Infinity Models 1/32 Aichi D3A1 Type 99

[Thunnus]

On 7/5/2023 at 9:58 PM, scvrobeson said:

Interesting idea to take it back to a Hasegawa-level surface detail.   Looks like you've been successful, and have leveled off the surface instead of the pillowed look that it had before. Keep it up John, even if it's super tedious.

 

 

Matt 

 

That's exactly what I'm doing.  I'm taking a Trumpeter kit and turning it into a Hasegawa molding!  Looking at the pillowed look, I get the feeling that it may been unintentional on Infinity's part.  It looks a lot like the Italeri F-86 wings and I've read that the pillowed look on those wings were a result of insufficient molding pressure?

 

 

On 7/5/2023 at 11:46 PM, nmayhew said:

good to see one of these being built - and so adeptly - so soon after release

 

nice work with the black CA; interestingly i think i used BSI before I can't recall, but I can also vouch for AK Black Widow (same sort of black CA) - despite the gimmicky name, it is pretty much instantly sandable, so it's a highly recommended technique

 

the close up of the downed Val is one of the sharpest pics of anything Japanese aviation i have seen; some of the rivet lines you have removed are just visible, but i entirely get why you did what you did

 

looking forward to more on this and following intently

 

cheers

Nick

 

Yes, it's a very sharp and revealing photo and I was struck by the integrity of the fuselage panels compared to what is presented in the Infinity moldings.  It gave me the  idea to try something different with this build than I normally do.  Cuz I'm the guy who is usually ADDING rivets to my aircraft!

 

 

On 7/6/2023 at 12:08 AM, Jaro said:

Filling all these (overscaled to my taste) revets is a tedious job. But it's a real game-changer how the structure looks like after.

 

Yeah, it's tiresome but I'm liking the result so I'll try to keep going!

 

 

On 7/6/2023 at 12:33 AM, LSP_Kevin said:

 

That's the stuff I use, and I don't like it at all. It strings constantly for me, just like old-style tube glue, and I find it difficult to apply with any accuracy. I bought some of the BSI stuff to replace it, but haven't tried it out yet.

 

Kev

 

The BSI works really well... I think you'll like it Kevin!

 

Jumping over to the engine, I've painted the components separately.

 

 

The main shades were airbrushed and then details were picked out with brush painting.   The parts were covered with a clear gloss, given a pastel wash and then sealed with a flat coat.

 

 

Before I assemble the engine, I use short strands of lead wire for the ignition wires.  These will be painted brown and then oriented to the back of the cylinders.  Since the view is blocked, I won't go through the trouble of connecting the terminal ends to the ignition ring in the rear of the engine.

 

 

The engine components are glued together.  It took a bit of futzing to get the exhaust tubing to attach to the back of the cylinders but the glue joints were soft enough to gently adjust the stems to fit.

 

 

I want to check the position of the engine to the fuselage.  It looks ok so far but care will be need to taken when gluing the engine in place since orientation is not rock solid. I plan on gluing the engine after the painting stage.

 

 

The engine cowling attaches to the bottom of the fuselage so I checked that fit as well. Luckily, the exhaust stubs exit in the correct location.

 

 

The cowling opening is very big so there is a nice view into the engine compartment from the front.

 

[scvrobeson]

Looks awesome John!  Really like the extra detailing as always.

 

Were the exhaust pipe ends airbrushed, or is that all pastel work? 

 

 

Matt 

[Thunnus]

6 hours ago, scvrobeson said:

Looks awesome John!  Really like the extra detailing as always.

 

Were the exhaust pipe ends airbrushed, or is that all pastel work? 

 

 

Matt 

 

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.

[LSP_Kevin]

Excellent work, John! I'd have been tempted to simply cover over the twin square panels with a suitably-shaped panel out of thin styrene (or even vinyl), but your method certainly turned out a great result!

 

Kev

[airscale]

i just love watching you build John - such clean, precise and accurate work. I also admire having the minerals to set about the skin like that to get a vastly improved result

 

bravo

 

Peter

[Thunnus]

14 hours ago, LSP_Kevin said:

Excellent work, John! I'd have been tempted to simply cover over the twin square panels with a suitably-shaped panel out of thin styrene (or even vinyl), but your method certainly turned out a great result!

 

Kev

Thanks Kev!  I thought about using a thin sheet of brass but I thought this might be easier.

 

 

4 hours ago, airscale said:

i just love watching you build John - such clean, precise and accurate work. I also admire having the minerals to set about the skin like that to get a vastly improved result

 

bravo

 

Peter

Thank you so much Peter!  I like when my builds look a bit different from everyone else's but this is an extreme example.

 

Testing out some exterior colors for the D3A1.  On the left hand side of the wing is AK Real Colors IJN Amber Grey (RC 303) and on the right is a 50/50 mix of Mr Hobby Aqueous RLM 02 (H70) and Hemp (H336).

 

 

I scanned the Infinity decal sheet so that I can create as many paint masks for the markings.  I wanted to test the aircraft code of the machine that I'll be building.  The decal scan was traced in AutoCAD, exported to a DXF file and printed out as a mask on the Silhouette Portrait cutter. Mr Color IJN Markings Red (C385) was used.

 

 

Infinity molds the prop spinner in three separate parts but it is still overly simplified.

 

 

Using photo references, I dressed up the hub a bit.

