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Hasegawa J2M3 Thunderbolt (Raiden)

Daywalker

By Daywalker
in Ready for Inspection

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Daywalker

Daywalker

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Finished this one late last night, and very happy to have it finally finished!  A birthday present from my girlfriend in 2011, it took almost two years to finish it.  Granted, a lot of that time it sat on the shelf of doom as it was not going well at all.  It was as much a breakthrough for me with new techniques as a lesson in what NOT to do on a build!  In the kit's defense, it is really a good kit, with just a few ill-fitting inserts (gun bay inserts) and a cowl/engine assembly that is a bit fiddly- though if you take your time and test fit a lot it will all come together rather well.  I used a custom made set of masks from Ian at Ad Astra for the hinomarus and aircraft tail numbers, and I must say from now on I will no longer use vinyl masks.  While they are very easy to use and give nice, sharp paint demarcations, I find they leave some sort of residue on the surface of the model that for the life of me I cannot remove.  It appears as a very faint "ghost" of the outline of the mask itself, and I have tried everything I can think of the remove them.  I have tried repeatedly sticking the masks onto my hand to remove as much of the adhesive as I can, as well as washing the surface with water and soap to remove the residue.  The clear coats magnify the areas, and the oil paint weathering magnifies it even more.  I have never had this happen with Tamiya tape, and I think I will go back to decals while I sort out how to cut my own masks from Kabuki tape.  Anyway, I built it almost out of the box, adding only the antenna, brake lines, and seat belts from tape.  The antenna was a bit tricky, and in the end I do think it detracts from the overall build.  I searched and searched looking for evidence of an antenna on these aircraft, and only after the build was nearly finished did I find a period photo showing it's location.  So, I added it in the end and in doing so it looks OK.  Paints used were Tamiya paints for everything, and weathering applied with oil paints.  I went light on the paint abuse as I have read these did not see a lot of action, due to many factors included lack of fuel, engine failures, and a shortage of pilots who could fly it.  I have to say, I rather like it's stubby appearance, and I am happy to have finished it so I am ready to tackle the N1K2 Shiden Kai when it arrives in the next month or so!

 

Here's a link to the WIP, thanks for looking in!

 

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Edited by Daywalker
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mywifehatesmodels

mywifehatesmodels

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Perfect! Subtle but realistic weathering and it looks kind of "anonymous" (if that makes sense) which makes it look even more realistic, in my opinion. Also, try as I might, I cannot see the mask issues that you spoke of. Don't sweat it. I think it looks GREAT!

:goodjob:

 

John

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Christoffer Lindelav

Christoffer Lindelav

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I can only agree, it sure looks great. I have this kit in the stash with Eduard goodies to go with it. I´ve been cutting my own masks for some years now in vinyl and have never experienced problems with the adhesive leaving residue on the surface. There´s only one sheet left in my stash now so I guess i should be careful when getting new ones and try them on a scrap surface first. Or as you mentioned trying some Kabuki sheets instead?

/Stoffe

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Daywalker

Daywalker

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Awesome, and for me the weathering is superb.

Nick

 

Thank you Nick, much appreciated!

 

Cracking model Frank, and your subtly variegated finish is superb! May I publish it on the website?

 

Kev

 

Absolutely K1, and thank you! I worked hard on the finish and I am happy that it shows. BTW, last name is Daniels. :thumbsup:

 

Frank

Awesome work. Wonderful finish on the Raiden and the weathering is right up my alley: Used but not Abused.

:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

 

Thank you Peter, sounds like your weathering taste and mine are about the same. Used but not worn out.

 

Splendid stuff Frank, I really like the colour variation you've worked into the finish. Great job :-)

 

Cheers...

 

Thanks Mike, good to see you again! Appreciate the feedback.

 

Very nice, and the markings do look better painted on, pity you had so much trouble.

 

Thanks mate! I do love the look of painted on markings, just need to find a system that works better for me. Not sure if it is the Tamiya paints, or the Future clear coats but something is just not jiving.

 

Great work as usual...weathering is spot on.

I am thinking for some time now to get me one of these this might ne be the drop to fill the glass :0

 

Dejan

 

Greetings Dejan, thank you for looking in! A good kit, and I think the issues I fought were simply caused by the design of the real aircraft. I did especially like the internal braces that Hasegawa provides to keep the wings and fuselage rigid. That made handling the model much less scary as I did not have to worry about joints cracking.

 

That's a beauty, Frank, outstanding work!

 

Thank you Mike!

 

WOW Frank, she came out smashing ! I do want to build one at some point. Have the old Revell. But good job buddy. I like it a lot...........Harv :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :punk:

 

Thanks Harv, by all means- BUILD IT! Don't see enough of these less popular IJN aircraft.

 

Perfect! Subtle but realistic weathering and it looks kind of "anonymous" (if that makes sense) which makes it look even more realistic, in my opinion. Also, try as I might, I cannot see the mask issues that you spoke of. Don't sweat it. I think it looks GREAT!

:goodjob:

 

John

 

Thanks John, and the anonymous look is exactly what I was after! I always tend to lean more towards aircraft with a dark, anonymous look. I try to avoid a lot of bright colors if I can.

 

I can only agree, it sure looks great. I have this kit in the stash with Eduard goodies to go with it. I´ve been cutting my own masks for some years now in vinyl and have never experienced problems with the adhesive leaving residue on the surface. There´s only one sheet left in my stash now so I guess i should be careful when getting new ones and try them on a scrap surface first. Or as you mentioned trying some Kabuki sheets instead?

/Stoffe

 

Thank you, and interesting feedback on the mask issue. To my eyes, it looks like a VERY subtle residue on the surface that really stands out when a clear coat is applied. When the clear it wet, it looks terrible and the first time it happened I almost fainted from the shock of seeing it on my model! As the clear dries, it fades but the oil paints here really made it more noticeable.

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