This is the second time I've tried to build this kit. The first time was a short while ago, when I was building (and getting frustrated with) the Hasegawa kit of this subject. I ended up FUBARing that kit (the Arii, not the Hasegawa). I was able to pick up another of these at a swap meet for a reasonable price. This time I finished it.

The kit went together pretty well - not as well as a modern Tamiya kit, but pretty well nonetheless. I think I had to use a bit of filler in a couple of places. The hard part was deciding what to use for the exterior color. According to this post on the Aviation of Japan blog, the exterior should more like olive than green, at least as I interpret it. I didn't want to use Tamiya XF-13, as that is what I used on the Hasegawa kit. I ended up using Mr. Color C-130 Dark Green (Kawasaki), which I was pleased with. I used the last of my Tamiya mix for RLM 04 for the yellow on the leading edges of the wings, and Mr. Color C-8 Silver for the underside.

I used Right Step Gloss as a pre-decal coat and as a post-decal sealer, and a Future / Tamiya X-21 Flat Base mix for the flat coat. The decals are from the kit. I tried using Mr. Mark Softer as a pre-decal softener on the decals on the bottom, as I had read about this on Gregg Cooper's article on Hyperscale. It was a disaster, as the decals wrinkled horribly, looking like peeling paint. For the rest of the decals, I used Microset, which worked well.

Page last updated June 15, 2023.