Dinah The B-29 Hunter

Historical Background

In December 1937, the Imperial Japanese Army air Force issued a specification to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries for a long-range strategic reconnaissance aircraft to replace the same company's Ki-15 'Babs'. The request specifically stated an endurance of six hours and sufficient speed (600km/h) to evade interception by any fighters then in existence or under development, but the rest of the specification were open-ended. The result was a twin-engined low-wing aircraft. It had a slim fuselage accomodating a crew of two (pilot and observer) in cockpits separated by a large fuel tank. Further fuel tanks inboard and outboard of the engines gave a total fuel tankage of 1,490 l. The engines were housed in a close-fitting cowlings developed by the Aeronautical Research Institute of the Tokyo Imperial University. The first prototype of the aircraft, designated Ki-46, first flew in November 1939. While successful in many respects, tests showed that it was underpowered and it could only reach 540km/h. Still, it was faster than the latest Japanese fighters at the time, the Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusa and Mitsubishi's own A6M2 Reisen. The Ki-46 was accepted into limited production as Army Type 100 Command Reconaissance Plane Model 1 or Ki-46-I. The Ki-46 gained the Allied reporting name of 'Dinah'.

To solve the problems, Mitsubishi replaced the original Mitsubishi Ha-26 engines with Ha-102 Zuisei, delivering 1,080 hp at take-off. At the same time the weight was reduced whilst fuel capacity was increased. This new variant, the Ki-46-II was first flown in March 1941 and was ordered into full-scale production with deliveries beginning July 1941. While the Ki-46-I and -II were immune from interception by Allied fighters early in the Pacific War, the IJAAF realised that higher performance fighters such as the Supermarine Spitfire and Lockheed P-38 could change the situation. In July 1942, Mitsubishi was instructed to build an even better performing version, the Ki-46-III. The -III was powered by Mitsubishi Ha-112 Kinsei engines of 1,800hp and featured a redesigned nose and canopy, which was smoothly faired from the extreme nose, eliminating the 'step' in earlier versions. The new variant first flew in December 1942.

Also in 1942, following the Doolittle Raid, the Japanese realised the problem of dealing with future American high-altitude bombers hitting the Home Islands. Advanced interceptors for army and navy aviation would not appear before 1944, so interim interceptors would have to be developed from existing aircraft. There weren't many aircraft in the IJAAF inventory that can fit the bill. The IJAAF's version of the heavy fighter was the twin-engined Kawasaki Ki-45 Toryu. The Toryu was capable of carrying powerful weapons, but had insufficient ceiling, and its performance characteristics are not terribly better than its intended victim On the other hand was the Ki-46. At the turn of 1942-43 it was the fastest plane in the Japanese inventory with good altitude performance. The Army decided to turn the recon planes into fighters. The Ki-46-II was selected and the Tachikawa Techical Research Institute installed a Type 98 37mm gun in the nose with the breech under the pilot's legs. The gun was manually loaded and in a relatively cramped cockpit was a big problem, dividing the pilot's attention. The gun has a rate of fire of one shot every three minutes. The 644-gram shell was theoretically able to down a B-17-sized target with a single shot. 

The first conversion was completed in January 1943 and the tests were satisfactory. Seventeen aircraft (including the prototype) were converted, enough to form a Chutai (squadron). On February 1, 1943 the new interceptors were loaded on board the escort carrier Taiyo and were sent to Truk where they worked out tactics of the new interceptor. As reported by pilots, the heavy gun and reinforced nose portion shifted the CG of the aircraft making it extremely unstable. As a result, only six of the 17 modified aircraft were transferred, in late February, to the 10th Sentai staffed by the recon crews of the standard Ki-46. Despite the apparent failure of the Ki-46 as a fighter, the Army Command still felt the need for such fighters. In February 1943, when the air battles over Rabaul entered a critical stage, the reconnaissance Dinah were used as a stop-gap air defence aircraft. Since they were unarmed, save for a single self-defence machine gun, the Dinah used 'Ta-Dan' aerial bombs. The Ta-Dan contained thirty 300g cluster bombs and were released over the enemy bomber formation. The pilots claimed six B-24 Liberators and two B-25 Mitchells. 

The next attempt to create an interceptor based on the 'Dinah' were begun in May 1944 , when a dedicated interceptor based on the Ki-46-III was developed. The nose was reworked again and two 20-mm cannons were installed with 200 rounds of ammunition per gun. Due to the lack of space in the nose of the aircraft, the left gun was placed slightly forward. All recon equipment were removed and individual exhaust pipes were replaced by a common collector, to give less glow at night. Also, there was an additional fuel pump, to allow a sharp climb without 'choking' the engine. The fighter version received official designation Ki-46-III KAI Otsu or Army Type 100 Model III Modified Air Defence Fighter. The 1st Army Arsenal in Tachikawa modified 55 regular 'Dinah', with another 20 directly converted on the assembly line. In July 1944, the IJAAF introduced the Ki-46-III KAI Otsu-Hei. The fuselage fuel tank was replaced with a 37mm, angled 70 degrees forward and upward a la the Luftwaffe's Schräge Musik installation. Up to sixty 37mm rounds can be carried. Only 15 Otsu-Heis were built.  

In parallel with the field-modified Ki-46 interceptors, the 17th Dokuritsu Hikotai (independent squadron) equipped with Ki-46-II and -III, stationed in Chofu, modified a number of their aircraft in the field. In November 1944, six Ki-46-IIs and one Ki-46-III were fitted with a 37 mm gun in a similar manner as the official Ki-46 KAI Otsu-Hei. All the fighter (and also the reconnaissance) Dinahs can carry the Ta Dan aerial bombs. The Otsu-Hei were only used by by the 16th and 17th Dokoritsu Hikotais. Despite originally having superb performance as a reconnaissance aircraft, the Dinah were weighed down by the 20mm and 37mm  (in the Otsu-Hei variant) cannons and their ammo. This in turn affected its climb rate, making it hard to catch the B-29s. The Dinah also lacked armour and self-sealing fuel tanks, making it an easy meat for the bombers' defensive fire (and later, escort fighters). The structural lightness of the designed also caused problems when the 37mm gun is fired. When the B-29s shifted to low-level, night operations, the Dinah became virtually useless as it had no radar. The pilots were also picked from among the recon crews, who were not trained in fighter tactics and lacked combat experience. They tend to rely more on Ta-Dan bombs rather than the cannons when attacking the Superfortress formations. On the other hand, the reconnaissance Dinah were used to report the incoming raids as they had the altitude and speed necessary to track the B-29s.

