Zoukei-Mura Ki-45 Kai Tei "Nick"

[ChuckD]

Hi, all.  I thought I'd join in on this group build and do something a little different.  If you're following the thread for my round-the-world flight in a virtual Beech 18, you'll know that I dig twin engine aircraft.  And, since I haven't done too many Japanese subjects yet, this felt like a fun opportunity.  As of yesterday, the box was sealed and the kit was unstarted.  I'll be building this out of the box as I'm just about done with another build that required quite a bit of scratch built chicanery and I'm ready to step back a little from that.

 

As I'm going with the Kai Tei option and not the Tai-Atari (ramming) version, I'll be doing the markings of the 53rd flight regiment, 3rd squadron as included with the kit.  I suspect I'll probably scan the decals and custom cut the masks because decals are the devil's handiwork.

 

Lastly, I make zero pretenses whatsoever about being familiar with this aircraft or Japanese planes in general.  So, I'm going to be going by what the kit and instructions say throughout.  

 

Here's the box on the bench.  I got it out while I was waiting for my other project to dry a bit.

 

The kit itself is huge and imposing, but as you can see, a good half the sprues are duplicates in clear plastic.

 

 

 

I shan't be using the clear plastic options.  

 

This is the first ZM kit I've done and the instructions are incredibly busy, but so far, are very clear with a lot of good information.  Having come from the world of Trumpeter lately, ZM's instructions are a refreshing change.  That said, go slowly, read the instructions thoroughly before committing anything to glue.

 

After about an hour's time, both of the engines are built up and ready for paint.

 

Given how little will be seen of these through the cowl (and the "radiator" ring, as claimed by the instructions), I'll spare myself the sanity hit of adding ignition wires.

 

That's it for today.  If I'm able to wrap up my other project tomorrow, I should be able to keep the updates coming with this one. 

 

 

 

 

[Uncarina]

Chuck, I loved building this kit, hope you do too!

 

Cheers,  Tom

[Greif8]

Welcome aboard Chuck.  You picked a very nice kit to build, I'll enjoy watching you progress, which looks like it will be fast!

 

Ernest

[Gazzas]

Ooh, this will be epic!

[Phantom2]

This will be an epic journey!  

 

 

 

Stefan 

[themongoose]

I’m anxious to see a SWS kit built. Have thought about buying one on occasion. 

[Out2gtcha]

Great start!  It really is a lovely lovely kit. Youll end up with a heap of extra plastic and a really cool WWII Nippon twin! The kit was complex for sure but a joy to put together. 

[ChuckD]

Thanks, all.  I've taken this week off work, so I've had quite a bit of time to spend at the model bench. Therefore, I've been able to make quite a bit of progress.  

 

@Out2gtcha, I couldn't agree more.   This truly is a lovely kit.  As my first ZM kit, I'm curious if this is indicative of their engineering quality in general.  My typical workflow is to paint in batches, so I usually push the build as far forward as I can, then turn to painting.  So, after a few hours at the bench yesterday and a couple this morning, I have most of the interior ready to go to the paint bench.  I'll be burning through primer and paint this afternoon for sure.

 

Again, the instructions are busy, but they're very clear and have a lot of great information in them.  The manual is, for lack of better terms, chapterized with each major assembly getting a whole section with color photos.  Here's the section on the cockpit.

 

Turning to the next page, you can see why I use the word "busy."  

 

The key difference here between these "busy" instructions and other "busy" instructions like, say, Dragon or Rye Field, is that they are exceptionally clear and straight forward.  They clearly note which parts should be built for the variant you selected, attachment and cement points, drill holes, and color call outs.  So, while they're "busy," they are very very clear and helpful.  For the first 2-3 years after I returned to modeling, I built a lot of Dragon armor kits.  So, when I opened these instructions I cringed a bit.  If you've built Dragon kits too, you know that their instructions are abysmally unclear and poorly laid out.  ZM's instructions have been very much the opposite and a very pleasant surprise.  So far anyway, they've made tackling this large, complex kit a real pleasure.

 

That said, most of the interior has been built and I've more or less got it to the point that, after paint, the fuse halves are ready to go together.  While some things here are cemented, most are dry fit to ease painting.  Almost nothing of this will be visible once assembled, as tends to be our thing here, but I'll get it looking good before it gets buttoned up anyway.

 

All interior parts ready for painting.

 

There are several options for detailing the instrument panel as outlined in the instructions.  You can 1) paint the gray styrene IP by hand, 2) lay a decal over the top of the painted gray styrene, or 3) (my option) mask the clear styrene piece and lay the decals on the back to provide the detail of the dials and instruments.  Here, I've masked the clear IP with a combination of masking fluid and silly putty.  I'll paint it dark gray, then decal it from the back.  The little side panel on the right will be painted by hand on a day when I don't have any coffee for breakfast.  

 

The central wing and fuselage structure is a large, solid piece.

 

 

The receivers of the upward facing 20mm cannons.

 

 

The main fuselage floor with gunner seat mount and gun truck.  Radios and cockpit side panels are nicely detailed throughout.

 

 

That's it for now.  I'll be nose down in primer and paint for a while this weekend before returning to the grind next week, but I hope to make some good progress before then.  So far, so good.  I think though, that the real test of this kit's fit and engineering will come at the key points that tend to trip up other manufacturers as well - fuselage seams, wing-to-fuse joins, and cowlings.  If we can get through those without any major hiccups, I will be duly impressed.  Cross your fingers.

Edited December 9, 2022 by ChuckD

[Dpgsbody55]

Nice!!! 

 

 

Cheers,

Michael

[Gazzas]

Nice work!  Amazing amount of detail in this kit.

[Greif8]

Nice progress Chuck, and I agree with Gaz - there is sure a lot of detailed parts in the kit!  I have the He-219 kit and it also has a ton of parts.

 

Ernest

[Uncarina]

Chuck, I just revisited my build log and saw that I had enough build workarounds that perhaps they could be of use here? 

Cheers,  Tom

[ChuckD]

Thanks, Tom!  I'll give it a read through.

 

Progress!  I'd say base painting is ~95% done.  I haven't really started the instrument panel yet, but most other bits have been painted, picked out, and dry brushed.  I've got a little touch up to do here and there, but I've hit my limit for tonight. 

 

Next will be a gloss varnish and wash before dirtying things up just a little bit.  Painting has been pretty easy as details are very crisp.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Greif8]

Nice progress Chuck!  The model looks like it is very nice.

 

Ernest

[themongoose]

Nice job on the shading and paint fades. Has a worn but clean look to it.