Kawasaki Ki-61-Id Hien (Tony)

The Tamiya 1/48 Kawasaki Ki-61-Id Hien (Tony), #61115 model kit is a 2016 release. Prior to its release, Hasegawa had produced their 1/48 scale version of this same aircraft in 1994, when they added the decals in their kit to make this specific paint scheme with the blue stripes and mottled camouflage pattern. Several years ago, I built this kit, but sadly, it had been poorly packed away and was damaged beyond repair. Although that kit was of excellent quality, the Tamiya 1/48 Kawasaki Ki-61 Hien model kit has surpassed the Hasegawa kit in level of accuracy, detail and build options. For example, the air intake assembly on the Tamiya kit is much more accurate than on the Hasegawa kit. The cockpit detail in the Tamiya kit is also more crisply molded and defined than in the Hasegawa kit. A major build option that the Tamiya kit provides is a detailed seated pilot figure that is not provided in the Hasegawa kit. I also greatly appreciated that Tamiya provided a canopy paint mask sheet included in their kit. This is a great money and time saver even though the canopy masks were not precut. I wish more model manufacturers would do this in their kits. I discovered that when cutting out the pieces for each canopy windowpane, it is best to cut right outside of the demarcation line printed on the masking sheet. I found that cutting the paint masks out with micro scissors provides better results than when using a hobby knife. Once the tiny mask pieces were removed from the mask sheet, I had to spend a lot of time using a toothpick and precision tweezers to help me with separating the backing from the canopy paint mask pieces. To paint the pilot figure, I used Testors Model Master 4214 Yellow Ochre 1/2 for the exposed facial area of the pilot. For the pilot's oxygen mask and googles, I used Anita's All-Purpose Acrylic 302278 Black. I used Mission Models MMP-015 Rotbraun RAL 8012 for the pilot's head cover. For the pilot's jacket and pants, I used Vallejo Model Color 70.874 Tan Earth. The collar on the pilot's jacket was painted with Apple Barrel Multi-Surface 21980E Warm Buff. This color was also used to paint the back seat cushion of the pilot seat. The pilot's seat belt and harness straps were painted with Vallejo Model Air 71.043 US Olive Drab. The Pilot's boots and gloves were painted with Mission Models MMP-015 Rotbraun RAL 8012. For the forward fire wall and cockpit floor I followed the kit's instructions, and I used Tamiya's XF-59 Dessert Yellow. For the interior 20mm cannon ammo cases I used Ceramcoat Metallic Silver 02603 and for the interior oil tank I used Vallejo Model Air 71.062 Aluminium. Cockpit side walls were also painted using Tamiya's XF-59 Dessert Yellow. Part B24 in the cockpit was painted in Vallejo Game Color 72.021 Magic Blue. This color was also used to paint the upper and lower navigation lights on one of the main wings. The upper and lower navigation lights on the opposite main wing were painted red. After painting and detailing up all of the cockpit subassemblies, I began assembly of the kits Ha-40 V12 Engine. As I intended to close up the engine bay, I airbrushed the engine in Anita's Acrylic Black and installed it between the two fuselage halves. In step 7 of the build, there is a canopy brace assembly that must be installed in a specific position depending upon whether the builder opts to build the canopy in either the open or closed position. The canopy brace parts should be painted in Tamiya XF-59 Dessert Yellow as these parts can be seen through the clear canopy part. For my build, I opted to build the model with the seated pilot and the canopy in the closed position. In this configuration, I did not have to install the seat belt decal included in the kit. Step 8 shows that the cockpit assembly is installed by nestling it in position through the bottom opening of the assembled fuselage halves. The builder should not forget to install the side wall brace part D3 during this stage of the build, especially if the builder intends to permanently enclose the engine compartment with its fuselage cover glued in place. Step 9 involves the main wing assembly which requires careful attention to removal of residual sprue gate tabs. Also attention needs to be paid to drilling out a 1mm diameter hole in part B44 which I unfortunately, failed to do. I later had to eyeball the location of this hole and drill it out, later in the build. Step 9 also instructs the builder to paint the navigation lights on the upper surfaces of the main wing red and the wing walk antislip pads rubber black. Remember to paint the wing reflector light part A33 chrome silver in this step of the build. Step 10 of the build involves installation of a part that fills a gap on the upper rear spine of the fuselage, part B41. Don't forget to paint the navigation light bump on this part, that should be painted flat white. Also, this step specifically illustrates that the lower wing assembly slots onto the fuselage from the rear tab first and then fitting in the front of area of the wing assembly second. Step 11 addresses the tail plane and rear wheel assemblies which are straight forward. Be careful installing the rudder activation rods parts A10 which are very fragile. Step 12 addresses installation of radiator parts B27 and B26. I painted these parts using FolkArt 667E Metallic Gunmetal Gray. Step 12 shows that the wheel wells of this aircraft should be painted in XF-59 Dessert Yellow. I do not know what part A32 is, however I painted the front surface of it in Metallic Gunmetal Gray. The remaining steps 13-21 are straight forward, but still require careful attention to the instructions provided. Step 17, canopy mask installation was tedious and time consuming, but yielded excellent results for me when completed. I decided to attempt to replicate the paint scheme of the aircraft shown on the kit box art, which was Paint Scheme A. This was the fighter plane flown by 2nd Lieutenant Shunzo Takashima, 244th Air Group, Chofu Airbase, May 1945. Option B was a bare metal finish paint scheme with red stripe fuselage markings. Painting of the exterior surfaces was completed by initially priming the main fuselage and wing surfaces with Anita's Acrylic Black paint. After allowing at least 8 hours of drying time, I used Tamiya 10mm masking tape to mask off the anti-glare are in front of the cockpit. Then several light coats of Ceramcoat Metallic Silver acrylic paint was applied to the primered model. Once a consistent layer of Metallic Silver paint was applied and allowed to thoroughly dry, the red tail plane area was masked for painting. For these areas I used FolkArt 4133E Lipstick Red. After exterior surface painting was completed, I protected the acrylic paint from subsequent clear coat layers by applying heavy layers of Johnson's floor wax (i.e. Future). I then applied a water resistant clear acrylic matte coat from a spray can to the model. This allowed me to proceed to the decal application stage of the build. I initially applied the main marking decals to the model prior to airbrushing the mottled camouflage pattern on the model. This was done to allow me to paint the camouflage mottling around these decals with my airbrush. I used an Iwata HP-C Plus airbrush set at 18psi with a 3.5mm needle. In retrospect, I might have gotten better results with a smaller needle. After completing this stage of the painting, I applied another heavy protective coat of Future. Then, another coat of clear acrylic matte coat was applied from a spray can for the provision of water resistance properties. At this point the remaining stencil decals could be applied to the airframe and wings of the model. The decals required Micro Sol and Micro Set solutions to get them to conform and adhere to the contours of the model surfaces. Once this was completed, I added another final coat of Future over the model. At this time, a panel wash was applied using Tamiya Black Panel Liner. Addition of exhaust stains and gunport residue stains was added using Tamiya Weather Master pigments. Then I carefully removed the canopy masks and the mask covering the clear lens on the leading edge of one of the main wings. The last phase of the build involved installation of the antennae mast, pitot tubes and the 20 mm cannon barrels. As a final touch, antennae rigging was added to the model using EZ Line. I would recommend this kit to intermediate to advanced scale modelers with fine airbrush and decal installation skills.