Craftworks Mitsubishi A5M4 "Claude"

[mywifehatesmodels]

This build was done as part of the "Fallen Comrades" Group Build, in honor of Dave Thompson, who mastered this kit. It's mostly resin, with some parts in white metal and various other media. The main parts are cast in solid resin. Therefore, this is one HEAVY model. The build thread can be found here, but here's a short list of some of the things I did to the kit:

 

*Riveted entire airframe, one at a time, with a jeweler's punch.

 

*Added various wires/hoses to cockpit.

 

*Added pushrods, ignition wires and wire clips to engine.

 

*Hollowed out exhaust pipes.

 

*Gun blast tubes from brass tubing.

 

*Scratchbuilt windscreen.

 

*Scratchbuilt telescopic gun sight, as the original was too large for scale.

 

*Wing lights made from clear sprue. Tail cone light made by contouring CA glue over a small bit of wire.

 

I had a great time building this kit. It may not be the perfect kit, or the perfect build of said kit, but it was more rewarding than any other kit I've ever built, being a tribute to a man that had such a passion for the hobby. It also gave me an even greater appreciation for what Dave brought us and, considering that this is basically a "garage kit" in every sense of the word, I was amazed at the level of thought and detail that went into it. I only hope that my execution of it would meet Dave's approval and that, through my build, others can appreciate the legacy that he left us. We miss you, Dave!

 

Sincerely,

 

John

 

[mywifehatesmodels]

[MikeMaben]

Turned out great John.

Nice work !

[Guest Peterpools]

John

Fantastic build. Fit and finish is right on the money. A wonderful tribute to Dave

Peter

[fastzx]

Nicely done.

 

Nicely said.

 

RIP Dave

[mywifehatesmodels]

Thanks, guys.

 

[mz826]

Very nice job John! It looks excellent.

[Guest]

Yes, Dave would be proud ! Great work on a difficult kit.............Harv

[mywifehatesmodels]

I got a few outdoor pics, this morning. Unfortunately, the sun was too bright (where's a cloud when you need one? ). The dark color made the shadows on this plane a real problem, but I did get a few half way decent pics.

 

Thanks again for all the comments.

 

John

 

[Guest]

Beautiful work, John ! I'm envious.........Harv

[Plasticsurgeon]

Nice! I'm building the Special Hobby Claude at the moment. Not only do I hope that it will turn out as nice as your Claude but I also hope to have such a weather when I take the pics........

[Shawn M]

very nice job!

[Out2gtcha]

Pics now up in the Fallen Comrades GB gallery

[mywifehatesmodels]

Thanks, Brian. Much appreciated!

 

John

[mywifehatesmodels]

Got to play around today with a little better lighting and made a nice "antiqued" pic for a new avatar.

 

 

Edited November 21, 2012 by mywifehatesmodels