Scale aviation modeller international

only fit issue I had with the entire

kit; everything else went together

perfectly, and any snags from this

point on were due to my mistakes.

With all the interior components

completed and assembled, it was

time to glue the fuselage halves

together. I was a bit worried about

the fit and how the interior would fit

with in the fuselage, but my worries

quickly passed as everything

went together without a fuss.

I clamped the fuselage together

to dry, but unfortunately the

pressure from the clamps caused

the two sides to shift, which meant

that I needed quite a bit of putty

to clean up the joint. Had I been

paying more attention I believe I

could have avoided this totally.

Next, I attached the tail and

stabilizers to the rear of the

fuselage. You have the option of

posing the control surfaces, but I

decided to keep them straight and

level. I found an easy way to keep

them still while they dried was to

place small pieces of masking tape

across the two parts. I then applied

Tamiya Extra Thin Cement to the

joints and after an hour or so it

had dried, sturdy and straight.

The wing sections are very

solid pieces with quite a bit of

weight to them, and I was worried

as to how this would affect the

overall structure of the model.

Surprisingly though, most of the

model is very strong and sturdy.

The only small exception

is in the landing gear braces.

These would teeter if I set the

model down at a slight angle

and wobble. I quickly learned to

place it straight down, and never

had any problems after that, but

I really wished I had invested

in Scale Aircraft Conversions

white metal legs (32126).

Finally I came to the stage

I was really looking forward

to, painting the model.

PAINTING AND DECALS

The painting guide calls for Tamiya

XF-12 J.N. Grey for the undersides.

I have used this color a lot when

building WWII Japanese Aircraft,

and it’s a great looking colour,

but I wanted to obtain a more

subtle varied shade of light blue.

I started by painting the

entire underside Tamiya XF-

Light Blue. This colour isn’t too

dominant and provided a nice

blue tint. Next I painted the ribs

on the wing, which I wanted to be

darker but also subtle. I decided

to try Tamiya XF-53 Neutral Grey,

which I thinned quite a bit, and I

also added a few drops of acrylic

paint retarder. I set my airbrush on

a low pressure and thinly painted

along the ribs, trying to keep

them uneven and a bit blotchy.

Lastly I painted the entire

underside with the suggested

XF-12. I thinned this paint quite

a bit as well, and reduced the air

pressure even more. I then painted

in between the dark grey ribs,

“WHILE THE KIT IS QUITE

SIMPLE, IT BECOMES A VERY

COMPLICATED-LOOKING MODEL”

Excellent details properly display the instrument dials

Rear gunner and

camera, details

16 • JUNE 2018 • SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

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