Fujimi 1/72 Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa / Oscar

[BorgR3mc0]

I still have the XP-47H on the bench but it is in the putty-sand-repeat phase..... I got bored and wanted some thing easy to build. This Fujimi kit should be right that. I found this kit in the bargain section at the aviationmegastore, a steal for just € 5,-!






I am going to build this kit almost SOB. The kit is quite good, nice engraved panel lines etc. Cockpit is a bit basic but almost nothing can be seen trough the small hole in the fuselage. So I am not going to add anything besides a few seatbelts. I mixed up a small batch of paint to match that illusive Nakajima cockpit color: somewhere between beige and pale green.




I also added a few pushrods on the engine, these a streched sprue. This engine is tiny and is partially covered up by a radiator in front of it, a typical Japanese solution. So no wiring etc., you can not see that on the finished product.

[CallSignOWL]

oooooh

[BorgR3mc0]

This is beeing a very nice build, fujimi really did their best on this kit. Altough it is a twenty year old kit the fit is quite good. The whole thing just falls together.



And here you see all the work on the radial: between the spinner and radiator you can see nothing of the push rods.

[BorgR3mc0]

Mo' progress, mo' problems....

I think every build has a sort of obligatory setback. And this one was of my own making. I had already glued in the propellor axle thus leaving no easy way to attach a handle to paint the plane. I tried an alligator clamp but it slipped and my little Oscar went tumbeling to the ground. Fortunatly , only the tailplanes broke off.

So out came the drill to remove the axle:




I then attached a cocktail stick to have a handle when painting. First up, black. A nice undercoat for the NMF and I will mask some off for the anti glare panel. It is not very glossy but I think it is good enough.

[Stikpusher]

Sometimes a simple build like this is just the tonic you need after a challenging project. Looking real good so far in spite of the mishap. The Oscar has a very nice design.

[BorgR3mc0]

The mishap was minimal but it could have been a bit easier if I did not make that silly mistake.

As for simple builds to unwind: I am all about that. I have got enough things going on in real live so when modelling I just want to relax and not face to many obstacles.

[BsYamato]

Well done till now Borg One of the problems of fujimi's kits are the engine that must be glued before to close halves and this don't help the painting process.
In the latest years i brought a good number of fujimi kits, but not this :(
My japanese collection need an oscar even withouth nominations

[BorgR3mc0]

Well done till now Borg One of the problems of fujimi's kits are the engine that must be glued before to close halves and this don't help the painting process.
In the latest years i brought a good number of fujimi kits, but not this :(
My japanese collection need an oscar even withouth nominations

I am definetly not blaming the Fujimi kit, it is a very nice kit, fit is good, details are adequate. It is a pre CAD/CAM kit but a very good one. I can whole heartely recommend it. And for € 5 it was a steal!

[BorgR3mc0]

Silver is on, I am always amazed how good a black base coat works!

The ailerons and rudder are masked. These will be painted light grey. These where all fabric covered. Strangely enough the fujimi instructions shows the horizontal surfaces as metal, this is not correct. The anti glare area in front of the cockpit is masked of with jammy dog micro tape and micro mask.

[LyleW]

looking mighty good, Borg!