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1/32 Zoukei-Mura Ki-45 Nick


Bladerunner

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Big kit with a big box!  I've been looking forward to getting this one since seeing the mockup kit at the 2018 Nationals.  I finally cleared off the bench and put this guy on it:

73z03pM.jpg

 

The instruction book is a bit intimidating as it truly is a book with 100s of images.  But once you get used to the format (each step can feature multiple explanations of exactly where each piece goes!).  And oddly - at least for us aviation modelers - construction begins with the engines!  And these are a treat - check this out:

SknrzWK.jpg

Pistons!  Of course they will be immediately hidden within the cylinders in the first step.

 

u7h01UJ.jpg

To tell you the truth - the construction of these engines has been a lot of fun.  The parts fit together perfectly and look great when painted up.

XYbAMC2.jpg

 

I especially like the large exhaust manifold - I "rusted" it as follows

First - just Tamiya As-12 Aluminum Spray

e07WHcs.jpg

Then a thin coat of Tamiya Medium Brown and a couple drops of Nato Black (thin... like 2/3 thinner)

rDO083F.jpg

Then I washed with Mig Ammo Track Wash followed by Light Rust... and then a bit of Tamiya Weathering Powder Rust... all sealed in with a flat coat

oVCeArA.jpg

 

So the engines are done (I'll have a picture of the mounted engine next time)

9eoKZQo.jpg

 

Next up... the cockpit....

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Hahaha I showed my wife all the details going into the Z,M Ta-152, then glued it together she looked at me like I was nuts...well, I guess in fact I may be...but I just couldn't bring myself to build the model without putting everything in that was supposed to be in there. I guess my grandkids will find the internals when they blow it up some day?

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7 hours ago, Out2gtcha said:

Ive always liked ZM kits a lot, but I too think that is a bit far, and dont know of a single person who has cut the engines to expose the cylinders. 

 

An alternative would be to embed tiny magnets on the engine covers so that they could be opened and closed, as and whenever you feel like it. Some modelers are already doing that for weapons pylons so that they could "mix & match" whatever load they want on their kits. See Haneto's post #9:

https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235036769-gwh-148-su-35sk-flanker-e-plaaf-6th-brigade/

 

Some of these magnets are as small as 1mm and can be found on Ebay.

 

As an aside, ...since I don't have the ZM kit....how good are the clear fuselage parts? I don't see too many builds using them.  Thank you. 

Edited by Jackman
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10 hours ago, Jackman said:

 

An alternative would be to embed tiny magnets on the engine covers so that they could be opened and closed, as and whenever you feel like it. Some modelers are already doing that for weapons pylons so that they could "mix & match" whatever load they want on their kits. See Haneto's post #9:

https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235036769-gwh-148-su-35sk-flanker-e-plaaf-6th-brigade/

 

Some of these magnets are as small as 1mm and can be found on Ebay.

 

As an aside, ...since I don't have the ZM kit....how good are the clear fuselage parts? I don't see too many builds using them.  Thank you. 

 

 

Yep, Ive currently got a large stock of at least 3 different sizes of RE magnets, that Im using on my current build of an F-104D HERE.

 

As to the clear parts in ZM kits, Im definitely not a clear parts/open panels kind of guy, but I found the ones I have looked at quite odd, as the clarity is not there (more of a cloudy appearance) and the clear plastic seems quite brittle.

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i had a tip to get a clear plastic on PC watercooling blocks , i would use a cooking blowtorch on the plastic where tool scratches etc happened . worked like a charm . maybe a smaller colder version would defrost it ?

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So I don't have a lot of knowledge about Japanese radial engines. What is that copper colored structure on the front? Also, isn't it a bit weird to have parts that will never be visible such as the pistons included in a model? I mean if you're showing the engine torn apart for maint. but it's weird. Just like Trumpeter including the entire turbo routing system on the P-47

; great if you're doing a cutaway, but otherwise useless?

 

Edited by wpierson
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15 hours ago, wpierson said:

So I don't have a lot of knowledge about Japanese radial engines. What is that copper colored structure on the front? Also, isn't it a bit weird to have parts that will never be visible such as the pistons included in a model? I mean if you're showing the engine torn apart for maint. but it's weird. Just like Trumpeter including the entire turbo routing system on the P-47

; great if you're doing a cutaway, but otherwise useless?

 

 

I believe those are oil coolers.  But I could be wrong about that.

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