I got this 48th scale Hasegawa beauty at an IPMS show a couple of years ago and have finally gotten to build my first Japanese WW2 fighter. I went straight from the box on this one (Aeromaster decals excluded) and I'm glad that I didn't put any money into detailing it because it definitely didn't need it. So far, this kit has had the best surface detail I have ever worked with, as well as parts fitting properly. I did get a heads-up about the landing gear needing to be glued in, since the rubber grippers supplied by Hasegawa don't work the way they theoretically should. I filled the space for the grippers with Squadron Green Putty, let it dry, then drilled out holes for the pins and glued the gear struts when ready. This worked well and the landing gear is solid.
For the undersurfaces, I used the same process as my Buffalo and for the upper surfaces, I used a 70-30(ish) mixture of MM Military Brown and Burnt Umber. This color came out looking like a warm and rich chocolate brown that I like. Aeromaster's instructions suggest this aircraft was black over natural metal, but I like the brown better and other sources state that the aircraft from this unit were a dark chocolate brown. I added a black anti-glare panel on the nose, however, to break up the brown a little and I think this adds a little more interest.
I didn't want to weather this aircraft very much for a couple of reasons. First, this was a suicide attack aircraft which means the pilots probably didn't fly the aircraft a whole lot before they would have headed out for their ultimate mission. Secondly, the scheme is very beautiful and I didn't want to distract from it like a Bob Ross painting that has a huge tree right through the middle.
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