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Ki-45 Kai Hei Toryu: Completed


Uncarina

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15 minutes ago, Thunnus said:


Great work Tom!  I like the option that you chose to represent the instrument panel!  Scheme is very interesting... what is going on at the tail?  Criss-cross camo or are those unit markings?

 

 

As I recall, the cross hatch pattern on the tail is part of that particular scheme

 

Hasegawa-Kawasaki-Ki45Kai-Hei-Toryu-Nick

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I'm just a few steps away from finishing mine - Here's  heads up, thepins from the engine bearers are a royal pita to get slotted into their mounting holes. this the cowling panels to not fit well at all - you'll read the same in a few reviews. The upper cowling in short on the back end - this is normal AND prototypical apparently. I woul recommend fitting the panels to the cowl ring - the small pins into the slots - at some point before you mount thm  - the side onesare especially fidgety once the engines are mounted.

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Thanks so much for the heads-up! I’ve left the engines only dry fitted to the firewall/engine bearers since I am concerned about the spinner alignment relative to the cowling; your advice reinforces my caution. I will test and test again! This reminds me of building the Airfix Typhoon.

 

Cheers,  Tom

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On 12/16/2019 at 7:40 PM, Scrodes said:

I'm just a few steps away from finishing mine - Here's  heads up, thepins from the engine bearers are a royal pita to get slotted into their mounting holes. this the cowling panels to not fit well at all - you'll read the same in a few reviews. The upper cowling in short on the back end - this is normal AND prototypical apparently. I woul recommend fitting the panels to the cowl ring - the small pins into the slots - at some point before you mount thm  - the side onesare especially fidgety once the engines are mounted.

 

 

Indeed thanks for the heads up. Im working on the engines on my Kai Ko, and will be checking engine bearer fit very closely, and likely fitting the cowl panels to the cowl ring itself. 

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Finished the next phase, the rear cockpit, after I retrofitted the appropriate control stick and instrument panel on the right:

 

EVCP1Wx.jpg

 

For the latter I went still another way: I sanded down the silver panel shown in my previous post until it was wafer thin, then just attached the matching decal with backing paper using Quickshine. This has good adhesive properties, and doubles as a gloss surface to simulate glass. To detach both the original panel and stick I installed I used Tamiya thin cement as a debonder. This might be useful for you to know if you use this cement: it acts as a very effective debonder if you use this same cement to attach, with minimal damage.

 

I was then able to move on to the rear cockpit which went without a hitch, and with immaculate fit. Unlike WNW kits, the tolerances are such that you don't need to scrape away paint to get bonding surfaces to fit, but are precise enough to allow for an amazing fit. I do prefer the plastic in WNW kits however, since it is less brittle. Anyway, some updated photos:

 

uon7maI.jpg

 

SJxOkR6.jpg

 

aBrOhIB.jpg

 

Cheers,  Tom

Edited by Uncarina
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4 hours ago, Uncarina said:

Thanks Andy! I am always amazed at the engineering that goes into these kits.

 

Cheers,  Tom

 

Got to agree with you there Tom, you also make a very good point regarding fit of ZM v WnW, as much as I love building WnW kits the tolerances in many areas are just unnecessary and far to tight, don't get me wrong as some areas in there kits do need this but you then compare with ZM and their latest kits fit very nicely together with no real issues but dont have have worry about over tight fit of parts even after painting.

 

Regards. Andy 

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Some more progress. I've added the second fuel tank--set between the pilot and observer/gunner, not self-sealing, but they flew anyway. The fit was good, but be careful: one of the tank halves has a pipe that sticks up. Of course I cut it when removing from the sprue, so sanded the cut surfaces flat, drilled a hole in each, then inserted a brass rod to reattach the pipe. This was fortuitous because I noticed that it originally stuck up higher than the adjacent bulkheads, which could cause problems later. I sanded to fit. Otherwise I added the ventral cannon and prepped the right fuselage half, which will be glued to the assembly next. For funsies I checked the fit. Not bad! Note that I always prime with Tamiya AS-12 silver, so the fuselage looks nice and shiny.

 

Cheers,  Tom

 

M4ICzTg.jpg

 

hFfaYOq.jpg

 

DKvw4Vb.jpg

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