The Kit

Tamiya styled its kit of the Ki-46-III KAI as 'Hyakushiki Shitei III Kai Air Defence Fighter'. The kit was first released in 1997 and was the second 1/48 kit of the Ki-46 in their catalogue. The kit parts were spread among five light grey and one clear sprues and one decal sheet, printed by ScaleMaster. Most of the parts share the same parts with the recon Dinah kit, with the extreme nose separately moulded. The new 37mm cannon parts looked rather simplified though. While parts for the recon version were omitted, perhaps some more common items such as radio and oxygen bottles can be retained, plus additional items such as ammo racks. Also included were two Ta-Dan aerial bombs. Decals were provided for three aircraft - two of them were Otsu-Hei variant and the other is an Otsu. The Otsu-Heis were from the 16th and 17th Dokoritsu Hikotai while the Otsu was from the 28th Hiko Sentai.

Construction

Construction starts with the wings...just kidding. The cockpit parts were painted Japanese interior green using the mixture recommended by Tamiya with the details painted XF-57 Buff and X-18 Semi-Gloss Black. As for the rear cockpit, I decided to build the Otsu-Hei. As mentioned before, the gun parts were simplified, consisting of just two parts. and, as stated before, the rear cockpit looked empty. It would look even more empty (some modelers said it actually looked unfinished) if one builds the Otsu version with just the mount for the 37mm gun sticking out of the floor. The fuselage halves were also painted the interior green and once dry, the cockpits were trapped between them and Tamiya Extra Thin Cement were used to seal the fuselage. But wait, did I say I wanted to build the Otsu-Hei version with the slanted 37mm gun? Yep, I forgot to drill the hole for the gun barrel mount!

The next step is concerned with the wings. First, I assembled the landing gears. The kit's engineering splits the wheel well, resulting in a seam down the middle. The seam was hard to remove as the landing gear, which is to be sandwiched between the well halves, were in the way. The completed wheel wells were then inserted into their places in the lower wing. The wheels were however left off at this time. I also decided to fit the Ta-Dan bombs, so the holes for the pylons were drilled. The upper wing halves were then cemented together. After the cement has cured and while preparing for the next step, I realised that I forget to open up the recess for the spotlight! Something else have to be done to make up for this error (more on this later). The wing assembly and the tailplanes were then attached to the fuselage. Like the main wheels, the tail wheel was left off until after painting. The engines were then assembled and attched to the model while all clear parts were also left off save for parts C4 and C7, which was shown to be painted over in the instructions.

Painting and Decaling

I actually built this model several years ago. At the time, I decided to finish the model in the colours of the 17th Dokoritsu Hikotai, just to be different from the other Japanese aircraft in my collection. However after several years, the ID panel and the air defence 'bandage' decals started to crack. I decided to repaint the model, using the leftover decals. The paint were stripped off using window cleaner and isopropyl alcohol. The interior colour was repainted XF71 Japanese Interior Green whilst the lower colour was painted using the same mixture as suggested. It was the upper colour however that I faced some problems, chiefly, I had run out of XF13 JA Green (should have checked beforehand). To get the JA Green shade, I experimented using Tamiya XF11 JN Green into which was added a few drops of XF3 Flat Yellow. The shade somewhat looked like JA Green and having satisfied with the colour, I added XF-69 NATO Black (instead of XF-1 Flat Black as suggested) and some XF-2 Flat White for scale......or so I thought. The resulting colour, while darker than scale-effect JA Green, wasn't dark enough. By this time, I'm no longer interested in repainting the model and left it as it is. Besides, some online reviews mention that the 16th Dokoritsu Hikotai's aircraft were painted the 'normal' JA Green. The ID panel on the wing leading edge were painted using a mixture of XF-3 Flat Yellow and XF-7 Red.

The model was then re-decalled and I have to say that, at least for this kit, the Scalemaster decals behaved almost like cardboard rather than decal. They don't conform to bumps and bulges (the wing Hinomarus, in both builds, were torn when I tried to force them over the aileron mechanism) and they didn't react well even to Mr Mark Softer. The wing Hinomarus were then touched up with XF2 Flat White and X-7 Red. I however couldn't find the numeral '24' and couldn't any suitable substitute (the decals from my Hasegawa A6M5c can be used but I only discovered them in another box, used for spare parts after the model has been completed). Browsing the internet, I found that the only photos and profiles for the Otsu-Hei variant were those for the brown 16th Dokuritsu Hikotai and aircraft numbered '17' and '24' of the 17th. So applying artistic license, I cut off number 16 (it was about the same font type and size) from my Hasegawa N1K2 Shiden decal sheet and applied it to the model.

Finishing

The rest of the parts can now be cemented. These include the propellers, nose cannons, main wheel tyres, pitot tube, the tail wheel and the Ta-Dan bombs. The oblique cannon were glued into place using superglue, after the placement tab was shaved off. The cockpit transparencies fit nicely for the pilot's but the rear cockpit has some fit problem, especially for the sliding part. The model was then subjected to the usual sludge wash and the final spray of flat clear.

Conclusion

Well, it's a Tamiya. Just place a tube or a bottle of cement and a sprue inside the kit box, give it a good shake and out comes a fully assembled model. Apart from some goofs, such as incomplete rear fuselage, the fit of the canopy and the crap decal sheet, the kit came together easily. Highly recommended for aircraft modelers especially those who have great interest in Japanese aircraft of World War 2.

