1/32 Nakajima Ki-27 - 77th Sentai - Burma 1942

[Rocat]

Beautiful work!

[dodgem37]

Very sharp.

 

Sincerely,

Mark

[Kagemusha]

Looking really sharp. 

[dennismcc]

Hi Alex, I'm using Firefox and the pictures are  showing fine for me.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[Troy Molitor]

Man this is looking so sweet Alex.  I can now see the ever so slight color variation on the last couple pictures of the top side.  This is really coming to life now for you.  What an attractive looking aircraft you just don't see these birds built every day.  

[MikeMaben]

22 hours ago, alaninaustria said:

You know what’s really sad... I can’t see a single photo in this build thread! Which kit is this? Is there a specific reason I can’t see the posted pics?

Any help appreciated!

Cheers

Alan

 

Hi Alan, if what you see is a line of code instead of a pic, hover your cursor

over the line (sounds odd and the cursor doesn't change) and right click.

Then from the drop down click on either 'reload image' or 'view image'.

If one doesn't work then try the other. That should take you to the original

image wherever it is. If it's a blank image, keep clicking on the reload arrow

at the top of your browser. Then when you're back at the LSP page click the

reload arrow again and all the pictures should load. Sounds like alot but

once you get used to it , it's not too bad. Also, if nothing else works, reboot

your computer and see if that fixes it. Works for me.  This is the only site

that doesn't show images all the time. Usually it's fine.

[alaninaustria]

Thanks Mike et al... 

unfortunately I am using an Apple iPad!

Cheers

Alan

[Alex]

Unmasking the canopy is always a nervous moment for me, but this one turned out nicely - no leaks, none of the paint peeled off the canopy framing.

 

 

This is also the first post using images hosted on my new ImageShack account (thanks for the tip, Kevin).  So hopefully these are now permanent, will not expire, and perhaps will be easier for some folks' browsers to load.  Closer-up image:

 

 

I may actually finish this thing today if I can wrap work up in a timely manner.  Which would be nice on a Friday regardless...

[Wackyracer]

Great great work Alex. I have this kit in the stash so will be saving this thread for reference. Luv the grey camo/paintwork all that extra effort has definitely paid off.

[Alex]

8 minutes ago, Wackyracer said:

Great great work Alex. I have this kit in the stash so will be saving this thread for reference. Luv the grey camo/paintwork all that extra effort has definitely paid off.

Hope you enjoy building it - it has definitely been a skill-builder for me.  Be sure to also review Dennis' build log on Britmodeler - it was very helpful for me.

[Thunnus]

Sweet!  This looks awesome!

[Alex]

OK, last bit.  I got the optical gunsight installed through its little hole in the windscreen, added the tailwheel, and rigged the antenna.  Here's some blow-by-blow on that last...

 

First, here's the gunsight.

 

 

I painted the back of the propellor in "Japanese Propellor Brown".  The Nates used this (as anti-glare) only on the back of the prop blades.  Later in the war many IJAAF aircraft had the whole prop and spinner painted in this color.  I tried out a new brand of paint "Vic Hobby" that HLJ now carries.  Figure the Japanese are by far the most likely to do the research and get these colors right.  I also got some Nakajima IJAAF Dark Green from them (these are acrylics) that may figure prominently in a war-weary Ki-43 that I'm cogitating on.

 

 

On to antenna rigging, I figured it was essential to reinforce the antenna mast or it would snap off, so I carefully drilled into it lengthwise and inserted a garden-variety sewing pin.  Of course I drilled a hole in the fuselage to match.

 

 

I drilled a hole in the top of the vertical stabilizer in which I would insert a tiny eye fitting made out of fine wire.  It's a bit hard to see but I also drilled through the flange at the top of the antenna mast so it could accept a wire fitting.

 

 

The wire I am using was sold for the purpose of detailing model car engines, but it works great here - very easy to form, and has a rugged black coating that does not come off.

 

I made a couple of these little fittings to represent the tensioners / insulators on the antenna wire.

 

 

That's actually the "tensioner" already hooked through the "eyebolt" that will get glued into the vertical tail.  Even with the optivisor I am pushing the limits of what my eyes will resolve, much less my manual dexterity...

 

And then that thingy plus the "tensioner" attached to the antenna mast.  I closed the loops with tiny drops of CA, which will get painted black later.  Now to rig the thing...

 

 

I used this stuff, which is what Wingnut Wings recommends for biplane rigging.  It is very elastic, so easy to get taut AND won't break or come loose if you bump it accidentally.

 

Et voila - this went down in one pass, nothing broken, nothing smeared with glue, nothing needed to get re-done.  The modeling gods smiled on me today for sure.

 

Another view.  I'm declaring victory on this one now and putting it on the shelf.  Given how well today went, any attempts at further detailing are sure to only make things worse...

 

 

Edited June 26, 2020 by Alex

[Alex]

And every time I do something nerve-wracking like that I gain even more respect for the people who do biplane models, much less *sailing ships*

[Troy Molitor]

Superb results Alex.  Well done Sir.

[Alex]

One more view of the completed model with canopy in place.  I just left it loose so it can be taken off to peer into the cockpit.

 

And paired with its adversary, the Flying Tigers P-40B.  The AVG and the 77th Sentai tangled repeatedly in the skies over Burma in the early months of 1942.

 

 

And yes, just to close an earlier loop, I did fill in the ammo magazine inspection windows with Krystal Klear ;-)

 

Thus the first pair in my overly-ambitious plan to build all of the principal fighters of the Pacific War in 1:32 scale and in this kind of historically apt pairing.  That's the end of this one, so thanks for following along and for all the encouraging words and advice. 

 

After a bit of a nap, it's on to the Tamiya A6M2 Zero.  That will get built as a plane from the carrier Akagi that took part in the Pearl Harbor raid.  Once it's done I'm destined to return to the world of limited-run Special Hobby kits, since it will need to be paired with a P-36 - one of the few American planes that actually managed to get off the ground and fight back on Dec 7, 1941.