Category: Japanese aircraft
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Shinden – Part Three – The Delayed Future

Delayed by the events of the late period in the war – delayed by inadequacies in production and supply. But not completely forgotten – as many of the concepts were to later return. The Shinden had one job – and had it been available in large numbers it might have been able to do that…
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Shinden – Part Two – Future Fighter

I am immensely impressed by this 1:48 scale Hasegawa model. It seems to have everything you’d want in a different adventure. The plastic is Hasegawa – brittle – and that frightens you when you imagine the amount of sanding that will be required…but then the parts dry-snap into each other and there is really no…
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Shinden – Part One – Out Of The Mould

And into the mould. This kit has been invaded. Not by aliens…mould spores are definitely from here on Earth. And this Hasegawa kit has met them. Perhaps from time spent in Japan in humid weather or out in the sheed during the winter.. The condition of the box, instructions, and decals shows fair deterioration, though…
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Nakajima Ki-27 – Part Three – Plane Jane

Lt. Sushi, the pilot of this Nakajima fighter, would have gotten a far more colourful livery if the decals had cooperated. As it is, he is flying the Marie Kondo model with minimal decoration. The ICM stripes and lightning flashes largely disintegrated when placed in the water. I am annoyed at this but resigned to…
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Nakajima Ki-27 – Part Two – Sitting On The Wing

Because that’s what it looks like the pilot of this fighter is doing. The curved structure of the wing continues inside the fuselage. Not a feature seen anywhere else, in my experience. I bow to ICM’s superior knowledge, however and build as they direct. The options provided in the kit are simple enough – wheels…
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Nakajima Ki-27 – Part One – Not A Nate

This evocation of the Nakajima Ki-27 fighter is for a different war; before it became and Allied ” Nate “. The type is the first monoplane fighter for he Imperial Japanese Army, and this time it is moulded by ICM. Their attention to detail is typical for the Ukrainian firm – every part fits and…
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Aichi Seiran – Part Four – Underwater Bomber

I puzzled a bit at the Tamiya box for this float-plane. No Allied code-name. Normally they give that to let people know what it was called – but this one wasn’t called anything…I suspect the Allies never saw one flying. It was meant to be an attack bomber carried by a very large submarine –…
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Aichi Seiran – Part Three – The Dance Of the Spray Booth

I have numbered the photos today for the new members of the club who wonder how to spray paint things without injury. It is not possible – expect to lose a lung at some stage of the game. In the meantime, No.1 is the Seiran in grey undercoat – in this case Mr. Surfacer 1200.…
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Aichi Seiran – Part Two – The Trolley

This is quite the most detailed trolley I have ever seen. Seaplanes and float-planes are wonderful birds in the air and slippery fish on the surface of the water, but sad encumbrances back at the air base. Unless they are amphibians like the USAF Albatross, they cannot land on their own wheels and need something…
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Aichi Seiran – Part One – A Bargain

And a Tamiya bargain at that – you don’t see many of those around the shops these days! I cannot say whether this Aichi Seiran float plane model was inexpensive because it was unpopular, or unpopular because it was an old kit, or an old kit because it was inexpensive…that sort of circular logic is…