The Original Blue Blanket

Historical Background

Leroy Grumman's fourth fighter design for the US Navy can trace its genesis to the biplane Grumman FF, F2F and F3F. Despite being biplanes, all of the designs feature retractable undercarriage. In 1935, Grumman started work on its next biplane design, known in-house as the G-16. At the time however, the US Navy preferred a monoplane design, ordering Brewster's F2A Buffalo. Despite that, an order was also made for the G-16 (Navy designation XF4F-1) in case of unsatisfactory performance by the F2A. By this time, it was clear that the biplane XF4F-1 would be inferior to the monoplane F2A so Grumman abandoned the XF4F-1 and designed a monoplane XF4F-2 while retaining the hand-cranked, fuselage mounted landing gear. Despite the redesign, the XF4F-2 was still inferior to the Brewster. The F2A was more maneuverable even though the XF4F-2 was marginally faster; the F2A was selected by the US Navy.

The Grumman team did not give up however. After losing out to Brewster, they rebuild the prototype as the XF4F-3 with new wings and tail and was powered by a supercharged Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp radial engine. This led to the production version, the F4F-3, the first of which was completed in February 1940. France took interest in the new aircraft and ordered 81, designated G-36 by Grumman, powered by Wright R-1820 Cyclone for the Marine Nationale. However the fall of France in June 1940 caused this order to be diverted to the Royal Navy, who called their aircraft 'Martlet'. The US Navy adopted the F4F-3 in October 1941 and called them Wildcat (starting the famous Grumman 'Cats' family). The F4F-3 was armed with four Browning M2 12.7mm machine guns in the wing. While the guns were very reliable, the poor design installation frequently caused the guns to jam in action. 

The Wildcat saw combat before the United States entered the war and the first kill was made on Christmas Day 1940 when a land-based Martlet shot down a Ju 88 over Scapa Flow. They also helped prove the concept of the escort carrier when six of them were aboard HMS Audacity, the first escort carrier. The Martlets shot down a number of long-range Focke Wulf Fw 200 Condor maritime patrol aircraft, then considered a greater menace than the U-Boats. In the Pacific the Wildcat can hold its own against the formidable Mitsubishi A6M Zeke, thanks to its armour and self-sealing tanks. The Japanese ace, Saburo Sakai commented that, once, he switched off his cannons during a dogfight with a Wildcat, intending to finish it off with just his machine guns. He estimated that he poured some 500 rounds into the Wildcat but the plane just flew on, disengaging. He decided to get closer to his target and to his amazement, he found that the tail and rudder were torn to shreds causing the pilot to break off. He further added that a Zero would be a ball of fire by then. Such strength, coupled with tactics such as the Thach Weave, allowed the Wildcat to face the Zero more or less on equal terms. The Wildcat played a prominent role in the defence of Wake Island when the four surviving Marine Corps Wildcats (out of 12 on 8 December 1941) of VMF-211 managed to shot down eight enemy planes and also sank the destroyer Kisaragi. The Wildcat was the main air defence fighter for the Navy during the battles of Coral Sea and Midway and played a large part during the Guadalcanal campaign.

Other variants of the Wildcat include the F4F-4, with six machine guns and folding wing; the one-off XF4F-3S Wildcatfish floatplane, and General Motors-built FM-1 (similar to F4F-4 but with four guns) and the FM-2 with the more powerful Wright R-1820-56 and taller tail to counteract the torque). Grumman's Wildcat production continued until 1943 when it was replaced by the F6F Hellcat but GM continued to build FM-1s and -2s for service on board escort carriers.

The Kit

The Hobby Boss kit of the late version of the F4F-3 came out in early 2008. Although not explicitly stated anywhere, I believe that this kit is the 1/48 version of Trumpeter's 1/32 F4F-3 (after all Hobby Boss and Trumpeter were subsidiaries, or something like that, of the same parent company). The kit came in four light grey and one clear sprues, with the delicate landing gear parts padded to prevent damage whilst still in the box. The kit feature fine engraving and recessed rivet detail. Whilst the latter look nice, it was actually wrong as the Wildcat had raised rivets - the Tamiya kit was right in this instance. The cowl was a one-piece affair with opened flaps and the engine was nicely detailed. Hobby Boss included underwing stores for the kit, namely a pair of fuel tanks. The tanks were not needed actually as the -3 was never fitted for them. Hobby Boss however had already pre-drilled the holes for them on the wings, which would have to be filled.

Decals were provided for two aircraft - one for Lt. 'Edward H.' ('Butch' O'Hare's first and middle name), VF-3 USS Lexington and the other for Major R.E. Galer, 1942. One interesting note here is that the victory markings for Major Galer's plane has been blacked out on the instruction sheet. I think that was caused by modern research which showed that many pilots used 'hangar queen' aircraft, rather than their own, for publicity /propaganda photos. The substitute plane was marked with such markings whilst the real ones were often bare of such marks. In my boxing at least, not only the victory flags in the instruction sheet, but even the ones on the actual decal sheet was blacked out using marker pen! I wish Hobby Boss had left them alone as they could be useful some other day. 

Construction

The cockpit, as usual, was assembled first. The parts were painted whilst still on their parts tree and were touched up later. Hobby Boss suggested US Interior Green, no surprise there. However, while I was browsing the internet looking for the inspiration to build this kit, I found out that Grumman used Bronze Green to paint its aircraft interiors. To replicate the colour, I used Tamiya XF-5 Flat Green. The black-painted areas of the cockpit were painted Tamiya XF-69 NATO Black with details picked in silver (the rudder pedals) and red, yellow and white (various knobs and switches). The dashboard panel was a bit of a disappointment though. The dial faces were just empty, shallow recesses in the plastic with no raised detail whatsoever, and there is no decals to represent them. I simply paint them Tamiya X-18 Semi-Gloss Black. Then came the first of the rather delicate parts of the build - the landing gear bay which consisted of the engine mount, intercoolers and the upper landing gear assembly. Again, internet resources tell you that these parts were not painted silver, but 'Grumman Grey'. I used Tamiya XF-19 Sky Grey as suggested.

