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1/32 Tigger (ID) Kawasaki ki-45 Nick


Thomas Lund

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Great start, Mr. Lund!

 

Now, you know that you could be "taking one for the team", so that TamiGawaMura will announce their Toryu, just after you finish? :evil_laugh:

 

Looking forward to this one!

 

John

 

Yeah, that's allways a risk, but what the heck - as long as they wait until I'm done. Would kill me if they did it halfway through.

 

They didn't do an A6M3 yet, though

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  • 4 weeks later...

I know that early on the copied at lot, I've heard that one was a 100% copy down to the P&W insignia, but I dont know how true that was.

 

You gotta consider that asians often have a different mindset from us westeners. In China copying is considered a flattery to the original. Not an excuse but merely an elaboration on that they see copying in a different light.

 

For what it's worth I think the 1830 looks similar - similar diameter, construction, # of cylinders - so viewed through that small opening it'll be allright. It does have a spinner after all. Only thing I'm thinking is that it was an expsensive solution, but what the h...

 

I am glad that someone is doing this kit. I have been working on this kit on and off over the years. It will be very nice seeing someone complete one. If I recall correctly the engine family was changed after the prototype. A money saver could be to use the engines out of two old Hasegawa late model Zero kits. The engine is not very visible after the cooling coil is installed and the spinner is in place. I found the following on the neomega-resin website:

Nakajima Nk1B/C 'Sakea' 11/12/Ha-25

A-6M2 Zero, A6M2-N Rufe, B5N2 Kate, C5Ms Babs, Ki-43 Hayabusha, Ki-45 Toryu

 

Mitsubishi Mk2 Zuisei/Ha-26/31/102

F1M2 Pete, Ki-45 Toryu, Ki-51 Sonia, Ki-46 Dinah

 

The a/c differences are expressed by the external exhaust configuration. I cannot remember which exhaust setup is associated with which engine.

 

Rick

Edited by Rick Griewski
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Thanks Rick

 

I did see that but both these engines only come in 1/48. I am beginning to think it was a mistake to buy those R1830's as - like you say - next to nothing will be visible after installing the coolers and spinners. I might do something different for the engines and save the 1830's for something else or sell them...

 

With regards to the model itself and the progress, I have been on vacation and have only just started up again. The nose plug I cast from this celluclay was still mushy after drying up over the vacation, so I scrapped it. I have today shoved normal plaster into the nose and expect it to be dry in a couple of days. I will then reshape the plug to match the drawing, remount it and use a hairdryer to reshape the plastic to fit. That's the plan anyway. I dont want to start doing the interior until I've got this sorted, so I'm dying to get going after this small setback.

 

I have giving the coolers some thought on how to make them look good. I got the hint with the Hase Ki-43 kit parts and looked into the kit in my stash. I didn't like the cooler part, but I had a long look at the Eduard etch I bought for it and it includes very nice coolers made in pe. It also include seats and some other stuff that I think I'll use too.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Allright. After my vacation and some pretty hektic weeks after, I'm finally back on this one.

 

Before the vacation I cast a plug in the nose to aid me in reshaping it. After the vacation it was still mushy, so I recast it in plaster. That worked fine. By sheer luck I got some plaster into the wing roots and that greatly aided me in re-positioning the plug after the reshaping.

 

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So I reshaped the plug to match the photos and remounted it.

 

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I tried boiling water and a hair dryer with no luck in getting the plastic plyable. So I ended up reshaping it over a candle, heating it and bending it with my fingers (ouch)

 

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So after the reshaping it there were surplus plastic so the mating edged were recreated and a light sanding on the outer surface reveal a couple of spots that will need some putty. But all together not too bad. Happy with the shape now.

 

007_zps07de2bb7.jpg

 

Now the nose bit I was pretty confident that I could pull off, but the other shape issue I feel I'm walking on thin ice. The shape of the nacelles on the wing top is way off and even though I considered leaving it alone, I decided to move ahead.

 

I found a P-47 fuel tank from the Hase kit that seemed to have about the right size and shape, so I went ahead and cut out the offending bit and have started to mount/shape that area. I suspect a lot of puttying and sanding is in my future...

 

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But at least the fuselage is ready for some interior detailing, so that will serve as motivation in between the filling and sanding.

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Guest Peterpools

Thomas

WOW .. awesome work on reshaping the nose and now the engine nacelles. Nothing like a bit of pain in getting the job done.

Keep 'em coming

:popcorn: :popcorn:

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Thanks guys

 

Looking at the P-47 drop tank - could you use the front end for spinners?

 

Hmmm yeah, thats possible. The vac spinners seem a bit too big while the suggested ones from Hase's Ki-43 kit are way to small. Good idea, I'll look into that. Thanks

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  • 2 months later...

Well, it's been a while since I posted (did you think i jumped ship?), but I've been doing a bit now and again. I think I a burst modeler - putting in bursts on different projects and the move around to the next.

 

I've started doing the interior - a bit difficult with the lousy references, but I'm doing the best I can. Some measure of artistic licence, but I'm not too worried since this is my first vac and as I said the references are lousy. I thought it would be a drag to do the interior, but I've been having loads of fun. Gave the interior a coat of Mr Surface to see how awfull it looked, but it was not too bad.

 

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I've also been finishing up the reshaping of the top part of the nacelle. Loads of sanding here. I hate sanding, so I'm happy I'm almost done with this.

 

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I've cut of the flaps and ailerons to pose them deflected/dropped

 

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The nacelles had some bumps on them that I didn't see on the drawings, so off they went. I backed the hole with card and have since filled the holes and sanded them down

 

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So... I'm moving ahead, slowly but steadily

 

I found out that the main wheels of a Me 262 were almost a perfect fit for this bird and I had a pair lying around, so I'll be modifying those to look right. I also took a look at my Ki-43 for parts, but didn't like what I saw. However I had a Eduard PE set for it and that had a lot of things I could use. The seat is not perfect, but I'll use it anyway. Also the ring cooler will come in handy for this project. On the ki-43 it consist of 9 round plates that stack up to make the cooler. I will use 4 or 5 for this bird (got an extra PE set) as I figure you wont be able to see any further in. We'll see

Edited by Thomas Lund
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