you got there Pete. I especially like the wheatering in the cockpit, that's spot on.

 

Greetz

 

Danny

[RalphSarc]

Sweet progress!!

 

[kuky76]

Fantastic work!

Very inspirative for start my own project. Keep going I am really looking forward for next progress. Hien is a beautiful japanese warbird

[JeroenPeters]

Saweet! That cockpit is sweet! Could have fooled me into thinking it was 32nd scale.