The completed cockpit and bay assemblies were then dry-fitted, not to the lower front fuselage as in the instructions, but the right fuselage half. While the landing gear bay fit nicely, I had to trim a bit of the rear cockpit bulkhead. Once happy with the fit, I glued them into place. The tailwheel and the arrester hook were also glued into their places at the right side of the fuselage. The fuselage halves were then mated together, with no fuss. Some online builds mention fit problems here but I guess, having made the necessary trimming beforehand, the fuselage halves went together easily. The bottom part of the forward fuselage were then glued onto the fuselage assembly after the relevant parts were painted Sky Grey and US Interior Green. Fit is good although there was a gap on the after part, which was puttied over. The engine was then painted and attached to the fuselage and was followed by the one-piece cowl.

The flying surfaces were next. I started off at the rear fuselage, attaching the horizontal tailplanes and the separate rudder. I started the wing assembly by first puttying over the holes for the drop tank.  The machine guns were glued to their posts. While trying to place the upper wings, I found that the arrangement made it hard for me to slip the gun muzzle openings for the outer guns. I ended up rising the guns a bit (the cement hadn't set fully yet), slip on the upper wings and push the guns back into place before cementing the upper and lower wing halves. The wings were then glued to the fuselage. Unlike the Tamiya kit of the F4F-4, which has the lower wings moulded together with the lower fuselage, HB have theirs separate (some modelers observed that this might be their effort to avoid copyright infringement - so similar was their F4F-3 kit engineering with Tamiya's F4F-4). This might cause wrong wing dihedral angle. The wings were test-fitted and photos were consulted to determine the proper angle (more-or-less) and only after that they were glued permanently. The fragile looking landing gear were assembled, with some nervousness on my part when cutting them off the sprue. It wasn't fully assembled however as I left off the wheels and the lower gear doors (Parts F24 and F25). The semi-completed gear was then dry-fitted to the fuselage. Part F18 was the key to good fit and I have to enlarge the slots in the fuselage to enable that part to fit snugly. Once satisfied, the landing gear assembly was put aside and the model was off to the 'paint shop'.

Painting and Decaling

Both marking options of the kit feature the same colour scheme; Blue Grey for the upper fuselage, wing and horizontal stabilizers and Light Grey for the bottom areas. The Light Grey is virtually similar, if not actually of the same tone as FS 36440 Light Gull Grey. So I decided to use my  stock of Tamiya Spray Paint for Aircraft. In my infinite wisdom, I got my USN Greys mixed up. While I did have a can of AS-16 (which had run out long ago), which can be used for Light Grey, I used AS-26 Light GHOST Grey! Good thing I realised the wrong colour after just one layer. I eventually used Tamiya's recipe of two parts XF-19 Sky Grey and one part XF-2 Flat White. The Blue Grey was mixed, also from the Tamiya recipe, from three parts XF-18 Medium Blue and one part XF-2 Flat White.

For markings, I chose LCDR Edward H. 'Butch' O'Hare's 'White F-15'. The particular aircraft was used by the-then Lt. O'Hare during USS Lexington's attempt to attack Japanese naval base at Rabaul in February 1942. On the 20th, just one day before the scheduled attack, Lexington and its Task Force (Task Force 11) was spotted by the Japanese off Bougainville. At 10.15 am, whilst still 390 nautical miles away from Rabaul, Lexington's radar picked up an unknown aircraft 35 miles from her. A flight led by LT John Thach (of the 'Thach Weave' fame) intercepted the bogey which turned out to be a Kawanishi H6K 'Mavis' flying boat. A second flight led by LT Don Lovelace shot another 'Mavis'. A third bandit was detected but it reversed course and flew away. The Task Force has now been discovered and Vice Admiral Shigeyoshi Inouye ordered a strike against the enemy. 17 Mitsubishi G4M1 'Betty' bombers of the 4th Kokutai were launched, heading towards TF 11in two groups of 9 and 8 respectively. The 8-plane group was detected by TF 11 at 1625. LCDR Lovelace's division, despite their low fuel status, attacked this formation. Also intercepting the Bettys was a division under LT Noel Gaylor. Two of the Wildcats were shot down by the Bettys' defensive fire and Thach was launched again, together with O'Hare and four others. While the rest of the CAP went after the still incoming Bettys, O'Hare and his wingman, LT (jg) Marion Dufilho were ordered to stay behind and orbit over the Lexington. by this time, 16  out 18 of Lexington's Wildcats has been launched.

At 1649, Lexington's radar picked the second formation, just 12 miles out on the disengaged side. O'Hare and Dufilho, the last unengaged CAP were ordered to intercept. Pushing the rather sluggish Wildcat, they arrived 1,500 feet above the incoming bombers at a distance of just 9 miles.While both of them lined up their targets, Dufilho peeled away with jammed guns (not an uncommon problem for early Wildcats as a result of the faulty gun feed) leaving just O'Hare to handle the Bettys. He made four diving passes and believed that he had shot down five of the Bettys. In actually managed to down three with two others damaged. The rest of the bombers managed to drop their bombs but all missed their targets. Despite the defensive fire, and also overzealous gunners on board the Lexington, White F-15 was only hit by a single bullet, which damaged the airspeed indicator. It was believed that O'Hare's action saved the Lexington from heavy damage or even from being sunk.

As a result of his action, he was awarded the Medal Of Honor. O'Hare did not fly on combat missions until early 1943, during he which he was involved in a hero's welcome stateside and also as instructor - a practice that reap benefits later on as veteran pilots share combat experience with the rookies. O'Hare went missing in action on 26 November 1943 after a night combat with Betty bombers attempting to attack USS Enterprise. He was either a victim of the Bettys' defensive fire or friendly fire from the Avenger radar plane. As for White F-15 (BuAer 4031), after Lexington returned to Pearl Harbor following the aborted attack on rabaul, VF-3 transferred its aircraft to USS Yorktown, including F-15. It was later crashed by its pilot after an unsuccessful take-off. The pilot was saved but the aircraft sank.

The kit decals depicted White F-15 during the 20 February mission. All the decals have good color density and register. They however are quite resistant to Mr Mark Softer. As a side note, if one wants to build Maj. Robert E. Galer's plane, you have to forgo the victory flags as they have been blacked out on the decal sheet. Also the BuAer No. on the fin was not correct as it was for White F-15 (number '4031' and also having 'Navy' rather than 'Marine' title).

