1/48 Hasegawa Ki-45 Kai Tei Toryu "Nick"

Gallery Article by Rafi Ben-Shahar on Apr 8 2010

 

Hasegawa's Nick is perhaps, the coolest model that I built for quite some time. Although not free of glitches and requires considerable attention during construction, it represents a painter's paradise.

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Some issues of the usual Hasegawa fuselage-wings fit had been raised. I cut the flaps' panel line that resides in the fuselage part and attached to the respective wing flap part. The result, no need for even a drop of putty.

Painting was done the traditional way, (which is easier for me) and not the modeller's tack approach. The result speaks for itself. Although the Hinomaru templates were far from perfect, they reduced painting time and achieved their goal. Avoid using roundel decals in recently manufactured models that have extensive rivet patterns. Weathering was kept to a minimum based on photographs assuming that most aircraft of this type were operated from the Mainland and were retained in pristine condition.

Rafi Ben-Shahar

Photos and text © by Rafi Ben-Shahar