It wasn't until I looked backed at my modeling history that I learned that this is my first Hasegawa 1/48 Ki44. I could have sworn I did one before. It must have been one of the many, many kits I have FUBAR'ed. As with most Hasegawa kits, it went together well, and was rather uneventful - and I mean that as I usually do, as a postive thing.

I used a lot of Mr. Color paints on this, as I have found that I really like them. The cockpit was painted with Mr. Color C-127 Cockpit Color (Nakajima), the engine and wing guns were Mr. Color C-28 Steel, and the landing gear was Mr. Color C-8 Silver. I used Tamiya XF-14 IJA Gray for the wing and fin tips, and Tamiya XF-76 IJN Gray-Green for the control surfaces, even recognizing that this is an Army aircraft, not a Navy one. The yellow on the wing leading edges was Mr. Color C-58 Orange Yellow. The exhaust was Testor's Metalizer Burnt Iron.

For the exterior, I used the same tricked Metalizer that I used on my previous build, after priming with Mr. Surfacer 1200. I was pleased with how it turned out, and I was able to handle the kit without any paint lifting. I used Tamiya XF-2 Flat Black for the anti-glare panel.

I used Mr. Color C-131 Propellor Color for the spinner and prop blades, and Mr. Color C-58 Orange Yellow for the tips and the small stripes near the base. The kit comes with decals for the tips and the small stripes, so I originally painted the entire thing Propellor Color, and then attempted to apply a decal to one of the tips. That was enough to convince me to try a different approach. I attempted to mask off the parts that would stay Propellor Color and paint the Orange Yellow, but the paint pooled up on the masking tape with covering the unmasked area, almost as if static electricity or something was pulling the paint to the masking tape. So I soaked the parts in isopropyl alcohol for a few hours, which completely stripped the paint. I thin sprayed the Orange Yellow, using Mr. Color Thinner (not Leveling Thinner). Interestingly enough, for this color, the non-leveling thinner worked better. After that dried, I masked off the tips and the small stripe and painted the Propellor Color, and was much happier with the result.

The instructions said to paint the drop tanks in a NMF, but most kits recommend either a light blue or a light gray-green. I used a Tamiya mix for RLM 65 - I think the mix was half XF-2 Flat White to half XF-23 Light Blue. The tires were Model Master Acryl Engine Gray, and the red over the gun ports was Tamiya XF-7 Flat Red. I thought it turned out too light. The wheel wells were Mr. Color C-57 Metallic Blue Green. I had trouble spraying this paint in the past, and had some trouble this time too. It just doesn't seem to spray well - unusual for Mr. Color paints.

The decals are from the kit. I used Microset on the wing decals, and then decided to use Mr. Mark Setter on the fuselage markings. The Mr. Mark Setter worked much better. I have read the the Mr. Mark products work well with the decals that come with Japanese kits, so I will stick with them in the future.

Note for future builds: Paint the wheel wells first. Don't attach parts J7, J8 and J9 until after painting the exterior. Attach the covers to the landing gear struts before attaching the struts to the wing.

Page last updated June 15, 2023.