Infinity Models 1/32 Aichi D3A1 Type 99

[CRAZY IVAN5]

I saw the interior of the Val at the Nimitz museum in Texas and it was a dark green, kind of close to 34102 ish. Now that one was a D3A2 a later model. I also was lucky enough to see the inside of the only B7a grace at the Paul Garber works many years ago and it also had the same dark green [kind of ] and that's another Aichi product . Just something to think about, go with you're gut on this one, just don't paint it Aotake what ever you do. 

[scvrobeson]

Great start on the interior John!  Were those bits on the rear gun included in the kit besides the brass tube? Or did you need to add all of it from the spare box?

 

 

 

Matt 

[JayW]

Boy John - I have been asleep at the wheel.  Now I am caught up - such a very clean and professional job as usual, but on an unlikely subject.  I sure like that engine! 

[Thunnus]

2 hours ago, Furie said:

 

 

I can only imagine your face when you looked for part D15 on the plastic sprue and compared it to the drawing in the construction manual!
#Deception!

 

 

One of many idiosyncrasies that I'm discovering about this manufacturer. At first I wondered if I had picked out the wrong part but after a few times, I realized what was happening. This occurs on the really small parts.  Maybe they captured more detail on their renders than they were able to implement into their molds?  Another strange thing is that many of their 2-part box structures aren't square but trapezoidal.

 

 

1 hour ago, CRAZY IVAN5 said:

Have you decided on an interior color yet? There's hardly any definitive info on the Val[ typical of ww2 Japanese cockpit colors] I know the instructions state Kawanishi interior green and TBH nobody can definitively say your wrong . I got the opportunity several years ago to se the interior of the Val at the N

 

1 hour ago, CRAZY IVAN5 said:

I saw the interior of the Val at the Nimitz museum in Texas and it was a dark green, kind of close to 34102 ish. Now that one was a D3A2 a later model. I also was lucky enough to see the inside of the only B7a grace at the Paul Garber works many years ago and it also had the same dark green [kind of ] and that's another Aichi product . Just something to think about, go with you're gut on this one, just don't paint it Aotake what ever you do. 

 

I've selected a dark RAF green (Mr Hobby Aqueous H-73) for the cockpit, based on various discussions and blog posts on the subject.  I used it on the instrument panel parts.

 

Compared to the color swatches shown on the Aviation of Japan blog about the D3A interior colors...

 

 

1 hour ago, scvrobeson said:

Great start on the interior John!  Were those bits on the rear gun included in the kit besides the brass tube? Or did you need to add all of it from the spare box?

 

 

 

Matt 

Thanks Matt!  The PE bits are included on the kit's PE fret. 

 

 

34 minutes ago, JayW said:

Boy John - I have been asleep at the wheel.  Now I am caught up - such a very clean and professional job as usual, but on an unlikely subject.  I sure like that engine! 

Thanks Jay!  Unlikely subject for me as I'm more of a single-engine fighter type of person.  The film Tora Tora Tora made a great impression on me as a child and led to my interest in WW2 aircraft so I thought this kit would be a great homage to that inspiration.

 

[CRAZY IVAN5]

1 minute ago, Thunnus said:

 

One of many idiosyncrasies that I'm discovering about this manufacturer. At first I wondered if I had picked out the wrong part but after a few times, I realized what was happening. This occurs on the really small parts.  Maybe they captured more detail on their renders than they were able to implement into their molds?  Another strange thing is that many of their 2-part box structures aren't square but trapezoidal.

 

 

 

 

I've selected a dark RAF green (Mr Hobby Aqueous H-73) for the cockpit, based on various discussions and blog posts on the subject.  I used it on the instrument panel parts.

 

Compared to the color swatches shown on the Aviation of Japan blog about the D3A interior colors...

 

 

Thanks Matt!  The PE bits are included on the kit's PE fret. 

 

 

Thanks Jay!  Unlikely subject for me as I'm more of a single-engine fighter type of person.  The film Tora Tora Tora made a great impression on me as a child and led to my interest in WW2 aircraft so I thought this kit would be a great homage to that inspiration.

