B5N2 Kate on IJN carrier Hiryu

[Green KreationZ]

This B5N2 Kate is part of a 3 model kit that Hasegawa released a few years ago. The other two planes are an A6M2 Zero and an D3A1 Val. All 3 planes presented in this kit took part in the initial attack on Pearl Harbor, and were launched off Imperial Japanese Carriers. To stay with the theme; I decided to build a 1:48 replica of the IJN carrier Hiryu. I chose to build a 1/4th section of the carrier as it should be ample room (24”x36”) to get some photographs of all 3 planes together once they're all finished.

I discovered this kit around fall of last year and had a pretty rough time tracking it down. It is a limited kit and had a very limited run. Fortunately though, my wife was able to score one off Ebay as a Christmas present. I was initially drawn to the kit having all three planes in one. Especially the B5N Kate with the torpedo. At the time of discovering this kit, I had also been wanting to build an A6M2. The D3A1 was icing on the cake as I have a bit of nostalgia from using that plane in the video game Battlefield 1942 as a teenager.

I picked up Eduard PE seat belts, masking, and detail kits for all three planes

To determine the correct coloration; I utilized J-Aircraft.com. This site has tons of great information on Japanese aircraft.

Paints:

All paints are Tamiya excluding the prop and torpedo.

Cockpit is XF-71 - IJN Cockpit green
Top of the aircraft and a portion of the under side wings will be XF-11 - JN Green with XF-52 - flat earth camo/mottles.
bottom of the aircraft will be the mixture XF-14 JA Grey and XF-52 flat earth.
Engine cowl a mixture of XF-17 sea blue,XF-24 dark grey, and a touch of XF-1 black

Torpedo is Alclad white aluminum

Prop is Alclad aluminum

Cockpit:

 

 

The torpedo included in the kit was missing the wood rudder which was vital for the functionality of the torpedo during the attack on Pearl Harbor. To remedy this, I cut my own wooden rudder out of balsa wood and sanded it into shape:

 

To create the aircraft carrier deck - I used 6 flat 12"x12" sheets of Balsa wood which was glued to styrofoam. I carved the wood using a meter stick and pencil. After it was all carved, I used various oil paints to stain the wood. On certain planks, I removed some paint with thinner or added more paint to make it darker.

 

 

 

White background:

 

 

 

 

This was the first time I utilized photoshops function to replace the background in favor of some real images and really enjoy how the photos turned out. I also just started using a 105mm macro lens.

Overall, I am satisfied with the kit and am excited to start the next two planes. I will be adding the next build D3A1 Val to a build log to show the progress along the way.

Cheers!

[deafpanzer]

WOW! It's a beautiful build and I really like the base very much!

[Tojo72]

Ahhh,seems I seen this before,looks good here too.

[406 Silverado]

Man you really knocked it out of the park with this one in every aspect. When I first saw this camo scheme and the way you pulled it off at FSM, I was just in awe!
Then you add in these forced perspective shots and your photo shooting abilities and REALLY brought out the best in the build. This is nothing short of amazing TS. My hat goes off to you good sir.


Glad you're here bro.

[TJ]

Now that's cool.

[handiabled]

Wonderful creation of the carrier deck. You are a master of details sir! This looks gorgeous! I really like the way you scratched the wooden torpedo rudder

[stikpusher]

Fabulous looking build!

Where did you find reference for the undersides of the folding portions of the wings to be painted in topside colors? I know that was standard USN practice once camouflage colors were introduced, but I had never seen that on IJN aircraft before.

[Green KreationZ]

Nov 21, 2023 13:00:27 GMT -5 stikpusher said:

Fabulous looking build!

Where did you find reference for the undersides of the folding portions of the wings to be painted in topside colors? I know that was standard USN practice once camouflage colors were introduced, but I had never seen that on IJN aircraft before.

Thank you! 

That’s a good question. It took me a few days of combing through info on J-Aircraft before I could develop a paint plan. 

A few B5N2 on the IJN carrier Hiryu were reported to have had IJN green upper surfaces with earth brown mottles. One reference photo of B5N2 B11-307 (Also launched from IJN carrier Hiryu) is stated to show the upper camouflage on this aircraft extend to the outer folding portion of the underside of the wings. There is much speculation on this though and many claim this to be a shadow created by the angel of the sun and not truly camo. I unfortunately could not find any concrete proof weather this was true or not and thought the painted edge looked more interesting. The kit also suggest a natural metal finish for the underside which is also highly debated. One person on J-Aircraft.com thinks it was more likely a caramel color. 

Very few relics remain of the B5N2 from the attack of Pearl Harbor. A good portion of paint suggestions are speculations made by experts on the history of this day. 

[kyledehart5]

Man this is some incredible work. From the camo to the subtle weathering. Great photo work too. Really well done.

[stikpusher]

Nov 21, 2023 23:01:31 GMT -5 Green KreationZ said:

Nov 21, 2023 13:00:27 GMT -5 stikpusher said:

Fabulous looking build!

Where did you find reference for the undersides of the folding portions of the wings to be painted in topside colors? I know that was standard USN practice once camouflage colors were introduced, but I had never seen that on IJN aircraft before.

Thank you! 

That’s a good question. It took me a few days of combing through info on J-Aircraft before I could develop a paint plan. 

A few B5N2 on the IJN carrier Hiryu were reported to have had IJN green upper surfaces with earth brown mottles. One reference photo of B5N2 B11-307 (Also launched from IJN carrier Hiryu) is stated to show the upper camouflage on this aircraft extend to the outer folding portion of the underside of the wings. There is much speculation on this though and many claim this to be a shadow created by the angel of the sun and not truly camo. I unfortunately could not find any concrete proof weather this was true or not and thought the painted edge looked more interesting. The kit also suggest a natural metal finish for the underside which is also highly debated. One person on J-Aircraft.com thinks it was more likely a caramel color. 

Very few relics remain of the B5N2 from the attack of Pearl Harbor. A good portion of paint suggestions are speculations made by experts on the history of this day. 

Looking up the photo of that aircraft, and it is indeed quite plausible. At least for that particular aircraft, and where there is one, there can potentially be more. I agree with the assessment that that is topside colors on the outer wing undersides.

[Whiterook]

WOW, awesome work all around, and of course, I adore what you’ve don e with the kits’ aircraft… but that carrier deck so also a work of art! …just magnificent!!!

[Joe Rix]

What an amazing build TS. Absolutely beautifully rendered. Superb replication of the Hiryu carrier deck. I really like that you painted the como on the underside per your preference. Looks great.

[Green KreationZ]

Nov 22, 2023 15:57:11 GMT -5 Whiterook said:

WOW, awesome work all around, and of course, I adore what you’ve don e with the kits’ aircraft… but that carrier deck so also a work of art! …just magnificent!!!

Thank you! I am actually considering 3d printing additional parts for the carrier replica to add to it. In that area of the ship, there would be anti-aircraft batteries just below the deck line. 

[Medicman71]

Just incredible work!! Very nice!