Finishing

Final assembly started with the landing gear. As I have already test fitted the parts, I simply slot them into place without much problem, although I still have to guide the stalks into their recesses inside the bay. This was followed by the pitot tube and the aerials both on top and under the fuselage. The canopy and the windscreen were then glued onto their respective places. In some online builds, another major complaint about this kit is about the mismatch between canopy and windscreen - the canopy is lower than the windscreen. However, the canopy in my kit looked okay, with a barely noticeable height difference. The lower windows were also added at this time. The panel lines were then highlighted with 2B pencil and some soot effect were added using Tamiya Weathering Master. Finally a spray of Tamiya TS-80 Flat Clear finished off the build. And in afterhought, I have two models of planes flying from USS Lexington : this Wildcat and the SBD Dauntless.

Conclusion

Not a bad kit at all, and I think the kit only needs a seat belt. Preferably, the rivet detail should be of the raised kind but the existing recessed ones were OK. It's not a Tamiya but Hobby Boss' Wildcats (F4F-3 early and late, FM-1 and FM-2) complete the Wildcat family in 1/48 scale.        

Emil In Norway

Historical Background

The Bf 109 has its origins in the 1933 study by the Technisches Amt (C-Amt) department of the Reichluftfahrtministerium. The study outlined four broad categories for future combat aircraft. One of them, Rüstungsflugzeug III, was for a single-seat fighter/short-range interceptor. The new fighter was to have a top speed of 400km/h at 6,000 meters, with a flight duration of 90 minutes. Power was to be provided by the Junkers Jumo 210 engine of 700hp. Armament would consists of a single 20mm MG C/30 engine mounted cannon, firing through the propeller hub, or two cowl-mounted 7.92mm machine guns, or a single lightweight MG FF 20mm cannon with two 7.92mm machine guns.The aviation companies Arado, Heinkel and Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW), who was headed by Willy Messerschmitt, received the development contract in February 1934 whilst Focke Wulf received theirs in September of the same year. A proviso was made that the Jumo 210 engine would be interchangeable with the more powerful Daimler-Benz DB 600. All participants were asked to deliver three prototypes for testing in late 1934. Messerschmitt's design, the P.1034 was begun in March 1934 and the first prototype was ready by January 1935. However the Jumo 210 engines were not yet ready. In order to get the competing prototypes into the air, the RLM acquired Rolls-Royce Kestrel VI engines allowing the P.1034 (given the RLM type designation Bf 109) to fly in May 1935. The Jumo engines were finally available in late summer 1935, allowing prototype V2 to be compeleted in October 1935. The Bf 109 eventually prevailed against its rivals, especially the Heinkel He 112; being faster, and having superior climb and dive performance. The Bf 109 was first shown to the public when prototype V1 was flown during the Berlin 1936 Olympics. 

The Bf 109A was the first production version, powered by a Junkers Jumo 210B or D engine and armed with two cowl mounted MG 17 7.92mm machine guns. This was followed by the serial production Bf 109B, armed with the same armament although some aircraft were fitted with the engine mounted machine gun. Prototype V8 was fitted with two MG 17s in the wings and in prototype V8, 20mm MG FF cannons were fitted. Both Bf 109A and B models were tested under combat conditions during the Spanish Civil War. The A and B models were followed by the C and the D models. The Bf 109D was the major Bf 109 variant before the start of World War 2 and saw service during the Polish Campaign. They were soon taken out of service and replaced by the Bf 109E.  The 'Emil' introduced the Daimler-Benz DB 601 engine and a redesign of the airframe in order to maintain the improved performance whilst more effectively handle the extra heat produced by the more powerful engine. The first production version, the E-1 was armed with four 7.92mm machine guns. This was followed by the E-2 and the most numerous of Emils, the E-3. The E-3 replaced the wing machine guns with MG FF 20mm cannons. Some aircraft were equipped with the engine mounted MG FF (called motorkanone) but the cannon went mostly unused because of reliability problems.

The Bf 109 was credited with more aerial combat kills than any other aircraft and fought in all theaters of war, as far as the Luftwaffe was concerned. Arguably the most well known operations by the Bf 109, especially by the Emil version, was the Battle Of Britain. The Bf 109 enjoyed good throttle and engine response, good stall characteristics and docile and responsive handling. Its disadvantages include poor turning radius, high-speed handling characteristics and most notably, its lack of range to properly escort the bombers, especially during the Battle Of Britain. Around 3,487 Bf 109s were of the E versions out of 33,984 built.

The Kit

Hasegawa released their first 'modern' Bf 109E in 1988 (indeed it was the first of their 'modern' Bf 109 kits). Since it was a Hasegawa, modelers eagerly awaited for its release. They were not disappointed as the kit featured fine engraving, separate flaps and slats, underfuselage loads, reasonably detailed (at least for the late 1980s - early 1990s) interior and the inclusion of a small PE fret for the radiator grills and head armour. However, it was soon found out that the shape of engine cowling is off and the rear fuselage too thin. After half a dozen of reboxings, Hasegawa decided to fix the shape problems and re-release the kit in the 'JT' series (the earlier kit was in the 'J' series), of which this kit is one of them (the copyright notification was 1995). The clear parts in this kit allowed modellers to build either an E-3 or an E-7 (or even an E-4). There were also underfuselage rack and stores (a drop tank and a bomb), appropriate for an E-7  or a Jabo E-3/-4/-7.

Markings were provided for two aircraft: an E-7 from JG 5 'Esmeer', flown by Oberleutnant Gunther Scholz and an E-3 from 4./JG 77 'Herz As' flown by Unteroffizier Ludwig Froba. I think that the kit's title is somewhat of a misnomer. Whilst Oblt. Scholz was definitely an Experten with 33 kills, I was hard pressed to find info about Ufz. Froba. The only info I got about him was that he crashed Bf 109E-3 Werknummer 820 (the option in the kit) at a racecourse in neutral Sweden on 9 November 1940. He was subsequently interned until November 1941, after which he returned to service. There were no more information about him and his name was not listed in the roster of Luftwaffe's aces during World war 2. Anyway, the decals were typical Hasegawa of the 1990s and the noughties - well-printed, rather thick and the whites are actually off-white.

