Finemolds 1/48 Kugisho D4Y2 and D4Y3 Suisei 'Judy'

At last!!.... After 3 years their finally DONE!..........

At the conclusion of my two-seat Zero project I decided to build my two 1/48 Finemolds Judy's and to do them in parallel, as I knew the kits had some fit issues and therefore I only ever wanted to do them once, which seemed like a really good idea at the time...........

Although the cockpit and fuselage assembly was fairly straight forward, the areas that required the most work were the wing to fuselage joins and the fitment of the respective engine cowls. However, once these areas had been dealt with to my satisfaction - with the former requiring hours of scraping, filing, sanding and test fitting - I was more than happy with the end results.

The models were then sprayed with Tamiya (Gray) Surface Primer and then painted in a Gunze mix of Kawanishi Dark Green (H6-50% + H5-40% + H4-10%) for the upper surfaces (hence the deep blue/green color) and Mitsubishi Light Gray (H1-95% + H2-5%) for the undersides.

Koku-Fan Illustrated 97-10 No.96 Air Group 302

It was at about this point - around 2010 - that they were unceremoniously consigned to the shelf of doom as I had a more pressing batch of commission builds to do (being a $$$$ mercenary), which unfortunately had priority .

It wasn't until the beginning of 2012 that I finally had the chance to resurrect them once again with the intent of finishing them off once and for all, despite the fact that my painting style and weathering techniques had changed since I'd originally started them.

To finish the models merely required the application of decals, panel line washes, post shading, and paint chipping (using Games Workshop Chain-mail and Prismacolor silver and terracotta pencils) plus the fitment of the propellers, undercarriage assemblies, aerials and aerial leads. Eureka!

These are really nice kits - even by today standards - and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to anyone who has a bit of modelling skill.

Bunrindo Co Ltd Famous Airplanes of the World No.69 

Auckland War Memorial Museum - Mitsubishi A6M3 Zero (type 22)

In 2010 I traveled to the North Island of New Zealand and from the outset planned a visit to the Auckland War Memorial Museum, with the intent of seeing their A6M3 Zero in the flesh. Although the galleries lighting and layout made it challenging to photograph I managed to capture the following images. It was great to see yet another genuine Zero, as I've already seen the Australian War Memorials example on many occasions now.

Hasegawa 1/48 Mitsubishi A6M2-K Zero Fighter-Trainer (conversion)

For many years I'd wanted to build a two-seat version of the Zero fighter-trainer and to facilitate this I'd collected the required kit's (JT43, JT18), aftermarket detail sets and a vacform canopy set (Falcon No.33) as well as any available reference material. Why? Because at the time this kit (09855) wasn't even on Hasegawa's production list and the prospect of it ever becoming available was almost naught. Isn't that how it always goes??.......

As a consequence when I set out to build this model - in 2007 - it ended up being the most expensive ($350 Aus) and complex build I'd ever undertaken. Initial construction consisted of grafting the forward fuselage section from an A6M3 (type 32) onto the forward fuselage of an A6M2b (type 21) to create the correct profile. The fuselage opening was also enlarged to accommodate the dual cockpits and the anti-spin strakes were also made and fitted at this stage. Two CMK A6M2/3 Zero cockpit sets (4120) were used to create the dual cockpits, with the rear having a shortened (by 6mm) and narrower floor and fitted with the rear bulkhead. Because little is known about the actual configuration of the rear cockpit, from the information available to me I decided to fit only the instrument panel, seat, control column, rudder pedals, throttle quadrant and radio, with the majority of items coming from an Eduard etch-set (48-176). The forward cockpit on the other hand was fitted out as per normal, also using items from an Eduard etch-set.

As CMK also produce a nicely detailed Nakajima Sakae 12/21 engine (4097), I decided this would be a nice feature to add to my model. However, although it provided a good starting point I felt it lacked a lot detail and by the time I was finished with it, 180 parts had gone into its construction. In the end it was all well worth it though, but I don't know that I'd ever do it again.

The rudder and elevators were also removed from the kit and KMC resin replacements fitted, the wing guns and shell ejection chutes were filled in, brake lines were added from fuse wire, True Details resin wheels were fitted and the undercarriage bays and doors were detailed with parts from an Eduard etch-set.

As the model was to be finished as an aircraft from the Genzan Air Group, which lost most of its Zero's in Kamikaze attacks during the Okinawa campaign of 1945, I fitted the model with a centreline bomb-rack and 250kg HE bomb, instead of the usual drop tank.

The model was painted using the Gunze Hobby Color range of acrylic paints and Vallejo acrylics for the cockpit details. Weathering consisted of panel line washes, exhaust stains and scratches and paint chips made with a silver Prismacolor pencil. Aeromaster Decals (48-017) were used for the Hinomarus, HobbyDecal rub-down transfers for all of the other markings and hand cut mask for the tail codes. The figures came from the Eduard set, Japanese Army AF WWII (8504).

The model was completed in 2008, just in time for Hasegawa to announce the imminent release of their offering..........DOOH!

Bunrindo Co Ltd Famous Airplanes of the World No.55