1/32 Hasegawa Nakajima Ki-44 Shoki "Tojo"

[Kagemusha]

Very nicely done, good to see your work again John.

[hworth18]

Congratulations on a fine build!! One of the best Ki44's I've seen.

[mywifehatesmodels]

On 7/8/2020 at 1:58 AM, Greif8 said:

Really nice work John.  Your combination of BMF and camo looks great!  Your figure is also just fine, and you got the fit in the cockpit correct - not an easy task.

 

Ernest

Ernest,

 

Funny you should mention that, as when I reflect back now, I ended up having to do some surgery to the pilot's left arm, to make it fit. The only option I could come up with, was to extend the arm up beside the receiver of the machine gun, in order to straighten it out. It gives the appearance that he's checking the weapon, but it really saved me from hunting down a suitable replacement arm.

Thanks again,

 

John

Edited July 11, 2020 by mywifehatesmodels

[alain11]

hi

very nice Shoki , I like the unusual paint scheme , in fact , I don't understand if you painted the green color with a brush , or with your airbrush ....odd stuff !! , I like the pictures too , and the cloudy background , that gives a special " atmosphere " 

Alain

[mywifehatesmodels]

1 hour ago, alain11 said:

hi

very nice Shoki , I like the unusual paint scheme , in fact , I don't understand if you painted the green color with a brush , or with your airbrush ....odd stuff !! , I like the pictures too , and the cloudy background , that gives a special " atmosphere " 

Alain

Alain,

 

Thanks so much for stopping by and for the kind words. I'm actually glad you asked this question about the paint, because it tells me that I've been successful in my approach. Let me explain why.....

 

In looking at all the photos I could put my eyes on, of the Ki-44s used at the Akeno school, I noticed a few things about their camo schemes. Many of them have paint that looks brushed on, but, at least as often, it appears to be sprayed on. Then there are some that appear to have both and even more photos of the same aircraft taken at different times, shows  that new camouflage was sprayed on over existing brush work, or the other way around. It would appear that the paint was very prone to wear and that it was touched up or redone from time to time. For example, one of the more photographed planes from this group is number "93".  Here are some photos of that aircraft where you can see where paint was later added in large splotches, specifically on the fuselage sides from the cockpit, moving back.

 

 

 

There didn't seem to be any sort of set pattern and some aircraft had little, or no camouflage, at all. Since I knew that getting a perfect pattern match for the paint scheme of any particular aircraft was never going to meet my level of satisfaction, I cheated by using an aircraft number that I could not find documented, but that fits the range of numbers I've seen on Akeno 44s. In this case, it was a red "50"  decal from my spares box, that happened to be a perfectly sized example for the landing gear doors. So, this is technically a "what if" build, but it's backed by at least some history and logic.

 

Here are a few more photos showing a lineup of 44s, which highlights some of the camo variations.

 

 

So, my approach was to spray a green pattern, then come back and add to it with a darkened variation of the same green, giving some tonal variation through a mottled effect. Then, when I gave it the oil wash/weathering process, some of that paint was "worn" away by the oils. I paid special attention to the areas in between the splotches I had sprayed, where the bare metal was shining through, but partially covered with paint overspray. Since I had used a Future coat on the NMF and enamels for the camo, the oils make fairly short work of the enamels and it doesn't take much to start wiping it away and giving the "splotches" a little more definition, at the same time creating a "wear" to the paint and making the line between appearing brushed/sprayed that much more difficult to discern, as can bee seen on some of the real life examples. 

 

Hope that makes sense! 

 

Thanks again,

 

John

Edited July 11, 2020 by mywifehatesmodels

[alain11]

so , if I resume , it was a real mess at that time in a matter of camouflage , I think that these camo were painted " quick and dirty " without standard pattern by mechanics in the field , using brushes  , even brooms etc....... in any case , you nailed it !!!!!!!! 

one last word about the starter truck Toyota , I remember years ago , I was tempted to scratch built it at the 48 scale , I'd bought the little Hasegawa kit ( 1/72) in order to get dimensions  , but the project failed , but now , it could be interesting to restart this project ..at the big scale 

Alain