The Little World

As problematical as this model has been to build, it is still welcome into the collection as the final piece in the set for the USS ARIZONA diorama photo shoot.

This is the reason it doesn’t have stationery propeller blades – it will be photographed diving on the battleship from the port quarter. Doing this sort of shot is easy as long as you can represent the spinning prop with a disc of clear plastic and hold the model with a wire or acrylic rod. Photoshop takes out the support and you are left with the model flying.

The sanding and filling of the top fuselage piece was the least enjoyable aspect of the build – occasioned by the Fujimi company trying to make one mould produce two different models of the aircraft. It has determined me to get one of the new re-issued Vals from Airfix when it is released later in 2022. It will be older Airfix, but I want to compare it to this one…in any case I can paint it in a different scheme and it will be fine on the shelf.

The canopy framing is heavy, but I should not have been able to do it at all as a masking job – this was strictly the bow pen and a steady hand.

At least I was able to get the red Japanese insignia on the right way this time. When you put decals on and they are 30º out of alignment, it is a real turn-off.