Hi folks. This is my
last completed build. It is the very old Tamiya 1/48 Raiden or "Jack",
with a combination of raised and recessed panel lines that was typical of the
older Tamiya kits. I did not bother to rescribe the raised lines as I think they
looked fine. People who want to build this kit with recessed lines can do so
with the newer Hasegawa Raiden.
A little history:
the Japanese used this plane as a high altitude interceptor near the end of the
war in a (mostly futile) attempt to deal with the ever-increasing bombing raids
on the Home Islands by the American B-29s. I attempted to give the model a very
war-weary look as it may have appeared near the end of the conflict in July,
1945. In this attempt, I used the "salt chipping" method to show the
worn paintjob, which turned out to my liking. I also used Tamiya Weathermaster
weathering powders to heavily stain the paint with oil and gunsmoke. Further
weathering was added with a rub of chalk pastels to fade the paint and the
Japanese Hinomarus. Construction was very straight forward and I
encountered no build issues save for a mysteriously lost canopy (I think my dog
may have got at it!) which began quite an odyssey of destroyed vac-form
replacement canopies until I finally managed to snag another kit canopy from a
friend. The build was basically out of box, with the exception of scratch built
brake lines, and fishing wire for the radio antenna wires. Paints used were
a combination of Tamiya AS-12 out of the rattle can for the NMF base coat, and
airbrushed Tamiya Acrylics IJN Dark Green and IJN Light Grey. All in all a
fun, relaxing build, and I think the old kit stands up to the test of time!
Click on
images below to see larger images
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Picture 3 |
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Picture 4 |
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Picture 5 |
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Picture 6 |
Pictures 2 and 3 show the
results of the Tamiya AS-12 basecoat. Shiny! Picture 4 shows the result
once the saltwater mixture had hardened on the surface of the NMF. In
picture 5 you can see what the surface looks like with the IJN dark green
sprayed on top of the salted basecoat. I also faded the paint here by
adding white to lighten up the dark green, in mostly random places or where
I thought the sun would fade the paint. Then the best part of the build
began, and that was the salt-flicking stage. You can see the results of
the removed salt in picture 6. I had no idea, really, how it would turn
out, but I was pleasantly surprised by look. You can also see the black
anti-glare panel and yellow leading edge ID stripes which I had
painted and masked over the NMF before I applied the saltwater mixture.
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Picture 2
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Pictures 7 and 8 give you a close up of the paint chipping effect. I will
definitely use this technique again in the future.
There seems to be
some controversy over whether or not the landing gear doors and wheel wells were
painted with the anti-corrosion Aotake paint. I have no idea what the accurate
truth is, but I decided I liked the look of the Aotake, so that is what I went
with. The final picture, I think, is a good shot revealing the full extent of
the weathering I inflicted upon this poor plane. Well, I hope you enjoy the
pics. Thanks for looking!
Jamie
Click on
images below to see larger images
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Picture 7 |
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Picture 8 |
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Picture 9 |
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Picture 10 |
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Picture 11 |
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Picture 12 |
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