Tag: Japanese
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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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Kawanishi Norm – Part Four – A Powerful Flop

From all accounts great things were expected from the Kawanishi reconnaissance float plane. And then the contra-rotating propellers and jettison-able float proved problematical and the service missions undertaken with the type were failures. So it was quietly shoved back into a training role. The appearance of the aircraft in the box art was what attracted…
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Kawanishi Shiun – Part One – A Norm By Any Other Name

If you are scandalised by the use of Allied code-names for Japanese aircraft of WW2, make sure you check back later when I use NATO reporting names for Soviet planes. This is officially the E15K1 but not again in this column. It is a Norm. A very special plane and welcome in the collection. I…
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Fujimi Aichi Val – Part One – Oh Boy Oh Boy Oh Boy

I finally got to build a model of an airplane my uncle Jack shot at on Dec. 7, 1941. Fujimi kits are thin on the ground here in Western Australia at the best of times and these aren’t the best of times. But a shelf of them turned up at the local shop and I…
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Airfix Vintage Val – Part One – Comparisons

It is said that comparisons are odious – or in the case of British cinema chains, Odeons. Be that as it may, I intend to contrast and compare the Airfix vintage classic kit of the Aichi Val dive bomber with the Fujimi example that I built earlier. The prices are rather similar, so it was…
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Isuzu TX-40 – Part Three – Now You Don’t

But the Isuzu is there in full glory. And the people at Hasegawa have been thoughtful enough to provide a hand trolley and two ground crewmen to push it, plus 5 fuel drums. This has been one of the best little mojo builds I’ve encountered in a long time. Every part went on it and…
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Isuzu TX-40 – Part One – Fuel For The Empire

You never think of the more humble vehicles in war – the dump trucks, re-fuelling trucks, and dustcarts. Yet they were manned by service personnel just as dedicated as the tankers and aircrew they served. I always leap on 1:76 service vehicles when I find them in the hobby shop. This Isuzu showed up at…
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Kawanishi George – Part One – A Fin

It was the modelling club AGM and a notice had gone out telling people to bring models for sell or swap. Like a fool I did not remember this and rocked up for the AGM barbeque with hardly any money in my pocket. These virus days we pay for most things with credit or debit…
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Mitsubishi Ann – Part One – Newcastle Day

As they sang in The Newcastle Song; ” Don’t you never let a chance go by, Lord Lord…”. And I didn’t. At the Tuesday Mens Shed modelling meeting a senior modeller ( I love saying that… ) came in with five roller boxes of model kits to sell. He is obviously clearing out a stash…
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Douglas Dauntless – Part One – The Core Aircraft

In all my model building career I have never built a Douglas SBD – the Dauntless – not even as a kid when there were Aurora and Monogram kits. For some reason I have held off doing so now. But a visit to Hobby Mania – a smaller retailer here in Perth – ended the…
