Here is another kit from Hasegawa's Creator Works line. This is the Ki-44 II Shoki. This specific plane appears to be from The Cockpit, which I assume is a manga or an anime (according to Wikipedia, it is the latter). At any rate, like the other kits in the Creator Works line, it provides markings that are a bit off the beaten path.

I started this kit some months ago, and had the basic airframe assembled, when I broke one of the landing gear axles attempting to attach the wheel. I was so frustrated that I put the kit on the Shelf of Doom. After finishing my previous build, I decided to see if it could be salvaged. I used a section of a safety pin to replace the axle, and was able to resume work on the build.

Other than the mishap with the landing gear, assembly wasn't too difficult, especially as I have built this kit before. The exterior was painted with Tamiya paints. I used XF-16 Flat Aluminum for the bottom, although it was a bit grainy (as it usually is). The top was XF-13 JA Green, which is quite a bit darker than the box art. I painted the yellow on the wing leading edges (Floquil Reefer Yellow) and the anti-glare panel on the top of the fuselage (XF-1 Flat Black). I spent some time trying to make a mask for my Silhouette Portrait cutter for the wing edges. The one I made wasn't quite right, but I used it anyway.

I used the Eduard EX087 mask for the canopy, which fit very well.

Page last updated November 22, 2023.