Construction

As always, construction started at the cockpit. Hasegawa's cockpit consists of 13 parts; detail is OK but I felt that more could be done by Hasegawa here. The parts were painted RLM 02 Grau whilst still on the sprue and were touched up after assembly. The instrument panel was painted RLM 66 Schwarzgrau whilst the instrument faces were painted Tamiya X-18 Semi-Gloss Black. There were raised detail here that can be dry-brushed to 'pop-up' the details but I chose to use leftover decals in my spares box for the instrument faces. I then assembled the oil cooler assembly, which consisted or a plastic flap and a PE grill. The PE material is stainless steel rather than brass, so it is more durable, but harder to cut from its fret. The cockpit and the oil cooler assembly were then glued to one of the fuselage halves and the fuselage can now be closed. Fit of the fuselage halves were very good.

Next, the wing assembly. I first painted the inside surface of the radiator cooler intake RLM 65 (the fuselage colour) and the grills in Mr Color 28 Steel. Parts C3 and C6 were then glued onto the lower wing and was followed by the upper wing halves. Fit is slightly off for the starboard half but again, nothing that cannot be overcame by a bit of filler. I decided to pose the slats in the deployed position so I painted the inside surface of the wings RLM 02. The slats were however tacked temporarily in the closed position to facilitate painting. I also decided to position the flaps in the lowered position, but like the slats, were temporarily tacked in the 'up' position. There is a gap between the upper wings and the fuselage but this was closed by running Tamiya Extra Thin Cement along the gap and applying upward pressure on the wings. The tailplanes were next in line - I glued them into their slots first, making sure that they're perpendicular to the vertical tail before gluing the support struts. I then moved back to the front fuselage. The parts for the turbocharger air intake were assembled and glued to the fuselage. Next, Part C17, which acted both as the prop shaft and cannon barrel were glued into its slot after which the upper fuselage cowl was put into place. But before that part A10, the cowl machine gun barrels were attached to the cowl...and I only remember to do that just before I apply the glue onto the cowl! And then it was off for painting.

Painting and Decaling

I originally intended to do Oblt Scholz's plane, which is quite unique in having RLM 76 Lichtblau undersides and RLM 74 Graugrun fuselage. However I forgot that I have ran out of RLM 76 and decided to do the second option, Ufz. Ludwig Froba's 'White 3'. The aircraft was painted in the early war scheme of RLM 02 Grau and RLM 71 Dunklegrun for the wing upper surfaces and the top part of the fuselage and RLM 65 Hellblau for the rest of the airframe. The model was first painted RLM 65 overall. The demarcation lines were then made using Tamiya tape and the camo pattern of RLM 02/71 were then painted. While browsing the internet, I found photos of the real aircraft on its back after Ufz. Froba crash-landed it at the Karlstad racecourse in Sweden and I also found the works of other modellers building the same aircraft. One of them pointed out some salient points in the painting of that particular plane. Here I list the ones which I took note and acted accordingly:

- oversized Balkankreuz on the the bottom of left wing only;
- exhaust area painted black (I use XF-69 NATO black);
- turbocharger intake painted RLM 71;
- Main gear legs in RLM 65;
- Tailwheel leg and fork in RLM 66.

As stated before, the kit decals were off white but luckily I still have the spare decals from my Tamiya kit, which also has the same marking scheme. From the Tamiya decal sheet, I used the II Gruppe's Sea Eagle insignia, the numeral '3' and '-', and the Balkankreuzes for the fuselage, upper wings and the oversized one for the left wing. The 'normal' Balkankreuz for the bottom right wing came from my Tamiya Me 262 kit. The stencils and the Grim Reaper-on-scythe insignia of 4. Staffel came from the kit. I tried to find the split swastika from the Tamiya kit but I think I've lost them so I have to use the kit swastikas. All the decals were quite thick and did not respond well to softening solutions. This caused some problems, especially for that swastika which were smack in the middle of the rudder/tailplane junction and also for the large balkankreuz as part of it were laid upon the wing cannon bulge.

Finishing

The rest of the parts, such as the pitot probe, the main landing gears and the uh, thingy under the ailerons can now be joined to the model. The canopy parts were then glued - I however left the head armour off, just to be different. After all, not all E-3s were fitted with the armour. The fit between the canopy and the rear glass panel was not very good, however. The slats were removed and re-glued in its extended position whilst the flaps were repositioned permanently. The props were painted RLM 70 Schwarzgrun and glued to the shaft. Actually it should be glued to the shaft (Part C17) before closing up the front fuselage, allowing the prop assembly to turn freely. The model was then subjected to a sludge wash and Tamiya Weathering Master was used to create exhaust stains. A spray of Flat Clear finishes the build.

Conclusion

A quite satisfying build for me. While Hasegawa's buildability are not on the same level with Tamiya's, their kits were pretty solid. The level of exterior detail is adequate (some say spot on, whilst the Tamiya kit has heavier details) and the shape is generally more accurate than Tamiya's Bf 109E. The cockpit however could use additional detail such as PE additions and/or resin replacement.

Wild Ponies Of The Eighth

Historical Background

In 1938 with the clouds of war gathering on the horizon, the British government set up the so-called British Purchasing Commission in the United States where it arranged the production and purchase of armaments from North American weapons manufacturers. Sir Henry Self, the head of Commission approached North American Aviation with the intention of asking whether they could build Curtiss' P-40 under licence (Curtiss-Wright's own factory was running at full capacity, causing a backlog of delivery). James H. 'Dutch' Kindelberger, NAA's President however offered a new, better aircraft than the P-40 which could get in the air sooner than establishing a new P-40 production line. The British then stipulated a fighter armed with four 7.7mm machine guns, an Allison V-1710 inline engine, a unit cost of no more than $40,000 and delivery of the first production aircraft by January 1941.  In March 1940 an order for 320 aircraft was made.

