kkarlsen Posted August 4, 2022 Share Posted August 4, 2022 (edited) Sorry but I'm going to postpone my other builds for a bit. I was asked by Special Hobby if I would do another build for their Blog. And of course I said yes, I couldn't pass this opportunity to collaborate on this build and share my experiences with them. So this is going to my first ever Japanese build and a on top of that an old one . The Mitsubishi A5M4 Claude "Hi-Tech" 1/32 I didn't have any knowledge of this airplane, but the more I read about it the more intriguing it became. I've decided to recreate the first aircraft of Matsuo Hagiri. A legend by Japanese standards... And if nothing else, because of his moustache Matsuo Hagiri first saw combat in china september 1940, piloting a zero fighter his squadron annihilated any chinese fighter encountered with no losses, in October 1940 Hagiri and tree other zero fighter pilots landed on a chinese airfield for a sabotage mission destroying several fuel tanks, they managed to escape under heavy chinese machine gun fire, he then recieved a china incident war medal for his actions and returned to japan as a pilot instructor, in july 1943 he is sent to the solomons islands On September 23, 1943, 27 planes of a Zero fighter Group are sent to intercept an Allied raid against the base. hagiri destroyed tree Corsair fighters but was wounded by machine gun fire, in 1944 he returned to japan for the defence of tokyo against the B-29 he destroyed two b-29 bombers before being wounded by machine gun fire, during his career he won 15 air victories, he died in 1997. Here he is aboard the Japanese Carrier 'Soryu'. You can see him in the middle, sitting down, with the moustache! The decals of the Special Hobby doesn't cover this type of markings... So I had to get the the Berna Decals set too.. A friend of mine was able to decode the meaning of these Japanese letters on the A5M4. The first line "報国-266/Houkoku-266" denotes "The 266th IJN aircraft donated to the IJN", Then the second line "岩井號/Iwata-Gou" denotes the donator's name "岩井/Iwata". So there it is, No. 261 + I've got my story about Matsuo Hagiri and even a photo of him and his A5M4, what can go wrong? Cheers: Kent Edited August 4, 2022 by kkarlsen Kagemusha, LSP_Kevin, Iain and 25 others 28 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John1 Posted August 4, 2022 Share Posted August 4, 2022 Love the backstory on the pilot. He sounds like quite a character. Looking forward to the build. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Barry Posted August 5, 2022 Share Posted August 5, 2022 Thanks for the history! Enjoy the build! kkarlsen 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncarina Posted August 5, 2022 Share Posted August 5, 2022 Count me in! Sharing the foundation of your build is icing on the cake. What a story! Cheers, Tom kkarlsen 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kkarlsen Posted August 5, 2022 Author Share Posted August 5, 2022 (edited) The Hi Tech parts of the kit. Resin and PE. Kit parts for cockpit walls and floor. First I have thinned out the cockpit pieces as well as the fuselage, to avoid the 'double' layer in the cockpit area. Drawings and a photo providing some info as to the layout of the cockpit. I've put some stringers in the back, I don't know if they are going to show, probably not, but better safe than sorry.. Works on the right side of the Cockpit, adding some extra details, cables etc. Same on the left side of the cockpit. Details of the cockpit. The resin Instrument panel is very nice in the 'high tech'. The floor has been converted as per drawings. Resin seat and the cockpit wall behind the seat. Cheers: Kent Edited August 7, 2022 by kkarlsen Landrotten Highlander, Kagemusha, themongoose and 19 others 21 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quang Posted August 5, 2022 Share Posted August 5, 2022 17 hours ago, kkarlsen said: The decals of the Special Hobby doesn't cover this type of markings... Oh, it depends on which boxing they sent you Will be following your thread with interest, Cheers, Quang HB252, Paul in Napier, BiggTim and 5 others 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kagemusha Posted August 5, 2022 Share Posted August 5, 2022 Wonderful stuff Kent, knowing you have a penchant for including pilot figures, Allarmi do a superb Sgt S.Sakai & Lt H.Nishizawa figure, which could easily acquire a moustache! - link. Uncarina and kkarlsen 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kkarlsen Posted August 5, 2022 Author Share Posted August 5, 2022 (edited) 2 hours ago, Kagemusha said: Wonderful stuff Kent, knowing you have a penchant for including pilot figures, Allarmi do a superb Sgt S.Sakai & Lt H.Nishizawa figure, which could easily acquire a moustache! - link. Thanks for the tip, can't keep anything secret these days my MO (modus operandi) is showing - Well of course I have planned to make a little vignette with a piece of the carrier deck of Soryu. And I'm already ahead of you. While I was waiting for the kit to arrive, I used the time to work on some pilots of the 'Soryu Kokutai'. Notice the middle figure with the moustache! Cheers: Kent Edited August 5, 2022 by kkarlsen Trak-Tor, Paul in Napier, coogrfan and 21 others 23 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zola25 Posted August 5, 2022 Share Posted August 5, 2022 Nothing beats a Bulletproof Mustache /Niels Kagemusha, themongoose and kkarlsen 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brahman104 Posted August 5, 2022 Share Posted August 5, 2022 Very nice Kent! Especially the figures Craig kkarlsen 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunnus Posted August 5, 2022 Share Posted August 5, 2022 Wonderful to see one of these built! Great work on the cockpit! kkarlsen 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Posted August 6, 2022 Share Posted August 6, 2022 Great stuff! I really enjoyed building this kit, although I did not have the “high tech” version of it. I’m excited to see how yours comes out. kkarlsen 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kkarlsen Posted August 10, 2022 Author Share Posted August 10, 2022 Nakajima Kotobuki engine in the works... Humble beginnings.. The gearbox of the engine in the High-Tech kit is replaced by a very nice resin part. I've thinned the 'ring' almost into it's half, to get a better fit with the photoetched ignition wires. Adding the 'push' rods, 0.4 mm rod with hollow tube as sleeves, in both ends. Sparkplugs also added. 'Scratched' back ring and cowling ring. The air intakes have been reshaped, They triangular shape to fit the space between the cylinders. + One additinal... Phot of the A5M cowling shows the three intakes and their shape as well some more details. The spark plug ring has been fitted + the back ring. Cowling 'stringers' have been fitted. And Just for fun - The kit doesn't have any exhaust except the 'stubs' protruding from the cowling, so I experimented to see if it would be possible to scratch some exhausts from stretched sprue. Again they will probably not be visible, But I know they are there. I think they turned out ok. I will not hesitate if I ever again would need exhausts.. The propeller was 'puttied' for sink holes on the backside, and a big 'nut' has been added in front. Cheers: Kent mc65, Greg W, Landrotten Highlander and 20 others 23 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockie Yarwood Posted August 10, 2022 Share Posted August 10, 2022 Nice progress, Kent. The exhausts look great. kkarlsen 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain Posted August 10, 2022 Share Posted August 10, 2022 Cracking start Kent - and a great subject! Iain kkarlsen 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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