D3A1 Val

[Green KreationZ]

This will be the build log for the Hasegawa D3A1 Val in 1/48.

This D3A1 was included in a 3 plane kit released by Hasegawa a few years ago. The other two planes are B5N2 Kate (finished) and a A6M2 Zero.




Along with the kit, I also have Eduard detail set, seat belts, and mask. 

Onto the build! 

It appears there is some controversy on what color this aircraft actually was. Based on info I can find; it is grey-green or light grey. I have most Tamiya paints on hand so could go with either XF-76 IJN Grey-Green or with XF-91 IJN Grey. The XF-76 Grey-Green seems more interesting and accurate to me so I will be going with that. 

I recently purchased some new rivet tools and thought this was a good opportunity to test them out. My lines are not as straight as I would like, but that’s something that will hopefully get better with practice.

[Steve Zuleski]

Them lines look mighty fine to me, Ruck On!

[kyledehart5]

As an enjoyer of Japanese aircraft I look forward to watching this come together.

[Green KreationZ]

Nov 21, 2023 16:58:34 GMT -5 kyledehart5 said:

As an enjoyer of Japanese aircraft I look forward to watching this come together.

I am really enjoying the Japanese planes at the moment. Currently I have this build going plus the following in my stash - the A6M2 zero that was included in this kit, an Eduard A6M2 Rufe + Eduard Big Sin, and I’m eyeballing a Hasegawa F1M2 

[tcoat]

I have never heard of this set before!

[406 Silverado]

I bought Hasegawa Val kit soon after it came out in the late 90's / early 2000's I believe. I even had the Maru Mechanic magazine on this airframe and may still have it. Sadly, I let go of the kit a few years ago to someone that would actually build it. Looking forward to seeing this one built up in your skillful way.

[TJ]

I've built an earlier release of this kit. Thoroughly enjoyable.

[Green KreationZ]

Pretty interesting find - www.aviationofjapan.com/2009/04/aichi-d3a-val-interior-in-detail-colour_10.html?m=1

This particular example of the D3A2 had 3 different shades of green on the interior surfaces. I might go with that same look to add depth. (Even though it will be hidden 🤓). I won’t go near as weathered though.

[406 Silverado]

Nov 23, 2023 9:08:32 GMT -5 Green KreationZ said:

Pretty interesting find - www.aviationofjapan.com/2009/04/aichi-d3a-val-interior-in-detail-colour_10.html?m=1

This particular example of the D3A2 had 3 different shades of green on the interior surfaces. I might go with that same look to add depth. (Even though it will be hidden 🤓). I won’t go near as weathered though.

That is indeed a good find Keith. 

These are a couple of drawings that were in the Maru Mechanic that I had.

[tcoat]

Nov 23, 2023 9:08:32 GMT -5 Green KreationZ said:

Pretty interesting find - www.aviationofjapan.com/2009/04/aichi-d3a-val-interior-in-detail-colour_10.html?m=1

This particular example of the D3A2 had 3 different shades of green on the interior surfaces. I might go with that same look to add depth. (Even though it will be hidden 🤓). I won’t go near as weathered though.

The article says that a lot of the difference in the colours may be due to the weathering. I always struggle with the colour in pictures of very old or restored equipment as there is very little chance of them being what they looked like originally. Drawings can be even worse as they are just somebody's interpretation of what they think it was. Of course they may have done a pile of research on the subject but it still depends upon their data source. 

[Green KreationZ]

Haha yeah. Reading about IJN colors gives me a headache. Once you think you found the definitive answer, someone says it’s all wrong. After the war, Japan did a fantastic job at destroying as much evidence as possible.

Nonetheless; I have painted the interior and primarily went with IJN Interior Green from Tamiya. I did a few darker control surfaces in a mix of IJN green and Olive drab as well as a few with a bit of yellow mixed into the IJN green.







After 24h of curing, I’ll add the Eduard PE parts and paint in details with a brush. 

[tcoat]

Nov 23, 2023 10:13:38 GMT -5 Green KreationZ said:

Haha yeah. Reading about IJN colors gives me a headache. Once you think you found the definitive answer, someone says it’s all wrong. After the war, Japan did a fantastic job at destroying as much evidence as possible.

The Allies did a pretty good job of destroying most of their equipment well before they had to do it themselves.