 

I think that will be fine as far as the color goes. No one can really say you're wrong , I certainly won't. As always , if ANYONE can furnish proof I'm for it, been chasing these colors around the block for quite a few years.

[Thunnus]

3 minutes ago, CRAZY IVAN5 said:

I think that will be fine as far as the color goes. No one can really say you're wrong , I certainly won't. As always , if ANYONE can furnish proof I'm for it, been chasing these colors around the block for quite a few years.

 

I think I did my due diligence, made my choice and am able to move forward.  Obviously, lots of variation in other people's builds regarding these colors, both interior and exterior.

[CRAZY IVAN5]

3 hours ago, Thunnus said:

 

I think I did my due diligence, made my choice and am able to move forward.  Obviously, lots of variation in other people's builds regarding these colors, both interior and exterior.

That there is! I think you did the right thing , it seems there was a lot of variation with the real thing. Here we are 80 years later trying to sort it out, be easier to herd cats.

[amurray]

On 6/24/2023 at 6:20 PM, Thunnus said:

Thanks for following guys!  I hope it's entertaining!

 

 

The BSI Black CA exhibits no stringiness whatsoever.  Acts just like a regular medium or thick CA glue.

 

Working further on the engine, the exhaust manifolds have a heavy seam line and some flash that needs to be carefully cleaned.  I guess "need" is arguable since these are in the back of the engine and will not be visible at all on the completed model.  Since I consider these photographs as much a part of the model as the finished product itself, I usually like to address even the ultimately unseen flaws.

 

 

The exhaust tips are needless molded into two parts instead of one so we have to take care of the visible seams.

 

 

The engine cowling is also two parts instead of one.  The interior features a couple of ejector pin whoppers.

 

 

The view from the front tells me that these ejector pins will not be visible in most cases.

 

 

But I should probably take care of them now, when the cowlings pieces are still separate.

 

 

The holes for the cowling gun openings need to be hollowed out.

 

 

The trailing edges of the cowling flaps can be thinned.

 

 

The lip of cowling opening has some funky molding defects that need to be cleaned up.  Lots to do these two parts before I glue them together.

 

 

Gun openings are hollowed out with a drill bit.

 

 

The ejector pin marks are cleaned up and the cowling trailing edges are thinned.

 

 

I couldn't find much detailed information on the engine for the D3A1, which was the Mitsubishi Kinsei 14-cylinder radial engine.  I was lucky enough to get a PDF copy of Ryan Toew's "Detailing the D3A1" from the man himself.  In addition to identifying some of the engine component colors, he includes one of the few photos of the Kinsei engine within the D3A1. He notes, "Under the upper lip of the cowling were three black painted carburetor air intake ports."

 

 

So I decided to add these to the engine cowling using curved pieces cut from a soda can.

 

 

A test fit to make sure the three intake ports don't interfere with the rest of the engine.

 

 

With that work done, I have glued the two halves of the engine cowling together with Tamiya Extra Thin cement.  Then I'll have to deal with the seam.

 

Patience and detailing of the highest order!

 

 

[amurray]

7 hours ago, CRAZY IVAN5 said:

I think that will be fine as far as the color goes. No one can really say you're wrong , I certainly won't. As always , if ANYONE can furnish proof I'm for it, been chasing these colors around the block for quite a few years.

I agree with Crazy Ivan.  Until the day someone takes me to their hermetically-sealed warehouse to see their fresh-off-the-assembly-line WWII aircraft collection I'm not going to worry about "correct" colors.  Nor should you.  The applicable term is "artistic license."  There is great reference material "out there" but little in the way of absolute proof.

One of the greatest modelers of our generation for years painted his models in iridescent hummingbird colors of dark red, bright green and silver.  IMO still some of the most artistic models I've ever seen. 

 

[MikeMaben]

True Art, due to that thing called physics, there will 'never' be absolute proof.

Art's right, here's all you need ...

 

 

...mine's laminated.

