Team member Glen H again contributes his thoughts on building and painting the superb Tamiya 1/48 kit - take it away Glen!

THE AIRCRAFT

The Ki-61-Id Hien (Tony) entered service for the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force in 1942 and stayed in operation until the Japanese surrender in August 1945. It was designed by famed Japanese aircraft designer Takeo Doi along with his assistant Shin Owada in response to a tender by the Koku Hombu who requested two new fighters that would house the famed Daimler-Benz DB60 (Ha-40) engine that powered the German Messerschmitt BF109. It would also be one of their last fighters to have the foreign designed engine plant. Production was awarded to Kawasaki, who also built the DB601 under license, and and the aircraft would be put into production at the Akashi plant. The Ki-60 aircraft was intended to be an interceptor with a high wing loading while the Ki-61 was to be a general purpose fighter with a lighter wing load.

With an all-metal, semi-monocoque fuselage and self-sealing fuel tanks, the first Ki-61(Type 3, Model 1) first flew in December 1941 and was considered by its test pilots as a lightly armoured fighter with good overall dive performance and highly manoeuvrable characteristics, second only to the Nakajima Ki-43 Hei, which was at the time, a new and somewhat highly respected fighter aircraft.

Because the aircraft looked so different to the usual Japanese designs of the period; the Japanese preferring radial engines over inline for ease of maintenance, Capt. C. Ross Greening while flying a B-25 during the Doolittle Raid, thought the aircraft was a BF109. Originally, the Allies code named the aircraft “Mike” but later changed it to Tony because it looked similar to the Italian Macchi C.202 Folgore aircraft.

From 1944 till the end, the Ki-61 wreaked havoc against it’s enemies over the skies of Japan and surrounding territories, causing a number of B-29 fatalities. This was further enhanced by special “Attack Squadrons” for which pilots used their aircraft to ram B-29s which flew from U.S. bases out of China.

With a top speed of 580 kmh, a wing span of 39 feet and a fuselage of just over 29 feet, the Ki-61 was a formidable foe housing two wing mounted 20mm cannons and two 12.7mm machine guns in the nose. In addition to this, the Ki-61 could also carry two 250kg (550lb) bombs; one on either wing. Considered by many aircraft aficionados as a well designed and exceptional fighter, the Ki-61 will always remain one of the best and most respected aircraft to see conflict in WWII.

THE KIT

Tamiya’s release of the Ki-61 I-d Hien is a welcome addition to their line up of excellent aircraft kits which have seen a spike of releases in the past several years. The parts layout points to Tamiya’s excellent forward thinking and engineering skills which leads to minimal ejection pin marks. The kit comes complete with a basic engine, optional clear fuselage side, decals and a canopy mask, which has become the “norm” these days. The kit also comes with a painting guide and data sheet pertaining to the aircraft’s development and performance history. As usual, the 21 step instructions are excellent with easy to follow illustrations. The colourful box art shows a blazing B-29 in the background which seems to have recently been intercepted by the Ki-61 in the foreground.

The build began with the cockpit, and this was exceptional; the best Ki-61cockpit in any scale! I first airbrushed Gunze H066 RLM79 sandy brown which is an excellent match. This was followed by a wash of Tamiya’s accent colour panel line dark brown (T87140). A lighter tone of sandy brown was dry brushed onto the raised surfaces to enhance them. I added the instrument decals provided in the kit, and after a few attempts using Mr. Mark Softener (MS231) they conformed nicely to the recesses. This was followed by drops of AK893 Clear Gauzy on each instrument dial. I decided to add an after market seat harness, and for this, I used a sample from Eduard’s Japanese Fighter Seatbelt Set (ED49004). Finally, all remaining details were picked out using various shades of Vallejo colours as per instructions.

I've never been a fan of "clear option” fuselage halves, so I decided to build the aircraft as per normal with only the intention of enhancing it along the way. The cockpit fit into the aircraft like hand in glove making the rest of the assembly a breeze. I was impressed by the wing to fuselage join which went together without the need for any filler at all! Tamiya’s recent line up of 1/48 aircraft now come with what is simply described as a “canopy open/closed part option.” This ingenious design gives the modeller a choice to fit the canopy open or closed in its correct position without making the canopy sit too high or look grossly out of scale. For example: if you decide you would like the canopy open, just add the appropriate part and the canopy will sit back perfectly on the fuselage.

Although the engine lacked detail and would be mostly hidden once installed, I decided to show it off anyway. Ignoring reality, or the instructions, I decided to paint it using Xtreme polished Aluminium (AK481) followed by a wash of Tamiya accent colour dark brown. This somehow gave the engine a more “dirty and used” appearance which I preferred. Just for the sake of enhancement, I added a piece of solder wire on the top of the engine before finally adding a dirty mix of Mig Productions Oil and Grease (P410) and Fuel Stains (P700). All black details were picked out by brush.

I was really looking forward to painting this aircraft with just a bare metal finish but decided at the last minute to add the green camouflage. I decided to use AK’s range of Xtreme metal finishes which are the next best thing to Alclad. After giving a coat of Tamiya's fine primer to check for any flaws, I sprayed the aircraft with AK Interactives Xtreme metal base black (AK471) which gave it a gloss finish. After giving it a day to fully dry, I sprayed the aircraft with light coats of Xtreme Aluminium (AK479).

Using Tamiya masking tape, I masked off each individual panel then sprayed each panel with various shades of Xtreme metal such as Titanium (AK669), Matt Aluminium (AK486) and Polished Aluminium (AK481). For the green mottle effect, I used Gunze IJA Green (GN C016) from their lacquer range which went on ok. Next time i’ll use Tamiya's new range of lacquer based paints which are excellent to work with. The tail and rear stabilisers were sprayed with Gunze C385 IJA roundel red. The orange/yellow I.D. Bands were airbrushed with Gunze C58 and the black ant-glare panel with Tamiya XF-1. The model was then finally sealed with future floor polish.

After giving it 3 days to fully cure, I added the decals using the supplied kit decals which were a little thick but conformed quite well after a few doses of Tamiya’s mark fit strong (T87135). A light coat of Tamiya’s excellent lacquer based semi-gloss clear (LP-24) completed the scheme.

Finally, I gave the model a thin wash using Abteilung 502 shadow brown (ABT015) mixed with Tamiya thinners which was later wiped away using cotton swaps and a cloth dampened with enamel thinners. To replicate the antenna I added 1/700 scale ships rigging by Infinity which is an excellent product.

THE VERDICT

Overall, this was an absolute joy to build. The excellent fit of parts and overall accurate appearance makes this kit a real winner. If there's anything I would like Tamiya to do next, it would be a Ki-100.