The IJN colour stuff changed dramatically over the years. They started out the war in 1937 (yes they were at war before they tackled the USA) when they had resources pouring into the country. By the end of the war they had absolutely nothing coming in. Perfect and consistent paint jobs ended around 1944. Anything after that would be hit and miss at best since prime ingredients were no longer available to them. Add the differences in wear and tear on planes based islands that consisted mostly of coral dust to carrier or main island ones that hardly ever even saw dirt and the variance in colours and weathering could be significant. 
I am of the "anything other than purple with pick polka dots is close enough" camp unless some WW2 Japanese pilot comes and tells me I am wrong. 

[Joe Rix]

Excellent start on your Val TS. The riveting looks awesome to me. I'm a big IJN aircraft fan also and after reading the many iterations on IJN colors I just paint what I feel is suitable for me.

[jeaton01]

I built the B5N and D3A as separate kits but as PH attack aircraft. It's disappointing how little is visible of the nice interiors once they are done, the cockpit openings on both the Val and the Kate are very small.

[Green KreationZ]

Nov 23, 2023 14:46:10 GMT -5 jeaton01 said:

I built the B5N and D3A as separate kits but as PH attack aircraft. It's disappointing how little is visible of the nice interiors once they are done, the cockpit openings on both the Val and the Kate are very small.

Yeah the interior of my Kate is almost non visible. 

[Green KreationZ]

Got the finishing details done on the interior minus the gun magazines. Next up will be joining the fuselage.









As mentioned earlier - I went with 3-4 shades of green in an attempt to add depth and subtle weathering.

[kyledehart5]

I've mentioned this before, but I actually quit building my two Zeros because I got overwhelmed trying to figure out how to paint them. I have since realized that it doesn't matter at all because almost everyone is just guessing and wishing they were the smartest person on the internet. I'll get back to them sometime soon and paint them completely wrong just however I want. Really nice work on this so far. I really like the color modulation. Definitely adds a lot of life to the cockpit.

[mz3]

Well, I've seen a grainy, out of focus, black and white picture taken from a bad angle in 1943, scanned and turned into a jpeg in 1998. Your green is the wrong shade! FIGHT ME!!!

[deafpanzer]

The cockpit looks great! Have fun joining the fuselage...

[Green KreationZ]

Yikes…



About to go on a Tamiya putty adventure.

[handiabled]

The color variation in the cockpit looks great along with the detail in it. That is one massive gap in the wing root. Is the wing dihedral correct?

[Green KreationZ]

Nov 26, 2023 11:43:30 GMT -5 handiabled said:

The color variation in the cockpit looks great along with the detail in it. That is one massive gap in the wing root. Is the wing dihedral correct?

Thank you! 

I was thinking the same thing when dry fitting, but it seemed correct as everything else lined up perfectly. 

[Green KreationZ]

Nov 26, 2023 11:43:30 GMT -5 handiabled said:

The color variation in the cockpit looks great along with the detail in it. That is one massive gap in the wing root. Is the wing dihedral correct?

This should hopefully remedy the issue without me needing to add putty. 

[kyledehart5]

Good grief. That is one impressive canyon of a gap! That 4 E's shaker makes an outstanding weight!

[Green KreationZ]

Seam lines all sanded down. Added a bit of Vallejo putty where needed. Otherwise pretty satisfied.





Next up will be restoring panel lines and adding more rivets.

[Joe Rix]

You did a stellar job on painting and detailing the cockpit. It looks great. Good to see that you were able to deal with immense gap in the wing root. Excellent progress over all.

[TJ]

This is awesome. Can't wait for the exterior paint

[kyledehart5]

Nice work dealing with the Grand canyon there. Can't even tell.

[Green KreationZ]

A few more items completed for the D3A1 Val. Won’t be much longer until I have this build in the paint booth.

The kit has two available options for bomb ordinance. A single larger bomb, or two smaller bombs. As far as I can tell, the single larger bomb was appropriate for the attack on Pearl Harbor.





I did have the Eduard detail set which included some engine PE. After putting in the Eduard additions, they just didn’t stand out. They were way too small compared to reference pictures. I decided to cut out the Eduard parts in favor of lead wiring.

[deafpanzer]

Nice work on the large bomb... I'd opt for the same thing too. Engine is looking good by the way.