[thammond65]

On 7/8/2023 at 7:24 AM, Thunnus said:

 

Thanks Matt!  The exhaust pipes were airbrushed.  A mixture of Alclad Steel and Polished Aluminum for the main body of the exhaust structure.  The ends were highlighted with Alclad Exhaust Manifold.  Black was sprayed into the hollow end as well as the outer tips to finish the look.

 

There was something that I noticed on the archive photo of the Pearl Harbor D3A1 that I wanted to address.  Note the two square hatches on the top of the fuselage behind the engine.

 

 

Compare with the photo of the Pearl Harbor D3A1...

 

 

It's obviously a single rectangular hatch with rounded corners and not two square ones.  Big raised rivets on it too.  I don't know enough about this aircraft to know if there was any variation in these hatches but the photo is clear.  I decided to try and convert the double hatches to a single one.  It's trickier than a normal scribed panel because panel is slightly raised.  I had scribed the outline of the two squares previously.  First, I drilled out the hole in front of the hatch, which is also noticeable in the photo. I think it is a vent for the cowling gun.

 

 

Plastic is pretty thick here so I thinned the plastic around the hole with a rotary tool.

 

 

The vertical boundary of the hatch was marked off using tape. I used black CA glue to fill the gap between the two square hatches.  It is viscous enough to retain its height and I don't have to deal with the waiting and shrinkage issues if I used a liquid putty like Mr Surfacer.

 

 

An oscillating sander like the D400 is helpful in leveling off the black CA glue after I've zapped it with activator.

 

 

The tape is removed and the final sanding is done by hand.

 

 

A scribing template and needle was used to round off the corners of the hatch.  The Infinity plastic is very soft and it's possible that the plastic can be pushed during the corner scribing and closing the sharp corner without further work.  I got lucky on a few corners but had to fill the others with micro applications of Mr Surfacer.

 

 

To top off the hatch, I applied raised rivet decals from Archers.

 

 

A coat of Mr Primer Surfacer 1000 to reveal the finished hatch. This work is being repeated on the other side.

 

 

A few more views of the finished engine.  Some of the ignition wiring and exhaust manifold pipe connections needed to be touched up with fresh paint.

 

Engine is kinda shiny... I may shoot with a bit more flat.

That's lovely work on the hatch but I would have to say my interpretation of that photo is that ground crew has stuck a big single crudely riveted piece over the nicely fitted hatches for some reason - maybe they lost one or both.

[Thunnus]

Thanks for the comments guys!  Keep em coming!

 

11 hours ago, thammond65 said:

That's lovely work on the hatch but I would have to say my interpretation of that photo is that ground crew has stuck a big single crudely riveted piece over the nicely fitted hatches for some reason - maybe they lost one or both.

 

Hmmm... that's an interesting theory about the ground crew.  I just accepted the photographic evidence of the hatch without theorizing how it got there.  It didn't look like a crude repair to me.  So I did some digging and found some more "evidence" of the single hatch with rivets...

 

The starboard side of the same aircraft, which lessens the chances that both sides were repaired.

 

 

A photo from Ryan Toews article on D3A Center of Gravity Markings shows a different D3A1 with the single riveted hatch.

 

And FWIW, Hasegawa's 1/48 scale D3A1 model depicts the single hatch per side.

 

I have not found any photographic evidence of the double hatches but there is this photo of a D3A2 with double "openings", which can be covered by the single hatch shown above.

 

 

 

Edited July 11, 2023 by Thunnus

[Thunnus]

Something else that I noticed... There maybe two different sets of decals for the Infinity D3A1 or quite a variation in resolution/registration. 

 

Here is a close-up of the instrument panel decals from a review at LSM...

 

Here's a close-up of mine...

[denders]

Hmmm, two production runs of decals, perhaps? I pulled mine out and they look like the upper photo.

[mc65]

12 minutes ago, denders said:

Hmmm, two production runs of decals, perhaps? I pulled mine out and they look like the upper photo.

Same for me, unfortunately...