Hasegawa 1/32 N1K2 Shiden Kai (George)

[Thunnus]

Excellent work on the Shiden!  I LOVE how you laid out the seat harnesses!  I've always considered the N1K to be the Japanese version of the P-47, and not the Raiden.

[bdthoresen]

9 hours ago, MikeMaben said:

Looks fine from here Thor 

Thanks Mike! Appreciate you stopping by!

 

6 hours ago, JT68 said:

Very nice work on the cockpit Thor!

 

Cheer's,

Jeff.

Thanks Jeff. One of the better ones I have done in awhile. Also am loving being on this Japanese kick right now!

 

1 hour ago, Thunnus said:

Excellent work on the Shiden!  I LOVE how you laid out the seat harnesses!  I've always considered the N1K to be the Japanese version of the P-47, and not the Raiden.

Thanks, Thunnus. I tried to get them to look like they were a bit of a mess. This airplane was a brute, and sometimes I think the Raiden gets compared to the T-bolt because they have the same name. But the Shiden Kai was a monster, and a formidable adversary against the Hellcats and Corsairs they desperately tried to defend against. 
 

Anyway, back to the build. Thanks all!

 

THOR    

[bdthoresen]

Time for a small update. I started work by installing the shell ejector chute inserts to the wing undersides. Unfortunately, as in most Hasegawa builds, they don’t fit great, and usually end up having seams that don’t occur on actual panel lines of the original aircraft. Using the Aero Detail book on the George, I filled all of the seams that don’t exist on the real bird... I used GS Mr. Dissolved Putty, and it is currently curing as I type this.

 

I also started working in the powerplant assembly, and had experimented with the fit inside the cowling with the spinner installed, just to see what is visible. Not much. So I had decided that I was going to stick OOB with it. And that lasted all of about 10 minutes. 
 

But I did decide to only add detail to the front bank of cylinders, as that is about all you can see. I decided that I was going to add the oil lines for the valve train at the cylinder heads, as well as an ignition harness. 
 

Hasegawa has two small bumps on each cylinder head that represent the connection points for the oil lines. I decided to try a proof of concept on one of them, to see if it is even worth the effort. I center punched each bump with a sewing needle, and drilled it with a .0205” microbit.

I then used some .020” brass rod, and bent it into shape.....

I then used the same drill bit to center drill a piece of .040” hexagonal rod, and then sliced it into about 1mm discs. I then added one to each end of the oil tube to represent the b-nut connections.

 

I then installed the oil tube to the cylinder head using gel superglue, and then slid the b-nuts down to the cylinders, and applied Tamiya Extra Thin to weld them down. 

 

So, what say you folks? Worth it? 
 

Thanks for looking.

 

THOR    

Edited April 10, 2020 by bdthoresen

[Landrotten Highlander]

I say: go for it.

[MikeMaben]

Looks just fine , but remember , it will become invisible once the cowl is on.

So it's up to you.

[dennismcc]

Good practice and probably very satisfying to do but is it worth it if it is not visible, only you can decide that one

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[turbo]

Hmm, I love the detail on radial engines but if it's not going to be visible I'd think twice.

 

Great start on the kit btw! 

[bdthoresen]

Engine update-

 

Well, I decided to go ahead and add the remaining oil tubes to the front bank of cylinders using the same techniques as illustrated above. I also shaved off the “nubs” that Hasegawa molded to the front ignition ring, and applied some homemade styrene nuts in their place. Once cured, I will drill each one out, as well as the styrene nuts I added to the cylinders (to represent the lead connections on the spark plugs)- the lead locations will be a bit fictitious, as the Homare has double wire connections around the ignition ring, while the kit only has singles. So the wire routing will be more representative than actual, but it will be a damn slight better than nothing at all. I also added a few nuts to represent fittings on the propeller governor as well, just to add some interest......so far so good. 
 

 

 

That’s all for now. As I said, waiting for the glue to dry completely before drilling up the final wire locations. I realize that most of this will not be seen; But being that the prop is poly-capped, and therefore, easy to remove, helps in being able to see the details.....Thanks for stopping in!

 

THOR    

[Dutch Man]

Really like the detail you added. I would not even think of leaving that of, detail as much if possible. 

Go for it!

 

Robert Jan

[bdthoresen]

Thanks RJ.....wilco!

 

THOR    

[Troy Molitor]

Great efforts going on here.  Thanks for sharing.  

[bdthoresen]

42 minutes ago, Troy Molitor said:

Great efforts going on here.  Thanks for sharing.  

Troy, thank you.

 

THOR    

[bdthoresen]

Afternoon again, all. Stayed quite busy with the Homare engine last night, having completed the ignition wiring and wire ties. I used .015” lead wire applied into predrilled holes using gel CA, and then used the offcuts to make the wire ties. As I said, the wires are not accurate,  being more “representative” of what actually should be there. 
 

 There are a few defects that I still have to burnish out before primer,  but it’s a 10-15 minute job.....I will then airbrush a coat of Mr. Surfacer Black 1500 over the entire engine. Once cured, a spray coat of Tamiya AS-12 silver will be applied, as the Homare was a fairly bright metallic engine......Anyway, here she is as she sits right now.....

 

 And a test fit of the engine, prop spinner and cowling. Not much to be seen normally.

 

But since the spinner is removable, a bit more is visible in there.....

 

 

Well, that’s it for now. Off to do burnishing, and priming. Thanks for stopping in!

 

THOR    

 

Edited April 12, 2020 by bdthoresen

[dennismcc]

That looks great, for sure a steady hand and lots of patience required, maybe that rules me out. But looking at that photo some will be visible so maybe I 'll try and persuade my sausage like fingers to have a go.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[bdthoresen]

56 minutes ago, dennismcc said:

That looks great, for sure a steady hand and lots of patience required, maybe that rules me out. But looking at that photo some will be visible so maybe I 'll try and persuade my sausage like fingers to have a go.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

Thanks, Dennis. A lot of patience for sure, but I don’t have the steadiest of hands anymore. But I did apply a couple things I learned on this attempt. First, I used a sharp needle in a pin vise to punch a location to use my micro drill bits. Second,  I drilled the sub assemblies before joining them together. The drill bit size was matched with the diameter of the wire with a set of digital calipers. Third, I used lead wire for the first time, and after learning its quirks, I am now a convert. It can be manipulated so easily, but also holds its shape well. Minor knicks in the wire can be burnished out with a smooth round toothpick by gentle rubbing. And fourth, I used two pairs of tweezers, with no real sharp edges, to manipulate the wire into their final locations. I had used Gorilla Gel Superglue to anchor the Ignition wires to the cylinders at the spark plug locations. Once dry I assembled the engine sections, and used some tape to stick the engine facing up on my workbench. This allowed me to have two hands free, which was huge. I then trimmed the leads to length, inserted them into the ignition ring behind the reduction gear housing, adjusted their shape, and then applied tiny drops of Thin CA into their locations allowing the capillary action to suck it in, locking them in place. Made the wire ties the same way. And......done. Tedious? Absolutely. Wicked cool? I think so! Give it a go, you might surprise yourself!

 

Anyway, I have now primed the engine with black, Mr. Surfacer 1500 thinned 2/1 with Mr. Color Thinner. I have also decanted some Tamiya AS-12 into a clean jar to off-gas for

an hour or so, which I will spray a little later. The black has tied in all of the different materials nicely, and it makes all the extra tedium seem worth it! 

 

More to follow later when I shoot the silver. That will probably be it for the weekend.

 

THOR