The result was the NA-73X. It was of fairly conventional design but included a number of new features such as laminar-flow wings which allow high speeds with low drag. It also incorporated a radiator design which took advantage of the so-called Meredith Effect, in which the heated air exited the radiator with a slight jet thrust. The prototype was rolled out in September 1940 and first flew on 26 October 1940 - a period of less than 150 days after the order had been taken. Two of the aircraft from the first order were sent to the USAAF as the XP-51 for evaluation. The first USAAC order for the P-51 was placed on 7 July 1940. The NA-73 was given the name Mustang Mk I by the British and entered service with No. 26 Squadron in February 1942. The Mustang, with its excellent low-altitude performance and long range, made good tactical reconnaissance and ground attack aircraft, although thought to be an inferior air-superiority fighter because of its poor performance above 15,000 feet.

In April 1942, the Air Fighting Development Unit of the RAF, with the help from Rolls-Royce equipped a Mustang I with the Merlin 61 engine. Known as Mustang Mk X, the result was remarkable : the Merlin engine gave the Mustang speeds reaching 433 mph at 22,000 feet. The Army also tested the P-51A with Packard-built Merlin engines with the designation XP-51B, which first flew on 30 November 1942. Flight tests confirmed the potential of the new fighter. Usage of 75 gallon drop tanks enabled the P-51B to be used as bomber escort, with a range of 750 miles. The range was further extended when the Mustang was fitted with a 85 gallon fuel tank behind the pilot's seat. When full however, the CG of the Mustang moved dangerously aft. As a result maneuvers were limited until the tank was down to 25 gallons and the external tanks dropped. Even so, the Mustang (P-51B to P-51D/K, but especially the early D) still suffered from snap-roll under the right (or wrong) circumstances. To cure this problem a modification kit in the shape of a dorsal fin was introduced. The P-51Bs started to arrive at the ETO in August 1943 and they were also deployed in the CBI theatre. To improve the view to the rear, the bubbletop canopy was introduced in the P-51D. The D version also featured redesigned wings and gun arrangement. The P-51D (and the similar, Dallas factory-built P-51K) arrived at the ETO in mid-1944 and became the primary US fighter in the theatre.

The P-51 was the solution to the Eighth Air Force's escort fighter problem. It was clearly superior against the Luftwaffe's twin-engined Zerstorers. The Fw 190, while highly capable at low- to medium-altitudes, were no match against the Mustangs at the level B-17s are normally flying. The Bf 109s were more less on par with the P-51 at high altitudes but were increasingly hampered by the increase in armament; hence weight (in order to down the bombers). The Mustang, with its lighter armament, designed for anti-fighter combat, allowed them to face the Luftwaffe's fighters with relative ease. Furthermore, with independent fighter sweeps, rather than close escort, the Mustangs were able to intercept the Luftwaffe's Gefechtsverband formations as they assemble, negating the threat to the bombers. Such tactics, together with the numerical superiority of the USAAF, the superlative performance of the Mustang and the better pilot proficency allowed the Allies to cripple the Luftwaffe. Reichmarschall Hermann Goring was quoted  as saying "when I saw Mustangs over Berlin, I know the jig was up."

The Kit

The kit I used in this build was originally released in 1991 as kit SP58. In 1997, Hasegawa re-released that kit as SL3 with a new set of decals. The kit consists of parts distributed among four grey and one clear sprues. The grey parts contain all the airframe and stores parts which include the 75 US gallon metal drop tanks, 108 US gallon pressed paper drop tanks, 500-lb bombs, 5-inch HVARs and 4.5-inch bazooka-type rocket launchers. Both cuffed Hamilton Standard and Aeroproducts prop blades were included in the kit. The clear parts contain all the 'glasses' for the IFF and landing lights, reflector gunsight and the canopies, both standard and Dallas-type. As mentioned before, early 'D' Mustangs were not fitted with the dorsal fin. To make an early D from this kit, Hasegawa has you cut the moulded-on dorsal fin. To help the modeler, Hasegawa moulded the outline of a fillet-less tail on the inside of the fuselage halves.  The original decal sheet was replaced with what Hasegawa described as 'Hi-Tech Decals'. Only one marking was available, that of 'Passion Wagon' of 362nd FS/ 357th FG. It was wrongly described as an aircraft from 336FS/ 4th FG which was actually a carryover from the original instructions (the marking info for Passion Wagon was swapped with the other option). There were no stencil decals save for the aircraft data info and fueling markings on the wings

I bought this kit to replace my Tamiya Mustang which has suffered from irrepairable damage as a result of a collision with the display cabinet's glass doors. The older Mustang is still on my workbench however and the opportunity was taken to compare the two kits. Offhand, the Tamiya kit has better, crisper surface detail than the Hasegawa one. Until construction starts, the Tamiya kit also held the upper hand for fit and they definitely trounced the Hasegawa kit by having the flaps in the lowered position (I found out that the Mustang's flaps are always in the down position whenever the engine is switched off and hydraulic pressure is relieved.). I am however, have no confidence in my own ability to make a good cut, re-filling and re-shaping the tail and make new panel lines. So the fillet remained in place and I decided to use the leftover decals from the Tamiya kit. 

Construction

The cockpit parts were first painted on the sprue. I used Tamiya's recipe for interior green which was two parts XF-3 Flat Yellow and one part XF-5 Flat Green. The moulded-on seat belt was painted XF-62 Olive Drab whilst other details were painted in either flat black, red and silver. As for the cockpit floor, Hasegawa has you paint them in red brown, for which I use Tamiya XF-64. The dashboard has raised detail and I decided to use the kit decals. The cockpit parts, which consists of the cockpit floor/radio rack/fuselage fuel tank, side panels, seat, instrument panel and gunsight were then mated together and set aside. I then painted the inside of the fuselage halves Tamiya XF-4 Yellow Green and the (simplified) radiator and the tailwheel mount silver. The completed cockpit, radiator and the tailwheel mount were then glued to one side of the fuselage. There is a slight fit issue with the tailwheel mount; I simply enlarge the placement bracket using my craft knife. The parts which formed the rear of the radiator (just two of them) were then glued to the rear of the cockpit assembly. Finally the exhaust stacks were glued to the fuselage sides. I chose the shrouded exhaust as the aircraft I'm modeling was so equipped. The fuselage halves were then glued together. There was also fit issues here especially on the rear decking but it was easily overcome with a little bit of putty. I then attached the radiator intake cowling, the oil cooler flap and the radiator flap on the underside of the fuselage. The fit was quite bad here, requiring the sanding of the cowling to fit with the rest of the structure and some filling of the gaps between the flaps and fuselage.

