1/48 Tamiya Ki-46

by Malcolm Reid

--------------------

 

Tamiya must produce the most beautifully engineered scale kits. Recipe to building one of these kits is as follows : open box, remove sprues from plastic bags, add knife blade and glue, close box and shake vigorously, open and paint. I usually build jets / helos, but I’ve had this model languishing in my cupboard for several years now and decided (after a long stint completing the Trumpeter CH-47) to go for a really quick, simple build. I certainly chose the right kit. Surface detail is beautiful, fit is spot on with no filler required anywhere. The engine nacelle fit to the wings, incorporating the exhaust stubs, is incredibly neat and perfect. Front cockpit detail is good, although the rear cockpit looks a bit sparse. I decided to use those odd seat harness simulating decals that Tamiya seems to love. To my surprise, the effect was quite realistic, especially when viewed through a closed canopy. Masking the multiple canopy frames with Tamiya tape was the most time consuming part of the construction process.

Click on images below to see larger images

  

  

Painting was done using (according to the instructions) a 50/50 mixture of Tamiya XF-10 flat brown and XF-60 dark yellow for the upper surfaces – this results in a light sand brown colour which makes a change from the usual Japanese green upper surfaces. The undersides were painted light grey (XtraColor X15). The white wing and fuselage bands were painted using Tamiya X-2 gloss white. Surprisingly, the kit decals were atrocious – beautifully printed, but like cardboard. Luckily I tried a test fit on my trusty old Hasegawa 32nd scale F-16. No amounts of Micro Set/Sol would make any difference. I discarded the kit decals in disgust and used some old decals from an Otaki kit bought 20 years ago. These went down really well with Micro Set/Sol.

Once past this (the only) problematic stage of the entire build process, I weathered the aircraft as follows : a) panel lines using a combination of pastels, b) dry brushing darkened patches (oil/scuff marks) using Humbrol enamels and c) chipping using Tamiya X-16 aluminum and a sharp pointed brush. Final coat of matt varnish and another model ready to be consigned to the display cabinet.

Malcolm

Photos and text © by Malcolm Reid