1/48 Otaki/Arii Ki-43 II WIP

[stikpusher]

Thanks Dodgy! Yeah this one will not be any contest competition build either, just something to fill a gap in my collection on the shelf. I have one of those Otaki Spits in my stash to do one day. I know exactly what you mean just by looking at it... 

John & John, yeah it will be a bit of an effort to fix that gap and step but nothing crazy... 

[stikpusher]

Today I finally made enough progress worth taking update photos. After seam clean up and gap filling, then rescribing lost detail, I added the horizontal stabilizers and engine to the airframe



I also assembled the propeller then test fitted it and the cowling for a photo



Now it looks like a Hayabusa! Just a few more items to add then I can start painting!!!

[keavdog]

Looking good! Great molding on the cowl for that era.

[stikpusher]

Thanks John! Otaki did really nice exteriors on their aircraft… they just weren’t up to the same speed as Monogram was at that same time regarding cockpits, wheel wells, and engines…

[kyledehart5]

That's looking very spiffy.

[TJ]

Looks really good. Paint looks to be very soon

[406 Silverado]

This looks like a fun project Carlos. Sometimes a basic & simple kit build is nice to pull off. I find myself tending to get all caught up in the more complex kits and have stepped back a couple of times to build something relatively out of the box.

[handiabled]

Great to see this one again Carlos! Looks like you are ready to splash some color on it.

[stikpusher]

Paint coming soon guys! Hopefully by the end of the weekend 🤞🏼

Joe, it does feel nice not to deep dive into a kit. Aside from the cockpit, I’m trying to keep this one as basic as possible…

[stikpusher]

So the past few days have been airbrushing sessions to get this build wrapped up…

First up was a base coat using Tamiya Lacquer Gloss Aluminum



After that I airbrushed on Tamiya IJA Gray onto the fabric flight conrol surfaces, Tamiya Lacquer Flat Black for the walkway and Anti glare area, amd Gunze Aqueous Deep Yellow on the wing leading edge IFF area



Then I masked it off and DoD touch up in aluminum on the overspray areas





Lastly I did the mottle camouflage using Gunze Aqueous IJA Green and the kit Hinomaru decals as masks on the upper wings



More to come in a few days…

[buddho]

Fantastic progress. Love the camou.

[project510]

Really great job on all this. Appreciate you posting all the steps on the paint. Nice to see it all go down in steps.

[handiabled]

Really nice paintwork! I like the camo over the nmf Carlos it looks great!

[TJ]

Great work on the camo.

[406 Silverado]

Love the paint work that you're throwing down on this one Carlos!! Jeez man......

[keavdog]

Just awesome. I imagine that took some time to put down.

[stikpusher]

Buddho, James, Brent, TJ, Joe, & John, thank you one and all for your kind feedback on the paintwork.

John, that took at most an hour to do the mottling camo on the upper surfaces. These field applied Japanese camo schemes are enjoyable to do. Had to spend some time getting the paint to thinner ratio and air pressure just right before I started working on it.


Personally I really love the Orange Yellow color on the wing leading edges, as well as the Red Brown on the propellor & spinner. Today I cut the Falcon vacuform canopy out and that went well. I need to mask it up after a Future dip. I think tomorrow I can hopefully get the gloss coat on to prepare for decal work...

[floki]

That's looking really good!

[stikpusher]

Thanks Clint! I can finally see the end of this project approaching.

[cbaltrin]

Great work on your Oscar stikpusher .  Your camo looks great!

[stikpusher]

Thanks Chris! I can’t wait to get the decals on next.

[jeaton01]

Super, Carlos!

[kyledehart5]

Absolutely phenomenal work on the camo, Carlos. That is OUTstanding.

[stikpusher]

John & Kyle, thank you!

[stikpusher]

Yesterday I airbrushed on a gloss coat in preparation for decals using Tamiya Gloss Clear... I also dipped the vacuform canopy in Future.... everything was allowed to dry overnite





Then today I applied the decals





I still need to mask up and paint the canopy framing.... Now its just about ready for weathering, flat coat, and final assembly...

[jeaton01]

Looks like the left top wing meatball is trying to curl up, Carlos.

[406 Silverado]

This is looking sweet Carlos. Hopefully that port side "meatball" laid down nice n' purdy for you bud.

[stikpusher]

Yup, I saw the problem with the left topside hinomaru decal. I hit it with another dose of Micro Set to deal with that… 🫰🏼

[speedgraflex]

Carlos! What was your solution for this particular issue?




This is such a wonderful project. Truly.

Cheers, mate!

[stikpusher]

Thanks Bruce! What was my solution?



Seriously though… I used a combination of strip styrene, gel CA, and Mr Surfacer… it still didn’t turn out as hoped, but it’s either that or keep delaying this project with do overs…