Next, the wings. As stated before, Hasegawa's Mustang has its flaps in the up position whereas it would be more accurate to have them in the down position. I was thinking of using the flaps from my Tamiya kit and initial measurements show that the Tamiya flaps can be grafted onto the Hasegawa kit. However, I decided not to after soberly thinking that my 'surgery' skills were not as good as I thought! So, the kit flaps stay in place. Before gluing the wing halves together, I drilled the holes for the underwing pylons for the fuel tanks. The instructions also show the option to drill holes for the rocket pylons (both ZELL and the bazooka-type) but I chose not to as I want to portray the Mustang in its air-superiority role. Furthermore, the ZELL rocket launchers were not used in the ETO. Hasegawa also had the gun muzzles as separate parts; these were glued to the lower half of the wing. When the halves were mated together, there is a slight, irregular gap in the leading edge - most probably because of my fault rather than the kit design. There were also gaps between the gun barrels and the upper part of the wings. The fit between the wings and the fuselage however, was flawless. The horizontal statibilizers were then attached to the fuselage without any problems. The turbocharger intake however did not fit properly like the radiator intake cowl and had to be sanded. Next, the bits inside the canopy were glued onto the latter. The canopy were then masked off for painting.

Painting and Decaling

Instead of finishing the model with the kit markings, I decided to raid my spares box and came up with the spares decals from the Tamiya kit. I decided to build 'Petie 2nd', the P-51D of Lt. Col. John C. Meyer, Deputy CO of the 352nd Fighter Group, affectionately known as 'The Blue Bastards of Bodney'. He was the fourth highest-scoring American ace in Europe with 24 kills. Lt. Col. Meyer was particularly known for his role in what is known as 'The Battle of Y-29' during Operation Bodenplatte. His foresight in having the 487th Squadron of the 352nd Fighter Group pre-flighted and ready to take-off on New Year's Day 1945 prevented disaster when Jagdgeschwader 11 attacked the airfield (Codenamed Y-29). Meyer led the take-off under fire and even managed to shot down a Fw 190 while his landing gear was still in the down position.

Before painting the entire model with Tamiya AS-12 Bare Metal Silver, I first painted the canopy frame Flat Black and the wheel wells XF-4 Yellow Green. The wheel wells and cockpit transparencies were then masked and two layers of AS-12 were sprayed onto the model. Once dry, it's time to paint the distinctive blue nose of the 352nd FG. I used the painting instructions from Tamiya's 1/32 P-51 kit (which have Petie 2nd as one of the painting options). In the original 1/48 Tamiya kit, the instructions have you mix XF-8 Flat Blue and X-8 (Gloss) Blue in equal measure. I believe this darker blue was only appropriate for the later time period i.e when the 352nd had moved into continental airfields. The 1/32 kit revised the blue as 3 parts X-14 Sky Blue and 1 part XF-8 Flat Blue. To that mix, I added 20% XF-2 Flat White for scale effect. The tyres were painted XF-69 NATO Black and the the rest of the landing gear components were painted silver. Small detail parts such as the wingtip and IFF lights were also painted at this time.

Now it's time for the decals. The plane-specific decals came from my spares box. Despite being at least 10 years old, they were still good albeit with some yellowing. While they looked thinner than the usual Tamiya decals, they remain rather unresponsive to softening solutions. The general-type decals such as for the national insignia and some stencils came from the kit. At first I thought they were dry-transfer decals, but after reading the instructions, they were some sort of a cross-breed of regular water-slide decals and dry transfer ones. You still need to slightly wet the decal in order to separate it from the backing paper. Anyway they are thick and totally impervious to setting solutions - I had to use a burnishing tool to help the decals to conform to panel lines.  The national insignia decals also suffered from some minor cracking. I also somehow placed the fuselage insignia some 1-2mm further forward and I have to modify the 'HO' decals to fit.

Finishing

I started by assembling the main landing gear parts. I goofed up when I put on the landing gear covers backwards! Luckily the glue hasn't properly set and I managed to pry them loose and put them in their actual positions. This was followed by the inner doors and the tailwheel. Next, the prop assembly. The prop blades were painted X-18 Semi-Gloss Black and I used leftover decals from my P-47 for the Hamilton Standard logo and stencils. The method of assembly for Hasegawa's 1/48 Mustangs have you assemble the spinner parts and then place it on its location. The keyed prop blades can then be inserted into their places in the spinner so that the inner ends of the prop blades are sandwiched between the 'stoppers' and the fuselage, preventing the prop assembly from slipping out. However, I broke the cardinal rule of scale modeling here by not following the instructions - I assembled the prop separately from the fuselage. This of course resulted in the inner half getting in the way of the stoppers. Instead of simply partly pulling the prop blades up, insert the whole assembly onto the nose and pushing back the prop blades back, I cut off all the inner prop blade ends and inserted them back into place. This negates the function of the stoppers and I have to glue the prop assembly onto the fuselage...hmphhh!

For underwing stores, I chose to fit my model with the 108 gallon paper tanks. Instead of using the kit tanks, I used the ones provided in the Tamiya P-47 kit. The Tamiya tanks fit the Hasegawa kit with just a little cutting to the parts which connects the tank to the pylon. Also, instead of painting the tanks natural metal, I painted them Neutral Grey using Tamiya XF-53. The radio aerial and air data probe were the last parts attached to the model. Tamiya Semi-Gloss Clear were then sprayed onto the model and was followed by a spray of Flat Clear for the nose area. The masks were then removed to complete the build.

Conclusion

Hasegawa has always been renowned as one of the leaders of the plastic model kit industry. Their Mustang is one of the proof of that. Although somewhat eclipsed by the Tamiya offering, the Hasegawa Mustang can still hold its own. However their decal in this version left something to be desired.