 

 

Edited July 8, 2023 by Thunnus

[scvrobeson]

Looks great. I think that the AK shade with a touch of fading could definitely be the ticket.  It just looks a bit richer than the Gunze mix.

 

 

 

Matt 

[Gazzas]

Love the prop add-ons and the color on the right.  I'm no expert on Japanese colors, though.  Keep up the great work.

[CRAZY IVAN5]

7 hours ago, Thunnus said:

Thanks Kev!  I thought about using a thin sheet of brass but I thought this might be easier.

 

 

Thank you so much Peter!  I like when my builds look a bit different from everyone else's but this is an extreme example.

 

Testing out some exterior colors for the D3A1.  On the left hand side of the wing is AK Real Colors IJN Amber Grey (RC 303) and on the right is a 50/50 mix of Mr Hobby Aqueous RLM 02 (H70) and Hemp (H336).

 

 

I scanned the Infinity decal sheet so that I can create as many paint masks for the markings.  I wanted to test the aircraft code of the machine that I'll be building.  The decal scan was traced in AutoCAD, exported to a DXF file and printed out as a mask on the Silhouette Portrait cutter. Mr Color IJN Markings Red (C385) was used.

 

 

Infinity molds the prop spinner in three separate parts but it is still overly simplified.

 

 

Using photo references, I dressed up the hub a bit.

 

 

I generally use the 50/50 gunze mix , because when I went to Japan I went to a contest and a JN had built a zero with this mix. He had a relic from a real zero beside it and the colors were way too close to call[ didn't know if it was a Nakajima or a Mitsubishi and he didn't know either ] So I've been using it ever since, YMMV however. the AK ,might be good for Nakajima . Every company had their own version of J3 which is a IJN specification from what I understand, all a little different. Keep in mind we're talking about 80 year old paint here so there 's going to be limitations. 

[CRAZY IVAN5]

Your build looks fantastic! Keep at it, this is really going to help out when I get to build mine , looking real good!

[CRAZY IVAN5]

2 hours ago, Gazzas said:

Love the prop add-ons and the color on the right.  I'm no expert on Japanese colors, though.  Keep up the great work.

Let me tell ya , trying to nail down ww2 Japanese colors can drive you up the wall[ don't ask me how I know]. Even the interior colors can be something else . The best advice i can give is get it in close and don't stress out on it. People think RLM colors were hard to get right [ sometimes they are], Japanese colors take it to a new level of insanity and remember the IJN colors are different from the JAAF to add to the confusion, yeah baby good times!

[dennismcc]

Superb work as usual, I'm enjoying this build and it will help me to improve my build when I get round to it.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[Thunnus]

Thanks guys!  Appreciate the comments!  Haven't decided on the exterior color yet but have been leaning towards the 50/50 Mr Hobby Aqueous mix myself.

 

I'm pumping the brakes on this one as I start looking at the cockpit.  Trying to figure out where I can add some wiring. With a ton of small individual parts to be added to the cockpit floor and sides, it's difficult to visualize how it will all fit together.  I am putting together as many of the sub-components together but it's still just a mass of separate parts.

 

 

Pet peeve... Infinity often puts an ejector pin in the worst possible place.  For example, right in the middle of a stepped edge. This part will not seat correctly unless this ejector pin mark is removed. It would be a non-issue if it was placed a few millimeters higher.

 

 

Interestingly, the instructions exaggerate the detail found on the smaller parts.  Assembly #23 looks impressive on paper.

 

 

In reality, not so much!  

 

 

I replaced one of the knobs on the throttle quadrant.

 

 

The rear gun was enhanced with included PE parts and a section of brass tube.

 

 

The prop blades need to be cleaned up and thinned down.

 

 

The blades have a satisfyingly snug fit into the prop hub.  Expecting a similar fit between the hub and engine, I was disappointed to find that the hub hangs very loosely on the prop shaft.  Will have to make adjustments as I want a snug fit here for a removable prop.

 

[Furie]

Quote

Interestingly, the instructions exaggerate the detail found on the smaller parts.  Assembly #23 looks impressive on paper.

In reality, not so much! 

 

 

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!

 

[CRAZY IVAN5]

1 hour ago, Thunnus said:

Thanks guys!  Appreciate the comments!  Haven't decided on the exterior color yet but have been leaning towards the 50/50 Mr Hobby Aqueous mix myself.

 

I'm pumping the brakes on this one as I start looking at the cockpit.  Trying to figure out where I can add some wiring. With a ton of small individual parts to be added to the cockpit floor and sides, it's difficult to visualize how it will all fit together.  I am putting together as many of the sub-components together but it's still just a mass of separate parts.

 

 

Pet peeve... Infinity often puts an ejector pin in the worst possible place.  For example, right in the middle of a stepped edge. This part will not seat correctly unless this ejector pin mark is removed. It would be a non-issue if it was placed a few millimeters higher.

 

 

Interestingly, the instructions exaggerate the detail found on the smaller parts.  Assembly #23 looks impressive on paper.

 

 

In reality, not so much!  

 

 

I replaced one of the knobs on the throttle quadrant.

 

 

The rear gun was enhanced with included PE parts and a section of brass tube.

 

 

The prop blades need to be cleaned up and thinned down.

 

 

The blades have a satisfyingly snug fit into the prop hub.  Expecting a similar fit between the hub and engine, I was disappointed to find that the hub hangs very loosely on the prop shaft.  Will have to make adjustments as I want a snug fit here for a removable prop.

 

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